After several years of lurking, learning, and planning I have finally begun the process of building a DIY LED array. So far all I have are the heatsinks. I hope to order the rest of the gear sometime in the coming months (as the wallet allows). I plan to purchase the LEDs and thermal pads from rapidled and the two drivers, either Thomas Research or Inventronics (supposedly the same driver with a different brand name), from either nanotuners or LEDgroupbuy.
The layout... (close up of one side)
Additional details...
- One driver run 15 royal blues and the other drive 8 neutral whites (yellow), 2 cool white (white), and the remaining 5 royal blues (see pics).
- This will be run along with 2 T5HO bulbs (Blue+ and Fiji Purple) slightly over driven by an IceCap 430.
- May run on a 50 breeder for a bit but hopefully I'll have switched over to a 75 gallon before the LED build is complete.
Potential add-ons
- I may eventually get the Digital Aquatics ALC unit to dim the LEDS. The research I've done suggests it can dim these drivers.
I will add to this post as I progress, but be forewarned it will be a slow process! I'm open to suggestions, constructive criticism, and compliments!
Thanks for looking,
Tom