Rich's 5G mini bow nano

[TheBeak]

Originally Posted by fish.freak

i was thinking of using an old coralife pc fixture and maybe adding a fan.
do you mount the k2 the same way to the heat sink w/ epoxy?

yes, the K2 stars are electrically isolated (unlike some of the older luxons), so any thermally conductive epoxy will work...also, a thermal grease/gel (non adhesive) with screws will work. less permanent if you want to change things later.

Most luxons can be had on a star package, or just the LED. I don't have the solder skills or the other patience to work with anything other than the stars. Nice big (relative) pads to solder with, and some degree of heat sinking built in.

It should be noted that I'm no expert with these things, but Ive been reading feverishly for some time to learn how to work with these things.

[TheBeak]

hey freak, check these out:



800+ lumens @ 1040ma (1070 lm @ 1400ma) out of a ready to go 1.25X1.75" package. Immagine four of these built into a pendant slightly larger than your palm.

2 bummers:
1) 4700k daylight is the average color for the "daylight" white (though there are bin codes up to 6200k)
2) there 97 bucks a piece.

then there are these:



300 lumens each @ 350ma (540lm @700ma). 35 ish bucks each, but the slightly "detuned" 240lm @ 350ma version is only 17 bucks. If it turns out that the powerbrite unit i have coming uses a "standard" star package, these may be the hot mod ticket. that would take me from 250 ish lumens to over 1000 lumens. I'm really going to have to fight the urge to take it apart before i even try it.

[Wiskey]

Originally Posted by TheBeak

hey freak, check these out:



800+ lumens @ 1040ma (1070 lm @ 1400ma) out of a ready to go 1.25X1.75" package. Immagine four of these built into a pendant slightly larger than your palm.

2 bummers:
1) 4700k daylight is the average color for the "daylight" white (though there are bin codes up to 6200k)
2) there 97 bucks a piece.

then there are these:



300 lumens each @ 350ma (540lm @700ma). 35 ish bucks each, but the slightly "detuned" 240lm @ 350ma version is only 17 bucks. If it turns out that the powerbrite unit i have coming uses a "standard" star package, these may be the hot mod ticket. that would take me from 250 ish lumens to over 1000 lumens. I'm really going to have to fight the urge to take it apart before i even try it.

Someone else that likes to take things apart before there even hooked up! I thought I was unique.

This is some great reading on LED teconology,.. that's for putting all this up here for us. It is going to be really interesting to see how they work with coral

Whiskey

[TheBeak]

well, people have had great results with the solaris system, and that is made up of a whole lot of 1w luxons as i understand it (im not going to buy one to pull it apart and see ). LED's do grow coral, if you have enough of um You just have to get the lumens up.

If this nano gets me bitten by the bug again. (i dont have a big tank running now) I'm sure ill be looking to DIY a LED lighting solution.

I hate chillers. I hate the cost, the noise, and the power. LED's have gotten to the point i think that i can get back into the game.

my wallet will not forgive you guys if this occurs.

[TheBeak]

Alright, made some progress today.

I got my powerbright. I saw it was assembled with non child resistant philips screws, so i took it apart.

It's built out of some very nice extruded aluminum, and came apart with ease. There is little other than some wire and a circuit board the length of the unit. the board has just some traces for power to run through, and the LED's mounted to it. the LED's are the surface mount type, but the pads are larger than i expected, so i think i could still swap the LED's if i want to. The power supply will support 12w, so i could swap my 4 X 1w LED's for 4 X 3w pretty easily.

The LED's look like these:


I might not even mess with it though. It looks pretty good on 4w.

My good camera is apparently dead as of yesterday (need to make a few calls on this. just bought it last summer.) so i borrowed my daughters and got these two pics before her battery died.

heres the stripped hood, with the mounting clips that came with the powerbright installed. I re drilled the mounting clips, and used a couple of bosses that were molded into the hood to screw into (also note the extra space removed at the back for the larger Rio filter to fit.):




Next, how's this for a close fit? There is a teeny bit of bowing to make it fit, but not enough to make the hood not fit on the tank:





Now the powerbright units are not sealed, so before i can leave it over the tank long term, i need to fab a splash shield out of (plexi?) or just find a way to seal the unit. I think removing the power switch and covering the hole, then doing a coat of clear laquer over the whole thing (masking off the led lenses, of course) would be enough. sort of have to decide on the LED swap issue first. Hard to take it apart after its sealed. Probably just do a shield first until im happy with the light output.

I'll get some fresh pictures of the light on the tank after her battery re-charges. I think im going to go ahead and salt the water tonight and start gearing up for rock.

Also, i think im going to DIY a surface skimmer, there isnt enough water changing hands on the surface for my taste.

[fish.freak]

Nice install, got any pics with it on?

[crvz]

Looks good, very innovative. I'll be interested to see how it works out!

[TheBeak]

No extra pics yet, just the two I posted before dead battery.

I'm kind of grouchy about the other camera though. 250 bucks should last longer than 8 months. I guess thats for another thread though.

on topic:

LED's do provide a halide like color and glimmer. While not stupid bright, its pretty darn convincing for 4 watts.

[fish.freak]

I have had my Cannon powershot a70 for a few years now with only minor glitches. And that is with wet hands and sand, and never putting it in the case.

[TheBeak]

This was a casio. Next will be either a cannon (an digital elf, maybe the 750) or maybe ill go whole hog and buy that nikon D40 Ive been quietly wishing for. (both are getting old on retailers shelves, and that generally spells good deal) either way, i want something that will use SD memory, i don't want to re-buy everything.

[fish.freak]

mine is compact flash

[fish.freak]

I need a new one 3.4 MP just is not cutting it anymore!

[TheBeak]

So the tank is in the kitchen. I was fixing a snack and had an idea. The powerbright is now covered in saran wrap. Not a perminant fix, but I feel more comfortable it will stay dry while I decide what to do next.

When I'm out later I'll pick up some of those large size ziplock bags. that might work.

[TheBeak]

did some more work this afternoon.

Tank back painted. DIY skimmer built/ installed (from an old gravel vac and a pvc fitting) ready for water:




Tank filled, Rio pump running:



Salt in for 5 mins, first pic with tank light on (fake rocks out of fresh water rig that used to occupy this tank to give light something to hit. LR next week or so....):




One more, shot from across the room. Note that the room lights are on in this shot too. Normal kitchen bright, and the tank is brighter

[TheBeak]

OK, I shut off airflow to the skimmer last night. Even with the little filter cartrige installed, micro bubbles are a major problem.

I'll have to either put a foam block of some sort in the output, or slow down the water flow through the unit (which will force my hand on a PH of some sort.)

Here's what it looked like this morning :