First build - HDPE arches

Hey guys,

First time builder here, and all of the options available on the market kind of puts me into overload. Looking for some guidance on what "appropriate" gear I should get for this project.

I'll be making 10 2" HDPE arches to line my driveway (5 on each side). Each arch will house 150 (I think 12V WS2815 IP65 strips). After that I know I need a controller, power supply, and a wireless network controller; but there are so many options I'm not sure which type would be "best".

I will be expanding my display beyond these arches and in close proximity so I'd like to have something that has extra capacity for future projects.

Given those parameters (and if I missed anything jist let me know) what should I be looking at for hardware?

I have 25,000 traditional LED lights all over my 5 acre farm so I'm not a stranger to lighting projects, but addressable LEDs opens up a Pandoras box. Appreciate any help!

Yeah, strips or seed pixels in HDPE or PEX is popular for arches, mine are much smaller than 2" (and PEX) because they were brighter, and strip because seeds weren't available yet when I made them. Try it on a small amount of the pipe before you get a whole spool.

I always had an issue with the connections on my custom strips when I cut and soldiered them. I switched over from strip in pex to just bullets in coro to make my life easier.

If you are using strip, design the arches around the length of strip you are using. It might not be a bad thing to order custom lengths of strip for it.

Also, decide if you are going to use 12v or 5v for your show and design the entire show to use the same voltage. You can mix and match but then it just added extra complexity to the situation.