DIY Reef Light HELP

oreo54 · Dec 5, 2022

hblueeyesmike said:
They lit up, flashed, went really dull and burnt out, I can get a Kill A Watt tester and plug them in and see what they run. I recently contacted Nicrew and asked what LEDs they were running in their fixtures. They told me 3w 3535 which I'm guessing maybe cree. This is a fast project and I really hate looking at this Nicrew hanging off the side of the tank but also fun doing something that hasn't really been done before. The Nicrew 50w has 12 blue LEDs that's why I chose the 6 in series on the PCB to put them into the bar lights to get 12. So far the acros seem to be loving the extra lighting. Also not sure what Taveros comment is about... The light is very close to the one I'm supplement with maybe a tad less but so far I'm happy with it. For anyone interested I'll post another update. Thanks for the help guys. What glue would you recommend?

3535 is a common diode size. Means 3.5x3.5mm square.
It's really a generic term.

3535 SMD LED

3535 SMD led has a small form factor of 3.5x3.5mm in order to protect the components to avoid moisture, with lens itself. The tight package ensures the high reliability, easy to install.

www.moon-leds.com

I'm sorry what does the Nicrew have to do with this? I missed something.

Anyways you didn't test them without being attached to the heatsink?
3w diodes heat up really fast if not properly cooled from the get go.

As to "glue" the tubes of "heatsink plaster" or similar are def. good enough.
I like Tian Mu but a pain to find, pain to figure out the right stuff and a pain to use. Dries REALLY slow.
My "research" determined it had superior thermal transfer properties to standard stuff.
About 1/10th the cost of any of the "prime" brands from Dow Corning ect.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832820240950.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt&_randl_shipto=US

oreo54 · Dec 5, 2022

Actually more like 1/5 the cost. Also one can find stuff better than 1 W/ mK
Tian Mu is listed at 1 W/mK
DOWSIL™ SE 4420 Thermally Conductive Adhesive is 0.92 W/mK and cost $100 for 330mL (420g)
That's roughly 4.2g/$1
2x 60 for $5.28 is 22.7 g/ $1

All that said one can find better than 1 W/mK (bigger number the better)
DOWSIL™ SE 4486 is 1.6

mk_reefs · Dec 6, 2022

oreo5457 said:
3535 is a common diode size. Means 3.5x3.5mm square.
It's really a generic term.

3535 SMD LED

3535 SMD led has a small form factor of 3.5x3.5mm in order to protect the components to avoid moisture, with lens itself. The tight package ensures the high reliability, easy to install.

www.moon-leds.com

I'm sorry what does the Nicrew have to do with this? I missed something.

Anyways you didn't test them without being attached to the heatsink?
3w diodes heat up really fast if not properly cooled from the get go.

As to "glue" the tubes of "heatsink plaster" or similar are def. good enough.
I like Tian Mu but a pain to find, pain to figure out the right stuff and a pain to use. Dries REALLY slow.
My "research" determined it had superior thermal transfer properties to standard stuff.
About 1/10th the cost of any of the "prime" brands from Dow Corning ect.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832820240950.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt&_randl_shipto=US

They were attached to a heat sink when tested the 3w ones.

I contacted Nicrew because I was looking to sort of replicate what the supplemental light was doing for my tank so I asked them which diodes they use so in turn I can purchase them and make a newer and improved light out of those.

The new 5w LEDs were tested with just the board for a couple seconds, I have to get them on the heatsinks before trying to run them longer.

Thanks for the link for the thermal glue.

mk_reefs · Dec 10, 2022

So far, so good. Got a Kill-A-Watt tester on everything. Nicrew 50w I was using as supplemental light, new add-on lights, the Ai Prime at peak for my settings. Lights have been running since 10 am continuously. Have photos and specs to share after first day. Supplemental lights go off at 6:30 pm. I will post an additional update. Very pleased with it so far. Anyone interested in anything else besides wattage?

mk_reefs · Dec 10, 2022

I would say first day of running these 7 inch bars was a success, I added fans to the top of the bars to help cool them although they do not get very hot, warm but not terrible.

These are the wattages of the lights over my 20 gallon waterbox. It's exactly what I was looking to achieve. I'm happy with the outcome. Thank you all for the help, may do a week and one month update in the future.

oreo54 · Dec 10, 2022

3.4 600mA is 5.67 volts.
5.67 x 6 = 34 volt bars.

Matches the driver though their wattage figure is inaccurate.

18-36v 12-18w 600mA.

36 x .6 = 21.6 watts.
18 x .6 = 10.8 watts.

Chazon 5w lists V(f) at 6-7 volts.
Posted vs in practice specs.

Anyways point is things seem...err...correct.

mk_reefs · Dec 10, 2022

oreo54 said:
3.4 600mA is 5.67 volts.
5.67 x 6 = 34 volt bars.

Matches the driver though their wattage figure is inaccurate.

36 x .6 = 21.6 watts.
18 x .6 = 10.8 watts.

Chazon 5w lists V(f) at 6-7 volts.
Posted vs in practice specs.

Anyways point is things seem...err...correct.

What do you think about reliability?

Is everything else off as far as the wattage?

oreo54 · Dec 10, 2022

hblueeyesmike said:
What do you think about reliability?

Is everything else off as far as the wattage?

Reliability mostly depends on heat transfer. So moreso on how the diode core and the "package" is built.

It is a surprise that the voltage isn't higher. Historically the 2 in series would be 6.X not 5.7V @600mA
That said Luxeon rebels can be 2.95V @ 700ma.

If you are curious I'd check the driver current.
I use this to make life easier. Of course you need the build with those plugs as well :

mk_reefs · Dec 10, 2022

oreo54 said:
Reliability mostly depends on heat transfer. So moreso on how the diode core and the "package" is built.

It is a surprise that the voltage isn't higher. Historically the 2 in series would be 6.X not 5.7V @600mA
That said Luxeon rebels can be 2.95V @ 700ma.

If you are curious I'd check the driver current.
I use this to make life easier. Of course you need the build with those plugs as well :

I'll have to make one and get back to you, I don't know how to calculate led wattage as you can see, so far it does look like what the supplemental light was doing. A cleaner looking version for me and that was the overall goal. I am a little confused at what you said when you first commented, how many watts are each bar? Is it 10.8?

oreo54 · Dec 10, 2022

hblueeyesmike said:
I'll have to make one and get back to you, I don't know how to calculate led wattage as you can see, so far it does look like what the supplemental light was doing. A cleaner looking version for me and that was the overall goal. I am a little confused at what you said when you first commented, how many watts are each bar? Is it 10.8?

W = V x A.
600mA is 0.6 A.

The drivers you bought vary the voltage through the diodes to keep the current the same.
They only do this in their design range.
In your case 18-36 volts.

mk_reefs · Dec 10, 2022

oreo54 said:
3.4 600mA is 5.67 volts.
5.67 x 6 = 34 volt bars.

Matches the driver though their wattage figure is inaccurate.

36 x .6 = 21.6 watts.
18 x .6 = 10.8 watts.

Chazon 5w lists V(f) at 6-7 volts.
Posted vs in practice specs.

Anyways point is things seem...err...correct.

My math on this;

5.7v x 6LEDS=34.2v

34v x 2 bars=68.4v

68.4v x .6ma= 41.04w

41.04w÷2= 20.52w per bar

Each bar has its own dedicated driver. I'm not running 12 LEDs on one driver. Is that the confusion or am I seriously confused?

oreo54 · Dec 10, 2022

Drivers are in parallel. Voltage doesn't add.
Just consider each bar/driver independently.

mk_reefs · Dec 11, 2022

oreo54 said:
Drivers are in parallel. Voltage doesn't add.
Just consider each bar/driver independently.

Watts do add don't they? Would still make sense combining the two drivers spliced in one power source together to get the overall wattage measurements. Not sure if you saw the driver but they do over 18w I guess they somehow can go up to 30w per.

oreo54 · Dec 11, 2022

hblueeyesmike said:
Watts do add don't they? Would still make sense combining the two drivers spliced in one power source together to get the overall wattage measurements. Not sure if you saw the driver but they do over 18w I guess they somehow can go up to 30w per.

Yes one power cord is fine and yes the kill a watt will show the 20x 2= 40 Watson that one plug.

The rating is 34 x .600 = 20.4.
I don't t believe nor would I try to push it over that rating.
Think it is a typo.
Their 900 mA description makes more sense:

39 x .9 = 35.1
They do round it to 36 watts though.

They have a max 34 v 3000mA listed as 100 watts
34x 3= 102 watts.

SteveMM62Reef · Dec 13, 2022

Type in Chanzon on YouTube, there was a lot of info there, that helped me. Also if you scroll down on the Chanzon Amazon site for your COB, There is a chart, that gives a lot of specs, on your COB.

mk_reefs · Dec 14, 2022

Still running strong no ill effects, acros seem to like it, time will tell.

SteveMM62Reef · Dec 15, 2022

For my 30 watt COB I ordered this heat sink from eBay Item # 392290290431. I haven’t received it yet, but it was recommended by another hobbyist. He said, it would need to be polished. Anything about 30 watt would need the Heat Sink with the Fan.

mk_reefs · Dec 15, 2022

SteveMM62Reef said:
For my 30 watt COB I ordered this heat sink from eBay Item # 392290290431. I haven’t received it yet, but it was recommended by another hobbyist. He said, it would need to be polished. Anything about 30 watt would need the Heat Sink with the Fan.

I put fans on mine regardless to run constantly when the lights on they work great