Mandinga Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Just spent 3 hours installing some LED's I bought from Home Depot...I mounted them under a cabinet approximately 6 inches from the surface of the water. This is on my new little nano tank of 4 gallons. After wiring everything up, the LED's appear to be not even close to bright enough. There are 36 total bulbs with 2.6 watts max per bulb. The color is nice, but the brightness just isn't there...especially during the daytime. With ambient sunlight in the house, you can barely even notice that they are turned on. I was thinking about running them on a night cycle...lights come on at 5pm, go off at 1 or 2 am... Has anyone else had this type of experiment go wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Do you have any pic's of what you bought? What are you using to drive the bulbs? I've never seen LED's at HD whare did ya find them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted December 31, 2009 Author Share Posted December 31, 2009 Do you have any pic's of what you bought? What are you using to drive the bulbs? I've never seen LED's at HD whare did ya find them? here you go link i am accenting them with some actinic moonlight LED's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 I saw some 4w led lights that fit a standard screw in socket at fred myers the other day. They each had a single high powered led with optics to distribute the light. Only problems are the highest k rating was 6500, and they cost $50 each...still, it seems we are approaching the day when led's suitable for aquariums will be not only readily available but easy to install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 I didn't think those were going to be bright enough. I've had plenty of DIY projects not work out. Its the trying that is the most fun part for me. I think they would be perfect for mounting in your stand when you need some light down there though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 If you want led's for that small of tank here's a good idea. A bit spendy but if it last's 5 to 10 years then it's well worth it! http://www.nanocustoms.com/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=213&osCsid=d40nsg8pjui9ppp63bl2keib85 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moovinfast Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Do you just want it as accent lighting or as your main lighting for the tank. I think you would have to go with 3w CREE leds. Just one I think is rated at near 110 lumens. Stick with the cool white CREEs and the Royal Blue CREES. The royal blues really makes the colors stand out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Yup, I agree with Moovinfast. You can't base anything on the power consumption of the LED (watts) without knowing the vendor and model of the LED component themselves; only the most recent generations of LEDs approach/exceed the lumens/watt of T-5 or MH lighting. I'll bet you a shiny nickel that most of the 'normal' LED lamps/lights/fixtures are based on rather old LEDs and will produce a lot less light per watt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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