Switching to ALL LEDs.

[Discus-n00b]

I've made the decision. ALL of my tanks will now be lit by LEDs. Just had a Coralife T5 fixture blow up on me. It blew up, bulb blew, acrylic shield melted, and glass top cracked/shattered in half. I suspect heat, but I've had the same setup for almost a year or more now with no problems. I cannot risk a fire or something similar on a whim whenever it feels like blowing up. So I'm going LEDs. No heat, low electricity costs, and long life......no risk. So I'll spend some money upfront and win in the long run. Been thinking of doing it for a while, but this T5 fixture blowing up was the last straw.

Not sure if I'll go DIY or premade yet.....but I'm open to options, 100% going LED. Any ideas?

[Discus-n00b]

When the glass top broke my automatic feeder dropped into the tank.....might have to be replaced, its soaked all inside. Trying to dry it out now.

[Trier20]

Try throwing it in a Ziplock with some rice in it if you have it.

[Bill63SG]

Or kitty litter.Also look for Beamswork on e-bay for cheaper led's.

[Lenin]

Beamswork is ok, just make sure you get the double bright, the single is kindda dim for my taste, specially if you used to have t5's

[ZX10R]

You do as myself and Skip have done use under the counter LED lights from Lowes or Home Depot cheaper then buying the aquarium fixtures.

[Poco]

You do as myself and Skip have done use under the counter LED lights from Lowes or Home Depot cheaper then buying the aquarium fixtures.

+1

Didn't you already made a hanging light fixture for one of your tanks? It looked neat!

[Discus-n00b]

Yeah I did. My only concern with those under the counter LED fixtures is how cheap they are. How long with the LEDs last in those? How cheap are the parts? Etc. I know the little star modules you buy for DIY are quality lights...like the Cree brand. To me its like buying Cree vs Chinese knock offs.....i don't know. I'll have to look into them more.

[Skip]

my 30" light from IKEA.. LEDBERG model.. is $14.99.. 30".. good enough for me!

[Discus-n00b]

Are you using it as a single light source for tanks Skip or just supplement? Can you post pictures once done?

[Harry Marsh]

Rick, Incognito, has good results from these suckers: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Pack-LED-48-800-Aquarium-Light-Freshwater-Bright-Tropical-Fish-Cichlid-120-cm-/110956094350?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19d57fa38e

I'm debating trying a pair

[Discus-n00b]

Good call Harry, and I can get 2....thats not to bad. I need at least 2. I've heard those aren't to bad either for fish only tanks.

[dpete9]

I posted this once on another thread and it seems no-one really had interest. I like it a lot and will do it again. I could have made it look really fancy but it's just hanging over a grow-out tank in the basement so I didn't really care about looks.
It's a standard Halogen ceiling fixture. I replaced the Halogen bulbs with led bulbs each led bulb is 1.3 watts. you can get them in various colors from blue, bright white. yellow or green. I prefer the bright white. For 14.99 for the fixture and 5 for each led replacement bulb. and it lights up the 65 gallon very nicely. they make them in 3 watt tool and well that would be plenty of light.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/petee33/100_5490.jpg

[Harry Marsh]

I posted this once on another thread and it seems no-one really had interest. I like it a lot and will do it again. I could have made it look really fancy but it's just hanging over a grow-out tank in the basement so I didn't really care about looks.
It's a standard Halogen ceiling fixture. I replaced the Halogen bulbs with led bulbs each led bulb is 1.3 watts. you can get them in various colors from blue, bright white. yellow or green. I prefer the bright white. For 14.99 for the fixture and 5 for each led replacement bulb. and it lights up the 65 gallon very nicely. they make them in 3 watt tool and well that would be plenty of light.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/petee33/100_5490.jpg

That's growing on me

And no aquarium fixture hanging on top of the tank that you have to move around (to clean, etc)

[Discus-n00b]

I like that, and believe me I love my hanging LED fixture over my 100gal. Problem is I don't want to hang anything for a bunch of these smaller growout/breeding tanks I am getting lights for.

[dpete9]

Yeah. Love hanging lights. I won't go any other way again Ease of access for cleaning etc. is awesome. and I light this tank with a whopping 5.2 watts LOL. Haven't turned them off EVER in over a year and they are never hot and still burning bright.
Hope you figure something out for your tanks!

[Skip]

dpete are those IKEA fixtures

[dpete9]

Got them at a store here called Hornbach, it's the Dutch equivalent to Home Depot or Lowes

[ashtricks]

I would not go the DIY route for grow outs. I guess you would not need them dimmable or have a custom spectrum/moonlights etc. I like Skip's DIY fixture with Ikea lights. I will go that route for my juvies (next Kenny shipment :D)
I just ordered my arduino mega which I will be using to make an aquarium controller. But I might not have the patience to finish the whole thing before I get my juvies :D

[Discus-n00b]

Got my LEDs today. Decided to go with the Beamworks that Harry linked a few posts back. First impressions out of the box are very good. The fixture is attractive, and solid a good amount of metal on it and not plastic. All lights came undamaged and worked right out of the box. I have a few complaints, but more for me then actual function of the light. The power plug is much like an older phone charger, where you have what they would call a wall wart. Harder to fit into powerstrips with other cords in them and such, wish it were smaller. Second, you can turn on white and blue or just blue....I wish you could do just white. Again nothing big. So far very pleased with these lights in my tanks, shows the fish great isn't to blue or to white. Very bright.

And after running for 30mins, I can rest my hand anywhere on the light and its cool to the touch, couldn't do that with my T5s.

I'll try to get some pics later.

[Poco]

you can turn on white and blue or just blue....I wish you could do just white.

Matt, even my marineland double bright is like that, white and blue together or only blue.

[shoveltrash]

Got my LEDs today. Decided to go with the Beamworks that Harry linked a few posts back. First impressions out of the box are very good. The fixture is attractive, and solid a good amount of metal on it and not plastic. All lights came undamaged and worked right out of the box. I have a few complaints, but more for me then actual function of the light. The power plug is much like an older phone charger, where you have what they would call a wall wart. Harder to fit into powerstrips with other cords in them and such, wish it were smaller. Second, you can turn on white and blue or just blue....I wish you could do just white. Again nothing big. So far very pleased with these lights in my tanks, shows the fish great isn't to blue or to white. Very bright.Matt that's good to hear, as I've considered getting some of those lights too. I'm not a DIY kinda gal LOL, so those appealed to me.

[CrazyAngels]

Matt, which one did you get for what size tank?? also how long did it take from time of order to delivery?? I'm in the midst of building my room and will need a few fixtures. thanks

[nwehrman]

Pics ... I wanna see


Nicole

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[a volar]

Pics ... I wanna see


Nicole

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YES, pics please...

[Discus-n00b]

36" for a 40 breeder, and 2 24" for my breeder tanks (20gals). The 20gals could of gotten away with all the way down to the 18" fixtures, depends on what you want. 18-24" work for 20gals. The 36" is perfect for the 40 breeder. It took 6 days from order to my door, but that was including a weekend. And it was free shipping so that works for me.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8145879498_33923e66a0_b.jpg

Some quick photos. May be a bit hard to tell the difference, don't have any before and after shots. The breeder tanks are a bit darker up front because I have to move the fixtures back to open up the glass top. Still lights the tank well. Really nothing exciting picture wise lol
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8051/8145848581_b592ac3902_b.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8190/8145879658_f2170572de_b.jpg

[nc0gnet0]

These LED fixtures are the best bang for the buck right now. I got several and love them. They come in several different configurations and sizes depending on your needs. You can't really build anything comparable for the price these cost, and if you try, your going to end up being stuck in the 6500k and bellow range (ie: light is too yellow).

http://stores.ebay.com/topdogsellers/LED-Freshwater-/_i.html?_fsub=337558819&_sid=412695299&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

I thought about doing what Pete has done, with the exception of using some track lighting rails (I have a series of tanks). The problem I run into if finding bulbs anything above 6K. It's a matter of personal preference, but I beleive that 8-10k shows the color of the fish better. As soon as the bulbs I want become available to use the track lighting mounts, then I will be all over it.

Rick

[blueangel150]

I totally agree with discus-n00b the fish look great and the energy bill not even half the I just to pay. I swap probably about a month ago i have the single bright from marineland they look great even in my planted tank and i love the blue lights on only! but the fish since not to like it to much they have like hysterical reaction to the blue lights !

[Eddie]

Killer solid blues Matt!

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks Eddie. The pair came from Mike Beals, the juvis came from Kenny.

[rubinsteinnyc]

the cobalts look like blue diamonds there, no?

[Discus-n00b]

Yes, thats a BD pair beside a Piwowarski RT pair. And the juvis are a mixture of Blue Sapphires, White Angels, and Forrest Giant Blue snakes.