DIY Lighting? 6x2x2.5?

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K

kageh124

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Mar 14, 2012
468
2
33
MD, DC Area
I think I'm going to go this route and I was wondering if someone could provide some examples of what they did. My tank is 6x2x2.5 and I was thinking about just going to Lowes/Home Depot to get what I needed. My setup has a canopy already with mounts that the previous owner built in for his lighting system. So, since the mounts are already int he canopy, I figure I just need to put a lighting system together and call it a day.

Tips? I'm honestly not looking to spend a lot...

I was thinking about starting with the LED Rope lights? Has anyone ever used these as well? If I end up going this route, any suggestions on what to mount the lights on? Whatever I mount the lights on will end up being mounted on the canopy.
 
I've been looking for lights for a little bigger tank but close enough. You can get cheap LED fixtures on ebay but I dont have experience with them. Im still trying to decide what to do my self. T5s are cheap and have been a hobby staple for awhile, you can pick them up at home depot.

Here are a few links to some lights I've been checking out on ebay.

http://stores.ebay.com/topdogsellers/LED-Freshwater-/_i.html?_fsub=337558819

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=271091361358&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123
 
You get what you pay for guys. I never understood why so many people on this forum have such awesome set-ups with tanks, stands and filtration only to throw a "shop light" over it.

I highly recommend you look into a DIY LED lighting system. An array of 3W crees can be done very affordable and look just as nice as $500+ commercial units. Tons of info out there on the planted tank forums of guys making DIY LED systems with quality parts. Only thing they are missing at the end is the fancy OEM outer case.
 
I recently built a DIY LED for my 6'x2'x2'. I would recommend it if you want to spend the cash. It looks great. You can see it in one of my threads.
 
TheBigB said:
Do you mind telling us about how much you spent? Just trying to get a rough idea....
Click to expand...

quit being lazy, lol.

This took all of 6 mouse clicks to find.

There are also the new Ecoxotic freshwater Panamora modules. They run $80 pop + a $25 MeanWell power supply.
http://www.ecoxotic.com/panorama-led-modules.html

[video=youtube;okByBNrfm20]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okByBNrfm20[/video]

Well... I'm in Canada so I have to pay duties and brokerage fees as well once I get them since they're coming from the USA. I have no idea what that will cost, but it won't be cheap. I bought supplies from the websites of RapidLED, and Heatsinkusa.

From RapidLED:

Lens Width: 60 Degree, Driver Type: P (PWM), Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive, Wire Length: 6", LED Color Ratio: 18 Cool White 18 Neutral White 12 Royal Blue)
$385.00 USD
2x 80mm Vantec Stealth Fan Kit
$86.00 USD
AA Battery LED Tester
$2.00 USD
Arctic Alumina Thermal Adhesive
$7.00 USD
30 feet Bulk Wire (Black)
$7.50 USD
DDC-01 PWM Controller w/ remote control
$75.00 USD

HeatsinkUSA:
2x 1.813" Wide Extruded Aluminum Heatsink
(Choose Length (Inches): 72")
$97.92 USD
Click to expand...
 
I have a setup on my tank of that size that uses 1 white string and one blue string. I had a triple bulb fixture that the stater went out on and the two strings of leds were less expensive than a new starter, so I gave it a try. The brightness is about equivalent two two 4' flourecent bulbs. The rope lights I got came with mounting equipment, so you might be able to use that. I would recommend putting some reflective material around the lights, since the rope lights emit light in all directions, you could then get more of the light going into the tank. The rope lights don't provide the spot light effect since there are several small leds that distribute the light more evenly.

Here are some picures to show how I did it. They are low quality phone pics but it should give you an idea if that is what you are looking for.
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1110121117.jpg

1110121118.jpg

1110121118a.jpg
 
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