DIY LED Lighting

[Sweety]

Hi all Just been given a 24x15x12" tank & I'm wanting to use LED lights due to the lower running costs but i'm not keen on the price of the off the shelf LED light units so want to make my own up as I like DIY anyway. I found some 48 SND LED light panels on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/T10-501-B...185?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d00ba8f59 the light panels put out 6000-6500K & i'm thinking of using 2 white ones & poss a blue one as a moon light, i'm just wondering if these light panels will put out enough light to grow plants under ? I know Anubias nana will grow under them fine & so should Java fern but not sure if vallis or other plants will. I set up a small tank (13x7x7") for my wife's platy's to give birth in & to grow the fry on a little & found that the blue colouring in the fry seams to really show up under the 2 festoon 3x SND LED car bulbs i've got over that tank & like the colour of the light

 

[Mike Wise]

Out of curiosity, is there any problem using LED bulbs designed for incandescent sockets? I'm thinking of all of the old stainless steel incandescent hoods I have laying around.

 

[viejo]

It works for me Mike. I wish that they would come up with a color-enhancing LED 'gro-lite'.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all

Out of curiosity, is there any problem using LED bulbs designed for incandescent sockets? I'm thinking of all of the old stainless steel incandescent hoods I have laying around.

I don't think so Mike. The only problem would be they get quite hot, which reduces their life.

I've been using E27 "Cornrow" LEDs for about a year now, and they've worked well.

cheers Darrel

 

[Sweety]

The LED panels i've ordered are cheap enough to replace every year but hopefully they'll last longer as they are going to be suspended around 8" above the tank so there should be enough air flow to keep them cool well I hope so if not i'll have to fit a little fan to blow air across them

 

[viejo]

I suppose you could install mini-fans in those SS hoods. Wish I had kept mine-20/20 hindsight!

 

[wreidfishguy]

My LED lights are the best investment I have made for my aquariums in years.I have 1 current with a remote that I can dim and even do thunder storms with it on my 65 gallon planted tank the 2nd is a fuval that is on my 40 gallon planted tank my plants are growing better and I the fish colors are even better.I have a 29 gallon and a 20 high that I will charge the lights very soon

 

[Mikemm]

something to try. I made two. gut an old fixture. install led light strips/kits avail on amazon and ebay. if you cut the strips you'll need to solder them in parallel to the voltage source or dimmer control. I have 3 strips 6500K cool white, 2 strips blue, and 3 strips RGB (red, green. blue) led inside the hood. DO NOT get the water proof light strips as they have a thick silicone covering which is a beast to remove before soldering. the rgb circuit is on a color controller with dimmer which allows me to add about 50 different colors to the tank. the white and blue are on the second circuit with a dimmer only and intensity only is altered. the interior of the gutted fixture was metal (chrome?) and no heat sink or fan was used or needed. Another fixture which was made using the leftover strips from the first kit only required new power sources and dimmers/controllers. I had a scrap piece of aluminum bar installed, again without a fan to act as a heat sink as the inside or the fixture was plastic.
if you want to play around with just adding some color tints to an existing fixture, just add the rgb kit and play with the different tints. Since the leds are not waterproof, make sure it's sitting over a clear tank cover.