There are a ton of different DIY LED options out there for everything from flashlights, home lighting and we’ve seen more than our fair share for aquarium lighting purposes. ModAquatics has been collaborating with a company called Solid State Lighting to develop an integrated solution to LEDs that runs circles around the current status quo. Since about 2007 the basic concept of doing your own LEDs has been to fasten some LEDs to a slab of aluminum, and then crochet an unsightly web of wires between the LEDs to get them all the power and channels you desire; needless to say the result is more than unsightly. ModAquatics’ DIY 4-layer LED boards are designed with integrated circuits and completely plug and play components, from the drivers to the LEDs and cooling fans.
The main benefit to using a ModAquatics DIY LED board is that should you choose to upgrade your system to a different configuration, the only thing to buy is the LED board and you will be able to move over all the basic driver and LED components without having to de-solder and resolder every single last connection. If that wasn’t easy enough, ModAquatics’ versatile LED boards have instructions printed right on the board.
Currently the ModAquatics DIY LED boards come in two configurations, a BC29 that is specifically designed into the 29 gallon Biocube and the ’33’ board for more general DIY LED applications. Both boards feature all plug and play components with removable LEDs, drivers, secondary lenses and a copper layer to help with heat management. A fully loaded BC29 board will run over $500 but you can start out with an $85 board and populate it to meet your lighting needs and budget. [ModAquatics]
