DIY LED Lighting for 10G Tank

[jcali10]

Has anyone ever thought about building an LED fixture? It seems there are limited options for lighting a 10G planted tank; either expensive CF fixtures or those spiral CF lights in a $20 incandescent fixture.

I don't know enough about LED lights yet, but I think it would be a neat little project. I found this website for the lights. I'm not sure how to power it, or which light would be best yet, i.e., luminous intensity, wavelength in nanometers, or light angles, but I think this is something I would really like to do, especially if it could be done at a reasonable price. I remember Sean brought one to a meeting at Rick's house, the topic was lighting. It was very interesting. Lighting is a very technical subject, it is easy for me to get lost in it.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/led_prods.htm[url]

[jcali10]

After searching for more info, it seems the preferred LEDs go for about $4 or $5 apiece, and they require a constant DC current source so this idea may be a little more costly than anticipated. I must have been looking at the wrong LEDs at first, the cheap ones that are not suited for aquarium use.

[ingg]

It is currently alot more expensive than it looks at first glance, and you hit why - you need to have some rather advanced electrical knowledge (as in build the circuit board ot run them without blowing them), some rather advanced building skills (the higher end LED's require aluminum heat sinks and heat sink solvent connection based mounts) and the LED's themselves are no joke to buy either on the surface - though given their life they are actually the best bargain of the build.

[jcali10]

Yeah its a little complicated, with circuit design, you have to do some math and as it applies to ohms law and series parallel circuits. You have to be able to solder, and have an ESD safe environment, though it's hard to imagine these diodes being that sensitive to static discharge.

[JSnyder]

Interesting you should touch upon the subject, I'm adding 6x 3w Cree Leds to my t-5 ho reef light for a total of 36w t5-ho and 18w ho Led. Almost everybody doing any type of diy led aquarium lighting are using Cree xr-e 3w Led's, They have very good output, and are reasonably priced. see http://ledsupply.com/creexre-w100.php They need to be mounted on an aluminum heatsink with thermal compound (artic silver 5) as Dave stated above. The need a constant current driver (buckpuck) to be run properly here. http://ledsupply.com/03023-d-e-1000p.php And your constant current driver needs a dc power supply to run. Once all is said and done, you will spend A LOT, for my 6 led array it cost close to $170, something to light a 10g will be significantly higher. Now for the trade off, provided you keep the leds cool (within spec) and running them for approx. 10hrs a day, it is quite reasonable they will last for around 13yrs. Unlike bulbs (t-5, pc, mh, etc.) leds spectrum's don't drift when they get old, you don't have to replace them every 6-12 months, they run cooler, They add 'shimmer' (if your into that thing) and they draw less power than any of the other lighting technology's out there now. This ultimately means you bite the bullet in the beginning, but in the long run you save on replacement bulbs and electricity. If you want some more info or need help PM me.