LED Information

L

ldreefer

Hey Guys,

I am going to be setting up a 29 gallon, not a BioCube, but a normal 29 gallon tank and I am going to go with LED's from Steve's LED's.

I have a couple of questions though.

First, which of these should I go with?

This one: http://shop.stevesleds.com/SPS-Grade-LED-Retrofit-Kit-Package-10-24-tanks-SPS-Retrofit-Kit-10-24.htm

Or this one: http://shop.stevesleds.com/SPS-Grade-LED-Retrofit-Kit-Package-24-32-tanks-SPS-Retrofit-Kit-24-32.htm

And, what all am I going to need besides what comes with the kit to install these things? Do I need some kind of metal housing? Can I build some kind of hanging fixture out of wood and attach the LED's to it? What tools am I going to need (i.e. solder gun?)? Also, do they come with instructions?

Thanks for any information you guys can give.
 
This will tell you the tools you need:

http://stevesleds.com/uploads/Steve_s_LEDs_Retrofit_Kit_Installation_Guide.pdf

As far as other things, you will need a box to put the driver and power supply in, and a computer fan to help cool them in that box. I had to get some multi connectors from Radio shack - 1 for the fans, and 1 for the drivers. You are welcome to come by and see what I have from Steve on my 65 gallon tank! I have a 29 gallon with a 12 LED kit from RapidLED, too.

David
 
RapidLED has very simple kits. For example, the one that I got has gone down in price since I got mine. The 12 LED actinic supplement kit is $91 delivered. You can specify what color LEDs that you want - they don't have to be all royal blue. I mixed in 2 white LEDs with 10 royal blue. I ordered optics because I wanted to keep the light strip high enough above the tank that I can access the tank without moving lighting, so it was a little more. I got 30s for the blues, and 80s for the whites. If I ever move them down close to the water, I would add a plexiglass shield, and remove the optics. I simply mounted the heat sink in an old All Glass T5 light hood with 2 tiny computer fans mounted to the top, and the driver/power supply mounted to the back of the hood. I have 13 anemones in this tank, and since the rock structure is down the center of the tank, the 12 LEDs seem to be sufficient. They are 8 inches above the water.

I have 16 royal blue Epistars from Steve. I really like the color! It takes a lot more DIY with his kits, but I don't doubt that they are very good quality.

david
 
I have 140 steves leds over my 210. 84 epistars and 56 luxeons. Love them. His are a little more hands on but they promote great growth. I have mine 8" off the water in a wooden canopy and no optics. I have a 1/8" plexiglass shielding them from splash. If you do go with his I recommend going to lowes and getting plenty of cat5 to wire them to the drivers. Makes it a lot easier!

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I think I'm gonna go with Steve's and make an acrylix box to mount the lights to and on the inside of that box have the components. That way it will be see through and will be very cool looking.
 
Whoa. I don't know about that. I had mine in a 4 inch wood box and the light killed you. Had to go to a 6 inch box to keep it out of your eyes. Plus you need to have something to keep the light reflected downwards. I painted the inside of mine gloss white. You are welcome to come see mine if you want.

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Yeah, the LEDs are like little lasers, and you MUST protect everyone's eyes from being able to look directly at them! It helps to have the optics on them. I am thinking that pet dogs and cats should also be considered, as they should not be able to look directly at the LEDs either! They don't know to look away, and neither do little children!

David
 
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