LED Fuge Light - DIY

[sNEIRBO]

Oh yeah! Definitely powerful enough to go through the glass. That's not a bad idea. If you could cut off the black plastic cover off the back, just big enough for your light, that would be pretty cool. Like you said, you could even mount one high, and one low to cover the whole chamber. You would probably still need to rotate the chaeto on occasion I would think. The side that was up against the tank divider would still not be getting a lot of light. Give it a whirl, and make sure you let us know how it turns out.

[MBavsh]

I really wanted to make my own, I even went to radioshack and got a circuit board. But there weren't any 11,000mcd white leds up for auction on Ebay.

 

Just put my order in on superbright leds for the 36 array.

[steelhealr]

I still stare at the 'curly' circular fluorescent light in the large packet at Costco..it's about 13 watts. Also, at Home Depot, there are hand held worklights with small fluorescent tubes in them...hmmmmmm. SH

[rickjg]

Originally posted by MBavsh

I really wanted to make my own, I even went to radioshack and got a circuit board.  But there weren't any 11,000mcd white leds up for auction on Ebay.

 

You don't need to buy LEDs on Ebay, just go straight to the source

They also have the boards & resisters you will need

www.besthongkong.com

[cubenoob]

Any updates on these fuge light setups. Im thinking of ordering one of the arrays from superbrightleds.com and sealing it in an acrylic box. I want to put a fuge in chamber 2 but am afraid of light spillage. This seems like a great solution to the problem if the spectrum will work.

[lavalars]

Here is my completed mod:

 

[rickjg]

Clean Look

[lavalars]

Thanks! I'm actually thinking about trying to light an entire tank (like a 20L) with LEDs. Think its doable?

[rickjg]

Originally posted by lavalars

Thanks!  I'm actually thinking about trying to light an entire tank (like a 20L) with LEDs.  Think its doable?

 

I think it is far cheaper to use a 150 MH, T-5s or PC lighting

and you would be much happier with the results.

LED lighting might be OK for small Pico tanks, but not a 20L.

Do some searches on reefcentral.com under LED lighting

before you spend a ton of money & time.

[lavalars]

Probably a good point... It does seem to work well for a Fuge though, I'll post an update once my chaeto is growing

[cubenoob]

Well, I went ahead and ordered my LED board a couple days ago from superbrightleds.com and got it today. After cutting off the connector and attaching a 12v adapter I had laying around I find out that the middle two rows of LEDs does not light. I really hope that they will exchange it even though I chopped the end off. Kind of useless with only half of the lights working.

[lavalars]

Let me know, because 6 of mine dont work also.

[fiftymillimeter]

huh. i got mine yesterday too and completed the mod last night.

 

i actually didn't have a 12v adaptor so i used a 9v that i had lying around. works great.

 

when i was testing the led on a 9v battery, though, the middle lights didn't light.

 

i mounted a small radio shack project box to plexiglass, drilled through both and threaded the wires, soldered them to the adaptor, taped the whole thing up with electrical tape, then superglued another piece of plexi over the box.

 

slides in and out great, no light leak.

 

here's a pic of the completed box, and lit… now to get some chaeto.

 

 

[cubenoob]

Lavlars, which module did you order? The 24 or 36? I ordered the 24 and 12 of them dont light.

 

Fifty: I cant tell from your pic, but do all of the LED's light on your unit after you attached the adapter?

 

Is anybody else having problems with all of the LED's not lighting? Thats already three people that are having trouble, maybe it has to do with removing the bulb base? Im still waiting to hear back from superbright but I hope they will exchange it. Even though I snipped the end off that doesnt change the fact that the light is flawed. Besides they cant reuse the board even if I hadnt changed it because of the epoxy and clearcoat on it. Ill let you guys know.

[fiftymillimeter]

yep, they all light up. maybe try a different adaptor. like i wrote, when i tested the leds off of a 9volt battery, the middle lights did not come on.

[lavalars]

I ordered the 36. I actually had a problem where the negative connection wasn't quite working at all, so I had to mess around a bit. I may have actually burned one out myself, causing all 6 to break, I haven't pulled out my multimeter to find out. I am using a 12V 500mA adapter, so I know my power is correct.

[sNEIRBO]

I've had a 36 LED light from SuperBright.com for over a month now - all 36 lights still lit. I'm using a 9.6V adapter (an old Black and Decker battery charger adapter) and mine are working fine.

 

My first try was a 24 LED light - I goofed that up because I tried running it unprotected. I think the SW rotted the wiring / solder.

[cubenoob]

I am using a 300mA adapter, Im gonna have to find another one and try it out. Maybe its the adapter but I doubt it.

[rickjg]

Is anyone wiring up resisters to the 36 LED light from SuperBright.com?

 

Or do they come with resisters pre-wired to prevent the LEDs rom burning out?

[nanocuber]

Has anyone tried the LED lights that wannabeafarmer found (http://autolumination.com/fixtures.htm)? I like them because they come totally sealed and all you need to do is stick them to a piece of plexi and wire them to an adapter. Plus it seems that people are having problems with the reliabiltiy of the ones from superbrightleds.com. I was looking at the "8 LED Dome & Utility Lights". They produce 90,000 mcd of light, is that enough for a 2nd chamber fuge with some cheato? The 36 LED one from superbrightleds.com produces 180,000 mcd.

[sNEIRBO]

I'm not sure what happened, but my Chaeto crashed. I went to rotate it last night, and it was just a slimy ball of slop. I'm not sure if the LEDs were not a sufficient light source, or something else might have caused it to crash. When I pulled the slimeball out, I noticed one of my pieces of LR rubble had grown tube worm (don't know if it's a Feather Duster, Coco Worm, or what) about 3 inches long. Is it possible for a Feather Duster to cause chaeto to crash?

 

BTW - I moved the LR Rubble with the Tube worm out of the setup tank and plopped it into my NC that I'm still water testing. I'm curious to see exactly what this thing is.

[lavalars]

Originally posted by Rick J G

Is anyone wiring up resisters to the 36 LED light from SuperBright.com?  

 

Or do they come with resisters pre-wired to prevent the LEDs rom burning out?

 

They come pre-wired. All you need to do is buy a 12volt 200-500 mA Power Supply and wire it up.

[calvin]

I just set up an AC 500 fuge for my via aqua and I'm thinking about giving the autolumination led's a try. I can't decide if I want to get the 24 led version (1.25" thick) or two of the 3 led version (.75" thick). They're both wide, 100 degree angles and waterproof. even the larger one is still thin enough not to be touching the water when I mount it. I'm thinking about attaching the sticky back directly to the inside of the ac 500 hood. any thoughts?

 

Oh, btw, I wouldn't get that 8 led version. It has a narrow 45 degree angle.

[TTU_reefer]

Im looking at these LEDs...im thinking of the ones from autolumination.com beacause they say they are 480,000 MCD with 24 LEDs and water proof. Think this will do it?

[TTU_reefer]

Im looking at these LEDs...im thinking of the ones from autolumination.com beacause they say they are 480,000 MCD with 24 LEDs and water proof. Think this will do it?