DIY LED with MakersLED Heat Sink

[Mike in MD]

Very nice build
I built mine in the Living Room also, that's where working nights comes in handy with the better half

Mike

[theblondskeleton]

Thanks! Yeah, it's a good thing the end product met with her approval, haha...



Totally forgot to add this here is the hanging hardware I used. All from the same aisle in Home Despot.

[theblondskeleton]

There is a lot of green fuzzy stuff on my rocks! Reducing light duration from 10 to 8 hours, increasing ferts and CO2.

It's kind of pretty as it waves in the current, but it is smothering my plants. Grr... Trimmed everything down. Rotala is unstoppable. Looking at this, I think it would look better if the hydro were on the upper level and the grass on the lower front and up the center. I may do this if I get time. Sadly, my schedule goes bonkers this week, so I'll be an infrequent visitor for a while. I'll try to post progress when I have time!

[IWANNAGOFAST]

I got my kit in, it's very very nice. I wish I didn't use thermal adhesive and just stuck to using thermal paste, because I need to add a few more LEDs and now they're stuck to the heatsink so I can't add more screws.

[theblondskeleton]

Oh no! Well, there must be some way of removing it...

[Hoppy]

If you used an aluminum oxide based adhesive I found I could easily pop the stars off with a knife blade at the joint - just a bit of prying and they came loose.

[toffee]

Originally Posted by Mike in MD

Very nice build
I built mine in the Living Room also, that's where working nights comes in handy with the better half

Mike

+1, really nice. Love it. Got a few questions ~ what is the size of the tank? What's the rated power consumption or Watts?

Thanks.

[theblondskeleton]

Originally Posted by toffee

+1, really nice. Love it. Got a few questions ~ what is the size of the tank? What's the rated power consumption or Watts?

Thanks.

Thanks! I don't recall what current I'm running right now, but at full power, it'd be burning 84 watts or so (I'd have to double check my specs). Under half that of my T5HO's. I don't run it at full power, however. Turns out it's a lot more light than I anticipated! I need to get my hands on a par meter to know exactly what it's putting out.

The tank is an ADA 120-P, which is 65 gallons (48x18x18). At the current height and with 60 degree optics, it has pretty much perfect coverage, with the most concentrated beam covering the full footprint at substrate level (plus a few inches).

[theblondskeleton]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

If you used an aluminum oxide based adhesive I found I could easily pop the stars off with a knife blade at the joint - just a bit of prying and they came loose.

That's good to know, Hoppy thanks for the tip! I think I'll drop that in the FAQ...