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LED lights for nano tank lid

kadoxu

kadoxu

Member
Joined
24 May 2016
Messages
1,294
Location
Kingston Upon Thames
Hi,

I have a Fluval Chi 19L tank which I would like to upgrade a bit in order to grow some low to medium light plants.

My idea was to get some waterproof LEDs attached to the lid... but I'm a bit worried about overheating (it's a plastic lid)...

I've seen a few DIY projects on Youtube, but I'd really appreciate some advice before going out and spending the few pounds I have for this! :greedy:

I came across a lot of waterproof leds, but the cheaper ones had a color temp between 12000K to 15000K... I ditched those, because what I believe is better for plant growth is around 6500K, right?

So that left me with the following options:
1 from China - 20pcs 3 LEDs Module SDM 5050 IP68 Cool White 3m LED Strip Lights - 5700-6300K
1 Fulfilled by Amazon - CO-RODE 40Pcs 5730 SMD LED Module Daylight White - 6500-7000k

I'm leaning more towards the second option... What do you guys think?
 
1. Not particularly bright, 60 LED's will give less than 1000lumens. And that is a dispersed unfocussed 1000lumens.
2. As tank is so small, how are you going to get all these modules, mounted in aesthetically pleasing way (ie not bodged) above the tank ?
3. The modules generate heat, how are you going to get rid of the heat ?
4. The lighting angle of these LED's is greater than 120', thus unless you mount the LED at the water surface (or add lenses) a significant amount of light will fall outside the tank.
5. RS sell "proper make" 3 LED strips like these, that are 300lumen per module, radiance angle of 80' (much better), but being a "proper make" are £12 each.
 
I'm a complete beginner... so brace yourself for a few dumb questions! :lol:

ian_m said:
1. Not particularly bright, 60 LED's will give less than 1000lumens. And that is a dispersed unfocussed 1000lumens.
Click to expand...

I was kind of ignoring lumens... as a human eye perception level I paid more attention to colour temp... So how many lumens should I be looking to add to get low to medium light in an small (L25 x W25 x H35 cm) aquarium? (note that I'm keeping the original filter/lights)

ian_m said:
2. As tank is so small, how are you going to get all these modules, mounted in aesthetically pleasing way (ie not bodged) above the tank ?
3. The modules generate heat, how are you going to get rid of the heat ?
4. The lighting angle of these LED's is greater than 120', thus unless you mount the LED at the water surface (or add lenses) a significant amount of light will fall outside the tank.
Click to expand...

I've seen people attaching LEDs under the lid (which is flat and sits 1-2cm above water level). The thing is, I am pretty sure those lights aren't suitable for plant growth. I was hoping they wouldn't heat up too much... If they do I'll have to plan a bit. I've thought about a few things (I was into RC cars and dealing with motor heat was one of the main issues in the hobby), but I would have to test them if the need arises (and it probably will).
About the spread... I had the wrong idea... I realised how dumb it was while reading your reply... lol


ian_m said:
5. RS sell "proper make" 3 LED strips like these, that are 300lumen per module, radiance angle of 80' (much better), but being a "proper make" are £12 each.
Click to expand...

Well... it all depends on the amount of lumens I need...
 
kadoxu said:
Well... it all depends on the amount of lumens I need...
Click to expand...
Well your tank is 19litre which is 5 US gallons. EI & lighting and CO2 research was using US gallons.

2W per gallon is start of "high light" region, thus 10W T5 HO would suffice (if you could get T5 that small). Assuming a poor value of 50lumens per Watt for T5, thus 500lumens would be the value to aim for.

Thus aim for say 1000 lumens (double it) total, with ability to dim, as I suspect 1000lumens on such a small tank is a lot. It is far easier to reduce lighting than add more.

Again with such a small tank you need to ensure as much light as possible is pointed downward, to illuminate the bottom of the tank and not things outside the tank.
 
Thank you!

I'm assuming that these "proper made" RS 3 LED strips also produce much more heat (since they are much more powerful than the crappy ones I was looking into)... or, since they are "proper made", can it mean they are more efficient and produce less heat?
 
kadoxu said:
I'm assuming that these "proper made" RS 3 LED strips also produce much more heat (since they are much more powerful than the crappy ones I was looking into)... or, since they are "proper made", can it mean they are more efficient and produce less heat?
Click to expand...
They are much more efficient, producing over 100 lumens per Watt, but run at higher power so will probably generate more heat. However they are on an aluminium PCB and come with a thermal pad that allows the module to be screwed directly to a heat sink.

But as I said are £12 each !!! Search rswww.com for part number 877-6907 for instance.
 
ian_m said:
They are much more efficient, producing over 100 lumens per Watt, but run at higher power so will probably generate more heat. However they are on an aluminium PCB and come with a thermal pad that allows the module to be screwed directly to a heat sink.

But as I said are £12 each !!! Search rswww.com for part number 877-6907 for instance.
Click to expand...

Hum... I don't think I can use these... I need them to be waterproof. There is a lot of water condensation happening where I want to place them...
 
kadoxu said:
I need them to be waterproof
Click to expand...
The original Ebay LED's you linked to, no way are they waterproof if you look at the pictures. Exposed LED leads & solder joints wont last long with any moisture around.

This is the cheap Chinese interpretation of waterproof of course, which probably means OK to wipe with a damp cloth and that's all. This forum is full of people who have bought Chinese "water proof" LED fixtures and suffered corrosion and eventual failure when moisture gets in.

Anyway could you put the LED's behind a plastic sheet ?
 
ian_m said:
The original Ebay LED's you linked to, no way are they waterproof if you look at the pictures. Exposed LED leads & solder joints wont last long with any moisture around.
Click to expand...

Yeah... I wasn't very confident about those.

The other ones (from Amazon) however are apparently on some sort of casing. They are supposed to be IP65, meaning it shouldn't work underwater, but can endure a water jet for 3 minutes... not sure how they would do with condensation. No information about lighting angle, though... probably 120 or more...

I'm starting to realise that keeping the original lid will be almost impossible...
 
So... I went along and did it! I found better LEDs
I was able to put 14-15 LED modules in the lid, meaning I now have something like:
  • 56-60 5050 LEDs
  • Luminous: 1400-1500lm
  • Color Temperature: 6000-6500K
  • Power Consumption: 20-22W
  • Light Dispersion: 120º
I'll post pics later today... I'll also have some PAR measurements as soon as I get my Seneye Reef this week! :D
 
Seems like a lot of work for the size of tank, seneye reef etc; but I'll follow this thread, interested to see your results! Good luck!
 
Aqua360 said:
Seems like a lot of work for the size of tank, seneye reef etc; but I'll follow this thread, interested to see your results! Good luck!
Click to expand...
It's the bigger one I was able to get for my tiny flat... lol. It wasn't too hard to do, the thing is I couldn't find any solutions that would allow me to keep the original Fluval Chi filter (it stands on top of the water in the center of the tank).

Seneye Reef is a bit overkill, but I want to check the light levels on the tank since I can't find the original Fluval Chi LEDs specs anywhere.

So, I had to paint it, because the cover is a bit transparent and the colourful wires would stand out too much. I forgot to take pictures before... but here it is (still drying out)
IMG_20160823_222227.jpg


IMG_20160823_222310.jpg


I'm still thinking about what I'll do with the extra modules. For now they are still attached...
 
kadoxu said:
It's the bigger one I was able to get for my tiny flat... lol. It wasn't too hard to do, the thing is I couldn't find any solutions that would allow me to keep the original Fluval Chi filter (it stands on top of the water in the center of the tank).

Seneye Reef is a bit overkill, but I want to check the light levels on the tank since I can't find the original Fluval Chi LEDs specs anywhere.

So, I had to paint it, because the cover is a bit transparent and the colourful wires would stand out too much. I forgot to take pictures before... but here it is (still drying out)
View attachment 89195

View attachment 89196

I'm still thinking about what I'll do with the extra modules. For now they are still attached...
Click to expand...

are you planning livestock? betta, shrimp, that sort of thing? :)
 
Aqua360 said:
are you planning livestock? betta, shrimp, that sort of thing? :)
Click to expand...
Yup, the main goal is to have some Red Cherry Shrimp and a couple of Zebra Nerite Snails, but for now I just want to keep some plants alive... lol

I'll be sticking to plants for about a year, since my landlord refused to allow me to get an aquarium... He just didn't realise there's nothing he can do if I don't have animals in it...
 
Keen to see what PAR measurements you get from these....very nice build.
 
rebel said:
Keen to see what PAR measurements you get from these....very nice build.
Click to expand...

What I learned... It's a pain trying to put the seneye in place with the lid on...

So here are the results (not too bad, but not as good as I would like):

Dotted line is visible light, coloured line is the ideal for plant growth, and the white line is the measurement.

Water Top
DIY Top.png


Mid Height
DIY Middle.png


Bottom
DIY Bottom.png



So, now I'm looking for some new LEDs... lol
 
Are you using rgb LEDS? If so just swap out to cool white 5630 LEDS. They are bright but get quite hot.

That par could be ok though, for slow growth. The algae willbe probably kept in nice check.

I wouldn't change much at the moment.
 
rebel said:
Are you using rgb LEDS? If so just swap out to cool white 5630 LEDS. They are bright but get quite hot.
Click to expand...
Yup, RGB LEDs. I didn't go for 5630 LEDs because the cover they are attached to is acrylic and I was afraid it would melt/burn...

rebel said:
That par could be ok though, for slow growth.
Click to expand...
They should be ok for low light plants... I will surely use them for now to see if they work well as a complementary light for the Fluval Chi LED. But I believe they won't be enough for my Eleocharis (parvula and sp. mini) carpet though.
 
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