# White LED's



## fishEH (Sep 15, 2008)

Is anybody using white LED'S for their main tank lighting?

I have three tanks with Blue LED's for moon lights. I thought the white LED's migths work well for the main lighting as well.


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## fishEH (Sep 15, 2008)

Does anybody who isn't using LED's have thoughts on using them for my primary lighting source?


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

No experience here, but my thoughts? To me there might be a problem with too intense light in a limited area. For smaller more flexible lighting than the standard tube gives me, I am using home built bulb holders and mini-twist CFL.


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... 8&start=15
As the post shows, the light output from the strips just didn`t match up to normal lighting.
It is a nice effect, but not a direct replacement for flouro as a main light source, for me anyway.


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## fishEH (Sep 15, 2008)

You wouldn't happen to have any pictures of your lights?


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

its all a question of how many....i now have over 100 individual leds lighting my 150g and its fine... and way better quality than any tube light i tried and i have tried quite a few.

this video was when i only had 50 
..




but the cost is high at the moment but it will come down in the future... for sure.


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

fishEH said:


> You wouldn't happen to have any pictures of your lights?


Sorry, I am "in between cameras" at the moment. I used to be able to borrow my sons`..but he broke it. 
Truthfully, with the strips I used, even if I doubled the amount..It would still not match the single tube T5. 
I have seen some LED projects that were every bit as bright..just can not remember if it was CF or MFK where I saw the posts.


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## davespeed3 (Mar 29, 2009)

I've stopped using Fluro lights for normal illumination in my 220g Tang' setup, they're still installed but I only use them during cleaning. I currently have a couple of Blue Led's and 3 White Led's (1ft strip lights) its not enough but its not far off. I think we are used to seeing Aquariums brightly lit up, or we need a lot of light for plants. However if trying to create a deep lake look I think its possible to get a more realistic look using Led's, that way you can have dim shaded area's and shadows for the fish to retreat to and well lit area's for viewing and feeding. Also you get a 'dappling' effect as the surface water moves across under the lights. I've tried taking pics but they're not good enough yet to illustrate my point, but I'll keep trying.
I use the white lights to illuminate the front of my tank and the blue to the rear, my Wild Caught Frontosa seem much more relaxed and I can view them easily, I am going to increase the amount of strips with more white and maybe another colour. Anyone else tried this or got some good idea's ?

Cheers,

Dave.


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## tsmi031 (Sep 22, 2009)

Davespeed ... how long are your strips and where did you get them from??


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## bntbrl (Apr 23, 2009)

I was going to experiment with leds. You can get them in 10K color and even actinic now. I talked with a manufacturer briefly that claims that the output matches or exceeds PC lighting (depending on how many of course). It also produces less heat and uses less electricity. He claimed that it was a better option for lighting especailly smaller tanks but they sell lights that are intended for larger saltwater tanks, even growing corals.


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## davespeed3 (Mar 29, 2009)

tsmi031 said:


> Davespeed ... how long are your strips and where did you get them from??


I'm just using the 1ft flexible strips, 3 white connected in series to a mains plug which gives 45 seperate lights, and a 1ft blue strip. I'm using cheap ones from e-bay while I experiment and try to get the right amount of light. By having several different units you can vary the effect in the tank, each set can be dimmed by a switch on the mains plug also.


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## fishEH (Sep 15, 2008)

Apparantley it has been done. A little too steep for me though.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1587273[/code]


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

maybe i didnt absorb the finer points of the article but ... why all the fans and stuff..leds run quite cool?? ...you could just lay down strips in a normal overhead aquarium tube fitting (minus the tube) ..if it isnt enough then just add another. It all works on car voltage.


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## fishEH (Sep 15, 2008)

zazz said:


> maybe i didnt absorb the finer points of the article but ... why all the fans and stuff..leds run quite cool?? quote]
> 
> My guess is because he was a saltwater guy and was really into overkill. LED's do run quite cool which is one of their benefits.


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## Sprintz (Sep 22, 2009)

I have 4 VHO's (all 48" 2 atinic blue and 2 atinic white) on my 90 cichlid tank (former reef) and it looks very natural (blows standard lighting away).


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## JacobF (Aug 21, 2009)

That project is drawing nearly 4 Amps, it definatly needs active cooling.
Its for a reef tank meening the energy output needs to be high, not just the light output.

If making an LED unit for Cichlids or the like you can prob cut those material costs in half if not more easy. You could also make additional savings with the running costs by not running them with DC.


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## fishEH (Sep 15, 2008)

I'm not an electrician but I get by. How does one go about running LED's that are made for DC off of AC power. Or do they make AC powered LED's?


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## JacobF (Aug 21, 2009)

You would use an AC rectifier
The most simple method for this is a single diode for half wave rectification.

Sorry my post was somewhat wrong & misleading.
To get energy savings you would still use DC, but it would not be constant voltage.


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## fishEH (Sep 15, 2008)

Ah, I see. Apparantley I have much to learn, just no time to do so!


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## Jeepguy (Mar 19, 2008)

I did LED's over my reef tank about 4 years ago. I only have two comments to say as I am pressed for time.

They tank a long time to build, and mount correctly

The light they put off is fantastic!

OK, maybe 3, I will do them again for sure if I could find a good 220V transformer to step down power and not waste a ton of it!


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

my simple mains to 12v transformers run warm but they are well away from the tank.


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## marik (Sep 15, 2009)

that guy's led project isn't using normal leds. Those leds that he has would burn out if they aren't attached to a heat sink. I have 2 of those wired in for my car's trunk light and it is BRIGHT.


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

just thrown a couple of magenta gells under two main banks of leds to warm them up a bit... works a treat. Might buy some more ..very addictive.


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