High Tide Aquatics

confuse on making LED fixture or buy one.

nanocube-guy

nanocube-guy

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Hey guys I'm curious on how people DIY LED lighting because I remember someone did made one in our club.

How do I know what light to choose, what wires to use, what material to use, What ballast or a/c adapter to use?

If I want to buy a fixture, how do I know what type of LED fixture is right? It's not just measure watts or Kelvin when we by MH, CFL, T-5 or VHO. I know it has to be something else...

I just want to compare between how much work to make one and how to buy one, then so on. :)
 
How do I know what ....
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You do some searching, you find other people who did it, and you have a bit of electronics skill.

I'll tell you this, if you are not comfortable with soldering (and not sloppy soldering either) you should not DIY an LED light setup.
 
do yourself a favor contact robert at neptunes ask him what led setup is on cerissa tank on the front counter.... that system is making corals grow like weeds and looks sweet as well

i wouldnt recommend doing a DIY unless you can solder....
 
I does have a small soldering skills... but i'm not too conferable... you guys might be right, I should mess with it until I learn it. What about choosing the right fixture if I want to buy one? I know how choose from other type of lighting fixture, but LEDs have a complete set of rules.

I'm trying to get it for an 37 gallon tank.
 
still call robert he has a few styles the 37 is it a cube?? i dont know tank sizes yet,LOL

most fixtures are 10-14k you can get a few in 20 but not many...

do you plan to hang them or go into a hood of some sort
 
something like these may be a good option:
http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?cPath=74&products_id=667
http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?cPath=73&products_id=620
 
You should diy because I have all the parts. Lol.

Do some research and buy yourself a ready made that is rated and warranted.
 
euod said:
You should diy because I have all the parts. Lol.

Do some research and buy yourself a ready made that is rated and warranted.
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If you have the stuff, tell me what d you have and do you have pictures? Are you a seller?
 
eldiablosrt8 said:
still call robert he has a few styles the 37 is it a cube?? i dont know tank sizes yet,LOL

most fixtures are 10-14k you can get a few in 20 but not many...

do you plan to hang them or go into a hood of some sort
Click to expand...
What do you mean in 20? I'm sorry, it's not an 37 :( it's an 33 and it's not an cube.
Gomer said:
something like these may be a good option:
http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?cPath=74&products_id=667
http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?cPath=73&products_id=620
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Will this work for my tank? how will i know?
 
I thought this was for your nano cube.
How about you tell us exactly what tank you have (dimensions) and what coral you are keeping in it. I'll tell you right now, that I would HIGHLY suggest NOT DIYing it. I'm sure you are a bright guy, but you seem to not have any experience in LEDs. This means that to DIY, someone basically has to tell you or do every step for you. You will want a pre-made light module.
I'm going to guess right now that your light setup will cost you on the order of $500-700 dollars. There might be some cheaper options. It will come down to what is in your tank and tank dimensions.
 
http://www.nanocustoms.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=1

Chris @ Nano Customs lists what works with what :) Go straight to the source, and he's in SOCAL!
 
Following his thread on the other forum I assumed it's a 12g JBJ Nanocube which is why I posted the link I did :)
 
It's not for my jbj... though those fixtures are great with my nanoc-12, but i'm researching light for my 33+ gallon. The dimension is 32x15x16 and I want to have Favia, Acan, Acropora, montipora, common lps type, mushroom, zoas, carnations, and etc...
 
Like Gomer said I think buying one ready to go is the way for you. It costs a little more but you won't have any difficulties constructing it. If you don't have the equip. you might not be saving money anyway and if you're not comfortable with soldering you're probably biting off more than you can chew. :D
 
I would give it a shot, I did my BC14 and that last time I soldered something was back when I was playing with RC cars (10+ years ago) Plus you will be saving a lot of money to comparable Led's, some of the commercial fixutres will work but are usually 1w led's versus the Cree XRE's that I use in my BC14.

It's really not that hard, but if you don't know about DC circuits you can always research. Its not like you have to design a pc mother board or something.
 
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