The future of aquarium lighting - CHECK THESE OUT
- Thread starter jcardona1
- Start date
Thats a terrific looking lighting system!Itll be a few years before I can afford them but man I would love to use those.
badisbadis101;2213960; said:What about DIY versions? I am sure your could buy LEDs and make a cool fixture for them
The big problem I see with building a DIY LED system is getting the right wavelengths of light. Most "white" LEDs are a blue/white. You'd almost have to use a red/blue/green (RGB) LED as the base and get control circuitry to modify the ampreage to each colr to get the best results. I'm not saying it can't be done it would require some desing work to get the best results, and it could get costly. Or possibly create an array of LEDs of various colors to get the desired wavelengths in the concentrations desired...
There are some very powerful LEDs that could work very well but the fixture would have to incorporate some form of diffuser to help with the tight disperstion angle of the LED lens. The first higher power LED that comes to mind is the Luxeon Star LEDs they are very, very bright. They do require heatsinks to prevent them from overheating and shortening the lifespan of teh LED (or simply keeping them from melting if you have an enclosed array). So it would also have to incorporate a fan (or liquid cooling for the truely adventurous and extreme) for the fixture design. Of course there are several very good and silent computer fans that would be very easy and with a custom fxture it would make it a simple thng to integrate.
Unfortunately, my understanding of optics is limited so full design of what LEDs would be required for the correct wavelengths of light are beyond my realm of understanding.
A power supply also becomes an issue. LEDs require a DC source and for the normal through-hole or surface mount LEDs they require between 3 to 5 volts. The Luxeon Stars and other high output LEDs are generally around 9 to 12 volts. The 9 to 12 volt range is perfct for most computer fans to power them so that would make the design easier. The difficulty comes in trying to find or build a reliable, compact, high amp, 9 to 12 volt power supply.
The other great thing about an LED aquarium light is they can be made very water resistant. I hesistate to say water proof because that is an all or nothing situation and I dont like those.
Miguel;2223720; said:
Thanks, it let me get my geek side out. I'm not sure if there are any other electronics geeks here, if so it could be fun to design a fixture.
Did you design and build the lighting or are the commercial fixtures? I'd love to use LED lighting but the commercial fixtures are unfortunately beyond my price range at the current time. LED it the future of lighting (both for aquariums and in many other applications).
Sorine;2223728; said:
Great info fellow geek! I have seen some isolate the right wavelengths to effective use them for their planted. It's in the aquaria.info planted section and is "made easy for everyone" by that I mean it's so complex you need an EE degree to do it. I'll see I can rustle it up.
I don't care for it much actually. I am not saying its bad but that modern looking of a thing is not my slyle at all. The color of the water is amazing, but as far as the above tank view I would want to cover that thing up.
