LED questions

[chelseagrin]

i was looking for some diy led items on some sites and it seems that the whole retro fit packages are like 200 dollars for a tank like mine but if i shop around and get all the pieces individually it would cost alot less. is there a main part that i must have missed that costs the bulk of the price? im not good with any DIY lighting stuff.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

i was looking for some diy led items on some sites and it seems that the whole retro fit packages are like 200 dollars for a tank like mine but if i shop around and get all the pieces individually it would cost alot less. is there a main part that i must have missed that costs the bulk of the price? im not good with any DIY lighting stuff.

Sounds like something is missing as thats not common, especially when you add on shipping from each place. What are the dimensions of the tank this is for?

 

[chelseagrin]

this is for a tank i am setting up, it is an 8 gallon.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

this is for a tank i am setting up, it is an 8 gallon.

What components have you put together so far for your build? and what size tank, how long, wide, tall.

 

[chelseagrin]

i have
-4 cool white and 4 royal blue luxeon 3 watt led's- 3.29 each
-8 inches of bare heatsink-around 20 dollars
-single dimming led driver-14 dollars
-switching power supply-15 dollars

i already have alot of the wire and solder and such. am i missing anything?

 

[BigAl07]

I think if you'll get a "kit" from somewhere like ReefLEDlights you'll be much better off. There are a lot of small "intricacies" that can lead you to burning out your system during set-up if you make a wrong decision in your purchases. Buying a kit takes a lot of the mental work out of the equation.

 

[chelseagrin]

so does that mean if im up to doing the mental work i can save some major $$?

 

[steved13]

I think if you'd provide the dimensions, you'd get your answers.

 

[chelseagrin]

its 12x12x14

 

[BigAl07]

I doubt you'll save "Big $$" if you bought high quality components compared to "ready to assemble" kits. I've done the "piece it together" route and I can tell you this much... I wouldn't do it again.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

-single dimming led driver-14 dollars
-switching power supply-15 dollars

i already have alot of the wire and solder and such. am i missing anything?

use stranded wire 18gauge. don't forget to pretin the wires.
Don't forget a fan to keep the heatsink as cool as possible.
optics if there is no canopy over it.
Plug for the driver to the wall.

What driver is that exactly you are looking at?

 

[chelseagrin]

i was looking at the one on steves led's