[APD] LED lighting update

["Andy Lavery" <wagoneer78 at hotmail_com>]

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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