LED Light Boost Mod

I bought this Tetra 10 Gallon Half-Moon Aquarium on Craigslist for $30. Out of the box it came with a 24 LED overhead clamp on light. It's not bad, but not great for plants I'm sure you would all agree. So I decided to boost the light output without replacing the light kit itself. The half-moon shape pretty much dictates that it must be a clamp on or some janky looking aftermarket replacement sitting on top. This is a gift for one of my favorite little people (my niece, Aurora who is almost a 1 year old), so it must look professional and keep me in the favorite uncle position. Also, it will be in plain view in her living room, so I'd like to keep it classy looking.

I've done a few DIY projects with these Waterproof LED Strips, and I have learned how to use them to get a lot of light in a small space. I love those little lights!

Now on with the show...

First I opened up the light's plastic encasement I noticed it had an AC/DC power adapter at the wall plug, so it was a no brainer to tie right in to the incoming DC connection. I drilled 3 holes in the plastic where I wanted my wires to pass through to power the LED strips and for the wires to connect the strips to each other. (2 strips of 9 LEDs)



Second, I soldered the wires to the first LED strip and from there to the solder points where DC power first connects to the simple circuit board the stock LEDs are attached to. Then I cut a strip-to-strip clamp-on wire set right down the middle and passed the wires up through the plastic encasement to bridge the two LED strips together. I soldered the wires back together and shrink tubed them for neatness and to avoid possible shorts.



Finally, I used the self-adhesive back already on the LED strips and TADA! Snapped it back together and plugged it up... 75% increase in overall light output! You're welcome plants



This took 15 minutes to do after I thought it through for 30 haha! I'll give up 45 mins of my time for a lifetime of better plant growth for my little buddy Now it should only take you 15 mins since I did the thinking part. Nothing goes to waste since I have other DIY LED projects lined up for myself. Whatcha think?

Thank you, Russian Girl!

Thanks J & FFM!

That's a wise idea, FFM... I thought about upgrading it to 500 mA from the stock 200 mA wall-wart since I'm sure I have one of those laying around, but it was a definite increase in brightness using the stock wall-wart so I didn't bother.

Since we're talking about it, let me make sure I am right, and maybe someone else reading this has the same question... The Amp rating on a wall-wart is the MAX it can draw rather than what it will push out no matter what, correct? I know that LEDs can be pushed harder than they are rated for power-wise (shortening life, risking short out, etc.), and I know they can not draw more power than the wall-wart is able to supply. The question is: Will changing the wall-wort to a higher rated one push the LEDs harder? If so, I need to figure out what the correct amperage should be so I don't burn them out by running them too hard.

Thanks for calling me out on this FFM... I thought about it, but I left it alone when it worked without an adjustment being made. That would be irresponsible of me.

Well FFM, the bad news is: I don't know what kind of LEDs the stock ones are. The good news is, I only added 18 LEDs via the strips, so the increase in draw isn't much. The wall-wart has been running for 3.5 hours today, and it's not even warm to the touch! I think we are in good shape.

I hesitate to increase the amperage without knowing if I will increase output though, so anyone with the knowledge please chime in

Joel, I have used these strips before, so I know they have the PAR necessary for a tank of this height. I have these as my only light in my TV tank due to necessity and by design, and those plants are doing stellar... even glossostigma elatinoides which is a high light plant. Wisteria is going NUTS as well as Rotala Indica! Now I need to take on my 40 gal hex which is currently open... custom hood here I come! LOL