Aquastyle Online LED build

[Krazykarl]

ok as promised here are some pictures of the build. Mind you the iphone camera has a hard time distinguishing white balance when taking photos so the colours aren't exactly but pretty damn close. Im very impressed with the leds all in all....some more tweaking and ill be done but for the most part its pretty sweet. here you go....

 

[TORX]

Look at those color pop!

Any chance to get a comparison pic with the lights on and off?

They are probably getting warmer due to the fact that it is not an actual heat sink on the back. The fins and material are what dissipate the heat. Also, are you driving them at full power, or are you turning them down at all?

 

[Krazykarl]

id say they are about 80%.... full is wayyyy too blue....kinda looks fake...i have it dialed down a bit and it looks great. i will take a comparison shot in a min....i know the heat sinks are designed for heat obviously, but i didn't have enough to do the build on them...i wanted something to span the tank...not spotlight effect. i assure you in person it is much much nicer to see .... but yes the colours pop like black light on pastel paint....its nuts....i gotta figure out a way to hook up fans to the fixture so that when the leds power up the fans do too...but these ballasts run at 30-70 v dc....most computer fans are 12v dc...some even 5...the ones i have are 12v so i will over drive them and burn em out let alone the noise they will make while spinning....so this is now my next task...i ahve a few ideas but i need to see what i can do....all in all very happy

 

[Krazykarl]

one thing i should mention too....they come with 60 degree optics that clip onto the leds....these are good at focusing the light....because the leds are mounted only about 10" above my water they gave me a spotlight effect....the full tank picture with leds on is with the optics installed. I removed them later that night to compare and it blended the colours alot better with the halides....just an fyi.....the rocks dont' look so blue and fake....this picture is wiht just halides....

 

[TORX]

I just cut an old cell phone wall charger for my fans. Cant remember the specs on them now as I am at work. But it worked rather well. Pretty sure it is a 12v and running 2 80mm fans off it with a toggle switch.

 

[pulpfiction1]

looks friggin incredible CB

 

[TORX]

I have a 120m cooling fan with its own power sourse and on off switch, that I am not using, would be a bit of a drive to come get it though.

Also, like Phi said in another thread, I would be sure that you would have an old 12v adaptor somewhere that you can steal from.

 

[Duke]

ya i bought a 12v ac adaptor from princess auto for 10 bucks it had red and black jumper clamps on it but i just cut them off and soddered some wires on and installed 2 new higher flowing quieter computer fans in my MH fixture instead of trying to source new 120v fans, its 1.8 amp so it can handle a few fans.. mine are both .4 amp high flow 80mm i bought the from canada computers in london.

 

[Darryl_V]

I havent read the whole thing yet but those U-Channels look like galvanized steal.  Has anyone noticed or mentioned that?

 

[Neopimp]

+1 galvanized, but i am not metals expert

 

[Krazykarl]

I thought it was aluminum but u may be right. If its galvanized what does that mean?

 

[Darryl_V]

Well galvanized steel can rust still....plus steal does not make for the best heat sink.  Aluminum will dissipate the heat much better.

Find a metal place and get some aluminum U-Channel.  I got 5ft of 1.25x1.25x .12" thick stuff for $20 tax in.  http://www.metalsupermarkets.com/

 

[Krazykarl]

Gonna be a big job rebuilding this but I guess worth it... Thought I bought the right thing gues not

 

[Darryl_V]

Sorry...never thought about the re-build.  As long as you can get the temp down and you dont get much saltwater on it ...Im sure it will be fine.

 

[Blob-79]

ya they are definitly steel.

The problem your going to have is the fact they are so thin. you can put fans on it all you want, the core of the leds are probally running too hot with no material to sink the heat.

 

[Duke]

Maybe cover up the lcds and break out a can of white spraypaint and give it a coat to prevent rust, it'll look good to.

 

[Krazykarl]

Well I pulled the damn thing down, and modified it a bit. But to my surprise it's not the LEDs that are running hot, it's te friggin drivers. I have them mounted inside the channel. I put my hand on it for a split second and was blown away by how hot they were. So then after burning myself I decided well hell I already burnt one hand why not keep it going. Put my finger on an led and nowhere near the heat I'm feeling on the steel. So now I've concluded that the drivers are makin the metal hot. Maybe by passi g cool air over the drivers my heat will disappear. I wish I could post a pic from my phone.

Picture this... The channel upside down as in the picture... With another piece on top enclosing all electrical components... It creates a tube more or less. If I can pass air through the channel across the driver I may solve the heat issue.

To all those purchasing be warned the drivers run HOT

 

[Neopimp]

the wind tunnel woudl work

 

[Blob-79]

wow...if its the drivers heating everything up, lol maybe it should have its own heatsink. If the galvanized channel is working fine after you move the drivers...great. as long as its fully galvanized, and none of the cut edges are exposed (paint the ends) it shouldnt rust.

 

[Blob-79]

the wind tunnel woudl work

lol ya me neo and phi spent hours speculating and drawing different top secret heatsink designs lol