RSM 250 AI Sol Blue D.I.Y.

[uxdesigner]

Inspired by the Aqua Illuminations (AI) Sol Blue modules. I decided to build my own retrofit into my existing Red Sea Max 250 hood.

Specs:
48 3 Watt Cree LED's

16 Cool White
16 Royal Blue
8 Blue
8 Neutral White
4 Meanwell Drivers running 12 LED's each
Dimmable on a blue and white channel


Package Arrives:

Wiring and layout specs complete. I will be building 2 of these 16 x 6 (24 LED) modules.

Carefully gutted the hood. (Available for sale, PM if interested)

Installed the horizontal aluminum brace that will be used for mounting the modules. (You can also see I upgraded the fans to the Silenx)

Used connector bolts attached with epoxy to create the mounting hardware.

LED's attached (Thermal Adhesive)

All wired up. Lit them up to test and damn these are bright!

Was able to fit the 4 Meanwell drivers in the hood and retain the stock LED moon lights.

Installed the dimmer potentiometers under the timer lid (1 controls white, 1 controls blue). I really like the ability to mix the colors as well as slowly acclimate the tank.

Shot of the hood without optics for now as I still have a few things to tidy up but needed to get some light on my corals that have been deprived for 3 days

All I can say is wow these things are bright! Really happy I decided to go LED, the shimmer is awesome! This is a FTS with the LED's running at 20% without optics and they are equal to the 6 stock T5's in brightness. Next I'll be adding the optics.

 

[don in mass]

I seen these t5's 4 sale and was hopeing to catch the build they look awsome.if you don't mind me asking what was the toatal cost on this build. thanks don

 

[jpsika08]

Nicely done! congrats

 

[mcentire1123]

Great job!

 

[tnwillia]

Great work and thanks for showing us it can be done!

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Great build !!! Really looks nice ! Thanks for sharing the pics

 

[uxdesigner]

Glad you all like it, I really had a good time building it and the lights are just what I wanted. Unsure whether I wanted the optics or not I installed them on 1 module to compare and the difference is night and day. With the optics I can now see shadows on the subtrate when my clowns swim around.

 

[pocketreef]

Hi,

Great job, you have the most natural led results i have seen so far.

 

[tutuan]

That's a slick work. Congat and thank you for sharing.

 

[GregT]

Great work, I like how you used the lighting controllers, looks stock.
With the interest in LEDs perhaps Red Sea should offer LEDs as an option - and possibly cheaper due to bulk buying?

 

[reefer gladness]

Glad you all like it, I really had a good time building it and the lights are just what I wanted. Unsure whether I wanted the optics or not I installed them on 1 module to compare and the difference is night and day. With the optics I can now see shadows on the subtrate when my clowns swim around.

Tank looks great! I would suggest the shadows as good evidence optics are not needed, having the light from multiple sources (i.e. without optics) diffuses the shadows. My experience was similar, I run the LED's at about 25-35% intensity on the day cycle without optics and it's plenty of light for corals on the bottom. Adding optics will just increase spot-lighting as you get closer to the LED's.

You may want to keep an eye on the temp of the drivers if they're inside the hood. They generate a surprising amount of heat

 

[uxdesigner]

Tank looks great! I would suggest the shadows as good evidence optics are not needed, having the light from multiple sources (i.e. without optics) diffuses the shadows. My experience was similar, I run the LED's at about 25-35% intensity on the day cycle without optics and it's plenty of light for corals on the bottom. Adding optics will just increase spot-lighting as you get closer to the LED's.

You may want to keep an eye on the temp of the drivers if they're inside the hood. They generate a surprising amount of heat

You have a great point about the optics / shadows but I actually like the depth it gives the tank. Very similar visual effect to shallow water natural reef shots. I think it adds another dimension to coral placement like hiding corals under overhangs, higher placed corals, etc...

I will keep an eye on them but the fans in the RSM direct some air towards them (cool to the touch after 9 hours) and since I am using the optics I've found that I can turn down the intensity even lower, resulting in even less heat.