CNCReef Nano DIY LED Fixture

C

CaravanShaka

Membership Expired
Hi All, I wanted to introduce you to an LED build I recently completed to replace a 160w Maxspect Razor over my Nuvo 24.

First off, the major components:

2x ASIS 412 heatsinks, silver anodized with clamp mount http://www.cncreef.com
4x RapidLED dimmable drivers
40x LED's as follows:
- 10 Cree Royal Blue
- 2 Cree Blue
- 4 StevesLED Violet
- 2 StevesLED Tri-star triple pucks single channel (Cool Blue, 5000k, 5000k)
- 4 StevesLED Tri-star triple pucks separate channels (Royal Blue, Cool White, 4000k)
- 4 StevesLED Tri-star triple pucks anti-disco (Cyan, Red, 2700k)
Molex Connectors from StevesLEDs

The Design:

I like to incorporate clusters to improve light blending, so each heatsink has 3 small clusters that consist of an array of LED's. The wiring was left to be pretty simple overall, which you can see in some of the photos. I left a good 6-8 feet of wire coming out of the gooseneck clamp mount that ended in a molex connector meant to attach to the driver box. The driver consists of 4 RapidLED drivers, and are wired such that the 2 white drivers have 1 plug and 1 dimming channel, and the 2 blue drivers also only have 1 plug and 1 dimming channel. After having the setup running for a little while, I have decided that I need to add a small fan to the driver box to make me feel more comfortable as the drivers do get pretty hot and are fairly confined for space.

The Result:

I can't even describe how much I like the CNCreef heatsinks. They are slim, sexy, and extremely functional. I have 60w of LED's on each one and I haven't even broken 100 degrees of surface temp. The fans are quiet, and provide ample cooling due to the airflow design of the fixture. They look so clean and don't resemble a DIY fixture at all once complete. The gooseneck clamp mounts are great for tanks that have an open top, and hide the wiring quite well. I love the light output from the color combinations. I don't see any specific color when they are on, so the blending is great. The blue's offer great actinics with the addition of violets, and the whites and colors bring out a great overall spectrum for daytime. As soon as I get the dimmers hooked up to an Apex, I will be extremely satisfied.

And now, to the pictures:
 
since my original attempt to post the pics failed, here is another attempt:

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Looks great! I love the goose necks with wiring running through them. I wish there was an option like that for my Hydra.
 
Wow, those are some nice heatsinks. I had planned on going with the MakersLED heatsinks, but now you have me reconsidering that. [smilie=smile.gif]
 
Marc, the main heatsink is a cnc design that actually pulls air through the bottom side of the heatsink and then across the fins on the top before exiting through the fan in the top. The black acrylic is hiding the fins on top.

Thanks for the compliments guys, I really like this setup and highly recommend the heatsinks.
 
About $450 total for materials. Fairly expensive, but looks store bought and is fully dimmable and built exactly to my specs. :)
 
Thanks! Yes the coverage is definitely better than the maxspect was. The problem with the Razor is that there is so much space from the ends of the fixture to the first LED. While the fixture was 27" long, it was really only 18" wide from the furthest points that emitted light. I did get full tank coverage with the razor, but it was dimmer in the corners than this set for sure. I doubt my par readings would be too much different on the ends compared to the middle now.

$900 is overkill. I do like the programming on the razor though, they got that right for sure. I also liked the growth, but ultimately it was not being able to get to my filtration that led me to change it up.
 
Nicely done sir I saw your right up a couple weeks ago and you know hobo feel about these beauties.



Samsung Galaxy S III
 
Following up with my cncreef experience which I bought after reading this.

I was looking to light a 36x18x18 tank and didn't want a razor (not my style) or two fixtures (to pricy). I wanted a clean look around the tank with minimal visible wires and doodads.

I figured with the 618 I could have a single fixture that could adequately light the area. With the aurora pucks I could get similar spread as the razor (which is loved over this size tank). Also, I like the gooseneck and wires out of the way of the display.

Setup
ASIS 618 heatsink fixture
Rapidled Dual Aurora Puck kit (dimmable)
Apex VDM

I went with aurora pucks for simplicity of install and multichannel capability. They also have TIR lenses which mean less light spilling. The LEDs create more white light which I like, about 50/50 blues and whites, and has enough power behind it to grow corals. It's 4 channels so I run warmer light in the am and cooler light in the pm- I also run just 10% uv at night before turning off which looks cool.

Here are the iphone pics.
All on at about 20-30%
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All blues 100%
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Just uv 100%
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All on 100%
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In summary.

I'm a happy customer. I did have some minor issues with a few screws being to long but Chris at cncreef took care of it and shipped me what I needed. Considering its a new company I'm impressed with the product quality and the customer service I received. When I ordered Chris asked if I wanted to have holes drilled for the pucks - which he did which was a nice extra.

The light spread is good. There are darker areas on the edges and a brighter area in the center- normal stuff for a fixture like this. It adds some drama which is fine by me. I measured the distance between the LEDs and it's about 14 inches edge to edge. Not as wide as I wanted but it got the job done.

The rapidled aurora kit was great with clear instructions and the apex vdm makes it fun to play with. Lots of wiring but once it's worth it.
 
Looks great! really clean look over that tank, I am impressed! Have you measured temps on it?

I have ordered 4 more heatsinks from Chris for my 180g build because of how happy I was with the quality and performance of these fixtures. 3 of them are 4x18's and will be running 2x Cree Lumia 5.2 arrays each, and the last one I am hoping Chris will design me a 5x5 pendant to house a single Lumia 5.2 array for my frag tank. :)
 
I haven't measured temps on it. At 100% it's pretty hot, also very bright, but not hot enough to be a problem. I wouldn't want to put more than what came with the aurora kit though. I think it's 150w but I could be wrong.
 
looks like 42 LED's between 2 pucks, at 3w each, about 120-125w. The heat is concentrated in 2 areas instead of spread, so I could see it not being as efficient as my setup for cooling with only 1 fan. I think the 6x18 would perform better with 2 fans.

I will be testing even more wattage (141w at full power, 50 LED's) concentrated in 2 spots on a 4x18, so will report back how the temps are with that.
 
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