Well I'm a few weeks later than I predicted, but it is finally here! Yesterday I was finally able to complete and install the LEDs! Its great! Temps are down, but I will have to track them for longer the get a real idea of how much lower. Colors are great and the shimmering is awesome! And from what I have read, LEDs are way better for corals than the PC lights and just as good as MH lights. And WOW they are bright!
So I was able to do this for about 200$ , +/- 10$, including shipping. I already had a soldering iron, wire cutters, soldering wire. So I went with 10 LEDs instead of 12- which seems to be the more common thing- to save some money. I think I did a good enough job dispersing the light.
So parts:
5 CREE XRE WG Q5 (white)
5 CREE XRE RB (Blue)
24v 6.5A PROTRANS power supply from MPJA.com
2 1000mA buckpuck drivers with potentiometers (dimmer)
2 spools of 16 gauge wire
1 extension cord
10 thermal pads
BC 14 heatsink from nanotuners.com
You can get cheaper heatsinks from heatsinkusa.com but the custom one fits in perfectly with 4 x 3/4 wood screws.
So, I arranged the LEDs on the heatsink until i came to a way that looked good, and then used the bergquiest thermal pads the stick them down.
Then came the soldering adventure. I am a soldering noob so it was a challange at first, but I think I got the hang of it in the end. I wired the blues in series to one buckpuck and the whites in series to the other. Soat several points in time some of the LEDs were not working, but it turns out to be just a bad soldering job. I still cannot get one of them to work, however it should be fine.
Then I went to my tank and gutted it. I left the fans in with an attempt to get them to work but no luck. I do not know if I need them anyway. Then I dropped the heatsink in, and ran wires in from the back. I taped them inside the tank then soldered them to the LEDs.
Then bang its done. I put the plastic cover back on with a wipe down, and then replaced the hood onto the tank.
So after new lights, a 50% water change, and some carbon filter in the back, the tank looks great! I am still trying to find the best blue/white balance, but right now it looks amazing! The corals look fantastic with just the blues! These pictures dont do it justice!
I did not expect these zoas to look so good in the blue lights! the colors are great! Unfortunately I could not capture this in the pictures
blues
both
blues
both
Frogspawn is looking better than ever however my one clownfish does not so I still might have to get rid of the frogspawn
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