# DIY LED Array - less than 0.2 WPG!!!



## taekwondodo

I built this LED array for my 5 gallon nano tank. Based on my calculations I get around 1300 lumens of light for less than 1 watt. I built this using 90 10mm white 110000 mcd LEDs and some 110 ohm resistors, and I am powering it with a 12 volt power supply I picked up for less than $2.00 at a computer surplus place (weirdstuff in Sunnyvale).

My biggest concern is that this will be _too_ much light!

Here is the wiring: 









I was initially going to paint the inside of the hood white but because these LEDs are very directional I didn't need to. Here is a straight-on view (dang that's bright to look at):









And in the tank (when I get it planted, I will post more):


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## plantbrain

Spent too long at Fry's huh?

Looks super!!!

I have a PAR meter, let's figure out the PAR rating on it at the bottom and the top of the water.

That will be a better indicator of plant growth than lumens.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## matthewburk

how much do the led's cost, that is just cool


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## Gomer

Looking good  I'll be doing a 288 LED setup on a nano reef soon as well. Should be fun!


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## taekwondodo

I Picked the LEDs up off of eBay for $0.99 (+ $20 shipping). The acrylic at Home depot for about $7.00 (I drilled 90 holes in the acrylic to mount the lights in the holes). The resistors from Frys (yes Tom, Frys). I needed a couple of new bits for $10.00.

I got the idea from Nano-reef.com and was initially going to set up a small nano-reef but am now leaning towards a FW nano with shrimp (on riccia, hairgrass and glosso).

I think in all I have about $40 total in the light itself, another $20-30 in the hood (oak). I cut several 1/8" slots in the side of the hood for variable mounting heights.

The only thing I would do different next time is space the LEDs a little further apart - they are very directional and I have 15 "spots". We'll see how it looks with plants in a few days.

Tom, I just joined SFBAAPS - If I can make it to the next meeting (haven't seen a date yet) I'll ty to bring the light if you can bring the meter...

- Jeff


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## imisky

if the LED is round at the tip i would cut it flat as it will diverge the light a bit better instead of getting the SPOT LIGHT EFFECT. it will fill in better, as i have found that LED with the tip round concentrates light into one place.


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## BryceM

Something tells me this is the future.................

Does anyone know how the quality of the light compares to the average CF? The quantity from these things seems unbelievable. Is there a comparison to a given Kelvin rating or wavelength? Do the LEDs come in different wavelengths?

Does anyone sell banks of these that could be strung together for large tanks? How long do these things last? I'm assuming that with such low power input that heating isn't an issue.

Very, very cool!


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## Paul S

Look at US patent #6921182.
According to the claims, this looks promising.

enjoy

PS


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## Gomer

guaiac_boy said:


> Something tells me this is the future.................
> 
> Does anyone know how the quality of the light compares to the average CF? The quantity from these things seems unbelievable. Is there a comparison to a given Kelvin rating or wavelength? Do the LEDs come in different wavelengths?
> 
> Does anyone sell banks of these that could be strung together for large tanks? How long do these things last? I'm assuming that with such low power input that heating isn't an issue.
> 
> Very, very cool!


I did an LED experiment in the past with Luxeon's. Watt for watt, the luxeons actually gave better growth:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=1009

White LEDs are actually UV/Blue LEDs that use a phosophor to get white light. THis is pretty much the exact thing that flourescent lights do in concept.


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## taekwondodo

I am going to see how well these work for a few months - in the longer run if this works well, I may very well replace my lighting in my 55 gallon of 4x55W PCs (220 total watts) with something of less than 10 watts of Total Power and twice the light...Maybe I should go into large-scale production?

(anxiously rubs hands together)...

I think between my 55g, my reef tank with MHs, my 4.5K pond and my Pool I'm personally supporting several people at PG&E.



- Jeff


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## littleguy

Do you have any specifics on the LED's? Maker, model number, etc? I wonder if you can buy them from big vendors like digikey, jameco, etc.


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## taekwondodo

I bought these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-100X-10MM-W...itemZ7562947039QQcategoryZ66952QQcmdZViewItem

however, they are very white - I'm estimating way over 10K (closer to 20K).

So I will be adding some of these to get a more natural color:

http://cgi.ebay.com/50-PCS-Mega-Bri...15862QQcategoryZ66952QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

and hope that mix gives some 5-6K-ish coloring when mixed with the white. I should have these by early next week.

- Jeff


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## opiesilver

Digikey is great.


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## spcyamada

*Updates?*

Any new updates on LED lights for practical use in a planted tank?


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## taekwondodo

It seems to be working rather well - however next time I will use smaller LEDs, pack them in a little tighter - and to add some balance I added some yellows to the mix (which seemed to do wonders with the color temp).

It was a lot of effort - and for the same/better bang-for-the-buck I could have gone with PCFs (but the power would have been 10x higher).

Plants are growing great though - got CO2 and working to keep up the EI though.

- Jeff


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## spcyamada

*Thanks*

Thank you. I guess the biggest advantage to LED's would be that it last really long? Do your plants pearl under those lights?


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## WaterKid77

taekwondodo said:


> I built this LED array for my 5 gallon nano tank. Based on my calculations I get around 1300 lumens of light for less than 1 watt. I built this using 90 10mm white 110000 mcd LEDs and some 110 ohm resistors, and I am powering it with a 12 volt power supply I picked up for less than $2.00 at a computer surplus place (weirdstuff in Sunnyvale).
> 
> My biggest concern is that this will be _too_ much light!
> 
> Here is the wiring:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I was initially going to paint the inside of the hood white but because these LEDs are very directional I didn't need to. Here is a straight-on view (dang that's bright to look at):
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And in the tank (when I get it planted, I will post more):


Hi

I am impressed with your neat work. I have tried to do the similar work but I could not manage it I am trying to do it so my kids and I can go and buys stuff as part of birthday surprise. I wonde if you provide a diagram to how you fix the LED array.

i think you have connected 30 of 110 ohms on each string of 3 series of LEDs. Is that correct?
Please correct if I am wrong....

Thank you for your time


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## newbie314

Cancelled message


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## WaterKid77

newbie314 said:


> Cancelled message


Cancelled Message? What happened?

WaterKid77


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## xpistalpetex

can i have the brand of the led's...

any updates?


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## newbie314

i was commenting on thre led but the original post is old so I wasn't expecting a response


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## Fortuna Wolf

You should check the spectral distribution of the LEDs, but remember, plants like blue and red and don't utilize yellows and greens to a significant extent. Anything from 400-500 nm, and then 625-675 nm as a rule of thumb. The common red LEDs are not optimal, though you can get red LEDs that are in the correct range. 
Look for bluer white LEDs and mix them with some reds if you actually want a useful spectrum.

The white LEDs have a yellow phosphor and pretty much lack the red... Also, the high lumen rating is usualy due to the very narrow beam, ~25 degrees usually. I'd double up the LEDs and put in a variable resistor so you can dial in a brightness.


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## mulita

Very nice Fixture!! Excellent array. However, as Fortuna Wolf mention here, the spectrum could be an issue to have this kind of fixture fully functional. This is the way to go if a combination of led can produce the right espectrum. Nice, nit, low enery consumption and low heat. Definitively the future.


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## El Exorcisto

Question, do you get "halide shimmer" from LEDs since they are each a spot source? I'm thinking about playing around on a 10 gallon and I'd be adding a row of ~625nm red LEDs to balance out the blue side of the white LEDs. I might do a few greens too, just to make the plants POP. Would 100 25K MCD whites, 20 ~625nm reds, and 20 greens put me at enough light to be happy?


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## Volenti

El Exorcisto said:


> Question, do you get "halide shimmer" from LEDs since they are each a spot source? I'm thinking about playing around on a 10 gallon and I'd be adding a row of ~625nm red LEDs to balance out the blue side of the white LEDs. I might do a few greens too, just to make the plants POP. Would 100 25K MCD whites, 20 ~625nm reds, and 20 greens put me at enough light to be happy?


My luxeon led array (approx 1'' spacing) get's shimmer, though I don't know about a the effects of a more densely packed array, may not shimmer much.


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## Jedidiah

So are these actually effective for growth and saving power?

I'm running a coralife setup that's 3-4wpg, it'd be really cool if we could replace them with LEDs.

Heat would be less too, so no fan noise as well!

Cool idea!


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## mcjosh13

Taekwondodo, your calculations are way off. "1300 lumens of light for less than 1 watt" is impossible. If a LED was able to be 100% efficient (in actuality they are closer to 15% luminous efficacy,) It would produce 683 lm/W. That is the maximum amount of light that can be produced from 1 watt of energy. The best LEDs that you can get are able to get just over 100 lm/watt.

Compact florescent lights are supposed to produce around 60-70 lumens per watt so the LEDS do offer an advantage here. Also fluorescents radiate light in all directions so there is much greater losses and the light does not penetrate into deeper tanks very well.

An LED fixture radiates all of its light in one direction and with some focusing optics (40 degree collimator's are used in some commercial products) the light can penetrate deeper tanks very effectively similar to metal halide lights.


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## taekwondodo

I trashed this project well over a year ago and went with 2x9w AHSupply PCs.

It seemed to get dimmer rather quickly, and didn't really provide any great growth - that, and my 5g tank at work gets a lot of neglect (and accompanying jokes from co-workers, "Hey, are there any fish in there?").

While I think we're all confident in LEDs as a _future_ lightsource (reefers are using them very successfully, as are some in the "alternative" growing arena) - The cost/time/benefit for DIY I'm not sure is there yet.

- Jeff


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## mcjosh13

The problem with basing those assumptions off of your DIY LED project was that the 10mm LEDs that you got off ebay were of low quality and are not suitable for such a project. These were really the LEDS of the past where as the newer high power LEDs (like Crees, Seouls, and Luxeons) are much better suited to a project like this. 

But then again with florescents being very effective, relatively cheap and time tested, the move to LEDs would only be for those who like testing out and experimenting with new technologies and not for those who just want an effective time-tested DIY setup. Many questions must be answered before LEDs can take this role (ie. exactly how many LED lumens are needed to equal florescent WPG rule (the use of optics will greatly effect this in favor of LEDs), what wavelengths and color temperatures create the best plant growth, what color combinations create a natural look and bring out fish and plant colors like high quality florescents do...etc.)

After enough people have experimented and data collected, LEDs will begin to replace florescents in the planted aquarium. The good thing about a DIY LED project is that they are easy to build, high quality parts are readily accessible, and even a beginner can put together a high quality set-up.


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## taekwondodo

I knew that going in - trying to do it on the cheap. But if you take a look at the price of higher-power LEDs, OUCH! (even now, and I built this more than a few years ago).

The other point I was making was that LEDs are already proven for both Reef Tanks and Dope Growers - but the price/point isn't there yet for DIY, and the guys that buy these for reef tanks are the few who like to buy the new widget every couple of years and have the cash to do it.


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## jargonchipmunk

I find it humorous that a 24 hour period changed it from the "alternative growing arena" to dope growers lol. sorry just thought it was funny.

continue with your techtalk.

btw I think if and when the DECENT led's come down, it'll be well worth it. However, I'd have to concur with taekwondodo that at the moment, it's not really feasible in comparison with the other host of options available.


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## mcjosh13

They can be expensive but there are a few Hong Kong based companies that offer these high quality brand LEDs (Crees, and Seouls) at low prices. What they lack in customer service and shipping speed (usually takes like 2 weeks) they make up for with low prices and free shipping.

Seoul Semiconductors Z-Power LED Emitter (U-bin)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1445
5 or more $4.13 ea

Cree XR-E Q2
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2395
5 or more $3.53 ea

Both of these offer good performance, you would have to look at their respective binning guides to see what their output is exactly but they are both around 200 lumens @ 700mA

Here is another site 
http://www.kaidomain.com/FeaturesServices.aspx?FeaturesServiceId=7


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## taekwondodo

I laughed too.

While I'm not an "alternative grower" (Pot Grower) - Between my reef-tank, swimming pool, 4000G Pond and my halide lights over my 125 planted tank, I'm surprised PG&E hasn't sent my "out of normal use" profile to the Santa Clara County Sheriff for "further investigation required"...

The reason I know they _are_ using LEDs, is I do surf a few of their sites for info now and then - because there's a lot of money in it, I figured they "pay more" for the research than we do. There's some great stuff on there about growing periods for maximum yield, CO2 usage/maximum levels/generation/distribution, fertilization, etc...

With all I know now, maybe I have a second career option if technology crashes (further) with the rest of the market?

That said, maybe the Feds have sniffed my IP address as a site visitor and I should be more concerned about the DEA kicking in my door than the Santa Clara County Sheriff...


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## Jedidiah

that depends upon the torture method used by the two agencies....

yourPee sniffing....
or
fart sniffing...

Ok so that was lame, What is the ratio for the florescents vs water depth penetration and the LED's?
Some kind of usuable light range?


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