mattrox Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 A while back I did some LED lighting using the cheap 120cm strips of white LEDs from e-bay. I was introduced to a new and cheap LED light modules. ($3 per module plus shipping from Canada... and the guy who ordered them was in WA so $8.50 extra to get mine here to S.A.). They cost like $98 all up and I did 4 x 3ft tanks and 2x 6ft tanks. They come in a string 1m long with 10 modules, so I had to cut them to get the spacing right. I spaced them about 30cm apart so that I could use one less module than the tank length in feet (ie 5 modules for a 6ft tank). I started off using crimps to join the wires but soldering was actually quicker. I linked them into my existing 12V 5A power supply as it had heaps of extra capacity. Here are a few pics. Testing out a sting of 4 modules over 2 of the 3ft tanks. A comparison shot of the tanks. Left: the strip lights, Right: New LED modules. They are a lot brighter and have better colour characteristics than the strip lighting. Most pleased with the result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwah Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 ok now tell me these lights are still available for purchase look great by the way love to come see this setup one day seeing as your around the corner.. i should post pics of mine up here, all tangs and less tanks but a fish room nethertheless.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattrox Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 You can get the LEDs here. http://www.pcboard.ca/shop/product.php?pro...mp;bestseller=Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkw Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Looking really nice -- nice looking units too. Any one tried these units in blue for moon lighting? Or would it look too much like a disco? -Dkw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattrox Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 You can use the blue ones for moon lighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam_J Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 looks awesome , glad all these ideas are popping up just before i build my room Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayT Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 looks awesome , glad all these ideas are popping up just before i build my room same AdamJ ... already made notes from Matt's previous thread but these look even better. Cheers Matt. Regards, JayT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattrox Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Just to put things into perspective electricity wise. 1 $30 5A transformer from Jaycar can drive 69 of these units. That is 23x 4ft tanks lit up. Or 13 6ft tanks (with LEDs left to do a 4 ft or 2x 3fts) This is more than adequate lighting for a fish room. For a display a couple more units per tank would be ample. Total cost $3x69 (for 23 tanks)=$207 + shipping. for LEDs ooops sorry for the typo Bwah $30 for tranformer...... Solder, silicone to seal joints etc ($20) (ps I don't have 23x 4ft tanks just to illustrate what can be done with 1 tranformer, there for one power point) Total Electricity: Power 0.864Wx69=58.4W That is less power than a 4ft tank with double fluoros........ This is a very simple DIY and I have not seen a less expensive or energy efficient way to light up tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwah Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 3x23=207 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam_J Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 3x23=207 ? 3x69 = 207 which does 23 tanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam_J Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 http://cgi.ebay.com.au/5-12V-White-4-LED-P...=item230fb36949 wonder how these would go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matsout Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Any chance of a front on shot to show how bright they are and what sort of colour. im looking at getting some for my 6ft mbuna display. cheers Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwah Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 $3x69 (for 23 tanks)=$207 + shipping. for LEDs ooops sorry for the typo Bwah haha thats cool, i thought u might of meant 207 inc postage and was concerned that postage was going to be heaps.. just checked site, seems pretty reasonable so i think ill be ordering some for my 6ft and 4ft tanks thanks for the heads up on the cheap lighting... again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattrox Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 What I have done will not be suitable for display but if you arrange modules on a 6ft x 16" with 13, 4 over the front lids, 5 down the middle and 4 long the back lids you would have a lot of light. that could be run off a 1A transformer and would be consuming 11 W of power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwah Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 not for display tank, just fish room tanks.. currently dont have any lights on tanks as they are in sun room, but now its winter by the time i get home its nearly dark in there and i hate waking up the fish to feed/look at them just ordered 12 for $40 inc postage.. gotta love the strength of the AU$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matsout Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Hey guys, By not being suitable for display do you mean the light quality or the amount of light you are producing is not suitable? What I currently have is a 4ft tube above the tank because I like the light falloff to the sides so I'm looking for a way to recreate this with LEDs, for a few reasons, space under my hood would be greater, the electricity bill, the colour (hopefully) and I'm looking for that shimmer effect. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattrox Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 In the case of the LED modules you can increase the number of modules to get the light intensity bright enough. The colour of the light is fine for display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crick13 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 A while back I did some LED lighting using the cheap 120cm strips of white LEDs from e-bay. I was introduced to a new and cheap LED light modules. ($3 per module plus shipping from Canada... and the guy who ordered them was in WA so $8.50 extra to get mine here to S.A.). They cost like $98 all up and I did 4 x 3ft tanks and 2x 6ft tanks. They come in a string 1m long with 10 modules, so I had to cut them to get the spacing right. I spaced them about 30cm apart so that I could use one less module than the tank length in feet (ie 5 modules for a 6ft tank). I started off using crimps to join the wires but soldering was actually quicker. I linked them into my existing 12V 5A power supply as it had heaps of extra capacity. Here are a few pics. Testing out a sting of 4 modules over 2 of the 3ft tanks. A comparison shot of the tanks. Left: the strip lights, Right: New LED modules. They are a lot brighter and have better colour characteristics than the strip lighting. Most pleased with the result. ive had my leds running off solar panels for about a year, they work great... i bought them from jacar electronics and they are water proof apparently! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phenomena Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Just to put things into perspective electricity wise. 1 $30 5A transformer from Jaycar can drive 69 of these units.... How do you work out the transformer size (by voltage/amp) to drive the leds? Are your running the leds in series? Do you need an led driver? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattrox Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 Just to put things into perspective electricity wise. 1 $30 5A transformer from Jaycar can drive 69 of these units.... How do you work out the transformer size (by voltage/amp) to drive the leds? Are your running the leds in series? Do you need an led driver? Thanks. The led modules are rated 12v so the 12v DC is a must. I chose 5A for the capacity to drive lots of LEDs. The units can only draw so much current, 72mA to be exact, so you chose the amperage you require. I didn't do anything special with regards to drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwah Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 finally got around to setting up some myself.. heres the standard 3' phillips 30w fluro heres the 9 led modules and the two combined verdict well obviously the led's are not as bright as the fluro, but at a fraction of the power use they are great! not quite sure what these 9 are using (mattrox?) they also have a whiter spectrum and bright out blues really well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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