EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Improvements > Lighting
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 12-01-08, 09:26 PM   #1
bennelson
Home-Wrecker
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: SE Wisconsin
Posts: 546
Thanks: 3
Thanked 165 Times in 96 Posts
Default LED Fish Tank Lighting

Since I had a few spare strings of LED X-Mas lights, I was wondering what else I could do with them.

They are ideal for something that needs not too much light, but is on all the time.

Hmmmm. How about my aquarium light?



If I had a good way to point all the individual LEDs straight down into the fish tank, they might light it up fine.



The first thing to do was scrounge my garage for material. I need something thick enough to drill into and insert the LEDs. A soft material would be ideal, as it would have some give to it.

Scrap foam! Perfect!

I roughly measured the area of the fish tank to cut the foam to.

The light string has 40 LEDs, and I wanted them spaced even in two rows. So I magic markered the half point (20 on each side) and two rows (10 on each side) and divided that in half (5).







Then all I had to do is drill 5 holes, roughly evenly spaced in each area I had marked out.

Start at one end and stuff LEDs into the holes.

Put on fish tank and turn on!

Total time: about half an hour.
Total cost:
Scrap foam - free (already had)
LED string light - $2

2 bucks for custom LED lighting! Not bad!

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
bennelson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-08, 10:10 PM   #2
SVOboy
Administrator
 
SVOboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 291
Thanks: 3
Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts
Default

Those are some lucky fish.
SVOboy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-02-08, 06:15 AM   #3
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

Cool idea Ben. Any idea on the energy savings? I think most fish tank lights are already CFLs, no?
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-09, 08:45 PM   #4
dremd
Need More Eco
 
dremd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Scott, La
Posts: 172
Thanks: 2
Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts
Send a message via AIM to dremd
Default

I knew I got this Idea from someone!
I just couldn't think of who/ where.

Thank you very much Ben!

I did the same thing except I used 90 LED's, and glued the bulbs straight in to the Plexi Lid. I'll take some pics and post them soon.

Kill-A-Watt says 4 watts with Airpump. <1 Watt when the lights are off.
dremd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-10, 04:25 PM   #5
trikkonceptz
Helper EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 44
Thanks: 3
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
Default

Hey guys, I am heading down this same road with my fish tank, however I have a couple of obstacles ...

My tank is saltwater and has live rock in it, no corals

My tank is 180 gallon not including the 30 gallon sump tank.

I need help determining how many or how powerful the LED's have to be in order to penetrate to the bottom of the tank and perhaps serve some benefit to the live rock.

I have read from different marine websites that people are starting to use Par 30 and Par38 led bulbs in these situations, the 13w types.

I am willing to retrofit my hood with any type of lighting I just need a little push in the right direction.

Thanks ..
trikkonceptz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-10, 10:53 AM   #6
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

I'd try to base your bulb choice off of how many lumens your current lights put out.
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-10, 11:26 AM   #7
trikkonceptz
Helper EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 44
Thanks: 3
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
Default

That was my initial line of thinking. However, the more I read the more I learn, go figure ..lol

What I have read is lumen output is more important for coral growth, not sustaining live rock. With live rock it is more important to have good flow in order to feed the bacteria growing within the rock. what grows on the outside of the rock is algae and while useful is more for aesthetic appeal. Therefore if I use a combination of the pure white and blue LED's, I should get the visual effect I want plus the blue lights will provide proper spectral lighting for promoting algae growth.

This is all speculative as very few have converted over to this new lighting solely but why not be the sacrificial lamb ..lol

I will post pics once I get the lighting going to mark my progress..
trikkonceptz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-11, 02:26 PM   #8
trikkonceptz
Helper EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 44
Thanks: 3
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
Default

I know its been a while since I updated this post, but I have a picture to share with you regarding LED Lighting.

The picture here is from my cell phone and for some reason it picked up the blue side of the light spectrum and ran with it. In person the tank is no where near as blue. I will try and get you better pictures by the end of the week.

This represents 2 36" strips of white / blue LED's, the brand is Stunner and they are. This is a 180 gallon tank and what looks like patchy white spots are merely rock that has less growth on them than the others.

Each strip puts out 6W, so right now I am using 12W to light this tank which is unheard of. I will be using 12W 48" versions of these lights soon to light a 673 gallon tank I just acquired. More pics to come I promise.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	Fish Tank Lights.jpg
Views:	8382
Size:	93.0 KB
ID:	1644  
trikkonceptz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-11, 02:57 PM   #9
Daox
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 5,525
Thanks: 1,162
Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts
Default

Cool stuff. How much power does it normally take to light up a tank that size?
__________________
Current project -
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
&
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Daox is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-11, 03:08 PM   #10
trikkonceptz
Helper EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 44
Thanks: 3
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
Default

Prior to these I was using 2 - 96w CFL units for my 180. And that's considering that I wasn't using the Metal Halide lights used mostly to maintain reef tanks, which aside from being energy hogs, produce so much heat you often have to run a chiller to keep the water at the proper temperature.

For my application these LED set ups are awesome. I will end up using 4- 36" sticks to light the 673 gallon tank. The cost of the lights will be around $500 and use 48W of power. That's just insane.

The have a nice spread, the sticks are about 1/2" wide 3 ft long and are set currently in the center of the canopy. I thought I would have issues with the light pattern or it reaching the bottom of the 24" deep tank. But both are consistent and I could not be happier.

More pics when I set up the 673 I promise .. that bad boy is 3 x 3 x 10.

trikkonceptz is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:12 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design