# Other Aquarium Forums > Equipment and Accessories > DIY Projects >  e27 as light for planted

## kurty

i always wonder if we could actually use an E27 spotlight bulb, with some lamp holder, and clip onto our tank to support the lighting.

this is what i can think of and found...

2 spotlight with clamp, 1 at each end of the tank.
e27 spotlight readings are:
Color temperature :
-Warm White( 2700-3300K)
-Cool white ( 5700- 6300K)


Lumens
-3W /300-300 lm
-5W /430-460 lm
-7W/:600-660 lm



Attachment 44980Attachment 44981

I'm suggesting this in terms of efficiency and cost.

A good set of led lights probably will cost you more than $100 or more.
whileas T5 is good but too hot for long hours..

each e27 light bulb is somewhere $5 SGD for one, 5w.
2 units will be around $10

the lamp holder, neck is adjustable to 360 degree.
around $10 x 2.

the total cost is $30 and only uses 10W.
the spread angle is huge, as e27 also come with lens for wider spread.

what do you think? feasible or i'm too gullible  :Very Happy:

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## Danialavr

I SUPPORT you! If you plan to try that is haha. I think it is worth a try, was thinking of the same thing some time back since led e27 bulbs are too cheap to pass.

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## 5stars

I think it's a great idea too! Keep us posted about the results.

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## AQMS

It will work but you need to find the right balance.
I will go with light temp 6500k if there is any.The 5700-6300k
will work to but 6500k work even better.There are a few videos
on you tube showing aquarist using DIY led spotlight for aquarium
so it is do able... i myself uses t5 led tube 6500k,they save me a 
lot of money...

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## kurty

> It will work but you need to find the right balance.
> I will go with light temp 6500k if there is any.The 5700-6300k
> will work to but 6500k work even better.There are a few videos
> on you tube showing aquarist using DIY led spotlight for aquarium
> so it is do able... i myself uses t5 led tube 6500k,they save me a 
> lot of money...


OK, this is my finding. 

12w, with 1200lm, 60degree angle spread. 6500k, price is less than $10 usd. 

Where do you get your t5 led tube? I have been searching for it.
To make sure we are talking the same thing, you reuse the casing like aquazonic, just replace the tube with led tube. No need additional driver etc

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## AQMS

> OK, this is my finding. 
> 
> 12w, with 1200lm, 60degree angle spread. 6500k, price is less than $10 usd. 
> 
> Where do you get your t5 led tube? I have been searching for it.
> To make sure we are talking the same thing, you reuse the casing like aquazonic, just replace the tube with led tube. No need additional driver etc


I got it from hongkong ,you probably can get it at sim lim Tower.
Yup, my first attemp i reuse aquazonic casing but i dont like it. 
I find that it is too compact and i cant get the light distribution 
the way that i want it so i end up DIY my own light holder.

Here is the photo of my aquazonic 2 years ago.

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## kurty

> I got it from hongkong ,you probably can get it at sim lim Tower.
> Yup, my first attemp i reuse aquazonic casing but i dont like it. 
> I find that it is too compact and i cant get the light distribution 
> the way that i want it so i end up DIY my own light holder.
> 
> Here is the photo of my aquazonic 2 years ago.



I tried searching for this T5 led tube before but no luck, it comes as a complete set with driver etc.
Oversea, have them but It's not cheap.

Hence I thought of this idea..actually I don't mind to use t5 if not for the heat.. it actually melt my dsm plants

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## 5stars

Wah 5 tubes of T5 led...isn't that too bright?

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## AQMS

> Wah 5 tubes of T5 led...isn't that too bright?


yup to much light for 5 tubes... I use 4 tubes only. The picture is just trail and error set up.

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## AQMS

> I tried searching for this T5 led tube before but no luck, it comes as a complete set with driver etc.
> Oversea, have them but It's not cheap.
> 
> Hence I thought of this idea..actually I don't mind to use t5 if not for the heat.. it actually melt my dsm plants


Kurty, sim lim tower sure have it. I saw something similar there but i did not ask for the specs.

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## kurty

> Kurty, sim lim tower sure have it. I saw something similar there but i did not ask for the specs.


Went sim lim today but sad to say... Most of the shops are closed..

Anyway I realised there's actually such product locally .
Its dymax astro 
Comes with goose neck for adjustment , reflector
Best of all, uses e27.

Intend to use this type of led, more lumens , 360degree 
*E27/E14/G9 69SMD*

　
*Wattage*
*Lumen*
*BeamAngle*
*Voltage*
*Size*
*Color*
*Temperature*

*E27 69SMD*
*8W*
*800LM*
*360°*
*220V*
*30*92mm*
*Pure/Warm White*
*6000~6500K/3000~3500K*

*E14 69SMD*
*8W*
*800LM*
*360°*
*220V*
*30*92mm*
*Pure/Warm White*
*6000~6500K/3000~3500K*

*G9 69SMD*
*8W*
*800LM*
*360°*
*220V*
*30*82mm*
*Pure/Warm White*
*6000~6500K/3000~3500K

*

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## Urban Aquaria

Just to highlight some factors that contribute to the effectiveness of E27 LED bulbs... i've used them to replace all my home and office lighting for quite a while, so quite familiar with their application. At one point, i've also used a simple IKEA E27 desk lamp with E27 LED bulb shining over a small desktop nano tank for a period of time too.

The 360° beam angle ones are usually those that have their LEDs arranged on all their sides (the ones that resemble a corn cob style design), so their light is divided and spread out in all directions, that is great for a ceiling lamp to light up a whole room (note that the lumens specs indicate the overall brightness we see but not necessarily what actually gets into the aquarium)... but on the other hand, for aquarium applications, you would want as much of the lights to be focused directly downwards into the aquarium (rather than have to re-reflect light downwards and hence lose overall intensity), so its more efficient to use E27 LED bulbs that have all of their LEDs pointing in one direction (the spot light style ones). The path of all the light is directional, so you can ensure there is no wasted light going sideways. To increase the light coverage, just adjust the angle or increase the height of the lights.

The Dymax Astro is basically a E27 lamp holder that is designed for conventional E27 bulbs, so if you use E27 LED bulbs in it, the horizontal placement of the bulb results in only one side of LEDs shining downwards into the tank, while the rest of the sides shine in all other directions and lose overall intensity when they have to be reflected back down.

Instead of that, you can just look at getting the simple E27 lamp holders with clips from electronic shops (there is a shop at Sim Lim Sq called Unicell which has a whole display shelf of clip-on E27 bulb holders with flexible necks, they also sell E27 LED bulbs too), even IKEA also sells a good selection of lamp holders too. These E27 lamp holders utilize a vertical placement of the bulb and you can match it with E27 LED bulbs which have a directional light focus for better efficiency.

Btw, the cheap no-brand E27 LED bulbs that are typically ordered from online china sites (or value hardware shops) are not exactly super reliable compared to the more expensive name brand ones (there is a reason why they are so much cheaper), i've used a few of the cheapo ones before and some of them failed after just a short period of usage (though i also have some of the cheap ones that are still working well for more than a year), so i guess the quality control naturally tends to get abit dodgy at the cheaper end of the price scale... so if you are buying the cheap ones, its best to order more for spares just in case.  :Grin:

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## Urban Aquaria

To add, here are some good examples of DIY light systems using simple lamp holders:



This one has some nice style...



Photos from Google Images.

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## kurty

> Just to highlight some factors that contribute to the effectiveness of E27 LED bulbs... i've used them to replace all my home and office lighting for quite a while, so quite familiar with their application. At one point, i've also used a simple IKEA E27 desk lamp with E27 LED bulb shining over a small desktop nano tank for a period of time too.
> 
> The 360° beam angle ones are usually those that have their LEDs arranged on all their sides (the ones that resemble a corn cob style design), so their light is divided and spread out in all directions, that is great for a ceiling lamp to light up a whole room (note that the lumens specs indicate the overall brightness we see but not necessarily what actually gets into the aquarium)... but on the other hand, for aquarium applications, you would want as much of the lights to be focused directly downwards into the aquarium (rather than have to re-reflect light downwards and hence lose overall intensity), so its more efficient to use E27 LED bulbs that have all of their LEDs pointing in one direction (the spot light style ones). The path of all the light is directional, so you can ensure there is no wasted light going sideways. To increase the light coverage, just adjust the angle or increase the height of the lights.
> 
> The Dymax Astro is basically a E27 lamp holder that is designed for conventional E27 bulbs, so if you use E27 LED bulbs in it, the horizontal placement of the bulb results in only one side of LEDs shining downwards into the tank, while the rest of the sides shine in all other directions and lose overall intensity when they have to be reflected back down.
> 
> Instead of that, you can just look at getting the simple E27 lamp holders with clips from electronic shops (there is a shop at Sim Lim Sq called Unicell which has a whole display shelf of clip-on E27 bulb holders with flexible necks, they also sell E27 LED bulbs too), even IKEA also sells a good selection of lamp holders too. These E27 lamp holders utilize a vertical placement of the bulb and you can match it with E27 LED bulbs which have a directional light focus for better efficiency.
> 
> Btw, the cheap no-brand E27 LED bulbs that are typically ordered from online china sites (or value hardware shops) are not exactly super reliable compared to the more expensive name brand ones (there is a reason why they are so much cheaper), i've used a few of the cheapo ones before and some of them failed after just a short period of usage (though i also have some of the cheap ones that are still working well for more than a year), so i guess the quality control naturally tends to get abit dodgy at the cheaper end of the price scale... so if you are buying the cheap ones, its best to order more for spares just in case.


thank you, UA for sharing.

i actually went to ikea to hunt for this lamp holder but none could seem to be trustworthy or suitable..
its either wall mount (i can't drill any holes on wall)
or the neck is too short...  i don't want a scenario whereby i used halfway, the lamp dropped into the water..  :Very Happy: 



Unicell, interesting. i guess i will pay them a visit on this sat then.
i guess the horizontal light focus that you are referring, looks like this.
Attachment 45051

someone in oversea actually uses 2 x dymax astro on his tank:
Attachment 45052

i feel, in order to support the e27 or this idea, the lamp holder is important and must be reliable.
The goose neck if you call it, must be strong and don't give way easily.
anyway, dymax astro is cheap, less than $15 i suppose??  :Laughing: 
so far, no accident nor incidents on this product..

actually a few members privately message me, stating their interest in this project.
as for myself, i'm still procrastinating..  :Very Happy:

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## 5stars

Yah this project has the potential to save us planted tank enthusiasts alot of money on lighting. 👍

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## AQMS

So what are you actually looking for?
the holder or the led?

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## kurty

> So what are you actually looking for?
> the holder or the led?


ermm, nothing actually..

i found the holder and also the range of e27 light bulb to consider..

just waiting to see if anyone else got better idea/solution.
dont want to impulse buy and resulting to waste.

also don't know if really can works  :Jump for joy:

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## AQMS

> also don't know if really can works


It will work,since you have a lot of tanks at home,
try it on a small tank. What i did, i bought the ikea lagra lamp
and convert it into led light,i dont have pics to show you but here is
an example from the net.
http://reefbydesign.blogspot.sg/2009...spotlight.html

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## Urban Aquaria

> thank you, UA for sharing.
> 
> i actually went to ikea to hunt for this lamp holder but none could seem to be trustworthy or suitable..
> its either wall mount (i can't drill any holes on wall)
> or the neck is too short...  i don't want a scenario whereby i used halfway, the lamp dropped into the water..


Yeah, the IKEA ones are mainly for placement on desks or clamping onto the sides of desks/shelves... none made for clipping on aquarium tank glass.

Btw, this was the IKEA lamp holder i used, its the "old-school" clamp-to-desk style design with spring-loaded arms. I removed the hood cover since there is no need to use hood reflectors with directional E27 LED bulbs (makes it look alot less bulky too).



Source Link: http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/60370183/




> Unicell, interesting. i guess i will pay them a visit on this sat then.
> i guess the horizontal light focus that you are referring, looks like this.
> Attachment 45051



Yeah, those are the best ones for E27 lamp holders which have a horizontal mounting position (like the Dymax Astro).




> someone in oversea actually uses 2 x dymax astro on his tank:
> Attachment 45052
> 
> i feel, in order to support the e27 or this idea, the lamp holder is important and must be reliable.
> The goose neck if you call it, must be strong and don't give way easily.
> anyway, dymax astro is cheap, less than $15 i suppose?? 
> so far, no accident nor incidents on this product..
> 
> actually a few members privately message me, stating their interest in this project.
> as for myself, i'm still procrastinating..



You're right... the E27 lamp holder definitely has to be super sturdy, especially if its to be clamped on the aquarium tank glass. The Dymax Astro is cheap and a very suitable holder to use, since its already designed for that purpose. You also get a free conventional E27 bulb included too (if i remember based on the unit i used a few years ago), can re-use for home lights.  :Smile:

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## kurty

> Yeah, the IKEA ones are mainly for placement on desks or clamping onto the sides of desks/shelves... none made for clipping on aquarium tank glass.





> Btw, this was the IKEA lamp holder i used, its the "old-school" clamp-to-desk style design with spring-loaded arms. I removed the hood cover since there is no need to use hood reflectors with directional E27 LED bulbs (makes it look alot less bulky too).
> 
> 
> 
> Source Link: http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/60370183/
> 
> 
> Yeah, those are the best ones for E27 lamp holders which have a horizontal mounting position (like the Dymax Astro).
> 
> ...




thank you, UA for the encouragement and kind words..

this is a difficult topic.

i tried the ikea lamp that you shared, the neck design or the holder is kinda weak, it actually drop when we testing it.. hence didn't consider.

out of the sudden, i can't find any more Dymax Astro..
I tried C328.. seaview too, don't have it..

anyone knows where can i get dymax astro?
I intend to get a unit, measure the maximum length that i could fit a E27 into the slot.

I even consider aquazonic clamping light but they are using PL tube instead. limited space that i could play with, Dymax astro still seems better.

a Question:
6500k is the advisable color temperature for plants.
then how much lumens should we consider to hit a depth of 1ft?

i have spotlight of 12W, with lumens of 1050-1200
while 6w, with half lumen of 12w.
both are at 6500k.

if all failed, i might consider doing the spot light again.
My only concern for now is the blindspots of the tank, due to the limitation of the neck of the lamp holder.

I was at sim lim tower today, realized i didn't read the message well..
Unicell is at sim lim square instead..  :Sad:

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## Mystikboy

Lumens is a measurement unit to calculate brightness as perceived by humans.
For plants, the more relevant measurement would be PAR value.

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## kurty

> Lumens is a measurement unit to calculate brightness as perceived by humans.
> For plants, the more relevant measurement would be PAR value.



The problem with aftermarket light bulbs is that they don't reveal the par.. 
Only lumens, can't blame them.. only aleck like me, exploring on this...


So what's the acceptable par that plants actually needs?

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## mercur1al

Bro, try them?

http://www.madpetz.com.sg/index.php?...roducts_id=528

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## Urban Aquaria

> i tried the ikea lamp that you shared, the neck design or the holder is kinda weak, it actually drop when we testing it.. hence didn't consider.


Yeah, you need to turn the fastening screw knobs tightly on that IKEA lamp holder so that its secure... or else it'll very easily drop over.  :Grin: 




> anyone knows where can i get dymax astro?
> I intend to get a unit, measure the maximum length that i could fit a E27 into the slot.
> 
> Looks like you'll have to check the smaller LFS and see which have stock, its quite a common light set at most places, probably most shops shift their stocking to LED lights nowadays so CFL Lights become less popular.


I managed to find my old set in storage, did some measurements... the length of the cover is around 13cm, though you actually don't need to cover when using directional E27 LED bulbs anyways, therefore it can just be removed. So you actually don't have any limitation on the length of the E27 LED bulb.  :Very Happy: 




> a Question:
> 6500k is the advisable color temperature for plants.
> then how much lumens should we consider to hit a depth of 1ft?
> 
> i have spotlight of 12W, with lumens of 1050-1200
> while 6w, with half lumen of 12w.
> both are at 6500k.


6500K would be fine... i guess you'll just have to test them and monitor the plant growth to see which intensity are suitable for the setup.

Interestingly, i checked the original CFL bulb that came packaged with the Dymax Astro and its labelled as 7500K.

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## kurty

> Bro, try them?
> 
> http://www.madpetz.com.sg/index.php?...roducts_id=528



thanks, got my astro yesterday night  :Very Happy:

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## kurty

> Yeah, you need to turn the fastening screw knobs tightly on that IKEA lamp holder so that its secure... or else it'll very easily drop over.





> I managed to find my old set in storage, did some measurements... the length of the cover is around 13cm, though you actually don't need to cover when using directional E27 LED bulbs anyways, therefore it can just be removed. So you actually don't have any limitation on the length of the E27 LED bulb. 
> 
> 
> 6500K would be fine... i guess you'll just have to test them and monitor the plant growth to see which intensity are suitable for the setup.
> 
> Interestingly, i checked the original CFL bulb that came packaged with the Dymax Astro and its labelled as 7500K.






haha, ok, pardon me again.. never good at such stuff, butter fingers..

i realise a flaw about such clamp light, the goose neck is kinda weak..
i wonder over time, will it actually give weak..

now i got my astro light, going to buy my directional E27  :Very Happy: 
but christmas came early for me.. was sharing with my wife yesterday on the agony topic of lighting and she offer to get me a up aqua u series as a Xmas gift.

haha, now.. is to buy or don't buy..

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## kurty

ok, i just order 4 led light bulb, since i'm the originator..
had to spearhead this project till the end.

 :Very Happy:

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## 5stars

If your wife is still buying the aqua u for you, why not try e27 on one tank and commercial aquarium LED light on the other tank and compare the results?

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## 5stars

By the way, the optimal lighting for plants is actually between 6500k to 10000k, although 6500-7500 is preferred.

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## kurty

> If your wife is still buying the aqua u for you, why not try e27 on one tank and commercial aquarium LED light on the other tank and compare the results?


The other 1.5ft tank is using evo18.. 
Tested and proven.. 

I just wanna be nice, help her to save money. Go ahead with the E27 directional and if it really fails..
I will use the E27 for the house and get her to pay $123 for the u series 

Keke,i am cunning..

Afterall, this hobby is about collecting stuff..
From bottles, to filters, to lighting set.
So what's next..

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## BFG

Rocks, driftwood.........

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## kurty

> Rocks, driftwood.........


already have 14 pcs of rocks where i spend $40 on them, where i also becoming a laughing stock for my wife..
spending money on rocks  :Very Happy: 

driftwood, i got 2.. wanna sell, also difficult..

this hobby is expensive.. with zero ROI.
the amount and time you pump in, you won't even get anything close like 50% of the initial.

maybe only for the top notch products, you still could savage your initial capital.

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## limz_777

> already have 14 pcs of rocks where i spend $40 on them, where i also becoming a laughing stock for my wife..
> spending money on rocks 
> 
> driftwood, i got 2.. wanna sell, also difficult..
> 
> this hobby is expensive.. with zero ROI.
> the amount and time you pump in, you won't even get anything close like 50% of the initial.
> 
> maybe only for the top notch products, you still could savage your initial capital.


no choice nice landscaping rocks locally have to buy , dont think she knows in singapore forest all you can find is granite and blockish rocks  :Laughing:

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## chong99

> thanks, got my astro yesterday night


nice, how many astro you got?
do let us know how it perform.  :Smile:

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## GuitaristX

I'm still a newbie and know nuts about light requirement for aquarium.

But this is what I did for my tank light as originally lighting was for a small tank.

Modified the existing aquarium light fixture with what I had at home (just shifted home) so I didn't spend more $.
Using a E27 5W cool white led bulb, holder and wrap up with aluminium foil (like lamp shade) as reflectors.
Picture after installation and brightness of the tank.

Upon switching on the light for first time, the fishes were more playful, swimming in the last time dark areas.
Still monitoring if the brightness is enough for the plants and fishes.
I'm using a timer to set for 8hrs as recommended by my friend.

20141202_215842-1.jpg20141202_223113.jpg

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## kurty

> I'm still a newbie and know nuts about light requirement for aquarium.
> 
> But this is what I did for my tank light as originally lighting was for a small tank.
> 
> Modified the existing aquarium light fixture with what I had at home (just shifted home) so I didn't spend more $.
> Using a E27 5W cool white led bulb, holder and wrap up with aluminium foil (like lamp shade) as reflectors.
> Picture after installation and brightness of the tank.
> 
> Upon switching on the light for first time, the fishes were more playful, swimming in the last time dark areas.
> ...



*thumbs up*
creative.

I didn't pursue further with my initial ideas.. lazy and wanted an easier way out.

good to see that it works for you  :Very Happy:

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