Modular LED makes it easy to be a DIY demon

By on Sep 29, 2011

Modular LED is taking the pain out of putting together DIY LED aquarium lights. DIY has always been a huge component in the hobby and many people have been doing their own Frankenstein rigs of LED lights. Anyone that’s put together a DIY system will tell you the cost, time and knowledge to do it right can make it a tough investment to commit to in the long term. Enter Modular LED — a plug and play method that is making it simple to create your very own LED light with just a few simple tools.

The company has everything from LED boards that can be connected with simple, prefabricated jumpers to full-on LED kits with LEDs, heatsinks, cooling fans and drivers and all the other fixings you need to get your badass LED light up over your tank in no time.You can buy individual components or opt for a complete fixture kit.

Instead of using the typical LED star approach that required individual tabs to be soldered together, Modular LED uses boards with two LEDs and that connect by a snap-in cable to really make it plug and play. These aren’t any cheap LEDs other, they use the same CREE XP-E LEDs you get in high-end fixtures giving you a bright appearance and low energy draw.

Not sure what to do with these LEDs but want to get started? They have complete kits with all the LEDs, cables, drivers, heatsink, power supplies and everything else you need for your light. The company even has a series of videos to walk you through the steps of gluing LEDs to a heatsink, attaching a driver, how to attach LEDs with the connectors and more.

Overall, this is a really cool concept and allows you to get a decent LED aquarium light for a reasonable cost. The biggest benefit is the plug and play nature makes the time investment much lower, most likely resulting in less stress and headaches in the long term. Pricing is pretty decent with a 2 LED moonlight system running you $36.25 on the low end to $845 for a four-foot, dimmable LED fixture with 36 LEDs.

 

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  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JJKAECJPHONJW33PSPLKQRMBGI J

    It’s just as easy to build a fixture with the solderless connectors and it’s a lot cheaper; I built a 4′ 60led system for about $500 and it couldn’t have been (too much) easier :)

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3LLNDZ5XJ6ZQ76J2VLDUQD5WOA Micheal

    Nice idea, but at that price you might as well buy a fixture premade for you.   $845 for 36 LEDs?  That ends up being $23 per led,  now while I’m sure that includes drivers and heatsinks, that is a bit pricey.   

    That said, I’ve built something similar to that for my tanks.   However their connectors are a lot nicer than mine (what I could find at home depot)

  • Anonymous

    I spoke with Martin today, he is a real great guy, knows his stuff, and I think his concept really bridges a missing gap in this hobby, allowing not so techy guys in to have a go at buidling their own fixture.

    I also dont think its all about cost either, but the rewarding factor of achieving your own custom built Light fixture

  • Anonymous

    Have they figured out a way to use the solderless connectors on the star LEDs and be able to use optics as well? Last time I checked, several months ago, that was the biggest problem with them. 

    This product would certainly not be for me, way to expensive and looks hard to replace 1 LED if it goes bad. I built a very nice 48 LED fixture last November for around $600, almost a year later it would now cost a little over $400 to build the same thing, much cheaper than this product and more LEDs. 

    I commend the Mfg for thinking outside the box and trying to fill a gap that is legit, I just don’t think this product quite does it, but for a first attempt I will give them an “atta boy” for trying.

  • http://www.facebook.com/Sammy.San Samuel Gonzalez

    I’m not a huge fan of these boards as the only option right now is Cool White and the LED scene is moving towards warmer spectrum. The price is a bit high but keep in mind when they say 36 LEDs each board has actually two (72 total) plus it is designed for the not so DIY’ers out there. Overall, its a good approach. I’d really love to test some of those LEDs

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JJKAECJPHONJW33PSPLKQRMBGI J

    Yes, you can use Carlco optics with the JBJ solderless connectors :)

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JJKAECJPHONJW33PSPLKQRMBGI J

    Yes, you can use Carlco optics with the JBJ solderless connectors :)

  • Mike Mathews

    These boards are awesome. So bright, and their new bulk pricing structure makes them pretty much the cheapest LEDs you can purchase Cool Whites for $4 per LED is pretty hard to beat. They also just got in all their new colors Blue, Red, Green, and Neutral White. I recently put one together for a 4 foot tank in about 1 hour. 

  • Mike Mathews

    They have Neutral White too. 

  • Mike Mathews

    They have Neutral White too. 

  • Mike Mathews

    Not sure where you got that price from. Their 36 LED kit is $340 and that includes the drivers. 

  • Mike Mathews

    Not sure where you got that price from. Their 36 LED kit is $340 and that includes the drivers.