DIY LED Lighting

OK so I want to make my own LED lighting fr my planted 20 gallon tank.... so how would I do this.. ive read almost all the threads about these LEd makings and other experiences but I still need help on this topic... My bud suggested me these things for making my DIY lighting... is this too much for a medium planted aquarium...

1x Drilled and Tapped 4.25" x 23" Heat Sink for 24 LEDs @ $50.00

1x Mean Well LPC-60-1050 constant current driver @ $26.00

8x CREE XP-G R5 Cool White 3W LED with 45 degree White Lens @ $8.00ea = $64.00

2x Thermal Grease (5g) @ $5.50ea = $11.00

15x Wire @ 1.50ea = $22.50

1x 3-Prong Power Cord @ $2.5

Rosin Core Solder
Soldering Iron (35 watt is what's recommended if I remember correctly)
Enclosure for the driver and other electrical
Wire and connector to go from the box (driver) up to your fixture
(alternately, some people are just attaching their drivers to the heatsink/fixture)
Some kind of hood and way of hanging it over the tank.
Misc. wire nuts and other connectors.

 

Sorry don't have an answer but I'm doing a similar set up... I guess
Anyways I'm changing my hood from T-8's to T-5's
I found a speicalty light shop that never everything and can get everything within 24 hrs

 

Good luck with your project. Interesting.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

 

Depending on your currents and heat sink you may need a fan or 2 attached to it.

 

well I its LED lghts and they don't give off a lot of heat.. so I prob wouldnt need it.. thgh ill probably get one just incase.... thnx for confidence in this...

 

The lights may not give off too much heat in the light themselves, but all the electronics inside can get quite hot.... It also depends on how powerful the LEDs are, how many, and how close. (I work with 18Kw lights for a living and the ****ed new LEDs we're using for film these days get toasty on their back sides....)
That all being said, for what you've got I think you'll be ok with passive cooling, but I'd maybe look into a small PC cooling fan just in case. You'll know if you need it pretty quickly as you'll see discoloration around the electrical contact points of the LEDs.

 

I agree with crimson238 on this..a $5 fan will go along way and won't ever hurt only help. you can set it in the top middle to pull air through the unit from each end.better to pull air out then blow it in with electronics. Would also help to have some kinda cloth to keep dust out like a filter pad on the ends where air come in from.

 

I want to build an LED light for my 90 gallon. My question is, how much wattage am I going to need to have enough light for a planted tank? I also want to have a few moonlights for night viewing. Does anyone have experience or advice on this?

 

Well first locate what you can use for a base then you will be using several 3w or 5w emitters and a driver for them with switches to turn off and on the lights. As for moon lights it is going to be blue led I used a led strip light sold in the automotive section it gives off a very deep blue and only needs 12v applied to it.

How I would start is probably get a slab of aluminium plate and some PC heat sinks over each emitter I would place a heatsink and attach it with Arctic silver epoxy. Or if you could get the whole plate with fins on it that would work better.

And with a 90g tank you will probably end up making 2 lights for each half of the tank.

As for emitters your going to need to build it to have a spectrum of color. You will want to do some research on diodes that either emit 6200k-6700k white light or you may need several colors red blue and white. I think it was a cool white warm white and royal blue and red with fewer blue and red than white. Then moon light was achieved by only using the blue.

 

How DIY are you looking to go?

To expand on what Lunas said,
If you are going Freshwater only with no intentions of converting to SW, I would do a mix of Whites (Cool White, Warm White and maybe Neutral White). This should hit all your ranges that the plants will need without "coloring" the tank. You can add the blues if you are looking for a specific color, but should be good with the mix of whites.

For the moonlight, you can do the automotive, or depending on how diy you are going, you can use the blues from the build and power them through the same power supply. They also have kits which could be incorporated into the build.

If you tank dimensions are the same as this, you may have to use optics (this will depend on a few factors though)- 90 Gallon L48 7/8 xW19 xH24 5/8

As for the WPG (Watts per gallon), you can throw that rule away with LEDs. Because of their low power consumption, they cannot be converted the same as a standard bulb.

At first there seems like a lot to learn (and there is), its picking out what is going to apply to your build. For example, there is multiple ways to power your LED's depending on how you want them wired.

For the 3W or 5W LEDs, whichever you end up with, go with them for all the LED's, this will make powering them easier and heat distribution more even. For a heatsink, I would use the block heatsink with fins attached and mount the LEDs to that, this will give you the best heat transfer. I would use screw and thermal paste over epoxy or "glue". If one does fail down the road, you can easily replace it. Epoxy or "glue" is considered permanent.

Do you have any ideas of what your looking to do(hanging fixture, sitting on glass, set on tank rim, in hood..)?
What are your diy skills like (especially soldering, wire management, dc volts/amps..)?
Doing a retrofit?

Some links to keep in mind.


Outlaw

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Well I've never done anything like this before. But I usually learn really fast as long as I read something on how to do it first.

I'm thinking I want to hang it over my tank, either with a hanging kit, or make something that'll attach to my tank, and hang the light over.

I think Luna's is right about two lights. Because I have a rather think brace in the middle of the tank, my t5s hardly shine through it.

As far as color, I'm not to worried about color, just the moon lights, cause my cat fish only comes out at night, and why wife wants to have a way to see him.

 

I would definitely do 2 fixtures or one really long one.

1 really long one - likely to cost more but only 2 sides to mount on.
2 smaller units - break up cost but needs 4 sides to mount. could have frame built and house power supply and equipment with lights.


Do you know how high you want to hang it over the water? This will likely decide if you need optics. Most LED's are ~120* view angle w/o optics

Do you have a cover for the tank, or plan to shield the LEDs?

Do you have an idea of the control you want over the lights? Dimmer, each string, moonlight, just on/off..

To start:
Depending timeframe as it says currently unavailable; For the heatsink, I would check out rapidled
It is somewhat pricey but I think it would be perfect. It would look nice free hanging with the anodized black, has optional hanging kit and splash guard. 2 of them would be perfect for your size tank.


power supply really depends on if you want to run as few as possible, or independent strings. Also depends on your volts and amps you want to push. Stevesleds and Rapidled have the parts needed for either one.

Also, 3w or 5w, but I think either way you will want to mix a few whites to help the plants. Depending on the height, you want to make sure they have optics available. Rapidled has 3w and 5w whites, Stevesleds has 3w.

Dimmer. Just comes down to yes or no. You can have too much light, without a dimmer, you would have to rewire if its too bright.

Moonlight, on separate circuit with additional power cable or wired in with power supply.

There are a few other options and some I won't mention as I haven't done in depth looking into but from what I have looked into, is awesome. Ahh...arduino is what its called. I'll leave that as is though.

Hope that helps a little more.
Outlaw

 

I really like the look of those heat sinks, I'm gonna see if I can find the same kit on eBay or something, until the become available on that site.
I want to do dI'm able, and have the moonlights wired in, but have a separate switch for them. So I can have the normal white LEDs on with the moonlights, or without, or vice-versa.

I'm thinking maybe a foot or two above the top of the tank, maybe closer. Idk what's best to be further away or closer, also, is it better to have the glass tops on the tank with LEDs or just have an open top?

And I'm thinking, because I have the tank set up where my spare bedroom closet used to be(doors have been removed so it just sits in the space) I can either try and hang the lights from the clothing rack, or make something that will fit to the sides of the tank and hold the lights. I don't know which one would be more optimal for my situation, as Ive never delt with LEDs before so I don't know how heavy they can get.

 

This is all my person opinion and from what I have learned. Nothing will beat researching additionally yourself.

It would be a little more complicated, but you could make something with acrylic to cover the plain aluminum. Smoked or mirrored acrylic.

I like the pre-drilled heatsinks on rapid because I don't have the space or tools to drill and tap. Plus they are already spaced out and come with the necessary screws. If you have the tools/space to do this, the non-drilled ones would work too.

I'm not 100% familiar with the Mean Well driver/power supplies.
I would have at least 3 strings of LEDs. Or 2 if you do mooonlight with the auto leds
Using 2 Mean Well ELN-60-48P/D driver. You would also need a 10v source, the potentiometer and covers. Would just have to do some wiring to put switch and POT in convenient space:
1-3v white string of 12-14 leds
1-3v white string of 12-14 leds

Either the moonlight kit (upto 4led) or auto led. Would just have to do some wiring to put switch in convenient space
1-3v moonlight string of 4+ leds

The above can cost quite a bit because of the drivers needed for each string. But the single power supply route, you have to do strings upto 8 because its a 25v power supply and you need drivers for them. If you do this route, you would need at least 1 quad driver, this is dimmable but for all of the white LEDs. If you want more control, you would need separate drivers. For the moonlight, you can get a single driver for upto 8 leds.

NOTE- Make sure to select the max you want to drive your LEDs at (make sure not to exceed LED max). The POT with max current driver, will allow the most control without having to order new parts later.

You could use a DPDT power switch with 24v psu. PSU goes into switch, flip to 1 side it turns on whites, flip to other side it turns on moonlights, put back to middle it turns all off.

With the Mean Well drivers, you would have to run the switch through the 120v side to control them all at once. Or it looks like you could get a PWM controller for them but is an additional cost and requires the 48P driver.

---------------

For the distance above the water, it is up to you but the higher up you go, the harder it is for the led to penetrate the water. With a 2ft tall tank and wanting to be raised that high, you will want optics. This will raise the cost of the build 4 ways. 1-cost of optics, 2-more leds possibly needed, 3-bigger heatsink possibly needed 4-more driver/psu to power more leds.

If you have or go glass top, you can nearly set the light on it and not need the shield on the leds. Having it closer to the surface may lower costs over raising it. See additional costs of raising it above.

The weight of the fixture will vary. If you want to put everything into the fixture, it can significantly more then remotely mounting the drivers/power supplies. It comes down to aesthetics. If its an open fixture, do you want to see everything? At minimum, you will have to account for the weight of the heatsink, acrylic and fans. The LEDs are negligible at best. Your heatsink and power supply/drivers are going to be your bulk of the weight.

Hope that makes sense and isn't too all over the place.
Mean Well- Power supply and Driver (does both jobs of power supply and driver)
Power Supply- Power supply only (supplies v/a to fixture)
Driver- Driver only (manages power to LEDs)

Outlaw

*update
Looks like they have the 6x9 anodized black heatsink. It does cost more though.
Single 6x9 w/hanging kit and guard- $44 (x4- 176)
Single 6/20 w/hanging kit and guard- $69 (x2- $138)

 

Good morning,

A thread on LED's and Plants:


Ken

 

Sorry if i'm wrong here but I thought he was looking for info/assistance to building a fixture. That linked post looks like it was more of Yes/No type post

 

So, after figuring out my sump situation, and getting that fixed, now I want to figure out which lights exactly.

I came across in my secretive betta barracks thing (still in the works) this site called 1000bulbs.com.

I was thinking of getting the rope led light, or something similar. Since this tank is a quarter circle, it may be a bit hard to light.

So, please educate me.... Cool White? Warm White? Pearl White?

What should the Kelvin rating be for a moderately well lit tank (for low - moderate light plants)

Do Lumens incorporate into this?

I swear I should have been an electrician.

If ya'll have another suggestion, please keep in mind these requirements.

1. Can't use a lot of power. T-5 is out of the question. Has to be fluorescent (which is the upper limit) or LED.
2. Needs to be relatively affordable. Can't spend a lot of money.
3. Needs to be a bit easy to set up.


Also.... DIY moonlights for nighttime viewing? Would any blue light work?

The ropelights seem like the best option so far, but I have no idea. I want to have 1 lighting system for the sump (which may incorporate a fw fuge) and for the tank. Also would like to have a moonlight for both.


thanks in advance!:;rudolph

 

I don't think that most rope lights put out much usable light. Strip lights can, however. If you are happy with low light plants, you should be able to wire several strips together for some decent light.

Generally, you want to stay between 5,000-10,000 Kelvin for the plants. 6500 is probably ideal and readily available. It would be easy to wire in some blue moonlights, also.

Edit: I just looked at that site. Their strip lights are rather pricey and the wrong Kelvin rating for plants. You should take a look on Amazon.

 

I am working on getting these they don't get hot and are the right spectrum to grow plants

have to put a plug on them

lots of different ones led floodlight

 

If you can figure out a mount you could just use one or two of these depending on the size of the tank. Eventually I plan on putting a couple of these over my 40 gallon in order to really kick up the light. There are a bunch of options and I personally plan on using the 9x2 watt cool white bulbs. If you want to stick to just one light or two then you have the option of either 120 or 60 degrees.

 

Thanks @ The blue moonlights tho...... does it have to be a specific color blue led, or any blue led?



I think I like these.

 

I think you could go with any blue. The only time it might be important is if you were making a reef light. The blue isn't as important for a freshwater tank.

 

All your questions are answered in my complete guide to homemade led lighting.


Also the Kelvin scale of lighting almost doesn't apply to LEDs. As they can only simulate that type of full spectrum lighting with multI spectrum "white" light leds make from mixes of materials. Kelvin scale was based on vacuum bulbs with a simple element. But they still use it to tell what kind of color mix the white is. which are the most common house bulb if I remember correctly.

Edit also don't use colored LEDs for full time. Plants are made to soak up whitish light. Even certain kelvin ratings are better for most plants.

 

All you questions answered in my complete guide to homemade led lighting.


Also the Kelvin scale of lighting almost doesn't apply to LEDs. As they can only simulate that type of full spectrum lighting with multI spectrum "white" light leds make from mixes of materials. Kelvin scale was based on vacuum bulbs with a simple element. But they still use it to tell what kind of color mix the white is. which are the most common house bulb if I remember correctly.

Nice work!

 

They sell many types of strips now on special websites. Some are even multI rows but are way overpriced for what you can get for a single row and just double it with wiring. (Proved wrong XD )

Edit: that's referring to my thread sorry forgot to say that.

 

Ben3721 I don't plan on using the blue for the prime lighting of the tank, Just for simulating a nighttime environment. And thanks for the link!

Would these work? If so I think I will go with that. I have to make a custom stand anyway, and these seem to fit my specs (flexible) Would I need some sort of reflective material or would I just put them on the bar I plan to use (basically a really nice piece of finished wood)

 

Ben3721 I don't plan on using the blue for the prime lighting of the tank, Just for simulating a nighttime environment. And thanks for the link!

Would these work? If so I think I will go with that. I have to make a custom stand anyway, and these seem to fit my specs (flexible) Would I need some sort of reflective material or would I just put them on the bar I plan to use (basically a really nice piece of finished wood)

That's very cheap and good. And surface mounted LEDs only put out light forwards. Just know that these strips are veryyyyyyyy bright. So you might be able to just use a single row of double like you have there. They make single row that's just as bright but uses the same amount of power. It seems that the one you picked has a power supply too. Which is a saving. Does it have a dimmer?


And most of them are not really water proof for long term. I have mine on a glass lid so its dry

 

I chose them for the double strip....do you think it's going to be too bright, in the way that it will mess with the fish?

And I don't believe it has a dimmer, but I think they are dimmable. Lol and I am well aware about the "waterproof" claims..... busted one of my LED hoods with water damage. lol.


Probably going to get a custom glass top for this...


On the hood note..... Plexi-glass hood/glass top? It's cheaper then glass up here, hence why I'm asking.... What thickness would be best if I went with Plexi?

 

I chose them for the double strip....do you think it's going to be too bright, in the way that it will mess with the fish?

And I don't believe it has a dimmer, but I think they are dimmable. Lol and I am well aware about the "waterproof" claims..... busted one of my LED hoods with water damage. lol.


Probably going to get a custom glass top for this...


On the hood note..... Plexi-glass hood/glass top? It's cheaper then glass up here, hence why I'm asking.... What thickness would be best if I went with Plexi?

They sell plug and play dimmers that work with those setups ask Tropical Tanks for more info on that. Note some digital remote control dimmers default off when they turn back on. Is better to have it too bright and dimmable then not bright enough. Test it before you cut the strip off.
Glass is stronger and cheaper. I have a lexan lid and it flexes very easy. Have to put a support bar soon... acrylic warps from heat and water absorption (which is why its good as side walls as it counters the water pressure, but not for lids) if you do a plastic life make sure its thinker. Like 1/4inch. Beware lexan scratches super easy and acrylic can crack just like glass. But is easy to break via line scoring.

 

Ok, so a dimmer should be good.

I may just have to go get a quote, but the glass where I live is uber expensive. Either that or I may just try to find a glass top that would fit this.

 

Ok, so a dimmer should be good.

I may just have to go get a quote, but the glass where I live is uber expensive. Either that or I may just try to find a glass top that would fit this.

Edit I just saw this is for a 100 gallon. Thought it was for a 29. Yes you may need two rows of double or more idk.
I paid 12 dollars for a glass lid for a 10 gallon. I've never had a larger tank so I don't know what they do for them. Lexan is twice the cost and unbreakable but flexes to much. Acrylic is dirt cheap. But will warp if its too thin as a lid. Very easy to cut and sand. Just can crack if you hit it hard enough when working on it.


Edit: here is a picture of my glass top with custom cut black acrylic back piece since I threw away the one that came with the kit thinking it was just packaging lol. Also I had to add flex points since it warped so bad. That's what those rubber things are, they also support it on the glass a bit. Also the metal bar is for when my cat lays on my tank the glass doesn't break.





Here is my new lexan lid on working on. Having flex issues and it scratches very easy, but can be polished very easy too. Its only two pieces and I have the picture below of me holding them.
removed

Done editing this post lol. I hear about hoods. But don't they need a glass cover under them?

 

Ah ok! I got onto one day glass, and figured out what I would need. Since this is an odd shaped tank (corner tank) I don't think conventional lids will quite work.
Pics attached/


Top of this behemoth

Another shot of the top

The Front

The bulkhead with some piping.


I meant to say glass top. That's what I want to use the plexI glass for. If not, I will get the glass. Probably looking to be about the same price either way.

Are glass tops tempered glass?

 

Ah ok! I got onto one day glass, and figured out what I would need. Since this is an odd shaped tank (corner tank) I don't think conventional lids will quite work.
Pics attached/

View attachment 151931Top of this behemoth
View attachment 151932Another shot of the top
View attachment 151933The Front
View attachment 151934The bulkhead with some piping.


I meant to say glass top. That's what I want to use the plexI glass for. If not, I will get the glass. Probably looking to be about the same price either way.

Are glass tops tempered glass?

...oh that's not a normal rectangle tank haha
There are tons of types of plastics that can be used. Avoid acrylic unless its thick and don't break the bank whatever you do. A custom cut glass top would work but yeah that's not cheap. How much was the quote for?

 

About $64, but it is two separate pieces of glass, So I can make add a glass hinge that's used for regular glass tops. Still working out the plastic backstrip tho.... It's 9 inches tall, and the highest I could find was 2.5.

Maybe some really thin plexI would work, that way I can cut it to spec, and give it an uber snug fit..... 1/4" would probably work, just to cover the over flow and the standpipe I will be putting in..

What do you think?

 

About $64, but it is two separate pieces of glass, So I can make add a glass hinge that's used for regular glass tops. Still working out the plastic backstrip tho.... It's 9 inches tall, and the highest I could find was 2.5.

Maybe some really thin plexI would work, that way I can cut it to spec, and give it an uber snug fit..... 1/4" would probably work, just to cover the over flow and the standpipe I will be putting in..

What do you think?

Cool! That's a great price IMO. Also tempered glass is stronger but fully shatters when cracked or chipped. While regular glass is flexible and breaks like a dropped cup. For a fish tank tempered could be risky if it cracked. I've broken glass into my tank before... it was terrible.

What do you mean about plastic back strips?

 

Ya really got to bang on tempered glass to get it to crack. I'd be more worried using regular glass, since my cat likes to lay on the tops of my tanks, if regular glass breaks she will end up severely hurting herself and the fish. At least if the tempered glass breaks, it won't harm the fish too much, especially if there is a kitty on top. And if you look at the store bought glass tops, they have a little backstrip that you can cut for tubing, and the filter system.

 

OK so I found a great diy led video. I'm going to get everything. I'm looking to go more medium light in my tank. Its a 20 gallon tall. I'm think about 65-70 watts.when I'm looking at a roll of led it says 3 watts. Does that mean its 3 watts per led.. 3 watts per section of 3, or the entire roll?

 

It's hard to know, w/o seeing the packaging. Usually, it tells you the wattage per bulb.

What is going to make it trickier, is that wattage of LED's doesn't equate to wattage of fluorescent bulbs. Sometimes you can get a good growth effect from an LED that has lower wattage than standard bulbs. PAR is a much better way of measuring light. Unfortunately, it is going to be near impossible to find this data for rolls of LED lights. You usually have to buy higher-end LED's to be able to get that info.

 

This is along the lines of what I'm looking for.. Right now, I have a standard aqueon hood and light system, a 19w hood and 15w aqueon plant bulb. I saw one just l;ike this with more leds and a 72w power supply, Maybe Ill go with the bigger wattage power supply, and coat the inside of the plastic house gutter I am going to use as the fixture with aluminum foil to help push more light into the tank..

 

Aluminum foil is a very poor reflector. You would be better off with a can of gloss white spray paint. It will do a better job of reflecting the light back into the aquarium