DIY LED strip light for nano use

[rebel]

I have never tried the rigid strips but soon I will. I will order some 5050, 5630 and 8520 for some tests. They are not that expensive. I am very curious about heat output more than anything else. The issue is that they have different densities of led so might be similar in the end.

My fixture measured at least 51 degrees C with my kitchen thermometer consistently. I need to find an IR gun thermometer to verify this. Will have a think about further heat sinking.

I am playing with power LEDs as well but that's another discussion.

Btw this is mainly for fun rather than saving money etc. this costs vastly more than buying a light fixture. If you are a newbie, just buy a fixture support the industry that supports you.

 

[zozo]

I have never tried the rigid strips but soon I will. I will order some 5050, 5630 and 8520 for some tests. They are not that expensive. I am very curious about heat output more than anything else. The issue is that they have different densities of led so might be similar in the end.

My fixture measured at least 51 degrees C with my kitchen thermometer consistently. I need to find an IR gun thermometer to verify this. Will have a think about further heat sinking.

I am playing with power LEDs as well but that's another discussion.

Btw this is mainly for fun rather than saving money etc. this costs vastly more than buying a light fixture. If you are a newbie, just buy a fixture support the industry that supports you.

Don't forget to ask for the specs in output, as said the numbers only apply to the chip size and they can range widely in output power. No idea where you plan to purchase, if you have China on your mind i can recomend "Shenzhen Hairui Lighting Co.,ltd" Till now they supplied me with very good quality high power SMD and are very keen on their customer service always answer swiftly and honestly on any question you have. What i bought from them functions already for almost a year now on 10 hours a day. The 8520 already from november last year till now without issues.. But still don't pinn me down on it, China is at own risk one you're willing to take or not.

Funny note, last year november the 8520 launched the market, i could only find 1 european supplier of these units in France all local supplers never heard of them yet. It was an ebay seller.. What i found funny they advertised these units with same specs and the excact same picture as the china supplier did but only the France supplier was 4x more expensive.. I'm not surpiced if it was from same manufacturer, but once in France they have to bill you the import fee, taxes and profit + shipping. And then if you order you have to pay for the shipping to you... I can understand, we all need to live, but still.. China is already here..

 

[rebel]

Don't forget to ask for the specs in output, as said the numbers only apply to the chip size and they can range widely in output power. No idea where you plan to purchase, if you have China on your mind i can recomend "Shenzhen Hairui Lighting Co.,ltd" Till now they supplied me with very good quality high power SMD and are very keen on their customer service always answer swiftly and honestly on any question you have. What i bought from them functions already for almost a year now on 10 hours a day. The 8520 already from november last year till now without issues.. But still don't pinn me down on it, China is at own risk one you're willing to take or not.

Funny note, last year november the 8520 launched the market, i could only find 1 european supplier of these units in France all local supplers never heard of them yet. It was an ebay seller.. What i found funny they advertised these units with same specs and the excact same picture as the china supplier did but only the France supplier was 4x more expensive.. I'm not surpiced if it was from same manufacturer, but once in France they have to bill you the import fee, taxes and profit + shipping. And then if you order you have to pay for the shipping to you... I can understand, we all need to live, but still.. China is already here..

Marcel I really appreciate your time to explain things for me. I will hunt them down. I haven't had much luck with finding different colours though.

Yes I was thinking of china as I don't know of any Australian suppliers with a unique quality controlled product.

You are right in that sometimes the exact same product (duplicate photograph) on ebay has wildly different prices!

The problem with asking a Chinese supplier is whether they will give you the true specs.

 

[markk]

Now, your challenge, if you wish to accept it, is to try and better this design, both/either aesthetically and/or functionally, and post your results and instructions here.

This is very similar to a simple build I did back in January for my puffer tank, which is set up as a low tech with floaters, moss, crypts and java fern - though due to overfeeding the puffers, it grows blue/green cyanobacteria really well

I had a meter of led strip left over from my new kitchen. At the time I needed something bright and about the only place I could get any lumen/output information was on ledhut.co.uk. The actual product is https://www.ledhut.co.uk/led-strip-...h-power-led-chips-per-metre-5-metre-roll.html.

That runs at just over 1000 lumens per meter and about 75 lumens per watt - so not too bad in the grand scheme of things.

I cut and routed a spare piece of 10mm acrylic, including a large 'hole' in the middle and ordered a piece of 2mm aluminium sheet from fleabay. I cut the strip into 4 25cm sections and stuck it on with the existing adhesive backing. After soldering I resealed the exposed connections with some electrical silicone adhesive (which doesn't attack the copper pads). I then just put it on top of the acrylic condensation tray/cover If you look closely, you'll see I got lazy and just cellotaped the aluminium to the acrylic and never got round to doing it properly.

This is run from a home made controller with a Raspberry Pi zero (and web interface!).

To be honest, it runs a little warmer than I'd like - but the cats like it - keeps their feet warm while they drink from the outflow of the hob filter...

 

[zozo]

Many do not give specs at all, only say something like "bright" or "Super bright", these sellers you have to avoid, obviously they are just selling and know nothing about their product. The ones giving a full range of specs are usualy the sellers which are closer to the source and seriously about their product. As Martin(inChina) already once explained at this forum, is buying at chinese internet trade llike AliExpress it is very common and only usual that the customer communicates with the seller first about the product. So it's pretty normal for them if you start asking questions about specs and colors... Most serious sellers are very fond of getting good buyers feedback and reviews.. So if you are in doubt read those, if they have little reviews and feedback on their products obviously they do not sell much. And as you know how most people are, if all is OK they shut up, it is considered normal to be ok, positive feedback is usualy scarse, but if a seller lies about his product and sells crap his site will be full of complaines and bad feedback.

Anyway the seller i pointed out above is very honest in my experience and even didn't think a minute to refund me a lost package without billing me a cent. As they state at their site, no good?? Money back garantee. I didn't want my money back i said resend the package please? And they did..

Haven't checked for a while, but the last time i did a few months back.. The SMD 8520 and 5630 had the best specs in a range from 45 to 65 lumen per chip.. But they also come in 15 lumen per chip and still advertised as super bright.. They do not sell them with planted tanks on their mind, they think of kitchens and display counters.

And of course there are also croocked sellers around especialy with foreign orders.. for expample never buy from Chip Micro Pumps&Motors Technology Co,.Ltd
They rip you off and hide behind lies and let you down. Sell you a defect product and say it's you're own fault it's broken.
Buying cheap involves risks, sometimes you win some, sometimes you loose some. but in the end you'll learn where to buy and it's still cheaper. As you said, they come pretty cheap and it's a fun project, if it doesn't work you didn't loose much and gained some knowledge.. Still can lit you bookshelf with it or your henhouse.

Your welcome..

 

[rebel]

Quick update: i used a cheap analogue dimmer to dim the light to about 50%. Now the heat sink is barely warm. I have now ramped up to 75% or so to see. Miraculously my tank is coping well with all the variations of I light without major algae issues. Fingers crossed....

I will answer the above comments soonish.. Thanks for taking the time to write them.