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DIY Led

2K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  jeffkrol 
#1 ·
I have been doing a lot of research on DIY leds for planted tanks. The tank I am building the light for is 96x24x20.
The plan is to aim for medium - high light. I am considering the Philips Luxeon Rebel ES Cool White and Warm light in a 1:1 ratio, 2 rows of led since the tank is pretty wide with about 18 leds on each row spaced 4 inches apart. I would run the lights at 700 mA.

What do yall think? Will this be enough light to cover the whole tank?
 
#2 ·
No.

I have a 40G 48" tank width a depth of 16" with 80 watts LED.
It is not high light for me, there are RB's and UV's in my fixture.

Twice as long and 4" deeper.
I would wild guess 200-240 watts LED with dimming, just in case.

I'm sure others will have words of wisdom on this.
 
#3 ·
Your initial led count is to low to reach "high" light. I think you'd be better off aiming for "high" light and then dimming them to reach the "medium" level. For a tank that large- take a look at the larger, more powerful BridgeLux Vero led arrays. 12 Vero 18's ( 6 warm, 6 cool ) will get you to the "high light" Nirvana that you seek. Take a look at my build thread, it may give you a few ideas-O2surplus's 6' New LED Build.
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
How deep is your tank O2? Since my tank is only 20 inches deep do you think 14 Vero 13's would work?

Well since my idea isn't going to work help me design one that would work. Might just aim for medium light as I'm on a budget and go back and add more leds later.
 
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#5 · (Edited)
First off are you going w/ a controller or what?
Do you mind surface shading? Are you going to hang it or not?
do you want effects?

what is your preferred shade.. crisp blue white or amazon yellow or somewhere in between?

Your initial design is fine (w a few modifications depending on some of the above factors).. if you double it...
a "commercial" baseline fixture...
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...e-good-for-fresh-water/117944_1794918796.html

Using Vero's will save you a bit on LED cost (possibly 1/2 the price) but at some limited choice of "color"
A shorter 4 channel design..
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/180w...-simulate-sunrise-storm-moon/32321308933.html

This will give you a price point to start..
 
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