DIY LED

This is a good method and fairly cheap that a member here posted to his YouTube channel.
CHEAP and EASY LED aquarium light HOW TO: http://youtu.be/9QSxJymRBak
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How does the LED affect the color of the fish? I currently use flourescent bulbs and when I tried to use the regular bulbs for homes, the fishes color was terrible and appear dead

qguy said:

How does the LED affect the color of the fish? I currently use flourescent bulbs and when I tried to use the regular bulbs for homes, the fishes color was terrible and appear dead

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Hello; I switched the light fixtures on two tanks to LED in a different manner. Before telling about that let me comment on the quality of the light in terms of color. As with most types of bulbs there is a range of frequencies available from warm white in the 2500-3000 K range to the natural or daylight white in around the 6500K range. I prefer the 6500K range in any type of bulb and this is what I use.

I have an old light fixture from the 70's which took the old incadescent screw in bulbs. I tried some warm white LED bulbs in a QT and was not pleased with the color. Wal-Mart has lately been selling an LED that has the screw in type base somewhere in the 6000- 6500K range and I do like the color of this bulb. It sells for under ten dollars. I have had two in said fixture for several months. The hornwort I keep in that QT tank has been growning well.

I had a pair of light fixtures for a 55 gallon that each came with the 18 inch fluorescent tubes. They did well for many years but I wanted to convert them to LED for two reasons. First to save on electrical consumption and secondly to have a bulb that should not need replacement as often as the fluroscent tubes.

The fixtures on the 55 gallon were similar to the one in the you-tube video of this thread. I removed the fluorescent bits keeping only the main input wiring and the off/on switches. I acquired some standard screw in bases ( I salvaged them form an old ceiling light I replaced in the living room.) I drilled some holes in the ends of the fixtures and mounted the bases at each end. I made a reflector surface from some aluminum flashing and fitted that behind the bulbs. I now have four 60 watt equivalent LED screw in bulbs on the 55 gallon. I used the 6500K range bulbs and am pleased with the look. I hope to some day find some physically smaller screw in LED's at a reasonable price as these are not a perfect fit.

The cost of the change for the 55 gallon was less than $40 for the 4 bulbs. I did not have to buy the the bases so cannot say about that price. Add to that a few small stainless nuts and bolts. So say around $50 to $55 for the conversion. I initially did the conversion some time back and used the CFL type screw in bulbs with success for a while. Fluorescent tubes and CFL's tend to grow more dim over time, while the LED's are reported to not have this issue.

An additional thought. I was using the compcat fluorescent bulbs (CFL) before getting the LED's. Many CFL's are particurally sensitive to use in damp conditions but this was not an issue as my hoods have a glass plate that keeps the moisture out. I have seen LED bulbs rated for use in damp conditions and this should be taken into consideration if the bulbs will not be protected

I have these on my new tank. I've got 20 metres of them on a 7x4x2.25. They're great apart from the 3m tape is a bit crappy, it can't deal with the humidity above the tank . Then the lights end up making the tank look like it's got an led roller coaster inside. And they aren't 100% waterproof. However this is easily got round by trapping them to your lid with some thin, clear Perspex which is what I've done. Even with doing this they're loads cheaper than anything I've seen out there that's this bright. And the remote is pretty cool too with many different effects and brightness levels available.