# Goodbye fluorescent bulb



## BobAlston (Jan 23, 2004)

http://news.yahoo.com/goodbye-fluorescent-bulb-philips-says-112843502.html


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## digital_gods (Apr 23, 2010)

LEDs are the way to go. I've been experimenting with the cheap China made LEDs that is commonly used. I have found a formula that seems to work, with 3w LEDs, you need at least 1 LED per gallon. If you have a fixture that has more, make sure it's dimmable so that you can fine tune the light output to your tank needs. I just switched my saltwater tank to LEDs which requires high light for my stony corals. I've been using LED light fixture on my Fire Belly Toad enclosure for over a year now with good growth with the low light plants I have in there.


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## jasonmemo (Jun 19, 2010)

Hey digital, didn't you start a thread about DIY LED? can you guide me? I just purchased a 36" 65 gallon aquarium and i want to try a LED planted tank.


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## digital_gods (Apr 23, 2010)

Are you looking for a pre made one or build your own?


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## jasonmemo (Jun 19, 2010)

build your own. I think that's way cheaper right?


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## digital_gods (Apr 23, 2010)

I just finished these for my son's 20g cube tank. The color for these lights are configured for saltwater but the building process is the same. For freshwater, I recommend 2 cool white to 1 warm white ratio. I seems to give a pure white light.


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## jasonmemo (Jun 19, 2010)

how many lumens is that?


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## digital_gods (Apr 23, 2010)

10k lumens


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## jasonmemo (Jun 19, 2010)

Do you have a guide to building a LED ?


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## digital_gods (Apr 23, 2010)

LEDs operate within a voltage range of 3v-3.6v. When you have multiple leds in a circuit, you add the voltage to figure out the voltage requirements. For example 4 leds in a series would require 12v-14.4v to operate. I have figured a guide to the number of leds needed. At 3v, use 2.5 leds per gallon. At 3.6v, use 1.5 leds per gallon. The increase of voltage does raise the lumens output.


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