So I am wanting to do an led fixture and was wondering what is some important things I need to know. Thanks
Re: DIY LED Lighting The three things to pay attention to in my opinion are the type of led, the reflector you put around it, and a darn good heat sync to keep it cool. Like Whitney said the last one is the most important.
One of the things I've seen about heat sinks is that you can use aluminum c-channel as a cheaper alternative to the expensive heat sinks. And also if you are paying less than $3 each for the leds, you are probably getting the wrong ones if you are wanting it to function as a grow light. Now for supplemental lighting you can get leds as cheap as 50¢, of course they don't have any par, but u can get some interesting color combos that way.
I've got a DIY LED system on my itty bitty tank... I have to agree with the thoughts of keep it cool. Wire a fan in somewhere. Also, if you build a fixture, protect from salt creep otherwise you'll burn your LED's out. Overall I suggest lots and lots and lots of research before you decide to do this. The wiring has to be done just right and everything cleaned and attached just so or it either won't work or you'll mess some stuff up and it's a pretty expensive mistake if you botch it. Also, buy a good materials. Cheaping out isn't the way to go on this project. If you aren't buying top rated LED's you're pretty much inviting trouble. Also don't cheap out on the heatsinks or drivers. The drivers are the most important part to the whole project. Cheap crappy driver=lousy par and lots of disappointment. When the lights are done you're going to have to test par to see what/if you can grow anything and slowly adjust your corals to the new lights. You can't just plunk em on the tank and expect them to work right like t-5's or halides. It's a LOT of work. Hope this helps.
Oops.. Another addition. Sorry on my iPhone. I don't know about adding them to a RK, but I've got mine on timers with blue on first for a few hours, white on an hour then off two and back on 6. I've got acros, birdsnest, acans, and candycane in my tank so far doing great with this pattern.
This is just an informative topic. No building any time soon. I haven't decided on what I'm going to grow but it doesn't matter, I just need to know basic wiring because if I can do a series of 12 then I can do 24, 36, 48... Whatever I need. The tank will be brand new so now worries about acclimating anything. This is a future tank build that I am going to spend the next two years researching on. This is just the first item because I know I wanna go the led route. Thanks for any info. The more pics the better in this thread
