jcgd Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 Thanks Martin. I am now looking for a heat sink alternative. What do you guys think about 2x2 steel studs. they are extremely cheap when comparing but do you think the well dissipate the heat well enough with help from a fan or 2 Not sure about those they are pretty thin arnt they, there might not be enough metal there to absorb the heat. Lots of people use square iron or aluminium channels from home depot. Cooling is one of the most important parts though if you want the LEDs to last forever. $50 will get you two heatsinks, then you know you will never need to replace them. Martin You definitely don't want to use the steel stud. Heatsinks are preferred, but can be overkill. However, they can often save you needing a fan. Home depot carries some aluminum product, but I went down to Metal Supermarkets. The website looks sorta fishing but the store is great. Basically a small shop with rows of all the metal material you can think of. If you need short lengths they have scrap but even longer stuff isn't too expensive. Get c-channel unless you blow air through the square tubing. 2" x 1.5" x 1/8" works well. Don't skimp on the thickness (guage) of the metal. Thicker is better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgd Posted August 23, 2011 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 You can also look for old car amp heatsinks. Some car audio shops might have scrap ones they will sell for cheap. They are often useless to them if the amp is toast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knickle22 Posted September 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2011 Oh no! just finished my led fixture over the weekend and then found this http://glassbox-design.com/2009/eco-friendly-plasma-lighting-technology-reaches-aquariums/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgd Posted September 30, 2011 Report Share Posted September 30, 2011 I think it'll be a good long while before plasma lighting is common. Leds will get a good run for a while. There is still a entire market to supply before the real money is made on them. I wonder if the video left anything out, like whether it is safe for general use or if there are precautions or anything. Looks sweet though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE GRIZZ Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 Check out my build on CanReef. Same user name there to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisectimage Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 How are your sore corals after u start using led, especially the Cree royal blue. Mine are not doing well, I had to change back to my t5 ho, or only keep the Cree cool white on. My tank is 48g, my led is 12 cool white Cree and 24 royal blue. My candy coral and mushroom really don't like royal blue. Any ideathanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisectimage Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 Sorry, I mean soft coral Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somewherebeyondthesea Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 I use two ecoxotic bars on my fluval and they grow sps and sps no problem :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aminnaar Posted April 11, 2016 Report Share Posted April 11, 2016 Hi I see a lot of posts about DIY LED lighting check out my post about T8 LED Tubes I sell these for less than $100 per tube and you will get 10 times more light out of them than a GU10 GU10=3Watt, my tube is 27watt and designed for aquarium use I developed these tubes specifically for aquariums and is used by Big Als in Edmonton throughout their store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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