Off the Shelf LED Light Fixure Build

[redfishbluefish]

I need someone to tell me I’m blowing smoke when it comes to an idea of assembling an LED light unit with off-the-shelf bulbs.  This thought is based on saving money on the monthly electrical bill.  I should preface this by stating that I know everything about nothing.

When at Sam’s Club, I picked up some LED lights for the house that were being sold by Lights of America.  One type I picked up was a 5W floodlight.  I put this in a can in the kitchen and was quite surprised with the amount of light it produced.  Here’s a link to the bulb:

http://www.lightsofamerica.com/Products/2003LEDP38-65K.aspx

And here’s a picture of the bulb in the can:

Unfortunately there is no information about the spectrum or quality of light.  The only thing they tell us is that they have a 38-degree narrow reflector.

Anyway, here’s my thought…for my 5 foot, 90 gallon tank…buy maybe ten or twelve of these bulbs (I think they were about $16 each) and pick up the bulb fixture at HD and hook everything up.  I figure this part would cost around $225-$250.  This would only use 50-60 watts of juice…that’s about equal to one 4-foot T5 bulb.  This would be the primary light source for the tank.  Now to add color, throw on two or three Icecap LEDs.  Everything is off the shelf…no soldering or knowledge of electronics required.

What do you think…am I blowing smoke…would this produce enough light?  I’m kicking around the idea of just doing it and if it  looks like the stuff isn't growing I could always put it on my freshwater tank.  Or is there someone who could tell me now that I’m an idiot?

 

[Edwardw771]

Your not alone http://reefbuilders.com/2010/01/07/led-spotlight-diy-changing-light-spread-swapping-lenses/

Try it out and let us know.

 

[SWITCH420]

WAS thinking the same thing i see led bulbs at home depot.like u said no info on the specs worth a shot keep us posted

 

[Mbodell]

The one you posted in the picture will not give an ideal result. It uses the cheap bipin bulbs. Look for lights that use the cree leds like in the link ed posted. There is actually someone making them for reef tanks that fit in normal open household fixtures.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Mike, thanks for the feedback. Could you qualify what you mean by cheaper….quality of light, quality of the components, life expectancy???

Thanks

 

[Mbodell]

Cost, quality of the light, no lens option, but Life expectancy is the really big one. Bipin leds don't have the life span like the surface mount design. Something like 50% par value after 10,000 hours. Also the wattage is close to .1 watt versus 1-3 watts.

Something like these http://www.nanocustoms.com/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=213 have good output, but obviously at a cost.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Well, I can't say for sure, but if you analyze the model # (Model: 2003LEDP38-65K) you see the last few digits is -65K. That could mean it's a 65K bulb.

That's not bad for a sump or a fuge light, but I wouldn't consider using that for your display.

Some of those other LED's might be worth trying though (Ed's link). The one that Mike linked is the same "PAR" rating as the one you originally were talking about, but I honestly don't know what that means, heh.

Anyway, I'd be interested to find out how these things work.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Well I think this is the bulb in the article Ed quotes….it looks like it’s available in 55K and 34K “white” light and then the four colors. So this is a cooler bulb then the one I’m considering…if it is a65K bulb.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-...ction=DispPage&Page2Disp=/specs/E27-WLX-3.htm

Also, I think the use of the term PAR is being used to describe the angle of the lens that are being used and not the amount of usable light….so when they say PAR 38, it means it has a 38 degree lens….38 degree spread of light.

What would happen if these are 65K bulbs. I was under the ignorant impression that the lower the temperature rating, the greater or faster the growth of light absorbing organisms. That is, a 65K would cause for faster growth versus a 10K, or 20K bulb.

 

[Mbodell]

The par 38 refers to the form of the bulb. For example we sell par 36 bulbs that come in different wattages and angles. I would not recommend a 6700k bulb. Tropical sunlight is closest to 14,000k. A 6700 bulb is very yellow, which is great for macro algae growth, but not ideal for coral. The bulb I linked is designed to use 12000k or 200000K so they compare to the bulbs we use now on our tanks. They are better for nano tanks due to the cost.
I will be making led lights for my 75 gallon tank. I have the parts priced out to be around $600. When I get the money and time I will post everything up here.

 

[redfishbluefish]

This LED crap is confusing. I read Ed’s link and see a guy who supposedly knows what he’s doing using a couple-watt screw in bulb, but changes the lenses (similar to what I want to do without the lens change, because I’ve got the right angle). Then I read a thread about high output 3 watt cree LED’s where the person is using 175 watts of LEDs on his tank. I’m totally confused. What is needed in regard to quality/quanity when it comes to LEDs on a saltwater tank?

Anyway, on another visit to Sam’s Club, I figured I’d buy a couple more LED floodlights (5 watt), and play around with them. Unfortunately they had no more. However, they did have 3.5 watt bulbs that claimed to be equivalent to 45 watt incandescent bulbs. I picked up a two pack or these to check them out….about 15 clams for two. I also made a visit to HD and found light fixtures for $1.25 each. Anyway, here’s the combo of the bulb with the fixture:

I think what I’ll try at this point is putting eight of these over my 75 gallon freshwater tank. It is a live planted tank and my first interest is whether or not it would support growth of the plants. Currently I have two 40 watt grow bulbs…florescent…T12, in a shop light fixture FYI, the freshwater fish pundits tell me that that isn’t enough to grow stuff….but I still do it anyway. Hanging two of these LED bulbs clearly showed me that by the naked eye, there appears to be more light then the florescent bulbs were producing per that area…it looked brighter. My “in eye” PAR meter wasn’t working tonight because of an alcohol blur.factor.

Now if I could only figure out what these boneheaded LED freaks are talking about when it comes to what is actually needed...no disrespect intended, since I’m the leader of the boneheads.

 

[mnat]

Paul, how good are you with wiring and whatnot?

 

[redfishbluefish]

When it comes to wiring:

House wiring – with my eyes closed.
Fine electronics – Novice. I’ve done some soldering in the past, but I’m no expert.

Now when it come to whatnot, my undergraduate degree was in whatnot...a BS if I’m not mistaken. ;D

 

[Edwardw771]

have you put that on a tank yet?

 

[redfishbluefish]

have you put that on a tank yet?

No Ed….the light project I’m working on right now is getting T5s over the 90 g. The design on that has changed so many times I had to wood putty the holes to continue drilling new ones. That fixture was originally going to be six T5s…a 660 and 430 ballast. It then changed to four T5s and two Icecap LED bulbs. After seeing that the LED bulbs didn’t offer much in the way of an “actinic” look, it has now changed back to the six T5s with the LEDs in there as well….packed 8 bulbs into 17 inches..

FYI, although the LEDs didn’t offer much to making the corals pop when the full lights were on, when the regular lights go out, wow!!! They make the tank look real cool at night. I also like the quality look about them….aluminum finned to keep everything cool. I’ll be using them to view at night and they will also be first on / last off.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Question for those who know:

Is 3 watts of LED light = 3 watts of LED light?

That is, the bulb Ed’s link above referred to was a 3 watt bulb containing three diodes. The bulb I show above, a little more than 3 watts, contains 60 diodes. Do these bulbs produce (roughly) the same amount of light? Or to restate the question, does one watt of cree = 1 watt of bipin when it comes to light output?

 

[Mbodell]

The output should be similar close to the bulbs. The issue with the bi-pins is that the lens is the bulb. Also the bulb life is about 1/5 of the life span of the crees. The cree style leds can go up to 3 watts, but they produce more PAR values compared to the bi-pins. The bi-pins usually are around 1/4 watt. If you are going to make an investment in doing this, I highly recommend investing with the cree style.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Thanks Mike, I think you have convinced me. It was just so compelling to be able to go out and buy screw-in bulbs with minimal work and if you didn’t like the look or they didn’t work, you could always use the bulbs around the house. The things that bother me about the “cree” option is soldering, epoxy gluing, aluminum cooling blocks, lens, fans, work, work, work, AND a major layout of cash...and in the end, if you don’t like the look, a major waste of cash. Well, I’ve got to get the T5s up and running and I definitely will be following (and maybe participating in) the LED build threads that are being discussed. Thanks once again.

Still might try this screw-in LED option for my freshwater tank

 

[Mbodell]

Check out this link for better info. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=186982

 

[redfishbluefish]

Being an ignorant idiot has its advantages, because when you come up with a thought or idea, it is shear brilliance….idiot’s brilliance. Then someone who knows comes along and shoots your ideas down. They have the knowledge and wisdom to know what they are doing. They are smart, intelligent and articulate in their explanation of “what is right.” However, as a founding member of idiot’s anonymous, I am still not deterred in my quest for screw-in LEDs….I am a true idiot, through and through.

So Mike was able to convince me that screw in “bi-pin” LEDs were not appropriate for saltwater tanks (i.e., he told me I was an idiot! ;D). They are a cheaper LED that does not produce the necessary PAR to sustain saltwater life. So now I turn to my freshwater tank…a tank currently lit by one, two bulb shoplight, with two, 40 watt “grow’ bulbs. The pundits tell me that this is not enough light to grow plants in a 75 gallon tank, but I still do it anyway (remember, I’m a idiot). So I’m burning 80 watts over my freshwater tank, and being a good “green” soul, my interest is to reduce the amount of electricity I use to run this tank. Hey, how about screw in LEDs?

I made a four bulb strip of 3.5 watts each of LEDs from Sam’s Club. These cost 14.90 per two bulb pack. I also purchase 4 plastic bulb fixtures for $1.25 each from Home Depot. These were mounted on a piece of scrap plywood and wired together. Here’s what it looks like:

In the canopy:

Please, union electricians and code enforcement people, I know these are supposed to be attached to boxes, but remember, I’m a idiot.

So big disappointment….I was expecting four of these 3.5 watt LEDs, that each produce 45 watt equivalent of incandescent, for a total of 180 watts, to be able to easily light up my tank. My PAR meter in my eye wasn’t working, but it would appear that the light focus’s down too straight and does not disperse enough to light up the whole tank. By the way, that light focusing down makes the stones in the bottom of the tank jump out at you…really lights them up. In addition, I now have a “shimmer” effect, similar to what you see with metal halides. So here’s the plan…make another four light unit and that will easily light up the whole tank. When I’m done, original watt usage, 80 watts; Final watt usage, 28 watts; 35% or the original wattage being used. If the plants don’t grow…silk and plastic! Cash outlay, about 80 bucks.

Mike, by the way, thanks for the link….educating an idiot is a dangerous proposition!

 

[Mbodell]

Looks good for a fresh water tank. Instead of buying and making a second one, you could buy some of that fluorescent light diffusion panel for drop ceiling lights and just put that under them.