Major_Grubert
Seedling
Hi all, noob-ish Fish Keeper here & certainly new to UKAPS, thanks for having me
At a grizzled 53 I'm coming back to the hobby after 30-odd years away to find that, Jinkies! all t' technology has out-stripped me basic knowledge so I'm a little bit out o' me depth. People are, like, growing PLANTS in aquaria an' everything!!!!
At the moment I'm puzzling ower lighting. I've bought a tank - managed to get a TMC Signature 60x45x45 Rimless for somewhat less than ½ price via ebay - in which I'd like to do a fairly Low Tech, non-CO2, Planted Aquascape set-up a lá Walstad. This, according to various Online Calculators, needs a minimum of @ 4000 Lumens to stand a chance of success.
As I'm on a low-income budget I must needs shop accordingly. I'd like an LED overhead run via a TC420 looping a Day/Night cycle.
I've come across this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5730-SMD...hash=item2838f5bd21:m:mC03j0MuL7jjuz6WiyBJX_g and have a few questions about it.
The stated specs for it are: 24W over 6x Red, 4x Green, 23x Blue, 45x White 5730 LED's = 78 LED's. The stated spec's for 5730's is that they give out @ 50l/m which should give me @ 3900 lumens.
So;
1) Could I safely cut 'n' shut the power input to insert the TC420 in-line after the "brick"?
2) Will said TC420, at 4A per channel, cope with the Amps drawn by the LED's at full output?
3) Given this is a Chinese unit, is my estimate of lumen output overly optimistic? If so what is the best realistic guess?
4) Although overall more expensive, what would be the best route to go down for LED Strip if I were to DIY an LED set-up? I've sourced, via Ebay, a DIY 1" square-section Ally frame to hang lights from, 43mm wide Ally U channel with transparent covers & end caps, the TC420 and I'm fairly certain I've got an old PC PSU bumming about in one o' me boxes somewhere. But the LED strip needed to adequately light the tank eludes me. It's a bloody minefield out there.
At a grizzled 53 I'm coming back to the hobby after 30-odd years away to find that, Jinkies! all t' technology has out-stripped me basic knowledge so I'm a little bit out o' me depth. People are, like, growing PLANTS in aquaria an' everything!!!!
At the moment I'm puzzling ower lighting. I've bought a tank - managed to get a TMC Signature 60x45x45 Rimless for somewhat less than ½ price via ebay - in which I'd like to do a fairly Low Tech, non-CO2, Planted Aquascape set-up a lá Walstad. This, according to various Online Calculators, needs a minimum of @ 4000 Lumens to stand a chance of success.
As I'm on a low-income budget I must needs shop accordingly. I'd like an LED overhead run via a TC420 looping a Day/Night cycle.
I've come across this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5730-SMD...hash=item2838f5bd21:m:mC03j0MuL7jjuz6WiyBJX_g and have a few questions about it.
The stated specs for it are: 24W over 6x Red, 4x Green, 23x Blue, 45x White 5730 LED's = 78 LED's. The stated spec's for 5730's is that they give out @ 50l/m which should give me @ 3900 lumens.
So;
1) Could I safely cut 'n' shut the power input to insert the TC420 in-line after the "brick"?
2) Will said TC420, at 4A per channel, cope with the Amps drawn by the LED's at full output?
3) Given this is a Chinese unit, is my estimate of lumen output overly optimistic? If so what is the best realistic guess?
4) Although overall more expensive, what would be the best route to go down for LED Strip if I were to DIY an LED set-up? I've sourced, via Ebay, a DIY 1" square-section Ally frame to hang lights from, 43mm wide Ally U channel with transparent covers & end caps, the TC420 and I'm fairly certain I've got an old PC PSU bumming about in one o' me boxes somewhere. But the LED strip needed to adequately light the tank eludes me. It's a bloody minefield out there.