Fluval Edge DIY LED lighting

I've seen a number of threads come up regarding the Fluval Edge. The big issue with it is lighting. This is the lighting I came up with. It is a diy setup, with 8 x 3W Cree leds. 5 Royal Blue and 3 Cool White. Not that pretty, but you can't see it once the cover is on anyways.

The unit sits on the lip of the raised rim opening. Basically, the 4 long stainless steel bolts extend down, but don't go all the way down to the water. They hold it in place in the acrylic rim around the tanks opening. There is also an acrylic splash guard which is definitely needed. I didn't use any optics as it takes a lot of spread to get the corners. In person it looks more evenly lit than in the photo. It is very bright.




And our Edge

 

wow. Very nice. Those tanks are really cool looking but the stock lighting seems to be worthless. Good work.

 

Nice! Cree DIY FTW!
You use dimmer? Does the heatsink get warm/hot? My heatsink never gets warm, probably because there is no housing yet.

Good work tho.

 

how much did it cost you to make if you dont mind me asking? and was it especially difficult?

 

Thanks all

norg, the stock lighting is definitely worthless. Huge spotlight effect, very yellow and the halogens might be too hot in the summer.

exactlyobp, I didn't bother with a dimmer, I think if it was a big fixture on a bigger tank, that would be one thing. On this, I didn't think it would get any use. No detectable heat at all, even milimeters from the leds. There is a lot of metal there and the fan works great.

Tadpole1mill the lighting was under $100. Just basic soldering and some drilling, cutting etc... for the fixture. If you can do those things, it is not very difficult at all. Took less than 2 hours and that included some tweaking to get the thing to fit and some trial and error figuring out how to get decent light spread.

 

Fluval Edge 2 DIY Lighting System Upgrade with LED light and Timer

I have a Fluval Edge 2 aquarium and just recently updated the lights and the manual switch.

You can see how I done step by step on this address:
Fluval Edge 2 DIY Lighting System Upgrade with LED light and Timer





Cheers,
Peter

 

Iv also seen some small off brand par bulbs used on an rdge as well, however this probably works much nicer.