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LED Tank Lighting Experiment with 1st look at results...

Started by Guest_Usil_* , Sep 22 2011 05:34 PM

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129 replies to this topic

#101 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 17 May 2013 - 04:03 PM

One thing which has definitely changed is the availability of reasonably priced commercial alternatives to the high power set ups. Diy still offers many advantages, but the price gap between diy and commercial has narrowed considerably. Three reef quality fixtures which will cover your tank and which you'll probably have to dim down can be had for less than $400 shipped to your door. All you'd have to do is hang them, plug them in and set the dimmers. Diy for its own sake is always cool, but if finances are a major part of the consideration......

I would like to say for the record that the $100 Odyssea T5HO that I bought, which has two 54 watt 10,000 K bulbs and two 54 watt actinic bulbs, has not impressed me. I bought two for my two 75 gallon tanks . On one of the fixtures the four blue moonlight LEDs flicker. On the other fixture, the four blue LEDs don't work at all, and the fixture burns through $20 bulbs ridiculously quickly. I have purchased five bulbs in the past month and a half. It is possible that the recent dramatic decrease in price you mention, Subrosa, may be linked to a similar decrease in quality.

In the future I am sticking with inexpensive fixtures and bulbs and DIY because maintenance cost on the commercial units is ridiculous. My favorite fixture is still my $10 Walmart four foot long 32 watt T8 fixture with two 2750 lumen Daylight Deluxe bulbs ($10 for two bulbs at Home Depot). My second favorite light is the DIY LED I made using the information Usil provided in this thread and a $7.50 blue LED strip from ebay. All lights break. At least when an inexpensive or DIY light breaks, the replacement cost for an individual part is very low. The next light I get in the future will not be one of the dramatically decreased cost high performance lights. I've learned first hand that when the moonlight LEDs burn out within a year of purchase, and the fixture starts burning through $20 each bulbs like there's no tomorrow, there's not much you can do about it but wish you'd paid less for that piece of junk. But if you Did-It-Yourself or used a low cost hardware store fixture to start with, you can just buy another $7.50 LED strip off ebay or another $10 ballast and fixture from Walmart, and problem solved.

Oh, and here is a video of the LED I put in my tank (finally). I went with blue.

Edited by EricaWieser, 17 May 2013 - 04:08 PM.

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#102 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 17 May 2013 - 05:06 PM

I've installed about a dozen of these http://www.ebay.com/...e-/180810632901 fixtures in the last year or so, and know of dozens more. Other than fans which are a bit noisier than I'd like, they're very capable of replacing and even surpassing a 250W halide, particularly if optics are installed. Plus it's a two channel unit so you can easily get the blue look and full on daylight in the same unit. The two channels are independently dimmable as well. Reliability has been very good. I have had no replacement issues yet, and have heard of only a handful. Buying from a reputable US seller is the ticket. I make no claims about the seller in the link, it was the first link to the light.

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#103 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 17 May 2013 - 05:56 PM

That link is old, http://www.ebay.com/...=item53f88cf8d7 this one works, same caveats apply.

Edited by Subrosa, 17 May 2013 - 05:57 PM.

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#104 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 18 May 2013 - 01:03 PM

What do you think of these LEDS?

http://dx.com/p/1w-8...iece-pack-65220

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#105 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 18 May 2013 - 02:11 PM

In a situation in which 1W emitters are powerful enough, looks like a good deal. As long as you're not going for very high levels of light, the kind you NEED CO2 with, they should work fine.

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#106 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 18 May 2013 - 05:38 PM

In a situation in which 1W emitters are powerful enough, looks like a good deal. As long as you're not going for very high levels of light, the kind you NEED CO2 with, they should work fine.

These are 80 to 90 lumen bulbs. 10 of them is 800 to 900 lumens. Measure lights by lumens, not by watts, and you'll see that that's not too shabby for a one in wide strip light. Output per fixture area is actually very high.

Edited by EricaWieser, 18 May 2013 - 05:38 PM.

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#107 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 18 May 2013 - 06:31 PM

3W emitters produce less lumens per watt, but more lumens per given area. About 180 to 200 total, although the fixtures I mentioned underdrive them at 2W. It's a matter of trading max efficiency for max intensity. It may not matter on a tank less than 24" high, but as the height of the tank increases the 1W emitters max out on penetration. I have seen the lights I mentioned grow Tridacna maxima clams at the bottom of 36" high tanks. T5HOs are inadequate at those depths and in the case of halides 400W units would be the recommended size, although 250 HQIs with a good quality reflector will do.

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#108 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 18 May 2013 - 10:52 PM

It appears that they are designing these LEDs specifically for growing plants. Check these out.

http://dx.com/p/gh-1...e-7-5-8v-202185

http://dx.com/p/60w-...e-22-26v-190238

http://dx.com/p/30w-...e-22-26v-190272

Usil

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#109 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 18 May 2013 - 11:48 PM

Well, here's what I'm wondering, would the one watt LEDs be worth the, albeit minute, investment to use as a means to bump up the lighting in a 12 that will be outfitted with two Odyssea 36" dual bulb T5s?

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#110 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 19 May 2013 - 06:54 AM

Well, here's what I'm wondering, would the one watt LEDs be worth the, albeit minute, investment to use as a means to bump up the lighting in a 12 that will be outfitted with two Odyssea 36" dual bulb T5s?

Necessary? Or aesthetically? A 36" dual bulb T5 will grow plants just fine. I find 100 lumens per gallon is enough to grow plants. But if you want it brighter you can always go for it, sure. The moment you start to get too much algae growing and don't like that, put the lights on a timer and reduce how many hours they are on per day.

If I had to pick a color of light to 'bump up' my existing light, I would pick blue. It's pretty to look at blue tanks, and also blue is plants' favorite color of light to eat. Both red and green plants grow wonderfully under blue light.

Edited by EricaWieser, 19 May 2013 - 06:55 AM.

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#111 Guest_rjmtx_*

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Posted 19 May 2013 - 06:38 PM

Here's my less technical study on lighting that I did on my green tree pythons. It's not aquatic, but I did use Marineland LEDs...
http://moreliaviridi...cs#reply-210449

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#112 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 19 May 2013 - 08:48 PM

The one watt LEDs seem a little low powered for good growth. Probably will look fine esthetically but I would use higher wattage LEDs. I used eight 10-watt LEDs. I have been thinking about expanding this DIY project and use the newer Plant-Growth red/blue LED's available like in the links I listed above. I am researching materials at this time.

Usil

Edited by Usil, 19 May 2013 - 08:48 PM.

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#113 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 20 May 2013 - 08:09 PM

Here are more examples of inexpensive Red/Blue plant LED grow lights.

http://dx.com/p/4-7-...-240v-961093179

http://dx.com/p/e27-...160-260v-181593

http://dx.com/p/17-1...c-90-240v-93170

The bulbs that screw into a regular socket provide a ready system requiring only a light bulb socket. Based on the price of normal home LED light bulbs I see at Home Depot the prices for what they these do are a steal.

Usil

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#114 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 20 May 2013 - 09:05 PM

Hey, so I've been putting together some different DIY LED lighting schematics for several of my set ups, and if anyone's interested, I could either post them here or start a new thread. Tank sizes include a 10 gallon, a 33 gallon with HMF and doesn't require full tank coverage, a 40 gallon breeder, a side by side 55 gallon barrel setup, and one to use as supplemental lighting for a 125 gallon.

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#115 Guest_John4ds_*

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Posted 22 May 2013 - 01:15 AM

I would like to see the one used for the 125 gallon please :D/

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#116 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 22 May 2013 - 05:23 AM

Wow, those 60W units are crazy! I can see a cluster of 5 or 6 smoking a 1000W hps for stimulating flower in plants. I would think a bit of extra blue might be in order to promote a bit more side growth to give better overall growth. And adding a separate channel of white for viewing under "normal" lighting could make a very nice unit.

Edited by Subrosa, 22 May 2013 - 05:47 AM.

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#117 Guest_John4ds_*

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Posted 22 May 2013 - 09:41 PM

http://m.aliexpress.com/item/708162650.html#!desc
Would this be good?

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#118 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 22 May 2013 - 10:30 PM

Here is the supplementary light I made for a 125. It has moonlights, too.

LED for 125 Gallon.png 56.54KB 13 downloads

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#119 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 22 May 2013 - 11:18 PM

John4ds - these are low wattage hobbie LEDs. Keep in mind that what is good for growing plants is not the same as for simply lighting the tank. These will light the tank but too little power to provide the kind of light at the bottom of the tank for good plant growth.