diy led lighting freshwater fish only

[shaunpp]

hey guys ive been looking into creating my own diy led unit but i am a bit dumbfound on what wattages and amount of leds i would req on a 6'l x 3'd x 2'h tank fish only tank. i plan on making 3 panels max size 15" x 30" to sit in between my brace bars as its a ply tank and would waste light to cross these. i was thinking around 16 leds per panel 3 watt each led total of 48 w per panel 144 w total a mix of bright and warm white and maybe a few blue. or what about just 3 hp 50w bright white leds. theirs a hell of a lot of info out there but mostly for reef or marine tanks any help or advice appreciated thanks.

 

[O2surplus]

If you're only keeping fish and don't intend to grow plants, then not a lot of wattage will be needed. Take a look at some of the "high power" arrays offered on Ebay. The 50 and 100 watt leds have come down in price and can be purchased cheaply. Your tank dimensions are similar to mine, so I know that 3 50 watt arrays would work just fine. You may even want to experiment with some RGB leds as you'd be able to adjust the color temp to you liking. I've been experimenting with these lately and they really make the colors of my fish "pop".http://www.ebay.com/itm/160930241724?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

 

[shaunpp]

Thanks for the advice and the link those Rgb leds seem great it's nice to know a rough wattage to aim for thanks

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[rbarn]

Instead of (3x) 50W LED's you are better off running a bank of 3 watt Cree's
The optics of those higher wattage LED's is very critical to get any kind of spread out of the light.

While a bank of 3 or 5 watt Cree's spread over the entire surface will give you good light penetration and better spread.

The Cree XP-E 3 watt or XP-G 5 watt would make a nice light and they come in a range of colors.
http://www.cree.com/led-components-and-modules/products/xlamp/discrete-directional/xlamp-xpe
http://www.cree.com/led-components-and-modules/products/xlamp/discrete-directional/xlamp-xpg

 

[shaunpp]

Ok that makes sense spreading the light with small leds not sure if I'm capable of a complete custom job I would need some direction from a kit or such like. what do you think about using a normal gu10/mr16 fitting led bulb with 3x3w crees would they be good enough they claim 6500k and 900 lm I only mention as they would be very easy to change and move. I think I would need around 12 bulbs could do a mix of warm/bright and Rgb


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[O2surplus]

Instead of (3x) 50W LED's you are better off running a bank of 3 watt Cree's
The optics of those higher wattage LED's is very critical to get any kind of spread out of the light.

While a bank of 3 or 5 watt Cree's spread over the entire surface will give you good light penetration and better spread.

The Cree XP-E 3 watt or XP-G 5 watt would make a nice light and they come in a range of colors.
http://www.cree.com/led-components-and-modules/products/xlamp/discrete-directional/xlamp-xpe
http://www.cree.com/led-components-and-modules/products/xlamp/discrete-directional/xlamp-xpg

3 watt Cree's are fine ( I running 90 of them), but the multichip emitters are much easier to employ. They require less wiring, smaller heat sinks, and plenty of optics are available.