# DIY LED for 90cm/36 inch 48 gallon tank -FINISHED! Pics/PAR levels on page 2



## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Those look like great LEDs for an aquarium, but I notice they are for a maximum of 700 mAmps, and the Meanwell driver you are getting will drive them at 1050 mAmps, maximum. You will need to use an ammeter to adjust the driver down to 700 mAmps before using it.

Judging by my LED light, using 130 lumen LEDs vs your 220 lumen LEDs, you might get about 80 micromols of PAR at 18 inches. I think I would try to evenly space the LEDs, about 3-3.5 inches apart, leaving the middle of the fixture blank because of the cross brace on the tank. And, I think I would use all 30 LEDs, in two 15 LED strings. Meanwell drivers have an adjustment screw for the output voltage, so you should be able to raise the voltage enough to accommodate 15 LEDs. You could then use 3 rows of LEDs, 10 in each row, spaced 3.25 inches apart, with about a 6 inch gap in the middle. This would be close to my setup, except with about twice the PAR.

I don't think you need a finned heat exchanger for this. Look at getting aluminum channels, 1/8" thick aluminum, one channel per row of LEDs. In fact, this would be a good time to do a lot of thinking about how you will house the heatsink, or whether you want the heatsink itself to be the housing, and how to hang it. Ebay has some stores that sell aluminum channels - Online Metal Supply is one.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

My tank is a rimless 48 gal mr. aqua tank so no brace. 

How would I lower the mAmps using an ammeter?
I have one of these
http://www.sourcingmap.com/digital-...gle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=usfroogle

I was reading your thread hoppy and the closer the LEDs are the higher the par right?


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

Ok, I just called in to change my order to 3 of the 700 mAmp drivers, and added 6 more LEDS to bring the total to 36.

I guess I'll just do 3 rows of 12 evenly spaced instead of clumps of LEDs.

Good idea Hoppy. I'm tapping into SFBAAPS to see if anyone knows of a local source for heatsinks or aluminum channels . I'd rather not get it shipped since shipping would probably be pretty high.


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## DiscusLoverJeff (Jun 18, 2010)

Iwannagofast,

When you all done with this great project, can you possibly post a total cost? I am looking to build 3 fixtures, 1 for my 36" reef and 2 for my 48" plant tanks.

Good Luck!


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

will do Jeff.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> My tank is a rimless 48 gal mr. aqua tank so no brace.
> 
> How would I lower the mAmps using an ammeter?
> I have one of these
> ...


Those LEDs produce a 90 degree cone of light, so the light from many LEDs hits every spot on the substrate if they are close enough, and the closer together they are the more LEDs contribute light to every spot. Mine are about 3.25 inches apart.



IWANNAGOFAST said:


> Ok, I just called in to change my order to 3 of the 700 mAmp drivers, and added 6 more LEDS to bring the total to 36.
> 
> I guess I'll just do 3 rows of 12 evenly spaced instead of clumps of LEDs.
> 
> Good idea Hoppy. I'm tapping into SFBAAPS to see if anyone knows of a local source for heatsinks or aluminum channels . I'd rather not get it shipped since shipping would probably be pretty high.


The 700 mAmp drivers will work easier, because they limit the current to 700 mAmp, and, I just noticed that that model driver is not adjustable. It produces 700 mAmps and only 700 mAmps. It self adjusts the DC voltage as needed to power the LEDs. My driver has a removable cover that gives access to a couple of adjustment screws for current and voltage.

Your tank is about 3 inches more front to back than mine, so you might want to make the 3 rows a bit further apart, perhaps 4 inches. That will reduce the PAR, but probably still give you close to the amount you want. Since you don't need the ends of the tank quite as bright as the middle, you could space the 12 in a row at 2.75 inches apart, so they stop about 3 inches from the ends of the tank. That raises the PAR, bringing you back to about the amount you want.

If you don't mind a trip to Sacramento, you can find lots of aluminum extruded shapes, including about 5 sizes of channels at: http://www.bluecollar-supply.com/ And, several years ago there was a similar store in Oakland, but it may not still be there.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

Thanks Hoppy, I'll look around for aluminum channels and if I can't find any I'll make my way to sacramento. 

Tom mentioned that I may have way too much light, so I'm going to wire up 2 rows of 12 10 inches apart, then add a middle row as necessary to increase par.

Very good discussions, very good at keeping me from doing my work... haha


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Since each row will have its own driver, you could easily add an on-off switch to each driver's AC power side, then you could run any combination of 1,2 or 3 rows that works best. For the slight added expense and trouble, you avoid having to take it apart and add a 3rd row if needed. I would definitelly do it that way.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Nice to see you start off! I'll be following this thread to see how it goes. Once I get my stand built and the tank plumbed, my next focus will be the lighting


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

Hoppy said:


> Since each row will have its own driver, you could easily add an on-off switch to each driver's AC power side, then you could run any combination of 1,2 or 3 rows that works best. For the slight added expense and trouble, you avoid having to take it apart and add a 3rd row if needed. I would definitelly do it that way.



I didn't think about including the on off switches, I never use the ones on my current fixture since they're on timers.

I was hoping, if I end up having enough light with just the two rows, I'd be able to use the leftover LEDs for a small fixture on another tank. So I don't want to install all 3 rows in and end up only needing two. Plus I'm not drilling my heatsink, I'm going to be using the thermal adhesive to mount the LEDs.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

Ok, ordered some more stuff today, didn't want to waste time searching for heatsinks in dinky warehouses so... this is what I got. This is starting to get expensive haha

3x Flat aluminum bars (1 inch wide, 1/8inch thick and 36 inch long) 34.90 after shipping
added 6 more LEDs for 12.23
Added a fan kit from rapidled.com plus a 3rd power cord - 31.79 shipped

Just need now : Fans, I think I still have my old computer case which I can salvage the fans from... I hope...

Total spent: 260.20

lol... this is not cheaper than replacing the bulbs...


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## Wicket_lfe (Aug 21, 2008)

man just like you, i need to poop or get off the pot.

goodluck with this project, ill be keeping an eye on it.

I just did my pricing and will be spending about the same on CREE LEDs, i think? LOL


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

haha, Cree's aren't cheap but I guess they're the best out there right now. 

I'm hoping that 2 rows of 12 LEDs each will be perfect, and I can use the leftover driver and LEDs to build something for another tank.

Now I just need another tank lol.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Based on this, http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/128230-diy-cheapest-cree-xpg-led-fixture.html you should have a very well lighted tank.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

LEDs came in today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Will start putting everything together on Wednesday when I get home. Super excited. 

This past weekend my dad and I built a housing for the LEDs out of sheet metal. 









Started out by measuring it out, fixture is 36x 10x 3.









Cutting the sheet metal. My dad worked as a sheet metal worker so he has all these crazy tools. I don't even know what that thing he's holding is called.









Making the bends using a sheet metal folder









The housing after all bending is done. 









Welding the housing together.

I don't have a pic of the finished product, but just imagine a metal box... haha.

I'll be painting it a flat gray to match the stand.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

when l first saw this l thought of a led sheet metal ada style fixture. l'm so tempted to try to do one someday..


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

Started working it today, bought some gigantic 200mm fans. Total cost is now into the 300's, but I only plan to use 24 LEDs now, so, that'll reduce the cost down to about 260 again.

This fan is freaking huge. moves 110 cubic feet of air per minute and only puts out about 19dB of sound









THE FAN FROM HELL!!!!!!! It will eat your children. I may or may not cut the red leds out, but we'll see how it looks 









Closeup of the stevesled 7000k 700mAMP led. Doesn't look as well built as the pictures of the CREEs I've seen









They're spaced about 3 inches apart









Soldering will happen this weekend. I just need to track down that par meter now...


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

It's DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOUTUBE LINK HERE 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGdGrBI1suU

it's REALLY bright to the eyes, much brighter looking than my t5's looked. This may present an issue, but I don't have the PAR meter yet so I can't test anything out.

There is that Shimmer but it's very subtle since there's a lot of LEDs and they're evenly spaced. It's noticeable but not that drastic, I like it a lot.

This build was actually a lot easier than I thought it'd be, it's pretty straight forward, everything worked as planned. There was no real trouble shooting involved. It's about as plug and play as you can get right now. The only hard part would be building the housing, but if you were to retrofit it into an old fixture I don't think you'd run into that issue.

Anyways, onto the pictures.

Wiring up the LEDs. I'm not going to explain it too much, I just followed the wiring instructions online









LEDs are all wired up









IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!









The finished housing, painted it gray to match the stand.









Mounting the fans and drivers









Mounting the LED arrays









Light it up!


















D'OH! LEDs are mounted too low in the housing and blinded us when we sat down to watch TV. Remounted the arrays using spacers









Voila!









View under the hood


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## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

Very nice. I forget, are those Satistronics LED? They look identical to the Satistronics 3w that I have. [[[EDIT-- you said they were Steve's LEDs-- gotcha!]]]]]

Tank looks great!! And I love the fan overkill, looks awesome.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

That looks very good! From the outside it looks like a ready-made LED light. From the photos I can't even guess how much light you have - how long before you can get a PAR meter on the job? Which direction do the fans blow, out of the housing or into the housing?


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

Thanks Hoppy!

I'll be getting the PAR meter tomorrow night so I should have numbers either by then or monday. I've never used a PAR meter before so I'll have to figure out how to use it first.

The fans are blowing on the heatsinks.

If it turns out I have enough light (which I'm sure I do) I'll have 11 leftover LEDs, a Left over driver and a left over heatsink...

what to do what to do.


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## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

Well, with 11 LEDs left over, you have lots of things. 

Most 3w LEDs can be driven from two AA batteries (with no driver). They maintain max brightness for a couple hours and then slowly peter off. 

You can buy a two-AA holder at Radio Shack for $1.99, and has + and - wires. Just splice in an on/off switch and you have a perfect emergency flashlight lol


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I think the fans, arranged as they are, will work best blowing up out of the light housing, not down into it. That's because the fans now only blow on a small portion of the heatsinks, but if they are blowing air out, the incoming air will be flowing over most of the heatsink lengths. You can reverse the fans by just reversing the wires to the fans, assuming they are DC fans and not AC.


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## cervantesmx (Feb 16, 2011)

IWANNAGOFAST Any chance you can post more pictures of your tank and how it looks with your new light housing? I am very pro DYI and I think you did a great job, I'm just curious as to what your tank looked before hand (if you have any pics) and what it looks like now from different angles (if possible) thanks in advance!


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## zyn1 (Aug 26, 2010)

this came out looking nice..congrats on project well done! can't wait for the PAR readings.


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Just based on your pics alone, I wasn't a believer but after seeing your vid I think you got the perfect light output. Did you get the PAR meter yet?


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

I did some PAR readings today. With the lights 20 inches from the substrate this is what I got (this isn't a pic w/ the LEDs, just an old pic I had w/ t5's on the tank)










Kind of disappointing actually, puts me at low -med light, not what I was aiming for. I will be adding a 3rd array, probably with just 6 LEDs this time to the middle of the fixture and see how it works out.

Or should I leave it as such?


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

I just tried my PAR meter for the first time and wow it was pretty disappointing, too!


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## cervantesmx (Feb 16, 2011)

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> ... Kind of disappointing actually, puts me at low -med light, not what I was aiming for. I will be adding a 3rd array, probably with just 6 LEDs this time to the middle of the fixture and see how it works out.
> 
> Or should I leave it as such?


So that picture was of the old light fixture with the current readings, am I correct? - Since I'm learning, what are your desired readings for the different positions of the tank? BTW, any chance of new pics with the current light fixture?


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

My parents took the camera with them so I'll have to borrow my gf's camera to take more pics.

Yes, that's the tank w/ current readings but using an old light. 

I was aiming for 65-70 umols at the substrate (which is on the threshold of med/high light


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Are the measurements taken where the aquascape elements can shade some areas? If the scape looks like in the picture that would be the case. And, you might have the amount of light you wanted. It will always be reduced by shading.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

I was getting 40-50umols in areas that had no shading whatsoever. What do you think? 6 more?


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

Hmm... Maybe I don't need to add more LEDs afterall

Here is the readings for 2x39watt t5ho suspended 22 inches above the substrate (how I had it before)









and here it is with all 3 bulbs on. definitely overkill









I was originally aiming for 60-75umols at the substrate but I remember that running all 3 of my bulbs really caused a lot of algae issues


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> I was getting 40-50umols in areas that had no shading whatsoever. What do you think? 6 more?


I think 40-50 mms of PAR at the substrate is a very good light level, because with CO2 you can grow almost any plant, just grow it slower, and algae will be no problem because it will grow slow enough that you can easily remove any that pops up before it becomes a problem. I just visited Tom Barr today to borrow the club PAR meter, and once again saw his big tank with all of the Cardinals in it. That one has light comparable to yours, except I don't think it is as high at the top of the tank. It is a beautiful, fully Staurogyne carpeted tank, and it still grows fast enough to be sheared off every few weeks to provide lots of cuttings for sale.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

Thanks hoppy. I will keep the 24 for now then. 

I did swap the fans around so that they exhaust air instead of intake. I was finding that it was cooling the water too much. The temp of my water dropped to a level that my heater couldn't maintain it at my set 82 (planning on discus).


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

When are you going to do the test for the led's?


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

!shadow! said:


> When are you going to do the test for the led's?


I tested them already actually. The results are on page 2.


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

It's not there. says you got the pic with the old t5's maybe you got em confused?


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

No. The picture is of the tank with the t5 lights, true. But the par levels on that picture are of the LEDs. I don't have a camera for a bit but wanted to post my findings so i just used an old picture.


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## Im2Nelson4u (Feb 7, 2010)

Your gonna need atleast 36 or more LEDs on that thing if you wanna reach 60 or higher without lens. 

I used 36 Cree XP-Gs without lens and im barely getting 50s-60s at the bottom of the tank (although I am running it at 1A instead of the 1.5a). 

Depending on the lens degree you might have a problem with coverage ( That why I chose to use 36 on my 48g)

If you want to risk it you can try to crank up the current output by turning the SVR2 knob inside your driver to kinda overdrive the LEDs a bit as long as your keeping it cool.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

Im2Nelson4u said:


> Your gonna need atleast 36 or more LEDs on that thing if you wanna reach 60 or higher without lens.
> 
> I used 36 Cree XP-Gs without lens and im barely getting 50s-60s at the bottom of the tank (although I am running it at 1A instead of the 1.5a).
> 
> ...


Yeah I think so too, but I'm happy with what I got now. I thought it was too low, but after measuring my t5ho, it seems like 24 LEDs matches (and slightly improves on) the PAR levels of a 2 bulb set up (which is what I was using). 

If anything, I may add some more but not yet, we'll see how it goes


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Get on the band wagon for low light! Eventually the whole world will switch to that, and CO2 will be the "high tech" aspect of planted tanks.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

haha I'll be preaching the low light mantra from now on. Even the archaea fixtures give off a low light rating and I'm assuming the ADA fixtures do too. I don't see Amano or the guys at Aqua forest having any trouble growing any plant.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Hoppy said:


> I think 40-50 mms of PAR at the substrate is a very good light level, because with CO2 you can grow almost any plant, just grow it slower, and algae will be no problem because it will grow slow enough that you can easily remove any that pops up before it becomes a problem. I just visited Tom Barr today to borrow the club PAR meter, and once again saw his big tank with all of the Cardinals in it. That one has light comparable to yours, except I don't think it is as high at the top of the tank. It is a beautiful, fully Staurogyne carpeted tank, and it still grows fast enough to be sheared off every few weeks to provide lots of cuttings for sale.


THIS. I was running 40-50 in my tank, plants grew just fine.


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

Yeah 40-50 umol is more than sufficient at substrate. You can always expand it later if need be. Very good diy.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

wowzers, I measure the PAR ratings on a TEK fixture using 2 bulbs, it was 14 inch off the tank and about 16 to the substrate, so a total of 30 inches off the substrate and it was giving 60umols at the substrate. Really shows how important good reflectors are!


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

ok, I put on a few 60 degree optics onto a few of the LEDS, mainly to spot light a few plants that I think could use a little more light. It's not noticeable with both banks on since there's so much light already but when I turn on the individual banks, you can really see the spot light effect, you can see it against the glass a very bright cone of light.

Man, I love LEDs...


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Join the club


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

It is a growing club! Clearly the absolute most flexible way to light any aquarium. So much flexibility it makes your head ache as you try to decide what to do with them.


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## FDNY911 (Dec 6, 2009)

I am not much of a DiYer but I am really tempted to build an LED fixture for my 48x24x24 120 Gallon tank. Not sure if its worth the money tho for a tank that big. You did a really good job bro!

Hector


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Well don't think of it like you're spending a lot of money now but more of an investment down the road . That's how I see it. Geissman bulbs aren't cheap even tho they're up there in quality. I used to have a 4x39w extreme nova on my 48g. Bulbs were 20-30$ each so pretty much around 80-120$ a year 450$-600$ for 5 years 900-1200$ for 10. You figure if led's will last you 5-10 years(depending on how long you use em each day) you'll be doing pretty darn good.


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## audioaficionado (Apr 19, 2011)

I build DIY electronics as a hobby too. Glad to see this paired with another favorite hobby of mine :fish: :icon_mrgr

I'm looking at getting dirt cheap white multiple LED flashlight arrays and gang/group them together to get the needed light levels.

TPT is an awesome forum roud:


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## Rockhoe14er (Jan 19, 2011)

When your led lights die do you have to remove them and rewire them? or is their a little bulb that you can replace the old one with?


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

you have to remove them and rewire them. It's not too hard to do.


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## Aqua-Escaping (Oct 21, 2011)

Since I don't have the luxury of owning all those metal and welding tools; can I just salvage my old plastic fixture to install this type of setup?


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

Aqua-Escaping said:


> Since I don't have the luxury of owning all those metal and welding tools; can I just salvage my old plastic fixture to install this type of setup?


i was thinking of doing just that too. well not a plastic hood but an old coral life hood. 

The only problem is see is how to install the heat sink internally and have a fan of some sort blowing air over it.

Rapid LED's has 1.1 inch wide heat sinks which span from 12->72 inches long that might fit your need.


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

i have retrofitted an old coralife t5ho fixture into LEDs. It's doable.


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> i have retrofitted an old coralife t5ho fixture into LEDs. It's doable.


 

worklog? i would love to see how u did it. 
how did u mount the sink inside? or did u use the shell as a sink itself?

Also Iwannagofast... have you ever considered using a breaker pannel shell as a cover b4?


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## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

Sorry I don't have a work log for that one. It was a lot of cutting and cursing to get the heat sink into the fixture. I used some scrap aluminum for the heatsink.

Here's my thread for a archaea led retrofit
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/135805-i-think-im-addicted-archaea-led.html


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> It was a lot of cutting and cursing to get the heat sink into the fixture. I used some scrap aluminum for the heatsink.


dayam i was really worried you were gonna say that... lol...

So expect a lot of work to get it to fit.. 
Time to bring my dremel and jiggy out of the closet... 

:\


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

doing my fixture just like this one
thanks for the inspiration


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## Linsanity (Feb 23, 2012)

This is real stuff! way more professional than mine, LOL


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## newbieplanter (Jan 13, 2013)

IWANNAGOFAST said:


> haha I'll be preaching the low light mantra from now on. Even the archaea fixtures give off a low light rating and I'm assuming the ADA fixtures do too. I don't see Amano or the guys at Aqua forest having any trouble growing any plant.


Dont they use MH? ADA


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