# Fluval edge 6G led mod



## Anoobias (Feb 16, 2012)

Yay! Brand new cree xm-l's and royal blues arrived in the mail today. Plan is to cut out and remove current lights, leaving the arms and mount heat sink in its place. 

High light fluval edge won't be an oxymoron soon with any luck. 

Will post as the build progresses


----------



## iBetta (Jun 19, 2011)

oh suscribed!  i love marine nanos, was thinking of doing some DIY moonlight LEDs as well. how much did it cost for you plus shipping? Thanks!


----------



## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

Me too!!!!


----------



## Anoobias (Feb 16, 2012)

Well I tested one last night and it was "strip your retina off" bright at 1750mA. BUT, I somehow bought the wrong driver and this one is not dimmable. On the fence whether or not to order a new one, I will need a couple more later anyway when I do a 6"x40" build, that will have drivers in parallel so I can push the xm-l's up closer to the epic ridiculous 3000 mA

All in, I paid 119. But I bought some additional stuff like another heat sink for a different project. The xm-l are 9 buck each, no U2 bin just T6. Still, potential for 1000 lumens per watt. 

I would guess that cost for the lights is about 90 bucks incl shipping. Was sent USPS so yay no duty etc


----------



## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

Which driver did you get? Are you using meanwells or something different? How many LED's do you have in all?

Subscribed to thread as well...


----------



## Anoobias (Feb 16, 2012)

I got the meanwell, non dimmable . Going to order a new one I think. 

I got 4 xm-l and 2 royal blues (run off a separate driver)

Probably going to start putting things together tonight, will swap out the driver later.


----------



## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

Pictures! We need pictures! 

If anyone is wondering, I have the 42 LED light bar on my 6 gallon and no, it's not enough at all. It's the side of the hood, light is block near the corners. If anything, the 42 LED light bar is way brighter on the 12 gallon because of the long length of the tank.


----------



## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

what heater are you guys using for the fluval edge?


----------



## Anoobias (Feb 16, 2012)

I am not using one currently. 

Btw. Pics are coming, had to head out of town, currently waiting for a flight from Flin Flon Manitoba to a mine in Sherridon Manitoba. Will be home Friday. 

I got all of the LEDs wired up over the weekend, bright! Next step is to start gutting the existing fixture.


----------



## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

Hydro 25 or 50 watt, the price is about the same. Great flame effect, horrible algae farm if you let it slide.

How much did the whole fixture and LED costs?

I'm trying to source some Heatsink and add some Cree but .... argh..... I can't justify the money when a 10 dollar CFL lamp provides a lot more light.

I mean, it's a 6 gallon for heaven sake, how does Fluval not include stronger LED's.


----------



## manmadecorals (Jan 17, 2012)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Hydro 25 or 50 watt, the price is about the same. Great flame effect, horrible algae farm if you let it slide.
> 
> How much did the whole fixture and LED costs?
> 
> ...


Did you mean hydor heater? because i can't seem to find hydro heaters...


----------



## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

Yeah, the heaters are a bit expensive but look great and are adjustable. Stay away from Fluval's fixed 26'c heater as I hear they are nothing but trash.

Anyways, I got mine from Big AL in Scarborough. The 25 w and 50 w are the same size so just grab the 50 w. 

Hydor is the correct name of the company, my mac just switched it up.


----------



## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Hydro 25 or 50 watt, the price is about the same. Great flame effect, horrible algae farm if you let it slide.
> 
> How much did the whole fixture and LED costs?
> 
> ...


Perhaps a large computer CPU heatsink would be enough for a 6 gallon Fluval?
You can add a small fan at the top for extra cooling. I think LEDGroupbuy has some new clustered LED's you can look into. Here's the link: http://www.ledgroupbuy.com/ocean-coral-white/


----------



## Anoobias (Feb 16, 2012)

Here is a quick update. note that I made a mistake and have to fix a minor width issue with filter/heat sink so lid won't go on all way yet. But a day and moon light shot with the LED set the way it is right now


__
http://instagr.am/p/KI5RL_mq6g%2F%5B/


__
http://instagr.am/p/KI5U22Gq6h%2F/

Really happy with light from the LEDs. Better planning and I wouldn't have this fix, but almost done !

measure twice cut once lol


----------



## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

Thats sick, did you use a 1:3 ratio of RB to CW? I would still like to see them over red plants, I'm not sure they can handle the warmer colors.


----------



## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

Close up pic of the heatsink and a detailed DIY, I want that mod.

How is the light with the hood on?


----------



## Anoobias (Feb 16, 2012)

I have pics from throughout the build, when I have a half hour or so I will modify my original post with details and pics. Had originally thought I would do it as I progressed, believe me it's better this way, because I can tell you several things not to do lol. I madeseveral errors along the way, all due to poor planning/rushing.

With the lid on the glare is minimized and you can't see the LEDs on the sink, believe me you don't want to be looking at those. The light spread is great, the edges I would guess are at med/high light the middle is definently high light. 

If you do this for a planted tank you WILL need co2 and ferts because the light is really bright. Fortunately there are a couple of super easy ways to mod the filter for co2.


----------



## FlyingHellFish (Mar 7, 2011)

Updates on the build? Pics of the build? I'm sick of this desktop lamp I have.


----------

