# RGB lighting experiment



## walzon1 (Feb 24, 2014)

Been messing around with LED strip light rolls for a while since they are extremely cheap and there are a lot of options and variations available so far had much success. Decided to try out going all RGB so I converted a 10g with 25 watts of RGB 5050 LEDs with a controller so I can dim each color individually. After adding a few plants they took off going straight up like a rocket so I figured the spectrum might be a little too blue which got me thinking about how much to dim each color to get a better overall growth. Am I on the right track here? A little more insight appreciated.

Current Setting
60% RED
30% BLUE
30% GREEN


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

I am not sure but I have been looking into using some of these lights myself. Are they difficult to cut and join? I want to light a series of 10g tanks with them.


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## walzon1 (Feb 24, 2014)

They are extremely easy if you know basic soldering, if not they would take a little practice but a cheap way to learn how to solder anyhow, the rolls can be super cheap if you bid on them on auction.

Here's the way I did them just B to B, R to R connections etc.. pretty ugly but it get;s the job done


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

I'm not happy with using individual LED's. Each color has its own seperate narrow bandwidth and the spectrum between those LED's do not always get enough light in my eye.


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

What is the alternative to individual leds?


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## walzon1 (Feb 24, 2014)

TropTrea said:


> I'm not happy with using individual LED's. Each color has its own seperate narrow bandwidth and the spectrum between those LED's do not always get enough light in my eye.


This is true but also one of the biggest complaints about these LED's is the spectrum isn't consist and varies widely from LED to LED, literally each one has a slightly different spectrum. Many see this as a disadvantage but IMO this actually broadens the spectrum across the full array. With so many small LED's combined the spectrum is much wider than it would seem on your graph. This is my theory anyway.


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

BruceF said:


> What is the alternative to individual leds?


The alternative is simply using broad spectrum "white" LED's Yes there are still some peaks and valleys but it is noting like trying to create a good spectrum with individual colors. Besides that the valleys produced by the white LED's are generally not in the photosynthetic regions.


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

walzon1 said:


> This is true but also one of the biggest complaints about these LED's is the spectrum isn't consist and varies widely from LED to LED, literally each one has a slightly different spectrum. Many see this as a disadvantage but IMO this actually broadens the spectrum across the full array. With so many small LED's combined the spectrum is much wider than it would seem on your graph. This is my theory anyway.


This is a big reason where I found you get what you paid for. There are cheap LED's out there and then there are the quality LED's made by CREE and Philips. You pay slightly more for them but the better quality results in

1. more efficient light to heat ratio.
2. more intense light per watt used (some are 4 times brighter and the cheap ones)
3. more consistent spectrum pastern between the same led even from different mfg dates.
4. longer life expectancy (I have not had a CREE LED fail from burning out in 8 years or over 29,000 hours)


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

Are there white leds?


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

I was just looking at this 





Maybe a bit expensive but looks neat.


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## walzon1 (Feb 24, 2014)

Actually that's exactly what I have minus the waterproof part that you have to cut off $10 a roll with remote and everything, plants are growing just fine under them so far . Even Monte Carlo, and DHG both doing good so far.


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

BruceF said:


> Are there white leds?


Yes you can get them in numerous K ranges and CRI factors. Here is an example of the ones I use most.

http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/C...d Modules/XLamp/Data and Binning/XLampXPG.pdf


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## tdew2 (Feb 11, 2015)

BruceF said:


> I was just looking at this
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I used a roll that has both white and red/green/blue. The LED's alternate - the first light on the strip is white, the next is rgb, then white again - and so on.

The problem with this type is that the solder pads are tiny and nearly impossible for your average diy type to solder. I was going to just snake the roll back and forth inside a white vinyl gutter, but a buddy suggested another idea which worked well. I posted on youtube:


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

What we need to do is a good comparison on building costs, verses electricity used, and the light output.

I know on a 30 breeder tank I went from 78 watts of HO-T-5's to 15 Watts of CREE LED's running at 3 Watts each. The electrical savings is around $60.00 per year with is close to the cost of the new DIY fixture. But the PAR at the substrate jumped from 28 with the T-5's to 32 with the LED's.


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