led Lighting

[CjRager89]

I am curious if anyone has any experience with led lighting and aquariums, especially planted ones. I have my little 2.5, which I have been trying to make into a super awesome baby tank. Right now it has a CFL in a hood that I made to fit it. It is a little big compared to the tank, which is why I am thinking of making a hood with a few rows of white leds. Would this be enough to sustain my plants?? I might throw in a 3 way switch, daytime light, off, and moonlight?

[JorgeBurrito]

The problem with led lighting is they tend to have a narrowish band of the spectrum. Having said that I know they are coming into more and more frequent use, especially for smaller tanks. You probably won't get to great of a response here, but I would suggest you go do some reading in the "lighting" section of plantedtank.net

[BlueHaven]

I actually got a Marina led light to see if it would work for one of my tank. It's nice, and would be an awesome accessory to your tank in different colors (my favorite is the blue lighting), but not for a daily light, it's too small for that, though it might work if you have your tank in a lighted area already, it is for smaller ones.
I am going to return it and get something bigger since I have plants that need a large amount of light. ^^;

[CjRager89]

thanks for the link jorge. that site didnt give me a direct answer, but i was able to hop from link to link and Im about 99% sure what I was thinking will be more than enough light. Im kinda glad, as this will give the tank a very nice look and should help with the plant growth. I should be able to get everything I need for around $30....Plus shipping.


** If anyone is interested, if you pay for the supplies for your tank, and shipping to you, Id be willing to make some more of these for people to try out.

I am familiar with dealing with electrical, and leds, heres some pics.

My light I made and am using for my 2.5 now..



And the wiring on the inside, basic. but basic is best



Some leds....
Interior of my car, the Jap mobile!! aka honda civic lol




and my laptop cooling fan, makes my laptop have "ground effects" like some cars.

[CjRager89]

just an update, if anyone was curious, my total for electrical (not including shipping) is $30.85 which also includes a blue light for a moonlight.

I will be ordering this probably sunday night, so if you want one let me know before then.

[JorgeBurrito]

I am just curious, what LEDs are you getting? Like I mentioned earlier from what I understand most LEDs reproduce a relatively narrow portion of the spectrum, so to make a light set for a planted tank you have to get several different color bands of LEDs. I haven't really looked into this for a year or so though so I am curious if this has changed.

[CjRager89]

my post last night included these http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...ecs%2FWFLS.htm

but i was just worried they wouldnt have enough umph, even though my calculations show it would..... So will be using these http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2134 which i know will be plenty!