- Location
- Westbury NY
I have decided to upgrade my 45g deep blue tank (48x18x12) from T5's to LEDs. I have decided to use the RapidLED Dual Aurora Puck Kit (Dimmable) http://www.rapidled.com/dual-aurora-puck-kit-dimmable/ I am getting the APEX hookup cables with the "D" drivers. I also went with the two 6''x10'' heatsinks instead of the one 6''x20''. I did this because I can easily position one with a single puck on each side of the center brace. I also went with the wide angle optics because the tank is only 12'' deep and I have to mount these under a canopy. I have 7'' from the top of the canopy to the water level.
About the tank:
The plan for this tank is SPS and Clams. It also has a Merten Carpet Anemone and a Bubbletip Anemone. I have a few SPS frags right now but not much. I have a Red Sea Maxima Clam (5-6'') and a Dersa Clam (4-5''). Both Anemones are also in the tank already. My main reason for switching to LED's is that the 4 bulb T5 retro wasn't generating enough light for the clams. I had to add a small LED strip directly over the clams to meet their needs. My tanks are also in my office in the basement and heat is an issue.
I actually have a 90g and the 45g plumbed into the same 30g sump right now. The plan is to also convert the 90g but I am using the 45g as a test bed first. I picked up a RS-200 sump to replace the 30g sump and a Jaebo dc9000 to run everything instead of the litany of pumps I have in there now. That should also help with heat a lot. I run an ARIID reactor, a reactor with carbon and a Avast Marine CS1 skimmer.
The reason I am writing this up is when I was researching the Aurora puck I couldn't find any build threads with someones experience. I figured this may help the next person researching them.
Here is the description of the kit from the RapidLED site
For full spectrum color lovers this is the ideal kit! You'll get 4 channels of control and 7 colors of LEDs! All LEDs are from our regular stock and each puck contains 4 XP-G cool white, 4 XT-E royal blue, 4 XP-E blue, 4 Violet UV, 2 XP-E Green, 2 XP-E Red, and 1 XP-E Red-Orange.
Channels are arranged as follows:
Channel 1 (1000mA max) - 4 royal blue + 3 blue
Channel 2 (700mA max) - 2 green + 1 blue + 2 red + 1 red-orange
Channel 3 (1500mA max) - 4 cool white
Channel 4 (700mA max) - 4 Violet UV
This solderless kit comes with:
I ordered the kit on Monday and it says that it will be at my house today
I will take unboxing photos and such and would appreciate any tips or help along the way.
About the tank:
The plan for this tank is SPS and Clams. It also has a Merten Carpet Anemone and a Bubbletip Anemone. I have a few SPS frags right now but not much. I have a Red Sea Maxima Clam (5-6'') and a Dersa Clam (4-5''). Both Anemones are also in the tank already. My main reason for switching to LED's is that the 4 bulb T5 retro wasn't generating enough light for the clams. I had to add a small LED strip directly over the clams to meet their needs. My tanks are also in my office in the basement and heat is an issue.
I actually have a 90g and the 45g plumbed into the same 30g sump right now. The plan is to also convert the 90g but I am using the 45g as a test bed first. I picked up a RS-200 sump to replace the 30g sump and a Jaebo dc9000 to run everything instead of the litany of pumps I have in there now. That should also help with heat a lot. I run an ARIID reactor, a reactor with carbon and a Avast Marine CS1 skimmer.
The reason I am writing this up is when I was researching the Aurora puck I couldn't find any build threads with someones experience. I figured this may help the next person researching them.
Here is the description of the kit from the RapidLED site
For full spectrum color lovers this is the ideal kit! You'll get 4 channels of control and 7 colors of LEDs! All LEDs are from our regular stock and each puck contains 4 XP-G cool white, 4 XT-E royal blue, 4 XP-E blue, 4 Violet UV, 2 XP-E Green, 2 XP-E Red, and 1 XP-E Red-Orange.
Channels are arranged as follows:
Channel 1 (1000mA max) - 4 royal blue + 3 blue
Channel 2 (700mA max) - 2 green + 1 blue + 2 red + 1 red-orange
Channel 3 (1500mA max) - 4 cool white
Channel 4 (700mA max) - 4 Violet UV
This solderless kit comes with:
- Two Aurora Pucks (21 LEDs each)
- Two regular or wide angled lenses (will need to be glued on using the included Arctic Alumina)
- One 6" x 20" drilled heatsink with splash guard (holes not used for these pucks) or two 6" x 10" non-drilled heatsinks with splash guard (for tanks longer than 30")
- One 6" x 20" non-drilled heatsink with splash guard or two 6" x 10" non-drilled heatsinks with splash guard (depending on your heatsink choice)
- 2 x Mean Well ELN-60-48D and 2 x Mean Well ELN-60-27D or 2 x Mean Well ELN-60-48P drivers and 2 x Mean Well ELN-60-27P or 2 x LDD-700HW drivers + 2 x LDD-1000HW drivers + SE-350-48 power supply (if you have any questions on what controllers are compatible with these drivers please email us at [email protected] or call us at 650 692 9500). Also, ALWAYS ensure the current output on the drivers is below the maximum threshold for each channel.
- 1 set Arctic Alumina
- 4 Driver Jumpers
- 4 Solderless LED Plugs
- 4 Puck to Puck connector wires (4.5", 6", 12" or 36" length)
- 4 power cords (US + Canada orders only) if ordering the ELN-60 Mean Well Drivers
- 1 92mm Vantec Fan per heatsink (not pictured)
- 12V Adapter (not pictured)
- DC Jack Adapter (not pictured)
- 1 Y-shaped Hanging Kit per heatsink (not pictured)
- Fan Y Adapter (if ordering 6" x 10" heatsinks)
- Fan Extension Wires (if ordering 6" x 10" heatsinks)
- I have to have a canopy on my tanks because I have cats. I was planning on mounting this by instead of using the hanging kit get four long screws and attach them to the heatsink like the hanging kit attaches. then put a nut down to secure the heatsink in place. I was then going to drill holes through the canopy put another nut onto the middle of the screws. Then feed the screws through the canopy and secure them with a nut on the outside. Then take the nut I just screwed into the middle of the canopy and fasten it to the inside top of the canopy. My question is it ok like that with heat transference or should I see if I can drill a whole through the canopy for the fan and secure mesh on the outside? I am not sure I can even do this because of structural integrity of the canopy but if I can is it a much better idea? It also makes me nervous because I am not a DIY guy and I am not sure how well that hole will come out
- The LED's have four channels right now
Channels are arranged as follows: Channel 1 (1000mA max) - 4 royal blue + 3 blue
Channel 2 (700mA max) - 2 green + 1 blue + 2 red + 1 red-orange
Channel 3 (1500mA max) - 4 cool white
Channel 4 (700mA max) - 4 Violet UV
What percentages would you start out with for each channel? I was thinking 50% max on channel 1 and 30% max on channel 3 but I have no idea what to do with channel 2 and 4. I was thinking of ramping up 5% every two weeks. Does that sound right? What should be my end goal percentage?
I ordered the kit on Monday and it says that it will be at my house today
I will take unboxing photos and such and would appreciate any tips or help along the way.
