# DIY 5630 SMD LED, opinions and advice needed.



## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Cacique said:


> Hello everyone. I've browsed the thread a lot and finally have some questions to ask. I was reading Hoppy's thread about hte 5630 SMD LED strips and thought that they are a good option for a simple DIY setup.
> 
> I have several tanks that I need to light up; 55 gallon, 20 gallon, 20 gallon long, and a 10 gallon. My thought was of using the LEDs glued onto an aluminum gutter with the inside painted flat white that will rest on top of the tank and with an acrylic splash guard, most tanks will have a screen top as well. The LEDs would rest at about 22 inches from the sand on the 55 gallon, about 18 inches on the 20 gallon, and about 14 inches from the bottom on the 10 and 20 gallon long tanks, and I would like to get medium light.
> 
> ...


All those (well most some are 24v) strips run off 12V DC .. You will have to account for the amperage though..

Roughly 14.4w/ meter @ 12V= 1.2A per meter .. (approx 3ft)
Each power supply should exceed amp rating by at least 10%..More doesn't hurt anything but some PS efficiency.. AFAICT

AS to gutters.. I believe they are too deep if you mount at the bottom.. The LED "lens" is about 110-120 degrees..putting that inside such a trough is problematic for light spread front to back..

I've used gutter sections but dropped the LED's down using aluminum strips and tank supports . Trick is the shield then though..but I never had to bother, preferring glass or acrylic tank tops.

Generally fans are not necessary..

Nice thing about strips is you can add these cheapish controller/dimmers..
http://www.leynew.com/en/productview.asp?id=544


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## Cacique (Jul 29, 2014)

Thanks for the quick input. I already got the gutters, jumped the gun a bit since I was going to do CFLs until I found out about the 5630 last minute, but maybe aluminum U channels would work better. Any idea if mounting them on what I would call the inside of the U channel and painting it white would help with light reflection? Or would I be better off just mounting them on the flat side and forgetting about a reflector?


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Cacique said:


> Thanks for the quick input. I already got the gutters, jumped the gun a bit since I was going to do CFLs until I found out about the 5630 last minute, but maybe aluminum U channels would work better. Any idea if mounting them on what I would call the inside of the U channel and painting it white would help with light reflection? Or would I be better off just mounting them on the flat side and forgetting about a reflector?


LED's are more point sources, so reflectors, in the old sense, are usually not needed. 

I've tried L channel to avoid light spill (using 1W diodes) but even that was too restrictive..

The gutter w/ end caps makes a fair "decorative element" and is useable in that sense. 
One other option would be to flatten the gutter section (open it up so to speak), but it makes the acrylic shield a lot bigger..I may be wrong, but it seems to me anything more than 1/2 inch above the smd's is a bit problematic for light spread... 
As to paint IF you use a reflector.. doesn't hurt and is arguably a better reflector than the aluminum..long story.

Getting back to the gutter..what I did was build a wooden frame w/ slotted ends to slide al strip into. The gutter section extended beyond frame and nested on top. Makes a shield hard. No reason it couldn't be extended out side as end caps the gutter fell inside allowing the shield..

Cutting florescent tube protectors in half would make a different kind of shield for using on flat aluminum bars..


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

You will need 7-8 strips on the 55 gallon tank, to get low to low medium light. The 20H tank will need 4-5 strips, and the 20L and 10 gallon may also need 4 strips. This is all based on the graph in http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=545113&page=5 adjusted a bit for the shorter strips for the shorter tanks.


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## Cacique (Jul 29, 2014)

Thank you both very much for all of the advice and information, I really appreciate it.

I really want to thank you for that explanation Hoppy, I tried to understand all of the information on your thread but honestly, most of it just went over my head. I can build it easily, but it feels quite hard to understand.

Jeffkrol, just to make sure I understood, you wouldn't stick the LEDs into something like a U-channel because the sides of the U-channel are too big and will block too much light?


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Cacique said:


> you wouldn't stick the LEDs into something like a U-channel because the sides of the U-channel are too big and will block too much light?


yes


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## bigchieftaco (Jun 25, 2012)

Here's my ripped off version of Hoppy's setup on my 10 gallon tank. 
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=714217


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## Cacique (Jul 29, 2014)

Hey everyone, I wanted to say thanks again for all the info. I'm almost done with the set up but I now have 1 more piece of the puzzle that I wanted to verify.






Would a wireless dimmer like this work well? I was also wondering if anyone had any idea how many LEDs I would be able to control with this device? I'll have several meters of LEDs close together I could get them all on just 1 or 2 controllers.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Cacique said:


> Hey everyone, I wanted to say thanks again for all the info. I'm almost done with the set up but I now have 1 more piece of the puzzle that I wanted to verify.
> 
> Amazon.com: Mini LED Controller Dimmer with RF Wireless Remote Control DC 5~24V 12A R106: Musical Instruments
> 
> Would a wireless dimmer like this work well? I was also wondering if anyone had any idea how many LEDs I would be able to control with this device? I'll have several meters of LEDs close together I could get them all on just 1 or 2 controllers.


That will work and is cheap enough for a manual dimmer..
I prefer one w/ timer/programmable control though..
http://kwd-led.en.alibaba.com/produ...dimmer_programmable_led_light_controller.html

Not wireless though a similar model can be found. Costs more though..

As to what you picked.. says 12A max so:


> Roughly 14.4w/ meter @ 12V= 1.2A per meter .. (approx 3ft)


so roughly 30ft of light strip..


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