Cheap led build

Hey all, im wanting to start a CHEAP L.E.D. build. Lol i know its almost imposible but i see on rapidled has fairly cheap led and drivers. My only thing is i have no idea what i need. Im doing this for my 10 gal nano. Im not trying to keep a ton of sps but id like some bright lights.im gonna try my hand on a moonlight kit. Looking forward to any help. Thanks!

 

this one is pretty cheap and i have a friend that has two of them and they seem to work good plus you can call them and they will send you the colors that you want to

 

I need some info. Lol

 

wow we just had a diy led meeting tonight. B-rad made a nice fixture using 10 watt leds. I think for th 48inch fixture he spent around 500 bucks

 

Yea, 500 is way outa my budget. Its a ten gal and im lookin for somethin cheap and easy.

 

well that was for a 120 so I would guess a 10 would be much cheaper

 

I would think you could do a 10g for $50 easily and be able to grow plenty sps. You could use a small heat sink, a wall wart that is 12V and 4 3watt Crees. I'd do 3 Royal blues and one cool white in the center.

 

9

12I wall wart? Where do u get em? I dont know much about led... just wanting to try myp hand at making one so i dont have to pay a lot. Im on the ultimate poor mans budget. Lol. Links and pics would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!

 

Here this has every thing you need! http://www.rapidled.com/biocube-14-retrofit-kit-non-dimmable/

 

Sweet small tank DIY led setup, you only need to soldier the moonlights!
Main light kit -http://www.rapidled.com/07-led-plug-n-play-retrofit-kit/ $67
Moonlights -http://www.rapidled.com/4-led-moonlight-kit/ $18
Heat sink -http://www.rapidled.com/drilled-and-tapped-4-25-x-9-heat-sink-for-12-leds/ $22
Totals up right around a hundred bucks which for the power output is really good.
Lot of options with this including the ability to add a few more lights on the same driver!

 

I just ordered that led moonlight kit. How does this look?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/8x3-W-LED-Constant-Current-Driver-Kit-DIY-item-/120817059365?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c21420625

 

Rapid's pricing on a dimmable meanwell is (slightly) less than what you are seeing in that link, and I would trust that product over something on eBay. If you don;t need dimmable, you can spend about half that going with rapid. Just saying. /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif
Tiy can also save money on a heatsink by going with aluminum C channel. This will work wonderfully. If you have a hood to place it in, it doesn;t even have to be cut pretty!

 

I dont care at all about dimmable leds. I just want cheap and bright. Lol im gonna look more into this. I think i could do it and have a better and cheaper product.

 

I dont care at all about dimmable leds. I just want cheap and bright. Lol im gonna look more into this. I think i could do it and have a better and cheaper product.

 

The more you research this you will soon discover the eBay chineese versions last about 6 months before people begin to have problems. Rapid led stands behind their products and the reliability of Cree and Meanwell are the best in DIY LED. Is you are good with electrical work, you can save $10 by getting the 6 led kit that requires soldiering. http://www.rapidled.com/06-ultra-premium-led-do-it-yourself-retrofit-kit/ $57

Since you have the moonlights the main lights and heatsink is $89 plus $7 shipping aprox.
Heats sinks are extremely Important in relation to the life of your LED setup, the reason I suggested the plug and play kit with pre tapped heatsink is that it is a bit more foolproof for a first build and it only requires a small screwdriver to put it all together! I built this kit for a client and had it done in about a half hour installed in the hood of his nano.
I just live sw of cedar rapids if you get stuck with your project, drop me a PM.

 

Thanks. My hood is about 4" tall. I wanna add 2 fans. They would blow across the top of the water. One pulling air in and one pushing hot air out. How do u guys power them?

 

In relation to the fans one should be plenty, for the power I just find an old 7-14v transformer (black power pack that plugs in an AC outlet and powers some device) that puts out close to 0.5 - 1 amp and wire them to that. With that kind of airflow evaporation will be an issue, be sure to have an ATO, especially on a 10 gal nano as the amount evaporated in one day could swing the salinity and stress the corals.

Other reading to consider if you really want bang for your buck and eliminate the light hood.
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=267432
http://www.nhfragswap.com/forum/index.php?topic=352.msg2572#msg2572
Search GU10 9w cool white on eBay and gu10 blue.

 

My friend, you are in the wrong hobby lol

 

Not necessarily. I just know that there are ways around paying a fortune for something because its easy. Thats why people started using DIY kits, now people are learning that household leds are brighter and cheaper. Not everone has funds for big ticket lights. Its not about money when it comes to loving saltwater keeping. You just need to know how to get the best bang fot your buck.

 

Travis- interesting side note in relation to the GU10 project i mentioned. The bulbs are also available in e27 base. The Epistar and Cree LEDs are a bit better when you are comparing the manufactures, but even more important is the lens. The closer to the water surface the higher degree lens you would want. I think there are quite a few with 60 degree lenses. that should work well on a nano without looking like a laser beam.