# My DIY 36" LED ADA Fixture and Stand for my 48G Rimless



## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

wow. just amazing.


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## Jeff.:P:. (Sep 8, 2009)

Very impressive, very clean well done!


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## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

This is awesome in every sense of the word. 

I love your LED array. I imagine you can get anything from no light to very high light with that. 

I plan on lighting a 46g cube with a similar number of XPG and XRE. 

Nice work!


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## tzen (Dec 31, 2008)

Nice slab of aluminum.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

What an impressive setup! I wish I knew what was going on with the wiring but I don't! I'm still doing the research before I order my supplies. Should be soon though!


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## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

As a side note, if you added some 60 degree optics to your array, you should have no spotlighting from the height you have it set at (no promises though) but you should be able to get the same PAR numbers at about half the drive current.


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## Im2Nelson4u (Feb 7, 2010)

xp-g Optics are pretty hard to come by right now and are still pretty expensive. im going to wait until they go down in price before i put them on


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## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

They aren't too bad. They are about $1.25 each at Rapidled.com, but they're out of stock at the moment. 

I have some optics I got from Satistronics.com that are dirt cheap, about 40 cents each, but they only fit XRE. I think they have some that fit XPE/XPG but it's hard to tell from their description. 

The XRE optics I bought are actually quite good though. Very crisp, i was surprised at how good they are.


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## Im2Nelson4u (Feb 7, 2010)

Does that price include Holders? Last time I checked the optics cost $3-4 each including the holder. Also are they clear lens or the honeycomb thing

Originally I had the led layout with 45 degree optic in mind to make sure I had no light spill and focus all the light on the substrate.

Unfortunately I soon found this pattern was really hard to tap and wire so i decided to do an even spread of LEDs to make it easier.


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## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

Whole shabang. . Both from rapidled and Satistronics.

Theirs is the "honeycomb" judging by the pic. I use the honeycomb texture over mine and it works fine. I prefer the flat clear type, but I'm not sure it's a huge deal.


You can get the clear XP optics from www.ledgroupbuy.com, but they are slow because they are a true group buy format. You have to wait for the group-buy date, wait for it to ship to his place, repacking, and shipping from Canada to your place. 

I placed an order for the Jan 23rd buy and they haven't shipped to my house yet, but the price on their LEDs is worth it. 


I will forwarn you. You may have to resolder some of your optics if you get the ones from ledgroupbuy. 

The ones at Rapidled.com seem to have a smaller footprint and wouldn't cover as much of the solder pads as the XP optics from ledgroupbuy.


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## Im2Nelson4u (Feb 7, 2010)

I still have a ton of XR-E holders left over from another LED project so I'm hoping if I can just pop out the optics and put in a compatible XP-G optic.

lol those group buys take forever. I got fed up waiting so I started my own group buy on the SCAPE site while ago. We ended up ordering around 120ish LEDs for about $4.50-$6.00 each. If I knew plantedtank had people interested I would have done it here instead.

You dont really need to resolder if you can get the right holder. The holders I have can simply be glued on or use those spare cuttouts where you screw them in and best of all they dont get in the way of where your suppose to solder.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Im2Nelson4u said:


> I still have a ton of XR-E holders left over from another LED project so I'm wondering if I can just pop out the optics and put in a compatible XP-G optic.
> 
> lol those group buys take forever. I got fed up waiting so I started my own group buy on the SCAPE site while ago. We ended up ordering around 120ish LEDs for about $4.50-$6.00 each If I knew plantedtank had people interested I would have done it here instead.


no group buys allowed here :frown:. I take all my group buys over to scape as well. Like the one for the NA Rice fish going on. I really wanted part in that.


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## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

Group buys end up being a pain in the rear. I ordered my LEDs on Jan 22 or so, and am still waiting. They haven't been shipped to my place yet. 

I totally understand it with the site I ordered from since he's at the mercy of the supplier for each group buy.... and his LED prices are very reasonable. 


But the long wait can be a pain. Especially if you're the local dude heading the group buy and things don't show up when everyone wants them....


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## prjct92eh2 (Apr 8, 2008)

Finally! I've been waiting for a 36" LED build to pop us so i can get some ideas. Which color and bin are the led's from? Any par measurements?


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## Im2Nelson4u (Feb 7, 2010)

I'm using Cool White XP-G R4 Bin. I'm waiting to take for some Optics before I take any PAR measurements.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

did you ever get any par measurements?

How high are you driving the LEDs? 1000ma?


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## Im2Nelson4u (Feb 7, 2010)

No measurements yet, I'm gonna try to borrow a par meter from someone but I think it's enough light as the plants are doing really well.

I'm driving them around 1A. I updated with some pictures of my HC pearling from the lights on the 1st post.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Your hood looks sick. I hope mine will look that good. One thing that is nice about these LED fixtures everyone is whipping up is they can look super clean and minimalist. I would prefer a hood exactly like yours but I think I will have to settle with sheet metal, curved and welded with a couple braces to hold its shape.


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## Im2Nelson4u (Feb 7, 2010)

You should try to use the thickest metal you are able to bend. I tried this with some Home depot metal and they ended up looking like crap.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Thanks for the tip. Maybe I can get a fab shop to make it nice. How thick is your aluminum?


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## audioaficionado (Apr 19, 2011)

Get the largest galvanized sheet metal ducting pipe you can find and open it up and have the edges trimmed off.


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