Is an LED hood feasible for a 5 or 10 gal?

[Zyrk]

I have a pretty big interest in starting a planted tank with high light. I am still pretty new to the hobby of aquarium-keeping, so I don't know too much about the specifics of aquascaping yet but I would love to take a hands-on approach to learning about it.

While I'm still torn between a 5gal and a 10gal, I do know that I want to stick with a smaller size until I get a better job. I imagine it's much cheaper to experiment with a project like this by keeping it small.

Anyway, I would love to make my own LED hood but I'm unsure of whether or not it's even feasible. I read in someone's DIY thread that LED set ups tend to put off a whole lot of heat. I also have no experience with electronics other than using things that are already put together.

My goal is to make a hood that will have both daytime lighting and nighttime lighting. I will put my main questions in an easier to read format than typing tons of paragraphs.

• I need to make the entire hood from scratch, I don't have a pre-existing one to cut up. What would be the best material?
• Alternatively, would I be better off buying a hood and hollowing it out instead?
• I would like to have a very plant friendly tank. How many LEDs would be enough to provide a high light situation during the day?
• Will heat be a huge problem since it's on a smaller and more cramped scale?
• I am not sure about all of the components that will be needed. Is there some way to guess at how much it may end up costing?
• Is it very likely that I will inevitably screw something up because of my lack of experience? My boyfriend is more than willing to help and is used to soldering, though he's very clumsy and messy about it.
• Is it possible to put some lights at angles in order to get that moonlight-through-the-clouds look?

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope to get this project started soon so I can make a how-to thread out of it once I know everything works.

Here is a link to my introduction thread in case anybody wants to see some pictures of my current tanks. They're still pretty bare-bones right now but my animals are thriving. Just scroll down to the bottom if you want to skip all of the text.

 

[kj5kb]

My $0.00 (free advice)

To answer the primary question...can it be done? YES, it's a bit of work, the current "state of the art" Super LEDs are a bit pricey and fussy...especially if you want enough light for plants.

For a first project, I think you'd be a lot better off $$ wise and satisfaction-wise to convert a hood to screw-in CFLs and add an LED moonlight/nightlight. Much less $$ and less fussy.

I'm thinking...used 10G tank w/light off craigslist or garage sale.

 

[DoctaQ]

leds are the opposite, the put out very little heat, they do heat up but all the heat is in a specific location and when you attach the led to a heatsink it draws all the heat away where it can be dissapated into the air

a 12 led array will do, and depending on how you drive them it will cost you somewhere between about 150 and 200 depending on how creative you get . you dont have to tear up an old light fixture but it makes it look nice. you can build something to house it in.

components are a power supply, 24v works if you use a buckpuck driver ( easiest to use)
a heatsink and a fan.

attach the leds to the heatsink(thermal adhesive or tap and screw) in the desired pattern, two rows of 6 leds should be plenty
connect up all the drivers ( two of them) in parallel to the power supply
wire up 6 leds in series per driver.
attach two fans to the heatsink since they are usually 12v, connect them in series.
the end

attaching the leds to the heatsink if youre doing tapping and screwing is the hardest and most time consuming part, im gonna try thermal adhesive for my next project
be neat with the solder, if it touches a screw or the heatsink the eletricity will go through the sink and go nuts, you might burn the driver.

 

[Zyrk]

Thanks for the quick replies.

kj5kb, you mention using CFLs. How many would be ideal for a high light tank? My goal is to have either a betta and some otos or something else to be determined later if that doesn't work out. I know bettas do not appreciate high light situations, but I am looking to plant the tank with some decently sized broad leaf plants to create shade on one side of the tank. Lillies and lots of floating anacharis comes to mind.

DoctaQ, please let me know how the themal adhesive works out. I am very interested in having an LED set up, but the cost involved will apparently take me a while to save up for. (Yay for college.) Thanks for the warning about solder, too.
Are there specific LEDs you would recommend? I read on another site that some LEDs are rated differently when it comes to the type of light. This may only apply to the moonlights, though, I am not sure.

So far, the first thing on my list is to find a used hood!

 

[DoctaQ]

on a ten gal i use a 40w daylight cfl and i grew anything i could find, until i neglected the tank sorta, at least the plants anyways
on my 5 i grew anything with my 26w cfl which you can buy at home depot.

cree xp-g will be your best bet especially if you are gonna save up for it and its gonna take a while, might be cheaper by then and maybe there will be a better driver by then

 

[platytudes]

I hate to sound discouraging, but spending $150-200 on a DIY hood for a 10 gallon tank seems nuts to me! You can buy them already made for considerably less:
http://www.petsolutions.com/Marineland-LED-Aquarium-Lights+I47432990.aspx

And they have fixtures with two 40 watt bulbs and lunar lights for less, also:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...al2x40watt20powercompactstriplightwlunarlight

If you are looking for DIY satisfaction, or incredibly energy efficient lights, that's another story...I can see an LED hood project being up your alley then.

 

[DoctaQ]

from the site" Good for Fish Only marine tanks or Freshwater low light planted tanks (crypts, anubis, java fern etc)."

1 watt leds are pretty weak, you might as well be running 15 watts of t8

also there is a thread about a 55 gal being lit by 12 leds of the same type. for that reason i would beleive that 6 leds is plenty which cuts the cost signifigantly.
i bet that if you looked and researched for a year you could find parts slowly to be able to piece this project together for less than that 90 dollars for the smallest fixture with more than 3 times the output if needed.

the spectral distribution for those leds also looks kinda ugly, its main peak aside from the blue one which was actually a good peak, is largely in the green and yellows, the least useful spectrums.

 

[kj5kb]

I think you want "enough light for low-light plants"...not "high light". I think you actually mean what we call 'lo-light'.
What I consider high light would require CO2 and ferts.

The typical 15W t8 light is not much for a 10, but you can grow certain plants like wisteria, anacharis, najas grass etc. Go from that to 2 14W or 19W CFLs and your plants will grow way better, tho still in low-light territory.

 

[coach_z]

my two cents:

for 25 bucks you can have all the light you can shake a stick at. Buy a standard 10 gallon kit that includes tank, heater, light strip, filter.

before you plug in the light, go to lowes and purchase a dual socket holder that is made for a ceiling fixture. rip out everything but the main wiring for the light strip and replace it with the dual socket, put two 15W CFLs in there that are rated for 6500K and slap that sucker on top of the tank. you now have enough light to grow whatever you want. (note: my instructions are very vague, be sure to wire properly, monitor heat, etc in order to not burn down your house).

so there you go...high light setup.

now, why do you want high light? high light is not necessarily the way to go if you want to stay on a budget. once you have high light you need pressurized co2 which can get pricey. the frustration of a DIY CO2 setup just is not worth it.

to answer your origional question more directly: LED Hood is definately feasible, but it is in no way practical.

 

[Just Prince]

on a ten gal i use a 40w daylight cfl and i grew anything i could find, until i neglected the tank sorta, at least the plants anyways
on my 5 i grew anything with my 26w cfl which you can buy at home depot.

cree xp-g will be your best bet especially if you are gonna save up for it and its gonna take a while, might be cheaper by then and maybe there will be a better driver by then

What model and brand of lamps did you use?