Building My LED Light
- Thread starter traelman
- Start date
Actually I've got 3 of them and 2 of them are running the controllers for CNC Mills. The third one is just waiting for a super project to come along and I think it juat did.
Que
I wish I was a fish I wish.
Has anyone checked out a Solaris unit? Can you save a bundle by building an LED light fixture for your aquarium? Sure. Will it compare to a Solaris hood? Not unless you check out a Solaris hood and try to come up with control and monitor circuitry similar to what they produce. Their hoods are made to replace metal halide fixtures at half the power and they are designed primarily for salt water.
Here is a spec. sheet on the Solaris in case anyone is interested.
Q
http://www.solarisled.com/Portals/0/Solaris I5 Datasheet.pdf
Here is a spec. sheet on the Solaris in case anyone is interested.
Q
http://www.solarisled.com/Portals/0/Solaris I5 Datasheet.pdf
Been there and done that. I still think the off set in cost to build as to buy can be justified and if you know a PIC programmer, I'll bet the same controls can be achieved.
Everyone keeps saying how it would be so easy for someone to build a solaris-like LED panel for soooo much cheaper. Yes they are expensive, but lets look at a materials cost from a retail point of view (based on a 4' system)
120 Rebel LEDS @ avg ~8 each - $960
120 Fraen Lenses @ $3 each - $360
computer controller - $300 maybe?
power supply (x2) - $75
PCBs, wire, solder, other various sundrys - $100
Housing - $50-100 depending on what you make it out of
four PC fans - $20
For a grand total of ~$1900. Keep in mind, that is strictly the material cost. Not to mention the time it would take to hand-solder 120 LEDs and write the code for the controller. You could do something similar with a bunch of timers and maybe some variable resistors, but then you're getting away from what you get with the Solaris fixture.
Not to mention, when you buy a premade fixture, you have the material costs, plus the cost of paying someone to build it, and overhead burden rates, i.e. cost of doing business.
Is the Solaris very expensive? Yes. Is it overpriced relative to the value of the components and the utility it provides? I don't think so, at this point in time. Will it come down in price in the next few years? Absolutely, due to both advances in manufacturing as well as competition in the marketplace.
I guess my point is that, sure, you can put together a pretty decent LED system for a few hundred bucks, but just because you can, you can't say that a vastly superior product is overpriced. Its kind of like saying a Ferrari is overpriced because it costs way more than a Honda Civic.
Anyway, rant over...traelman didn't meat to derail your thread there - the system looks great, from both a systems standpoint as well as fit and finish.
120 Rebel LEDS @ avg ~8 each - $960
120 Fraen Lenses @ $3 each - $360
computer controller - $300 maybe?
power supply (x2) - $75
PCBs, wire, solder, other various sundrys - $100
Housing - $50-100 depending on what you make it out of
four PC fans - $20
For a grand total of ~$1900. Keep in mind, that is strictly the material cost. Not to mention the time it would take to hand-solder 120 LEDs and write the code for the controller. You could do something similar with a bunch of timers and maybe some variable resistors, but then you're getting away from what you get with the Solaris fixture.
Not to mention, when you buy a premade fixture, you have the material costs, plus the cost of paying someone to build it, and overhead burden rates, i.e. cost of doing business.
Is the Solaris very expensive? Yes. Is it overpriced relative to the value of the components and the utility it provides? I don't think so, at this point in time. Will it come down in price in the next few years? Absolutely, due to both advances in manufacturing as well as competition in the marketplace.
I guess my point is that, sure, you can put together a pretty decent LED system for a few hundred bucks, but just because you can, you can't say that a vastly superior product is overpriced. Its kind of like saying a Ferrari is overpriced because it costs way more than a Honda Civic.
Anyway, rant over...traelman didn't meat to derail your thread there - the system looks great, from both a systems standpoint as well as fit and finish.
Que
I wish I was a fish I wish.
It's still about 1/2 what Solaris wants. Even less when you consider bulk buying of the LEDs. I don't know where you got the $8.00 each price. I saw them for $6.99 each, and if you buy 100 - 249 the prices falls to $5.59 each. No lenses are needed with the Endor Rebel LED. Hard to tell about the controller but I'm sure a computer controlled controller can be had for a lot less than you state. A CNC controller can be had for as little as $50.00 and the computer tells it what to do and when. Power supply, why would you need 2? The Power One has two taps feeding 12 - 42 vdc, adjustable. More than enough power - $25.00 off eBay.
I really think you are trying to inflate the price to justify buying the Solairs. Hmm, maybe you work for them or have a vested interest. LOL Now, where is it made?
I really think you are trying to inflate the price to justify buying the Solairs. Hmm, maybe you work for them or have a vested interest. LOL Now, where is it made?
I have no vested interest in PFO or the Solaris product. For a long time, after I saw the solaris, I also figured I could build reef-quality lighting myself for far cheaper. I starting looking into buying the stuff and figuring out how much time it would take me to actually do it (not to mention I don't have the programming skills to do the computer part anyway) so I quickly decided it wasn't worth it to me. As far as justifying the price, I've seen them up close in person, so depending on whether the shortcomings of the I-4 series will be all addressed in the new I-5 series, I already know its worth it, especially when considering total cost of ownership with a MH/T5HO combination system.
The main issues matt, is that as you stated, thats not for plants, its for reefers where everything is already expensive. Also most planted tanks don't want or need a dimming function. While nice, I don't think it quite justifies the price. But then, thats my own stupid opinion. But they sort of do have a right to charge whatever they see fit, and seeing as how its the ONLY LED fixture out there ATM, they do have a monoply. But if they are so good with LEDs? why not build one for planted tanks? I'm sure quite a few would like to have some.
And I also disagree that it's vastly superior to a homade fixture. Home made fixtures have their place and are designed for a specific purpose wheras
BTW Greg, I wasn't meaning to say you didn't know what you were doing, its just I see no reason to spend an extra $60 when a 50c resistor would suffice?
Ehhh, like I said, I'm cheap.
And I also disagree that it's vastly superior to a homade fixture. Home made fixtures have their place and are designed for a specific purpose wheras
BTW Greg, I wasn't meaning to say you didn't know what you were doing, its just I see no reason to spend an extra $60 when a 50c resistor would suffice?
Ehhh, like I said, I'm cheap.
Well, if you were to add in a few red and blue LEDs you have just added in the spectrum of light needed for plant growth. But, if you look back at the beginning of this thread, you'll see a few photos of plant growth.
Where was the extra $60? Resistors aren't that high. I can get 1000 of them from jameco.com for a bout a penny each. THAT'S CHEAP!
Where was the extra $60? Resistors aren't that high. I can get 1000 of them from jameco.com for a bout a penny each. THAT'S CHEAP!
