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[APD] LED lighting update
Well I figured I'd let everyone know how my weekend of electronic debauchery
went!
LED lighting is now the only lighting on my 2g tank; Hemianthus
Callitrichoides and Hydrocotyle verticillata (pennywort I think) are
pearling like crazy roughly 1 hr after lights on.
Here's the basics - I'm using an old computer AT powersupply to feed 12v
(thanks for the idea listers- a few of you mentioned it). I built 3 LED
arrays, 2 arrays to a board - the boards are 3/4" wide and roughly 8" long
to sit nicely on the rim of the 2g. Positive power is fed on the right,
negative to the left - LEDs and resistors sit in between.
The boards themselves were a Radio shack special - the local store had a
clearout on the IC board etching kits. Once etched, cut drilled and
assembled, the boards were sealed with 3m 5 minute epoxy, roughly 1/8" on
top and bottom - totally waterproof.
After redneck testing the first board - it was way too blue, so on my
mission to radio shack, I picked up 4 red LEDs too, and a potentiometer. I
built an X shaped array, with the potentiometer so I can dial it up for a
lot of red, or dim it down for aesthetics.
I ended up using 12 white LEDs to light the tank - largely due to the small
distance from light to substrate (8" or so). The red array rests on the
white. The tank is MUCH brighter with the LEDs than it was with the 2 13w
PC's that I was running over it.
The 10g is the next test subject - I'm trying to find some LEDs with a very
wide beam for this one to handle the overall lighting; possibly these -
http://www.ledsupply.com/l1-0-w5th70-1.html Then use some smaller arrays of
more focused light to put light where its really needed.
FWIW - ebay seems to be the best/cheapest place to find LED lights; they
seem to go for half what they're sold for on retail sites. But at the same
time - I haven't found any wider angle white LEDs there.
Andy
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