# LED Work Light?



## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

Would a compact LED work light work for growing plants? I've been trying to find inexpensive compact grow lights but I haven't had any luck. The tank I have is a 3 gallon shrimp tank that I want to start el Natural but I can't figure out how to do the lighting. I want it to be able to fit under the lid, not a desk lamp. 

Any help would be appreciated.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Yes, but... some are too weak, especially those meant to run on batteries. I checked out some @ Harbor Freight and their output was dismal.

It's good to blaze new trails, but if there were cheap, powerful, well built LED work lights that lend themselves to growing plants we would probably see them more around here.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

This is the one I saw that I'm considering -

http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

It's a plug-in, so I would think it'd be better than battery-powered?


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

No. You need power LEDs.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

It doesn't state the wattage, but I am afraid Sam is right.

You would be much better off with a compact fluorescent. You can get the socket for very cheap in a hardware store, and have a wide choice of wattages, shapes, and light colors to select from.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

Sounds like I'm going to have to go with my original plan and get this instead and just cut off the mount. I like this one because it has an on/off switch -

EDIT: Didn't know ebay links were prohibited. Oh, well, it's a studio light mount which is just a socket with an on/off switch on the back of it and a cord with a plug.

Double edit: Someone recommended this. They say it works with reef lighting and grows cheato like crazy. I don't know if it'd apply to freshwater plants...

http://www.lumentask.com/fluorotask.html


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## tentacles (Nov 28, 2011)

What about something like http://www.dealextreme.com/p/5w-5-led-white-light-ceiling-lamp-down-light-black-100-240v-49811

comments say ~120 degree angle

or
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/dual-head-6w-502lm-white-led-ceiling-lamp-down-light-110-220v-46672

all the prices on that site include slow boat shipping... just search for "down light"


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

The spec sheet for the lumentask link that I posted says the lights are 4200K. Would two or three lights make up for that since freshwater plants need around 6700K?

Tentacles, how would I wire that up? It doesn't come with a cord and a plug...


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

ZeeZ said:


> The spec sheet for the lumentask link that I posted says the lights are 4200K. Would two or three lights make up for that since freshwater plants need around 6700K?
> 
> Tentacles, how would I wire that up? It doesn't come with a cord and a plug...


Kelvin color temperature is color, you can't just add it up. Yellow + yellow = yellow, not white.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

samamorgan said:


> Kelvin color temperature is color, you can't just add it up. Yellow + yellow = yellow, not white.


So that light won't work.


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

ZeeZ said:


> So that light won't work.


No idea. 4200k Color temp would look like crap though. Take a picture of your tank and the hood so i can get an estimate of the space available.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

I'm turning this into the tank. The hood is the lid. 

Dimensions: 11 x 11 x 19 inches


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

ZeeZ said:


> I'm turning this into the tank. The hood is the lid.


Haha that's pretty awesome. Easy water changes too 

If i were you, with a tank that small, i would make a DIY single board LED setup. Minimum detraction from your aquarium.

LED: http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-191/CREE-XM-dsh-L-Cool-White/Detail
Heatsink: http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-158/Single-LED-Aluminum-Heatsink/Detail

I'm not sure what driver you could get for a single LED. That would be a question for someone more knowledgable on drivers. But a single XML should do the job easily. May i ask what the diameter of the widest point at the top of that container is? (trying to calculate light spread)


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

LOL, this will be a dirty tank. No filters. The plants will be the filter. That means maybe two water changes a YEAR. 

I'm plugging up the dispenser part with silicone anyway, to prevent people from trying to turn it on. You know they will once they see it. 

I have absolutely no idea how to make a DIY LED. I don't even know what it is you just posted except that it's a LED and the heatsink is something that's supposed to absorb heat from the LED, I guess?

The widest point at the top is where the lid meets the container. I got out my trusty tape measure and its...

11 inches.


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

DIY LED is easy. LED mounts to heat sink because LEDs put out heat off the back of the chip, and dont radiate hardly anything out the front like normal lights do. The led is powered by a positive and negative coming from the driver. Driver has a positive and negative coming from your wall. All gets soldered together, and soldering is fairly easy as well. If you can't solder it, there are solderless solutions out there too, or ill bet someone at a welding shop or LFS could do it if theyre handy.

With a diameter of that size, i personally would go with an 80 degree optic LED. The light would cover the entire diameter of your tank at 6 inches below the emmiter. That would probably be around 1/3 the way down your tank (im estimating). I only really suggest an optic though because it hides wiring and such, you really dont need one at all.

LED with optic here

Oh also, to get an idea of the size of this fixture once it's done, the heat sink is 1.5" in diameter and .625" tall. So a very small form factor to light your whole tank.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

That would be perfect. So the optic would hide the heatsink and the... driver...? My roommate says he thinks he has a solder gun at his mother's house, and he knows how to solder. He'll teach me with this project. This is good because I won't have to drill a hole large enough for the plug to fit through, just the wire.

Question: How do I anchor this to the tank lid? Silicone? Zip ties? That LED doesn't say what Kelvin it is.


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

ZeeZ said:


> That would be perfect. So the optic would hide the heatsink and the... driver...? My roommate says he thinks he has a solder gun at his mother's house, and he knows how to solder. He'll teach me with this project. This is good because I won't have to drill a hole large enough for the plug to fit through, just the wire.
> 
> Question: How do I anchor this to the tank lid? Silicone? Zip ties? That LED doesn't say what Kelvin it is.


LEDs come in a color "bin", these are cool white, which are between 5000-8000k color temperature, right where you want it to be. The optic would hide the wiring on top of the star printed circuit board i believe. You would still see about a half inch of heatsink behind the optic, which doesnt look bad IMO, i like machine looking stuff personally.

For mounting, you can do it any number of ways. I would drill a small hole in the center of the lid and mount it with a machine screw and rubber washers for dampening. I assume you're going to drill a hole for wiring anyway. You could also just epoxy it to the lid, this could be a pretty clean way if you can get the right epoxy and are very careful about not smearing it anywhere.

Another idea: drill the hole for the wire in the center of the lid, use the wire itself to suspend the led from the lid, and put some sort of stopper so the wire can't slip down. Thing weights a couple grams at most, easily suspended by a piece of wire.

Yet another idea: cut a hole with a hole saw that is just the perfect size, right at 1.5". This way you could just push the heat sink into that hole and the friction would keep it suspended. This would also serve to better cool the LED because it would be outside of the tank, and also as an air exchange vent for your aquarium.

When it comes down to mounting though, any way you can think of doing it that you're satisfied with, go for it.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

I have DAP's Aquarium Safe Silicone, which is clear. I was going to use that to hold the light, but epoxies are much stronger... Hmm.

Now for someone to chime in about a driver...


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

ZeeZ said:


> I have DAP's Aquarium Safe Silicone, which is clear. I was going to use that to hold the light, but epoxies are much stronger... Hmm.
> 
> Now for someone to chime in about a driver...


The more i think about it, the more i like the 1.5" hole method. Would probably be the cleanest, especially if you can get that diameter just right so the heat sink has to be forced into place. Is that thing acrylic or glass (looks like acrylic). If it's acrylic, perfect solution.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

It's acrylic. However, the exact center is where the handle is... and I'm not crazy about cutting a hole in the handle. You'll see what I mean -


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

ZeeZ said:


> It's acrylic. However, the exact center is where the handle is... and I'm not crazy about cutting a hole in the handle. You'll see what I mean


Ahh i see what you mean. Yeah that does make it a pain then. I would recommend just hanging it by its own wires then, just pull all the slack out through the hole until the heatsink contacts the back. The hood is going to need a little ventilation too, or any lighting fixture you put in there is going to be constantly wet and eventually fail.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

Yeah, I intend on drilling holes all around the lid to provide ventilation. What would I use to stop up the wire? 

I think that method and little bits of epoxy is the best route.


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

Tie a knot in it? Put a zip tie around it? SOmething that would keep the slack taut and not go through the hole you drill. I doubt epoxy would be necessary considering the miniscule weight of the light, as long as you have good solder connections. even better if you shrink tube the wires together before they go through the hole. Or use some commercially prepared wire that has a sheath already. Also if you dont epoxy it on, you can actually take the heat sink and light fixture out of the top for service, or to change things up.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

True. Commercially prepared wire with a sheath sounds nice. I e-mailed rapidled about the driver since nobody else on here has chimed in. Hopefully they have something but I didn't see anything listed for a single LED under their drivers pages.


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## WingoAgency (Jan 10, 2006)

consider a 4x1W MR16 bulbs if you are not doing CO2, a 3x2W MR16 if using CO2

Just plug it into a 12V adapter and immediately work. 








[/url] Flickr 上 WingoAgency 的 4x1W vs 3x2W MR16 Sizes IMG_1771[/IMG]match you Sci-Fi look too.

if you want DIY parts, I have them all


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

That's actually a pretty good idea too. I would be worried about space limitations in that small cover though, would have to cut a larger hole in the top of the cover and inset the bulb back further.


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## WingoAgency (Jan 10, 2006)

samamorgan said:


> That's actually a pretty good idea too. I would be worried about space limitations in that small cover though, would have to cut a larger hole in the top of the cover and inset the bulb back further.


Remove the lens in the bulb and cover it with a sheet thin acrylics should do the trick.
The LEDs are 120 degree without optics so they will cover the whole tank pretty nicely.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

By lens, are you talking about the metal part? I did a search for 12V adapter, and I came up with the kind used for laptops?

Rapidled responded to my e-mail saying that the moonlight driver would would with what you suggested, samamorgan.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

Bump.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

Are you talking about this? 

http://www.affordablequalitylighting.com/docs/indoor/accessories/jc-adapter.html

That would make things clumsy and large, having to get a socket...


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## WingoAgency (Jan 10, 2006)

[/url] Flickr 上 WingoAgency 的 MR 16 base and DC adpaters[/IMG]

The white one connects to the bulb, the green connects to the ac/dc adapter


Flickr 上 WingoAgency 的 12V Regulated Power Supply

If you still cannot picture what I mean, then stay with your own design and please email me what raw parts you need for DIY, I'll hook you up. My email is WingoLED.com








[/url] Flickr 上 WingoAgency 的 STS-12 4x3x1W LED[/IMG]

The lens is the round clear plastic in the above pic


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

That actually looks very simple. I'm guessing the white wires just plugs into the two ports of the adapter?

I read that AC adapters weren't very reliable for LEDs since they don't put out the maximum voltage, just a constant voltage unless the voltages were matched. Is this setup matched?


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

Went to order the parts then realized I don't know how to put it all together or what exactly to order...

I'm a newbie to this LED DIY light.


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