90g DIY LED Build Thread

[NanoSF]

Yeah, the 40 degree Lenses do appear to spotlight a bit.  It really depends how far away from the water surface you are.  Mine are pretty close (I'll try to get a measurement when I get a chance).  Right now I'm not using any lenses and it's still incredibly bright...even at 50%.

I've been thinking about reordering 80 degree lenses but haven't yet.

When I first started reading this post this is exactly what I was thinking. That is a HUGE amount of light for a 90 gallon. I think you are going to have to keep it under-driven. This is a good thing though. You will get even longer life out of the LEDs. I put 60W on 24 gallons and it is about as bright (maybe brighter) than a 150W MH. So I am at 2.5 watts per gallon, and you are at 3.2 watts per gallon. 150 W MH is overkill for a 24 gallon tank so even I am over lighting. These LEDs are providing a lot more lumens per watt than any other light source.

As for the lenses, I would leave them off. If you are close to the water you need those lights to spread out as much as possible IMO. You could simply ad an aluminum skirt to the heat sink and keep the light from bleeding into the room. Not sure if that is possible in your current wood cabinet though.

Those heat sinks are great though where did you get them? I just built heat sinks into my aluminum DIY reflector. Meaning I added fins to the top, but it was a pain.

[KrazieCanuck]

When I first started reading this post this is exactly what I was thinking. That is a HUGE amount of light for a 90 gallon. I think you are going to have to keep it under-driven. This is a good thing though. You will get even longer life out of the LEDs. I put 60W on 24 gallons and it is about as bright (maybe brighter) than a 150W MH. So I am at 2.5 watts per gallon, and you are at 3.2 watts per gallon. 150 W MH is overkill for a 24 gallon tank so even I am over lighting. These LEDs are providing a lot more lumens per watt than any other light source.

As for the lenses, I would leave them off. If you are close to the water you need those lights to spread out as much as possible IMO. You could simply ad an aluminum skirt to the heat sink and keep the light from bleeding into the room. Not sure if that is possible in your current wood cabinet though.

Those heat sinks are great though where did you get them? I just built heat sinks into my aluminum DIY reflector. Meaning I added fins to the top, but it was a pain.

Yeah, the LEDs are crazy bright and I'm probably going to stay at 75% CW and 65% RB.  That is the PWM percentage that I am using.  The drivers themselves are also tuned down a bit so it's actually a little less that 75% and 65% intensity.

Coral growth is great so far, much faster than when I was using my other lights.

The heatsinks were from Heatsinkusa.com.  Great people to deal with and very fast service.  I shipped to Ogdensburg and picked them up.

[NanoSF]

Yeah, the LEDs are crazy bright and I'm probably going to stay at 75% CW and 65% RB.  That is the PWM percentage that I am using.  The drivers themselves are also tuned down a bit so it's actually a little less that 75% and 65% intensity.

Coral growth is great so far, much faster than when I was using my other lights.

The heatsinks were from Heatsinkusa.com.  Great people to deal with and very fast service.  I shipped to Ogdensburg and picked them up.

I have had mixed results, but mostly positive. The only thing I am not happy with is my Ultra Acans. I have seen other people running LEDs (Reefbrights) and the Acans look great. For some reason my Acans just don't pop under the LEDs. Maybe it's just my colour combination, and placement in the tank. Maybe Reefbrights are providing something the Cree LEDs don't. I don't know. Some...in fact most things are just loving it like you said. Great growth and opening right up. Thanks for the heat sink website.

[KrazieCanuck]

I have had mixed results, but mostly positive. The only thing I am not happy with is my Ultra Acans. I have seen other people running LEDs (Reefbrights) and the Acans look great. For some reason my Acans just don't pop under the LEDs. Maybe it's just my colour combination, and placement in the tank. Maybe Reefbrights are providing something the Cree LEDs don't. I don't know. Some...in fact most things are just loving it like you said. Great growth and opening right up. Thanks for the heat sink website.

Can't comment on Acans, as i don't have any...but would love to find some for a good price.

I'm in awe of my Hammer Coral though.  I bought it with 7 heads about 7 months ago and had only seen one head starting to split during that time.  Now under the LEDs for only a month and a half...I counted 10 separate heads starting to bud off the existing ones.  Very small right now, but still....VERY VERY positive.  Everything else is also growing at a much faster pace then before.

[JetJumper]

How come no pictures of it fully running yet

[Dekker500]

I've been looking at putting together a DYI LED light setup for my FW tank (currently just a paper exercise, until I can convince the other half that the dollars are a good investment, since I may go marine in the future  )

But I was curious whether you did heat sink calculations before you designed your system?

I've been running the numbers, and assuming maximum output from the XR-E  (1A @ 3.7V @ 40'C max ambient) I'm coming up to a reasonably hefty heat sink requirement. I see your heat sink is suitably sized, but I see other commercial units with, well, weenie sinks. Yes, I know you don't run at 100%, but...

Before you used it on your tank, have you turned your LEDs up to MAX for like an hour to see what the sink surface temperature gets to? Or when your lights have been on for a few hours above the tank, what is the temperature of the air being spit out by your exhaust fans? I'm looking for confirmation that my design should include the extra $ for a beefy sink...