DIY LED Light Question

[Cory Keeper]

luxeon rebels can crank as much light as the xr-e but use more power, plus they will pass current through to the heatsink so you have to use some kind of insulating compound.

No they don't, not unless something is seriously wrong with the star they are soldered to. The bases are insulated just as the crees are.

I know cause I'm using rebels, plus Artic Silver 5 which IS conductive IIRC.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

And nothing on it comes apart easily so some breakage is going to be required to do anything with it. Humbug.
Is there any hope for doing anything with this? or should I resign myself to it until such time as I can buy/build a better light and figure out a way to attach it? I like the idea of LED but it is a bit pricey still.

Obviously I'm not there to look the housing over and figure where the screws are hidden or where the molding can be split and opened for disassembly. But if it was mine and I had to deal with weak lighting I would take it appart and install AC 110 wiring and small socket for a 100W or 60W equivalent florescent twisty bulb or smaller version. I have done it with other lighting fixtures that had tiny weak 30W incandescent bulbs and replace them with 18W florescent (100W equivalent) bulbs with great results. But that me.

Once the Cap and Trade legislation starts taking effect and utility prices triple, Ill definitely have to become an exspert in LED lighting.

 

[DoctaQ]

No they don't, not unless something is seriously wrong with the star they are soldered to. The bases are insulated just as the crees are.

I know cause I'm using rebels, plus Artic Silver 5 which IS conductive IIRC.

well ive never used them but i read that they were on nano-reef, at any rate, they are still like 33% less efficient since they need to be driven to 1500ma to produce as much as the xr-e at 1000ma, while the xp-g is even more effecient.

 

[keno]

I just recently built a DIY LED light fixture for my 55 gallon planted freshwater aquarium. I used 12 Cree XR-E Q5 emitters. I've had it running since January 5th. The plants are doing great. I did put together a series of articles on my aquarium blog that goes into the details. Here is a picture of what it looks like along with a couple of plant photos. All the plants are doing well, with the glosso going crazy. If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to try to answer them....