# Great LED fixture for small planted tanks!!



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Oh and in case your wondering, it's about the size of a fist


----------



## trackhazard (Aug 24, 2006)

Wow. Thats a great find.

Whats the spread on it? 2 over 10g @ 12" covers a 10x10-ish area?

-Charlie


----------



## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

I wonder if this place would build custom fixtures, I think I found one that would be perfect except it has actinic LEDs too


----------



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

trackhazard said:


> Wow. Thats a great find.
> 
> Whats the spread on it? 2 over 10g @ 12" covers a 10x10-ish area?
> 
> -Charlie


Yeah I'd say 10"+ spread is a good estimate. To give you an idea, here's the fixture over my discus tank (they sent me the wrong color by the way, waiting on the 6000k lamp to arrive). 

Tank is 21" tall, so the fixture is about 26" off the subtrate. Not nearly enough light for a tank this size, but it should give you an idea. I really like the look on this fish-only tank though. Gives an awesome shimmer effect and gives the tank a real natural biotope look


----------



## outcast (Jul 4, 2007)

Nice! i'm thinking 3 of these over a 10 gallon raised around 16" off the substrate might work out nice and give a better spread.

Little work with the casing and it wouldn't look bad exposed compared to some of the other LEDs out there.


----------



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

And if you guys want something stronger for bigger tanks, here's a beastly 50w version!!!! Puts out an impressive 4000 lumens. I can only imagine what the PAR would be with this bad boy 

[Ebay Link Removed]

EDIT: I guess ebay links aren't allowed, why? Here's the item# 250735152177


----------



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

outcast said:


> Nice! i'm thinking 3 of these over a 10 gallon raised around 16" off the substrate might work out nice and give a better spread.
> 
> Little work with the casing and it wouldn't look bad exposed compared to some of the other LEDs out there.


Yeah I actually like the casing, gives it that raw/industrial/modernish look. A quick spray paint would make it look even better. The large heatsink does a good job. The fixture gets warm, but not hot.


----------



## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

I just called them and spoke with one of workers there.

The guy told me that on this fixture:
http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=712
You can turn off the actinic leds in the middle and only run the whites, they're pretty high K rating but this might be something to look for in a big tank.

He also recommended this one, which has kelvin closer to what we'd want, but no par values are available. 
http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=405


----------



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> I just called them and spoke with one of workers there.
> 
> The guy told me that on this fixture:
> http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=712
> ...


That second one is an impressive light panel. Only problem is, it's small and compact. The lumens output is great, so I'm sure the PAR will be even better. But, I spoke to another guy who tried these on a big tank. It's puts out a ton of light he said, but on a big tank it gives you the 'spotlight' effect. So this would have to be used on a tank with a footprint not much bigger than the light panel itself. 

The one in the first link looks pretty cool too. But at that price, I'd go the DIY route and build something that would fit my tank size, since it's such a small fixture. Not only that, it puts out 182 PAR at 24". That's a TON of light, way too much for freshwater plants. You want to be somewhere around 40-60 for medium-to-high lighting.


----------



## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

That little LED light was amazing to see last night. If the $30 cost seems high, a simple Home Depot worklight, the 8.5 inch reflector type, plus a good 25 watt screw-in 6500K CFL bulb, costs around $15. This little light looks better, can easily be fitted into a nice looking hood, and gives you the shimmer effect. I would use only 2 of them on a 10 gallon tank.


----------



## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

jcardona1 said:


> That second one is an impressive light panel. Only problem is, it's small and compact. The lumens output is great, so I'm sure the PAR will be even better. But, I spoke to another guy who tried these on a big tank. It's puts out a ton of light he said, but on a big tank it gives you the 'spotlight' effect. So this would have to be used on a tank with a footprint not much bigger than the light panel itself.
> 
> The one in the first link looks pretty cool too. But at that price, I'd go the DIY route and build something that would fit my tank size, since it's such a small fixture. Not only that, it puts out 182 PAR at 24". That's a TON of light, way too much for freshwater plants. You want to be somewhere around 40-60 for medium-to-high lighting.



I wonder if keeping the actinics off would reduce the PAR by 1/3, since 1/3 of the LEDs are actinics. Still way too high of a PAR, but if you lift it to about 30-40 inches it might work better. 

Aqua Forest has their halides like, 40 inches off the substrate in their 180p display tank.

I agree with the DIY route, but this might be good for a 36inch tank for those not inclined to building their own fixture.

I've actually seen this fixture for sale at one of my LFS, it was 1000 bucks!


----------



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Hoppy said:


> That little LED light was amazing to see last night. If the $30 cost seems high, a simple Home Depot worklight, the 8.5 inch reflector type, plus a good 25 watt screw-in 6500K CFL bulb, costs around $15. This little light looks better, can easily be fitted into a nice looking hood, and gives you the shimmer effect. I would use only 2 of them on a 10 gallon tank.


Your fixture was very impressive too Vaughn! Can't wait to see that thing in action. I'm working on a 60x30x24 discus tank (no plants), so I'm considering doing several of these little flood lamps or building something similar to yours, but with less LEDs so I wouldn't need the intense output.


----------



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> I wonder if keeping the actinics off would reduce the PAR by 1/3, since 1/3 of the LEDs are actinics. Still way too high of a PAR, but if you lift it to about 30-40 inches it might work better.
> 
> Aqua Forest has their halides like, 40 inches off the substrate in their 180p display tank.
> 
> ...


Yeah I'm sure that would help decrease PAR by a bit. Awfully expensive though since you'll only be using some of the lights. DIY may seem intimidating, but it's only a matter of attaching the LEDs to a heatsink, wiring them in series (positive to negative to positive, etc), and attaching them to a driver. If you can drill a hole then you can wire up a fixture in no time. 

Here's two recent threads on DIY LEDs with some great info

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/127189-diy-led-60g-tank-56k-warning.html
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/127304-catalina-aquarium-leds.html


----------



## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

jcardona1 said:


> Yeah I'm sure that would help decrease PAR by a bit. Awfully expensive though since you'll only be using some of the lights. DIY may seem intimidating, but it's only a matter of attaching the LEDs to a heatsink, wiring them in series (positive to negative to positive, etc), and attaching them to a driver. If you can drill a hole then you can wire up a fixture in no time.
> 
> Here's two recent threads on DIY LEDs with some great info
> 
> ...


Oh yeah, I've been researching LEDs for the past few weeks now and DIY is something I'd be inclined to do, just trying to see all my options as far as commercial fixtures go. 

Very exciting time we are in! I just saw on rapid LED that they have a cree led that puts out like, 1000 lumens at only 340mah i think, ridiculously powerful! I wonder what will show up in the next few years, and how far these prices will drop. Will these LEDs drop to pennies each like the 5mm LEDs are now?


----------



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> Oh yeah, I've been researching LEDs for the past few weeks now and DIY is something I'd be inclined to do, just trying to see all my options as far as commercial fixtures go.
> 
> Very exciting time we are in! I just saw on rapid LED that they have a cree led that puts out like, 1000 lumens at only 340mah i think, ridiculously powerful! I wonder what will show up in the next few years, and how far these prices will drop. Will these LEDs drop to pennies each like the 5mm LEDs are now?


Yeah definitely! Are you talking about the CREE MC-E LEDs? Store-bought LED fixtures for aquarium can be stupid expensive. But if you're not scared of a soldering gun, you can build an even better fixture for much less money. 

And like I said in Tom's thread, some of these reefers get real fancy and hook up dimmers and microcontrollers. You could dim the LEDs, and even tweak the color output. But that involves some intense wiring that is way out of my leage!


----------



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Here's the fixture made by a guy that helped me out with a lot of information. He built a very impressive fixture!! 

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=364010

And in this thread he goes into all the details (starting at post #17). Way too technical for me lol!
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=348271


----------



## flipanda (Nov 30, 2009)

that $30 lamp you posted in your original post, did you have to wire it for power yourself? i only ask cuz ive never done something like that and was wondering if it was easy to do.


----------



## Tu13es (Jan 21, 2009)

Hm, interesting. This one's pretty cheap too, though a bit larger than the one in the OP. I wonder how it compares with output.

http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=370


----------



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

flipanda said:


> that $30 lamp you posted in your original post, did you have to wire it for power yourself? i only ask cuz ive never done something like that and was wondering if it was easy to do.


Yeah, the wires are bare, since it's meant to be hard-wired in like any other light fixture. All you need to do is wire up a 3-wire plug, you can get these from Lowes for a few bucks. Wiring is super easy, takes all of two minutes.


----------



## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

trackhazard said:


> Wow. Thats a great find.
> 
> Whats the spread on it? 2 over 10g @ 12" covers a 10x10-ish area?
> 
> -Charlie


I am using a single 10w Satistronics LED over a 10g right now, and it's "low light". I'm growing a Nymphea sp. (which is overgrowing the tank) as well as dwarf sag, and C. wendtii under it just fine. 

Bright spot near the middle of the tank (where the lily is), slightly shaded areas around it. Looks fine. 5" off the water. 

One regular green sword plant isn't growing well under this, and it's off to one side. If I had a second LED over it, it would grow fine.

Two of these would be more "medium light". 



outcast said:


> Nice! i'm thinking 3 of these over a 10 gallon raised around 16" off the substrate might work out nice and give a better spread.
> 
> Little work with the casing and it wouldn't look bad exposed compared to some of the other LEDs out there.



Start with two of them about 6" from the surface of the water (10g). I'm using one of them, and the hot spot under it is plenty of light for most plants, but the perimeter around it is only good for stuff like crypts and dwarf sag. Two of them would definitely give you good light. 


If you get three of them, better have CO2 ready . Will look great though.


----------



## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

Might use this for my mini-m to replace the archaea fixture... now... how will I hang it over the tank...


----------



## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

It is a nice little light and plenty for any nano.


----------



## cat4wisson (Feb 20, 2010)

I purchased three of these last july for my 72 gal as a suppliment to a marineland fixture I had picked up. They are not built the best, but they are still going strong and the tanks is doing very well. I'll have to post some pics soon.  The tank has turned into a haven for my cherry shrimps with a couple large sections of java moss and a place to put all our male guppies produced from our other two tanks.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/111911-72-gallon-planted.html



Tu13es said:


> Hm, interesting. This one's pretty cheap too, though a bit larger than the one in the OP. I wonder how it compares with output.
> 
> http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=370


----------



## DiscusLoverJeff (Jun 18, 2010)

With the demand now for LED lights and more people DIY their own, does anyone see a price decrease anytime soon? I am still noticing after looking at the links for lights in this thread that they are still quite expensive considering that it is becoming the "new" way to light an aquarium.

I want to build 3 fixtures (1 at 36" and 2 at 48") but this would cost me a small fortune as compared to buying T5 setups. 

I am sure the LED's will last longer, but for now T5's are still cheaper.


----------



## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

DiscusLoverJeff said:


> With the demand now for LED lights and more people DIY their own, does anyone see a price decrease anytime soon? I am still noticing after looking at the links for lights in this thread that they are still quite expensive considering that it is becoming the "new" way to light an aquarium.
> 
> I want to build 3 fixtures (1 at 36" and 2 at 48") but this would cost me a small fortune as compared to buying T5 setups.
> 
> I am sure the LED's will last longer, but for now T5's are still cheaper.


The 36 inch LED light I just made cost me about $160 and produces a uniform 40 micromols of PAR over at least 12 inches of tank depth at 18 inches distance. That isn't much more than a T5HO light with similar capabilities.

Once you decide you need to make the ultimate light, using the least power, with full adjustability, and using only the very latest and best LEDs and drivers, then you are looking at very expensive lights. But, that isn't necessary.


----------



## mylittlefish (Oct 5, 2010)

jcardona1 said:


> Yeah I'd say 10"+ spread is a good estimate. To give you an idea, here's the fixture over my discus tank (they sent me the wrong color by the way, waiting on the 6000k lamp to arrive).
> 
> Tank is 21" tall, so the fixture is about 26" off the subtrate. Not nearly enough light for a tank this size, but it should give you an idea. I really like the look on this fish-only tank though. Gives an awesome shimmer effect and gives the tank a real natural biotope look


Are your Discus a little cramped?

What does it look like with just the LED light on?...... or is that with just the LED?

I have an LED DIY my son made....... he put in some Blues ( 440nm i believe) it really adds some great effect.

8 White
5 Blues

This is my 90

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEWkQYd-vzs



Experimenting with glass shelving in this clip.


----------



## [email protected] (Jul 17, 2008)

mylittlefish said:


> I have an LED DIY my son made....... he put in some Blues ( 440nm i believe) it really adds some great effect.
> 8 White
> 5 Blues
> This is my 90
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEWkQYd-vzs


That looks incredible, Roger. 
I want details. How about if I bring the next batch of shrimp pellets over?
I have snails, for your loaches.


----------



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

mylittlefish said:


> Are your Discus a little cramped?
> 
> What does it look like with just the LED light on?...... or is that with just the LED?
> 
> ...


No worries, setting up a 190g for them as we speak. 

Yes, that is just the LED fixture on. Nice fixture you have there. I'm just not a fan of blue lights on any freshwater setup. White and warm white would have made a better combo.


----------



## Gunplameister (Jan 6, 2011)

i have a question, how hot does the fixture get? i might pick one up to use on my edge.


----------



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Gunplameister said:


> i have a question, how hot does the fixture get? i might pick one up to use on my edge.


It gets warm, but definitely not hot to the touch. The large heatsink does a great job.


----------



## Cottagewitch (Oct 22, 2009)

Ok...so 2 of these over a 10g would produce high? Medium? Low light? 

Has anyone come up with ideas of a hood to put them in? Or something that doesn't look quite so DIY? Like maybe running the wires through a curved pipe or maybe some sort of shade/cover that would hide the wire connections but not be a heat problem?


----------



## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

I just got one of these to use as a light for my refugium on my reef tank. It's very bright and gets pretty good coverage over a standard 10 gal. Highly recommended.

I don't know the PAR, but it looks great.


----------



## Mr. Leg (Feb 2, 2011)

I second the idea of putting this over a MINI M, any ideas on a nice way to hang it?


----------

