Tank Swap

Is the LED in some type of case that traps the condensation?  If condensation or saltwater spray are the issue you would need to solve that problem first.  I've seen some with covers of the the LEDs themselves that may help.  A piece of acrylic and a standoff to keep it from toughing the LED?

If the person who built the custom light fixture for you understood the use of the fixture, then I would say there is a design flaw. I'd contact that person for help in figuring out how to solve this problem.

I'd put a bad review on their website then so others don't end up with a light that isn't designed to sit right above a tank, if in fact, that was your intended purpose and they knew that.  Lots of businesses/individuals seems to be trying to take advantage of building LED lights for reef tanks.  If they don't do it right, they deserve a bad review in my opinion.

Chuckfu, there is no way that thing can set 1/2 inch above the surface and survive. It needs at least 6 inches of clearance.  Normal salt spray will corrode it down in no time.  I'd do two things to it:

1) Add some optics to focus the beam and raise it up to at least 6 inches above the tank
2) Drill some holes in each corner of the heatsink. put in some spacers and cover the face with a clear acrylic sheet.

If the LEDs are in good shape and the drivers are ok, I can help you get it running.

Fat

Fat,

 

I don't have six inches to raise to up unless I take the Canopy off the top of the tank and then I loose the appealing look of the edge.  We added optics last time and dipped everything in the rubber tool grip liquid.

I could try the standoffs and the lexan.  I have also found a SCOTCHKOTE ELECTRICAL SPRAY made by 3M I am thinking about trying on the lights.  I may have to wipe them down and reapply every so often but it may save my lights.

My problem with this whole situation is the shop knew where and what they were for.  Came over and measured and designed the lights and are now basically washing their hands of the situation.  They offered to fix them and make things "right" but I don't feel comfortable ever walking into that shop again or calling and asking for help.  I believe they should have stood behind their product / design and realized the problem and came up with a solution to fix it.

Aloha and mahalo for the answers. Okay with that understanding, what we need is a way to have the lights sit close to the water but not get wet. Ahh that just gave my brain an idea that would make a 3-way no, a 4-way improvement. Please bear with me as I think this out...


1. small fan running continuously for keeping lights dry to eliminate corrosion; and
2. to provide for improved gas exchange to keep a healthy pH;
3. lights can stay pretty close to where they are with no glass cover for maximum illumination; and
4. "Glug Jug" or continuous drip for semi-automatic water top-off to keep water level constant.

Yep I believe that will do it. I might need to come visit so we can go over the details, but I think that will do it, in fact I'm pretty sure that will do the job. Let me know.

Mahalo,
Mark
808-345-1049


Edited by Mark Peterson - July 31 2013 at 7:55am

I'm just a lowly electrical-mechanical engineer with a BS and MS...and my grad thesis was only on LEDs for aquariums...so obviously I have no clue what I'm talking about...........

I think it's awesome you wanted to try for something out of the box, and I think it's great that the company tried to accomplish that for you. But, it was a high risk project. Every high risk project has a few kinks to work out in the beginning. That's engineering...that's life.

LEDs are great...but they have two main giant enemies - heat and water. In certain applications, they aren't the best choice. End of story. This is probably one of those applications. I don't know what you and the builder discussed, but I'm going to approach this as if I was the builder. (But, I did give my recommendation on what I would do to the builder to correct the problem.)

First, I would've told you that for a regular priced LED system, I wouldn't build you one that you could put 1/2" above the water with no where else for the condensation to go with no protection. Yes, it can be done, with a lot more $$$ than you probably paid for it (no offense...I don't know what you paid, but this isn't an easy or cheap application...as you're finding out.) If you wanted a tried and true system, I would've gone with a commercial system that has the engineering resources and mass production capability to get the cost down but the design proven (and a warranty). Even then, I bet all those companies would say the same thing...that they wouldn't put their fixture 1/2" above a tank with no protection.       

You have a tank running ~75-80 degrees that is trying to reach equilibrium with its surroundings. That heat sink is probably designed to run those LEDs a little lower than ~120 degrees at 6+" above the water. You have a 1/2" air gap that is trying to reach equilibrium with at least a 40 degree delta. Your poor heat sink isn't going to get help from that side at all. And it's in a canopy? Your LEDs could fry from the heat alone....

Now, you have a tank with water movement, which is going to cause some spray (whether you see it or not, it's there.) The water alone can cause serious damage to any electrical connections that are unprotected, and salt just exacerbates the issue (saltwater is much more electrically conductive than freshwater.) Look at everywhere salt creep gets. Try as you might...sealing that fixture to where salt creep can't get in is next to impossible without a cover.

IMO, this is a lose-lose situation as the requirements and LED characteristics are just too far mismatched. It was a high risk project, which always have kinks to work out. Therefore, I gave my recommendations to the builder.      

P.S. Why is this labeled "Tank Swap" when it's about LEDs?



Edited by ReefdUp - July 31 2013 at 4:00pm

chuckfu wrote: I'm confused on where the attitude is coming from in your first paragragh? Just sarcasim?

Oh, I was just trying to be silly & ironic with the disclaimer nonsense. Sorry.

I'm glad you got things worked out, and hopefully it won't be a maintenance nightmare for you. Unfortunately though, sometimes that's just the tradeoff for getting what you want.

Ok , glad to see you have things worked out with the builder. Had you bought from a big name such as AI or Radion i think you would have had the same issues. But as good as their customer service can be this would be an ongoing problem for months. As Nikkie stated with all her degree's etc and my meager qualifications as a journeyman electrician. There is only so long of a guarantee I give on parts in a high risk area when failure will happen . My labor is free to correct any defects in my workmanship but I cannot guarantee what comes from the factory. Had I built this myself I would have a time sensitive guarantee to protect the both of us but would also try to solve your problem best as I could , Hats off to whoever helped you. I see both sides of the equation.