# 1.5 gallon led array



## russell (Dec 7, 2004)

ok, i finally got rid of that hideous light over my 1.5 gallon, so i decided to make a new hideous light for it  desk lamps just seem too easy i guess 

so, i purchased 18 white 5mm led's, some 100ohm resistors and a sodering iron. i have never soldered in my life, but to my suprise, it wasn't that bad.

here is the parts list, though i urge nobody to copy this design until it proves to grow plants well, it was very costly to make and is high risk for failure and/or not growing plants 

i started with 18 of these probably overrated white 5mm led's:

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G16402

then i got a pack of 100 ohm resistors:

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G433R

i used this for my power, since these led's are only 20ma each, i was able to get this cheap ac/dc converter:

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G9596

i also purchased a soldering iron, some solder, and some plexyglass and some alligator clips.

i screwed 2 alligator clips to the side of my workbench so that they were sticking out above the top of the bench. i put them on snug but loose enough that i could adjust their width to accomidate different lengths of wire.

http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz

the above link is free to use, but honestly i would have paid for it. it is just about all you need to know. you find what led's you want to use, you then put their specs into the calculator, and then it tells you how to arrange them and also how large of a power source you need. i used 100 ohm resistors, but resistors vary with the number of leds you use and the power source.

since i had never soldered or even worked with resistors or led's before, it took me about 2.5 hours to make this array. someone with experience could do it much faster i would imagine.

i purchased a 5mm drill bit and cut holes in a 6"x6" piece of plexyglass. i then wired up the leds testing each strand as i went.

i will certainly help anyone who asks, but for now i won't get into soldering techniques or any more design.

so, here are the pics! it's not that great, but then again, it works like i planned and since it was my first attempt, i am very proud of it.




























an image for scale, it's about the size of a pen length and width:










i didn't take the time to measure out the holes plus i couldn't find my measuring tape, so i just eyeballed it, it's close at least:










illuminating my bookshelf from about 1.5 feet away:










illuminating some super glue from about 1 foot above:










so, that's it. i will definately give a followup on this one. as for the electrical tape, i just used it temporarily to hold the led's in. i will secure them, then i am installing a 3" fan above them. i will then mount it to a rod of some sort that attaches to the back of the aquarium.

my only concern right now is securing the led's and waterproofing. i am thinking of epoxy but i don't know if the led's will melt it. any help would be appreciated.

thanks,
russell


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Hmm nice work with the fixture. Might be interesting to see how bright the fixture is with some sort of light meter...


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## russell (Dec 7, 2004)

i have no idea where to get or borrow one of those. let me put it like this, brightness won't be a problem. it's a 1.5 gallon tank  plant growth will be the problem. 

it's hard to see in the picture, but the light isn't very disperced, it's very concentrated.

another thing is, the power supply im using could potentually run 75 of these led's. im running 18, so if it's not bright enough i can go 2 times to 4 times the amound of led's.


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## orca77 (Sep 1, 2007)

Can't wait to see how it works...


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## Adragontattoo (Jun 3, 2007)

You dont need a fan, and dont worry about LEDs melting they do not get hot enough to do more then MAYBE get warm to the touch.

I play with LEDs all the time (I literally have about 1k assorted LEDs floating around my workarea). To secure them to the Plexi, I would suggest either Hot glue, or even plain silicon Caulk. Make sure whatever you use is fully cured before using it over the tank (obviously) but since it wont be submerged and shouldnt get wet, there should be no issues.

FYI, LEDS IIRC dont actually put out the appropriate wavelengths to be used as grow lights unless you mix the colors etc. YMMV.

PM me or reply on here with any other questions you need answered re: LEDS, I probably can answer them OR have a link that can.


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## intermediate_noob (Oct 18, 2007)

Adragontattoo said:


> FYI, LEDS IIRC dont actually put out the appropriate wavelengths to be used as grow lights unless you mix the colors etc. YMMV.


I would be interested in reading where you found this information. I know that companies such as this one: http://www.solarisled.com/ provide lighting for Reef systems and wonder why this would not work for plant growth?


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## Adragontattoo (Jun 3, 2007)

http://ledgrowlights.blogspot.com/2006/11/diy-led-useable-light-tool.html
http://www.plasmaled.com/led_grow_light.htm
http://a.wholelottanothing.org/2007/02/06/led-lightbulbs-not-ready-for-primetime/
and a whole discussion on it.
http://forums.bghydro.com/showthread.php?p=708


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## russell (Dec 7, 2004)

i dont have time to read the links yet, but thanks for the reply. i was told to mix colors but it didn't make much sense at the time, so i figured if nothing else i would get my feet wet with this project.

of course i could use luxion stars they seem to be rated at 6500k. but at 9 bucks each they are rediculously expensive, plus i still don't fully understand how many of them you can put on their power supplies.

russell


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## Volenti (Oct 12, 2007)

russell said:


> i dont have time to read the links yet, but thanks for the reply. i was told to mix colors but it didn't make much sense at the time, so i figured if nothing else i would get my feet wet with this project.
> 
> of course i could use luxion stars they seem to be rated at 6500k. but at 9 bucks each they are rediculously expensive, plus i still don't fully understand how many of them you can put on their power supplies.
> 
> russell


You could replace your entire array with 1 luxeon star and get similar if not better light output, what value do you put on your time?


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## dekstr (Oct 30, 2007)

Wow excellent post!

I was on the goldmine website ALL DAY today thinking of how to make blue LED lights to simulate moon lighting on my tank. I'm looking to do exactly what you did! So thanks a lot for being the guinea pig!

I already have the acrylic top.

Thanks,
Dexter


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## russell (Dec 7, 2004)

Volenti said:


> You could replace your entire array with 1 luxeon star and get similar if not better light output, what value do you put on your time?


well, i mainly did it to have somthing to do. i have been spending a lot of time riding my motorcycle lately, but it is getting colder so it was eather learn a new skill and build somthing or play video games all day. when i get bored i like to build stuff. wether or not it is a complete success is not as big of a deal 

but ya, i will probably play with some luxeons very soon. if someone could explain their xa.... somthing power supplies to me i would definately try some. right now i can't figure out exactly how many stars you can use with each power supply.

but like dekstr said, you can use some of these recources to make diy moon lighting if nothing else.


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## Adragontattoo (Jun 3, 2007)

Basically it is very easy, all you need to do is look at how many amps (milliamps = 1000 to make a single amp) and go from there.

12v 2amp would mean you can use the cumulative total of 2amps worth of power.

The voltage means little to you as most LEDs only use 3 volts.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

Adragontattoo said:


> Basically it is very easy, all you need to do is look at how many amps (milliamps = 1000 to make a single amp) and go from there.
> 
> 12v 2amp would mean you can use the cumulative total of 2amps worth of power.
> 
> The voltage means little to you as most LEDs only use 3 volts.


It's not always so easy. The brightest LEDs need to have both regulated voltage and current. There are some pre-packaged power supplies out there that help simplify matters though. One place that has them is http://www.theledlight.com/luxeonled_drivers.html

I'll probably go this route after experimenting with lower power LEDs that don't need the fancy power supplies.


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## russell (Dec 7, 2004)

i know how to figure amps out, but when i was looking at their stie, the 2,000ma one said it could power 4 of the 1000ma lights, or somthing of that nature. i was just wondering if i was missing somthing like bridging an amp for a stereo. or are they just saying that and each would only pull 500ma?


i am looking at some posts of ratios of blue/red/uv etc led's to grow plants. i found several for terrestrial plants, so i may go with one of those designs. i really enjoied this making this light, so i know i want to do some more in the future.

on a side note, my white lights have a blue/purple tone to them almost like 1400k bulbs. not that it matters, from what i have read so far they shouldn't grow plats well anyways.


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## Fortuna Wolf (Feb 3, 2007)

There are two main types of red LEDs, the common cheaper ones are not the right frequency for plants, whereas the other type have the most efficient frequency for plants. Annoying, isn't it?


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## Adragontattoo (Jun 3, 2007)

ruki said:


> It's not always so easy. The brightest LEDs need to have both regulated voltage and current. There are some pre-packaged power supplies out there that help simplify matters though. One place that has them is http://www.theledlight.com/luxeonled_drivers.html
> 
> I'll probably go this route after experimenting with lower power LEDs that don't need the fancy power supplies.


There are always exceptions to the general rules and I know that the Luxeons and CREE LEDS are those. I was giving the basics from my experience using them in the hobby (Computers, and general tinkering) mindset.


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## Adragontattoo (Jun 3, 2007)

russell said:


> on a side note, my white lights have a blue/purple tone to them almost like 1400k bulbs. not that it matters, from what i have read so far they shouldn't grow plats well anyways.


That right there is the big hold off on LEDs getting a broader use (well that and price), the color sets so many people off that they are getting growing but still limited exposure in home use.


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## russell (Dec 7, 2004)

so guys, if you wanted to design an array preferably using cheaper led's what ratios of colors would you use? IE 40% red, 20% blue etc.

if you guys can give me somthing that you think would work i will build it and then give the results here.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

Adragontattoo said:


> There are always exceptions to the general rules and I know that the Luxeons and CREE LEDS are those. I was giving the basics from my experience using them in the hobby (Computers, and general tinkering) mindset.


Understood, but for aquarium use, high power Luxeon and Crees are more appropriate (except perhaps for tiny tanks and containers) than the lower-power traditional "super bright" LEDs.



russell said:


> so guys, if you wanted to design an array preferably using cheaper led's what ratios of colors would you use? IE 40% red, 20% blue etc.
> 
> if you guys can give me somthing that you think would work i will build it and then give the results here.


Remember that the human eye sees with red, green and blue cones. So, LEDs that appear "white" use a mixture of red, green and blue emitters. People on this board have had good luck with high power LEDs described as something like "6500". LEDs labeled like this usually have enough reds and blues to grow plants. One could add blues and reds with nanometer ratings most favorable to plants if you want to go the extra mile.

For tiny, 5 gallon and less tanks, I am trying the following:
11-WHP6 White LED bulb








MR11 with 6 High Power White LED 12 Volt AC/DC operation, GZ4 base,
Produces 65 lumens at 7000K, 120 degree beam pattern
approx 80 lumens per watt
$ 14.95 each

Note that this is probably not practical for anything larger than 5 gallons. I'm thinking that around 6 of them will be needed for a 5 gallon tank. But, these are very convenient to use since you don't have to individually solder a bunch of LEDs, and it doesn't need current regulation. Also one can disassemble these from one project to another with little effort until one finds the most appropriate use for them.


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