DIY Led 10 gallon build thread/alternative diy co2 thread

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The main advantage isn't electricity usage as alot of people think, but the longevity of the led. Most leds are rated at around 100,000 hours, unlike cf and mh bulbs which only last about a year before they start dimming or slipping spectrum. The leds will cost $30-40, the power supply looks to be around $45, the heatsink probably around $50.

Once leds become more mainstream, I'm sure there will be a wpg-type rule. I posted earlier the sipled "guideline", which is basically the only reasonable guide there is right now. PAR is the best right now, and I read PUR is even better, but testing tools are expensive, and hard to find, and lumens doesn't measure the light plants can use, but what we see. I think lux is a better measurement, but I'm not sure how these are measured.
 
sent you a pm, sorry to interrupt, can you help?

I think it's about time I finally started this. I'm probably going to be running 12ish 3w leds (3.7v ~800ma) for a total of ~3.6wpg and diy co2. Since I can't take my 29 or my 40B with me to school, I want to be able to continue my planted tank at school, and 10 gallons don't have very good lighting to start with.

I'm also considering finally starting my baking soda co2 system. When you heat baking soda, it releases co2, but it needs to be pretty hot. I'm wondering if could run copper pipes from the heatsink to a container with the baking soda, and use the heat from the leds to power my co2. If not, I can use a peltier (thermo electric cooling) where you run it at 12V, one side gets very hot, and the other gets very cool. Electricity isn't a problem, so the efficiency of the peltier shouldn't be an issue. One problem I see possibly is condensation, but we can worry about that later. I guess baking powder can come in a liquid activated form, where when you add a liquid, it will begin releasing co2. This could work very well for this application. Either add the liquid at the beginning, add a needle valve and some container that can keep up with the pressure.

I'll post a little more once I get my budget approved (parents) and find a suitable power source. If I make two strings of 6 leds, that'd be 1.6A and a little over 22V, which is reasonable. I'm hoping to be able to be close enough to the power supply voltage to be able to not have to have a resistor in the series, but any suggestions will be helpful

Thanks!


see title, i can delete this post later.... again sorry to interrupt...
 
Okay, I ordered 10 Cree xr-e Q2 in the wc bin (6350-7000k). If I'm able to attach two "strings" to one meanwell, I'll go that route, but otherwise, I think I'll go the dimmable buckpuck route.

I'm contacting DX right now to add 2 more leds to my order. Right now, I think 3 strings of 4 leds (14.8V and 3.2A) with the ability to add a fourth string.
 
I've changed to 2x6 with a 24V 2.5A psu, that way I can add fans without worrying about resistors. I've also just ordered 15 thermal adhesive pads (in case I screw up) from nanotuners. Once I get everything, I don't think assembly should take too long, but it'll be awhile for pictures, since dx is in China
 
What I was thinking.

If I had my laptop, I could render it up all nice, I might get to that later for fun. :p

Aluminum plate with offset acrylic shield. Fans mounted up a little to draw air across the plate.
 

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That looks awesome. I was wondering what dimensions I should get it in and if there was a good place to get it?
 
I bought my koralia evo nano today, should be here by thursday. It sounds like a pretty good design.
 
Results for Heat Sinks

They now offer DRILLED AND TAPPED heatsinks! Dangit I wish they had that a month ago when I ordered a bare heatsink and went the thermal adhesive pad route...Drilled and tapped ALWAYS beats thermal adhesive!

BTW-Anyone know how to photograph a tank lit by LEDs? My camera cant get any good pics of the new tank. They all look like trash. :p

Matt
 
Is it better because you can use something like arctic silver rather than the pad, or is it more secure?

Maybe if you take the picture from above the tank looking down, you won't get as much glare? If you use optical zoom, being farther away can reduce the pixilation and glare, as well as reduce the angle downward for the picture. It'd be hard to catch fish if you're far away though.
 
Once leds become more mainstream, I'm sure there will be a wpg-type rule. I posted earlier the sipled "guideline", which is basically the only reasonable guide there is right now. PAR is the best right now, and I read PUR is even better, but testing tools are expensive, and hard to find, and lumens doesn't measure the light plants can use, but what we see. I think lux is a better measurement, but I'm not sure how these are measured.

You can take the output wattage of the light and divide by the percent of the emitted spectrum that is used by plants can't you? Assuming they give light output ratings and spectrum charts.

--Adeeb
 
1 in. x 48 in. Flat Bar 1/8 in. Thick, Aluminum - 44660.0 at The Home Depot

Something like that, if you have a way to cut into strips, you could just use one strip per series of 6 then have one piece to fasten them all together.

I decided to just buy some plate aluminum. Today I'm going to the metal shop, and they said they had 2 8x8x.5 for around 16$ each, and that way, I'll be able to add panels, so basically add 2 more panels for my 29 gallon, and add one more meanwell. A little overkill, but we want modular right? :)

Decided to go with 18x8x1/4 aluminum, which was around 19$. I just need to find a drill press or pay someone to drill/tap it for the bronze standoffs or whatever, then buy my fans and my acrylic.
 
Since I can't sleep, none of my parts for this are coming in any time soon (end of the week maybe) and I haven't really done any real calculations for my co2, I might as well start now.

1ppm=1mg/1L

Since our target co2 is 30ppm, that means we need 30mg/L or 3300mg/110L (29 gallon tank) or 3.3grams of co2. Time for some balancing of equations

Here's the reaction between acetic acid and calcium carbonate (baking soda)

CaCO3 + 2CH3COOH = Ca (CH3COO)2 + CO2 + H2O

So, 1 mole of CO2 weights ~44g, and we need 3.3g, so that means we need .075 moles of co2, or .075 moles of baking soda and .15 moles of acetic acid or 9g. Since we will be limiting our reaction with acetic acid, thus we can ignore the amount of baking soda we'll need.

Let's assume vinegar is 5% acetic acid. To make our lives easier, let's assume 1ml of vinegar weights 1g, so for every drop of vinegar we put into the baking soda, we introduce .05g of acetic acid. this means, to reach our goal of 30ppm, in an enclosed container, we need 180mL of vinegar (drops of vinegar). One problem we might see is the water in the vinegar causing trouble, but I think this might possibly work better, if the baking soda is dissolved in some water, and then vinegar is added. We could use a stronger acid such as HCL, but I was thinking vinegar is easier to get a hold of.

CaCO3(s) + 2 HCl(aq) → CaCl2(aq) + CO2(g) + H2O(l)

Now that we have our equation, now we can play around a little bit. The easiest cheapest way imo to get a consistent co2 output will be to use an iv drip line, with a container of vinegar somewhere above the "reactor".

Intravenous (I.V.) or Subcutaneous (S.Q.) Macro-Drip Fluid Administration Set

I'm not sure how to calculate how much co2 outgasses, but with a drop checker, you can fine tune the "system" much more so than yeast, you will have a more stable output, and since it is inert, you don't have to worry about your yeast culture going bad or getting some into your tank or maintaining pH within.
 
So in a 29g how much baking soda + vinegar do you add? Sorry, been a while since I worked in moles :p

So ultimately, the addition of vinegar, and the rate of addition, determines the rate of CO2 production? As opposed to a "fill it, don't spill it" and you're done yeast CO2 method.

Plz keep doing this, as I have been rather frustrated with the yeast method lately.
 
to reach 30ppm you need 180ml of vinegar and 7.5g of baking soda, and you will probably need 1-2x this much every day, which is making me think that using a stronger acid might be necessary to keep the size down.

So, lets try Muriatic acid (also known as HCL or hydrochloric acid). Quick search leads me to 30% hcl and water. Since HCL is 6x more concentrated than vinegar, that means we'll need 6x less, or 30ml per day. Problem is, because it is so much more concentrated, and a much stronger acid, problems with storage and possible accidents increase.

Another interesting idea, is to combine the yeast and baking soda, where the co2 from the yeast will lower the pH, causing the baking soda to dissolve... I think I need to find a different way to create an acid... because HCL and plastics doesn't sound like they'll go well together.
 
Leds came today, 12 cree xre q2's in the WC bin. They were smaller than I expected, so spacing should be easier than I imagined. First I need to finish the heatsink/meanwell/splashguard/fans, and then I can start mounting the leds.
 
Meanwell came a few days ago, but school has been... school... I just need to finish up the aluminum, but that might take awhile since I'm really low on money since I had to upgrade my computer recently.... Give me a few months and I'll eventually get around to it...
 
Sorry guys, I just haven't had much time lately. I think I'm going to have to put this off until Thanksgiving break. I have all the parts except the fan and the splash guard, so it will just have to wait.

For the co2 reactor, I'm using baking soda and muriatic acid. I got an iv bag with the flow control, and I think that should be pretty quick. But anyways, until then... :)
 
Anyways, here's a little update (apparently I haven't updated in 208 days...)

I have the leds soldered and wired up to the meanwell. Apparently I need a dimmer for the meanwell (got the pwm version), so I'm building that now. I'm going home next weekend, so hopefully the lights will turn on Eventually I'm going to install an arduino and try some day/night cycles.

I've switched from 8 leds or so over a 10 gallon to 24 over a 40B. I'm also starting a little 10g once this works.

So, each led (24) is going to be at around .8A and 3.6V..ish, so that comes out to be ~70W. I have a mazzei set up for co2 once I start, and ferts at home. Sadly I won't be able to monitor the tank very closely as I'm going to be at school over the summer.

Current costs:
Lighting frame:
12"x36"x1/4" 6061 aluminum plate $45
12"x24"x1/8" polycarb sheet (fan mounts) $11.47
2x Aluminum squares 3/4" X 3/4"x36" $13.34
12" X 36"x1/8" cast acrylic splash guard $19.28
2x Stainless Steel angles $16.56
misc glues/screws/bolts/wires etc ~$35

24 Cree XR-E Q2 WC bin stars $60
Thermal adhesive pads $16.56
2x Meanwell ~$50
2x PWM dimmer ~$24.00

So... so far I've spent nearly $300, and I need to buy 2x 120mm fans. I believe I'll have the light done by next weekend.

Cheers

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