New 6.5 gal tank Lit with LED's

[uberfugu]

So have you calculated the electricity draw? and when are you going to start selling retrofits?

[electroland]

ummmm not sure about the powerused .... selling retro's just make one yourself ! it really is easy.

[booboo]

Ok i have some stuff to say.

 

1.The penguin filter is ok just dont use the bio wheel

 

2.Are those runnig off a mini ballast?

 

3. Can i get some pics of your wiring and stuff?

 

4.What do you mean your selling retros?(i might want one how much)

 

5.where can i buy supplies if i want to do something similar?

 

6.When are you getting your first coral?

 

7. Oh yah one mor thing

tell me more

[ninjafish]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to say that I have been on RC, reefs.org, and canreef for a while but had to come over here because your lighting forum is on the cutting edge of... like... the future ( :

Can someone clarify the difference between the 3mm and 5mm LEDs I see for sale? (which ones did you use electroland?)

Thanks everyone!

 

- Chad

[electroland]

they are just the size of the LED and the power output. just use the 5mm ones they are the standard led's ...

 

booboo, what is a mini balast ? you can use any balest that is dc ... mine puts out 12.6 volt mine is a old computer power supply. you can use any power supply that will do 12 volts ( 12 volts is the easies to work ) my led's will take 3.6 volts so then you run them in a series like this the total draw is 14.4volts so my powersupply running at 12.6 is actually under driving this circuit.

 

if you want to do some reasearch do a search on the net led circuits or somthing like that ....

[electroland]

here is what the series of led's look like

[booboo]

what i meant by a mini balast was that was it like a tiny vho balast but as you said you just used a converter.

 

So where can i buy supplies if i want to try?

[booboo]

oh yah also what do you mean your selling retros?

[electroland]

man read it again i never said i was selling retros. you can buy all the leds from ebay thats the cheapest and best place to buy.

i am using a powersupply. you can buy them from radio shack.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ssPageName=WD1V

the secret is to find a powersupply that will provide the Milliamps.

 

just a FYI my setup with 218 leds runs about 3600MA or 3.6amp this should answer some of the question about power usage.

 

here are a few links on ebay for LED's

White LEDS

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...3846132550&rd=1

 

Blue LEDS

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...3846132937&rd=1

[manleyk]

I have had my LED lighting system up and running for three months. It's six 3W Luxeons (60-80lum each, and a couple of dollars more than the 1W's which only produce 20 lum max), with a 13W PC bulb for blue. They make a blue LED that should work well, but I didn't order any. The whites alone make a light that looks a lot like a halide. You even get a lot of shimmer. The LED's are driven by a wall wart transformer at 1amp; this is a bit easier to wire (series rather than parallel). The light is certainly bright enough; a friend who runs T5's said these were brighter.

 

The tricolor acro in the foreground has grown about 1.5 inches. The others have also grown, mostly in girth. If the corals are lacking something, I don't see it.

 

Not too bad, for $120 for the lighting.

 

There are some pics in the gallery section.

 

I like the small LED idea; no need for fans and heat sinks. Good work!

[MadTownMax]

manley - where are the pics of the acro?

 

-nevermind, nice set-up. There's someone at RC doing the same about a month ago, only testing it on a planted tank for growth - and saw good results when compared to a PC.

 

I'd like to know what kind of coral that is, if it's a montipora they really don't need much light anyway - I can't even put them in my tank.

[manleyk]

The tall coral on the left is a tricolor, I think. There is a closeup of that one in my gallery. Also, the green/tan one in the front might be acropora humilis. I'm not certain about either, so if you have more info, let me know.

 

In any case, there are 6 sps corals in there, all growing.

 

Thanks for the compliment.

[GedemeisterDK]

Its a bad idea to underrun leds, you will lose ALOT of output on those few .x volts.

 

Originally posted by electroland

they are just the size of the LED and the power output.  just use the 5mm ones they are the standard led's  ...  

 

booboo,  what is a mini balast ? you can use any balest that is dc ...  mine puts out 12.6 volt mine is a old computer power supply. you can use any power supply that will do 12 volts ( 12 volts is the easies to work )  my led's will take 3.6 volts so then you run them in a series like this the total draw is 14.4volts so my powersupply running at 12.6 is actually under driving this circuit.  

 

if you want to do some reasearch do a search on the net led circuits  or somthing like that ....

[electroland]

its not a bad idea because it gives you a buffer level from power spikes and stuff. ..... i do agree with you that you do loose output but that is expected. by running led's underpower they will last longer. also i did not have the correct voltage powersupply :-) see the nice thing about this project is nothing is a Bad idea .... you should set up a tank and run them at the correct power so i dont have to :-)

[format32]

So whats the deal with led's? Can they grow coral or not?

I have not found a link that claims this on any site. Someone want to hook me up with a link?

[Rmcm2424]

In Gomer's post on aquaticplantcentral.com he did an experiment and was able to grow plants better under LED's than PC's so I'd say they'd keep corals alive as well. I just have to say, Those LED lighting systems are freakin' awesome.

[manleyk]

format32,

I don't have a web site, but it has worked for me. The growth is better than it was under 27W of PC.

[electroland]

i finally did the power conversion that someone asked ..... my led setup is running just under 40watts. hope this helps.

 

manleyk have you noticed any effects from salt spray on the led's ? mine had salt spray on them just wiped them off with a sponge.

[manleyk]

electroland,

 

I was worried about this. The LED's are actually blue; they just have a phosphor coating that gives the right spectrum when hit with the proper blue light. That makes me worry about the integrity of the coating uder mechanical and chemical stress. I use a plexi shield; the coating should still last for 5 years with sponge wiping, but I'm hoping to get the full 10-15 from mine.

[zzpw3x]

40 Watts? Are you sure?

 

W = V * I, Watts for 1 LED = 3.2v * 0.020A = 0.064W

 

218 LEDs * 0.064W = 13.95W or around 14 Watts.

 

Did I calculate seomthign wrong here? I am assuming 20mA LED's.

 

Dale

[format32]

I am sold... Anyone want to sell me a complete setup for my 3 gallon nano?

[electroland]

check out this http://www.electronics2000.co.uk/calc/calcpow.htm

 

if you use the numbers 12.6 volts and 3600 milliamp it actually comes out the 45W and change

 

the draw on this system is around 3.6 amp or 3600 milliamp

 

i am NOT looking to sell any of these .... they really are easy to make all you need is some Lexan (from home depot) cut and drilled. this becomes your template for soldiering the LED arrays.

 

the system that manleyk is using is a bit more involved because heatsyncs are required. i am sure he can elaborate more on his setup.

[bertz_maru]

any signs of a cycle?

[electroland]

if you mean cycle period, yes my tank is cycling right now.

[Lingwendil]

Where did you buy the LED's from? I'm thinking of doing a supplement like this for my 2.5G Nano.