# Aqueon Modular LED Mod for $9.99 (and super easy to do).



## TucsonAZ (Mar 30, 2014)

This is my first post in the forums and I am completely new to planted tanks, once upon a time I did saltwater for many years but have always avoided freshwater. With that said, I have no clue what I'm doing in terms of planted tanks. With my limited research this mod seems like an improvement and visually I like it more so I'm putting it out there for others to offer feedback on or try themselves.

In search of budget lighting and having been a long time fan of LEDs (I started modding flashlights with them more than a decade ago) I went with the Aqueon Modular setup as it was a good value and I felt would be the most modable. Initially I thought about adding two more 24" lamps between the lamps in my 30" light but it seemed more complicated than I need to make things.

Then I found these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B2HK0LY/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

In the even the link goes bad the item title is "LEDJump® Super Bright 5050 Big Chip LED Modules Waterproof White 3SMD 12V 60-66 Lumens Each Module (10-Pack), ETL Listed Certified Channel Letter 3 Year Warranty"

I was reluctant but concluded they were 6,500k and with them already being wired with adhesive backings I figured I would order them and find a use someplace in my life, even if only as dome lights or something.

They took me about 15 minutes to install which included popping off one of the blue LEDs to move it over and clipping off a corner of the removable plastic cover to get the wire out.

Lighting wise, the tank has 2 white and a color max lamp in it and these certainly wash out the red tones of the color max so I would suggest 2 (or even 3) color max and these but they make a huge difference and now with just the Aqueon with all three modules the tank seems very dimly lit. With just the 10 additional cells it seems about 65% as bright as the Aqueon alone and slightly more "green" though I'm not sure if that's due to not having the red LEDs going.

I only have 4 neon tetra's, a dozen ghost shrimp, a guppy, and 10 snails in the tank along with all basic Petsmart plants and bulbs. I attempted a photo but my camera on the phone adjusts for the lighting so they all look the same. I will try again if it's important to anybody.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Welcome to APC!

That is a very creative modification to the Aqueon LED. When we tested the Aqueon with our club PAR meter, it was really low, giving about 15 umol at the bottom of a 20 long tank. And yes, this was the 3 strip model. So it really needed a big boost to get into the useful range.

Please keep us updated on how it works.


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## TucsonAZ (Mar 30, 2014)

Michael said:


> Welcome to APC!
> 
> That is a very creative modification to the Aqueon LED. When we tested the Aqueon with our club PAR meter, it was really low, giving about 15 umol at the bottom of a 20 long tank. And yes, this was the 3 strip model. So it really needed a big boost to get into the useful range.
> 
> Please keep us updated on how it works.


Initially it looks like the 24w 50/50 CF I had on my 10g saltwater did a better job than the pre-modded Aqueon, on freshwater also as I used it on my sons tank and had bulbs flowering in it.

Assuming these LEDs are of the same quality as those used in the Aqueon lamps I went from 45 LEDs (15 LEDs x 3 lamps) to 75 which would be a 66% increase, I guess I will see how that impacts the plants in the tank.


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

I would go by comparing by the number of chips. Or even the wattage. 

Most lighting fixtures are made using 1 to 3 Watt LED's today. If you were at 45 LED's I would suspect you were between 45 and 135 watts. With your additional LED's your increasing it by 8 Watts of power. So in reality wattage is being increased someplace between 6% and 17%.

But another big factor is the quality of the LED varies its efficiency considerably. Some of the old LED's had a hard tiime hitting 70 lumen's per watt and the newer more efficient designs are hitting 140 lumen's per watt. 

Another big point is that lower K lighting will look brighter to the eye however will not increase your PAR as much as higher K bulb. 

Price wise right now you can get a 5 Watt LED in either Neutral or Cool White for around $3.50 that is mounted on a star circuit board.


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