CREE 36 LED build

[Salts001]

Here are some pictures of my CREE 36 LED build:

- 24 royal blue XP-E
- 12 cool white XP-G
- 80 degree optics
- 3 Mean Well ELN-60-48D dimmable
- 2 variables (one for each color)
- 35" x 4.25" heatsink

Right now no corals but

 

[Slimkasey]

Well done my man.

 

[viperbjd]

How much did this cost you to make?...If you don't mind me asking...

 

[Sir Alex]

Looks good. Hope they work well. DIY LEDs make a lot of sense considering how much the name brands cost...

 

[Bifferwine]

Wow that looks nice!

 

[Salts001]

How much did this cost you to make?...If you don't mind me asking...

I bought the kit from rapidled. They were very helpful and responsive with emails. The DIY 36 LED kit cost $280, heatsink $50, and the controller $30.

 

[Sir Alex]

I bought the kit from rapidled. They were very helpful and responsive with emails. The DIY 36 LED kit cost $280, heatsink $50, and the controller $30.

What kind of control do you have? Manual dimibility or is it computer controlled?

 

[Salts001]

It’s definitely less expensive as suppose to the name brand fixtures. I understand it doesn’t have the fancy finish or computer/wireless controls but provides all the light needed. If you’re handy with a solder iron its actually pretty easy build just tedious (well worth it).

 

[Salts001]

What kind of control do you have? Manual dimibility or is it computer controlled?

It’s a manual control using 2 10k ohm potentiometers. The entire system is plugged into a power strip with inline timer. There are certainly other ways to hook this system up to make it more sophisticated but it’s just the start.

 

[markrj]

Very nice!

I current have only a Marineland 48" 36 led fixture and my corals seem to be thriving. I have just a few corals including mushrooms, Xenia and what I believe to be Capnella.

Wondering if I should get a flouresent hood as well as I am getting more of these corals tomorrow.

Or, should I just build some additional LEDs?

 

[Sir Alex]

Very nice!

I current have only a Marineland 48" 36 led fixture and my corals seem to be thriving. I have just a few corals including mushrooms, Xenia and what I believe to be Capnella.

Wondering if I should get a flouresent hood as well as I am getting more of these corals tomorrow.

Or, should I just build some additional LEDs?

Build something like these and you'll never need any additional lighting.

 

[Justin0329]

looking at the wattage, is this enough to support corals? I'm seeing it is only 108 watts. I was under the impression that more wattage was needed....

 

[Northstar24]

Comparing LEDs to T5 or MH cannot be done by watts, as LEDs are far more efficient. I replaced 1000 watts of MH/T5 with 225 watts of LEDs that I can't even run at the full 225 watts

 

[Justin0329]

How would someone determine what is an apprpoerate ammout of led's to use then?. I mean enough to provide sufficient lighting to house just about anything without being so much that it bleaches corals?

 

[Northstar24]

How would someone determine what is an apprpoerate ammout of led's to use then?. I mean enough to provide sufficient lighting to house just about anything without being so much that it bleaches corals?

As explained in your other threads, there really is no cookie cutter answer to this question, it depends on the LED's that you're using, both in wattage and in color, as well as if you are planning on running optics or not. There are several threads about this both here and other places. The lighting articles by Dr Sanjay Joshi written for Advanced Aquarist are also a good place to start

 

[bjohanson1234]

How would someone determine what is an apprpoerate ammout of led's to use then?. I mean enough to provide sufficient lighting to house just about anything without being so much that it bleaches corals?

Shoot the guys at Rapidled.com an email. Ask them. I have heard that they are really helpful.

 

[Salts001]

Shoot the guys at Rapidled.com an email. Ask them. I have heard that they are really helpful.

The guys are rapidled were extremely and very responsive via email.

The saltwater world is still new to me but If anyone here has questions about circuitry I can definitely help in that area.

 

[monkiboy]

eric (rapidled) told me a bit ago that their 24 LED kit was equivalent to a 250w MH unit. so this 36 would be even higher and very likely to support even the needest SPS.

nice share!