# LED lights to mount on canopy ideas



## lespaulsf (Jul 8, 2012)

Hi

I have a 7ft x 2ft 200 gallon cichlid tank. I had a cheap LED rope system from Amazon that I paid $45 for about 3 months ago and has died. So currently I have no lights on my tank.

I like to stay with LEDs because I have no algae tank glass anymore, lower operating cost, and shimmering effect.

My tank has a canopy so I need LEDS lights or some short that I can mount on the canopy top. I have about 1.5 foot between canopy top and glass.

Looking for any ideas or options you all might have!


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## somefish (Sep 2, 2012)

It comes down to how much you are willing to afford , I think . You can spend serious money on this :~)

If you want cheap - Here's what I used on my 90 :









They're 10 watt LED yard lights . Daylight 6000K floods - $13 ea , free shipping from a place on line . Nice gasketed housings and true floods - no "coning" effect .
The first photos I posted of the light from these , most people thought they looked too yellow . I began to think so also .
I've since put 4 blue LED "puck" lights ($25 total) in between them , to add a little "K" value .
The light now looks WHITE to my eye , just like natural daylight , with a powerful shimmer effect . Actually starting to grow a little green algae on the upper rocks .

The tank is almost cycled now , and maybe I'll post another photo when I get fish .


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## Koteckn (May 16, 2012)

Id like to see a picture with the blue lights upgrade. If you dont mind that is. I love to see DIY stuff that I may use in the future.

H


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## lespaulsf (Jul 8, 2012)

I have a canopy to so something like that would not be possible.


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## somefish (Sep 2, 2012)

lespaulsf said:


> I have a canopy to so something like that would not be possible.


I considered that , which is why I posted the picture . Don't know how much room is in your canopy , but you said you had 1.5 feet to work with - 
Those lights are really pretty small - They measure 4 ½" x 3¼" at the lens , and hang down 4 ¼" on their brackets . 
I was impressed how small they were when I got them - I was thinking they'd be the size of those big old outdoor halogen lights :~)
They also come in 20 , 30 and 50 watt flavors , for more $$ , but maybe larger sized . Also available in blue , red and green .


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## cbechdel (Jun 9, 2012)

i hung some apollo reef LED fixtures from my wood canopy i just changed the hanging hardware wires they came with with "lifting eye bolts" i got from McMaster Carr and hung those from sturdy cup hooks screwed in the top. my canopy is 8 1/2" tall inside between canopy top and aquarium top. works perfectly.

It took me a while to fid the term "lifting eye bolt" to locate the hardware I needed, but it was the perfect solution for me.

And to the cheapo LED lights above, I actually just got 3 in yesterday from HongKong at like $17 each, mine are color changing though so I can change the colors. I'm lighting my landscaping whth them, and now can change colors with the holidays easily instead of changing out a dozen light bulbs each time, just click the remote control! and I like they can be dimmed and brightened too with remote to make nicer lighting effects.


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## metricliman (Sep 3, 2012)

How about a cheap LED light strip?


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

somefish said:


> It comes down to how much you are willing to afford , I think . You can spend serious money on this :~)
> 
> If you want cheap - Here's what I used on my 90 :
> 
> ...


 Would love to see a front view of this!


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## lespaulsf (Jul 8, 2012)

cbechdel said:


> i hung some apollo reef LED fixtures from my wood canopy i just changed the hanging hardware wires they came with with "lifting eye bolts" i got from McMaster Carr and hung those from sturdy cup hooks screwed in the top. my canopy is 8 1/2" tall inside between canopy top and aquarium top. works perfectly.
> 
> It took me a while to fid the term "lifting eye bolt" to locate the hardware I needed, but it was the perfect solution for me.
> 
> And to the cheapo LED lights above, I actually just got 3 in yesterday from HongKong at like $17 each, mine are color changing though so I can change the colors. I'm lighting my landscaping whth them, and now can change colors with the holidays easily instead of changing out a dozen light bulbs each time, just click the remote control! and I like they can be dimmed and brightened too with remote to make nicer lighting effects.


I looked and the apollo reef LEDs are over $200 a pop. How did you fine them for $17 each? Can you provide a link and some pics of your setup?


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## cbechdel (Jun 9, 2012)

No I meant the cheap LED's the poster of the DIY set up posted were $17. Apollo are definitely $200+.


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## somefish (Sep 2, 2012)

OK - In the interest of full disclosure ;~)
A couple folks asked to see a frontal shot of the tank with the additional blue LED's :










Probably not blue enough for some tastes , but it looks like sunlight to me , and I think I'm going to go with it as is .
I should do a little video of the shimmer effect - Maybe when the fish are in ............


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## du3ce (Sep 11, 2012)

u should rearrange your rocks how are your fishes gonna hide in those rock piles?


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

du3ce said:


> u should rearrange your rocks how are your fishes gonna hide in those rock piles?


 Plus one on that, not much room in there for anything..


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## somefish (Sep 2, 2012)

JimA said:


> not much room in there for anything..


Hmmm , ya' think ?
Some of those rocks are MUCH larger than they look in that shot - I think the fish will probably find a few places to squeeze in ;~)
But this is about lighting anyway ............


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## lespaulsf (Jul 8, 2012)

Thanks for high jacking the thread.

I'm still needing help with findin LEDs that I can mount in my canopy. I tried the GE ones from Home Depot but they are bright bright light that doesn't look good.


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