# Other Aquarium Forums > Equipment and Accessories > DIY Projects >  How to: DIY a 9" nano led lightset

## melthazor

Ok so the 7w aquazonic clamping lamp I got for my 9" nano aquarium isn't bright enough... :Idea: ...for me at least it isn't. And personally it looks kinda sissy  :Laughing: .

And I think I have read all the related "DIY led lightsets" threads on AQ and some on the internet. Then found out that the "watts per gallon" rule doesn't apply anymore and that I have to use some PUR/PAR calculation that involves the use of some expensive equipment just to get the proper wattage needed for my nano aquarium...oh and that there used to be a link for a PUR/PAR online calculator but that link is broken.

Since it's just a 9" nano aquarium...I'm not really keen to go all out and spend tonnes of money on a nano...I'll just wing it without the PUR/PAR device!

So first I thought about those 5M reels of led strips over the LED beads (because I don't have a soldering iron although I've always wanted one), thinking of the SMD 5630 ones in white...then thought its kinda "meh" so decided to be brave a little and try using those LED beads instead.

Judging from all the useful information that I have read online and on AQ of course, I figured I needed at least 3w per LED bead. I was considering 5 of these 3W LED beads bringing the total to 15W, then thought 5 is such an odd number and decided to have 6 instead so I can place them into 2 rows of 3s (instead of cramping them all in a row) bringing the total to 18W. I also know that I need a LED driver that can supply constant power to the 6 3W LED beads, a soldering iron, some solder, heat sink, thermal adhesive, some wires and a plug head and maybe possibly a AC/DC adaptor??

Now the question is...6 x 3W LED beads too much or too little? 8 x 3W LED beads? Should I get them all white or should I mix the ratio with some red and blue? 6500k or 7000k to 10000K for the white LED beads? Also I read some member's thread here on AQ that they decided to use a AC/DC adaptor instead of a power point plug, using the adaptor to regulate automatically the AC/DC current. Is that necessary or is the power point plug enough? Because the led driver is already a AC/DC converter right? What size wires should I get to link the LED beads up? Normal red black wires from those hardware shops? Not sure what size they are. Also can someone recommend a soldering iron and solder size for this project and where I can get one from? I read a 25W soldering iron is good enough, although some say a 40W iron would be ideal. I'm getting all my LED stuff off ebay, I'm just gonna get normal LED beads instead of the CREE ones.

Right now all I have in my nano are some low light java ferns, anubias petite, staurogyne repens and riccia tied to a piece of coconut shell. 19 cardinal tetras and 1 OTO, yes I know its alot...tank is cycled and has been up for nearly 2 months. Tank dimensions: L9" x D7.8" x H9.8". Total water capacity is 10L...I measured.

I plan to redo this tank. Get rid of the lapis gravel, put some soil in and plant some glosso. Move the current plants to another tank. New hardscape would be a single rock for the iwagumi look (hopefully i can pull that one off). Maybe a stem plant for the back...it's currently running on DIY co2, Dymax vortex W8 and a BOYU EF-05 for filtration. I might try my hand at some cherry shrimps for this new setup.

So please give me your valuable input/advise... :Grin:

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## melthazor

No one? Not even the experts who diy their own lamps have any advise for me?

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## Urban Aquaria

8 x 3W LEDs would be too overkill for your small tank, that much light blasting in a small area with slow-moderate growth plants and high bio-load would be a nice environment for algae.  :Grin: 

Your tank is less than 30cm in height so arrays of 0.5W or 0.2W or even 0.06W LEDs will work fine with your setup. Just an example, people have already successfully grown glosso carpet without Co2 injection with the older generation Up Aqua Z-Series lights which are only using 0.06W LEDs.

You could still use 3W LEDs though, for a small tank like yours, maybe can try 4 x 3W, then just mount it higher up above the tank to reduce the light intensity and increase the spread accordingly.

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## melthazor

> 8 x 3W LEDs would be too overkill for your small tank, that much light blasting in a small area with slow-moderate growth plants and high bio-load would be a nice environment for algae. 
> 
> Your tank is less than 30cm in height so arrays of 0.5W or 0.2W or even 0.06W LEDs will work fine with your setup. Just an example, people have already successfully grown glosso carpet without Co2 injection with the older generation Up Aqua Z-Series lights which are only using 0.06W LEDs.
> 
> You could still use 3W LEDs though, for a small tank like yours, maybe can try 4 x 3W, then just mount it higher up above the tank to reduce the light intensity and increase the spread accordingly.


In other words...I could still use led strips...Since those are about 0.0x watts per bulb...which is more convenient in terms of hooking everything up...

But what is it I see about the PAR calculation? Saw some guy did a test with his sensor on cfl lights, after a lady asked him how much watts of light her 2.5 gallon tank needed, same volume tank as mine, and he recommended 15 watts and above. This guy has a 100 metal halide lamp on his 5 gallon!  :Surprised: 

See his reply to the person who asked him about the 2.5g tank light wattage. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...6&postcount=17

See his cfl test with his par sensor:http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...2&postcount=21

So I'm wondering if 8 x 3W led emitters is really an over kill? Haha! I'm not so sure after his posts and tests...

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## Urban Aquaria

> In other words...I could still use led strips...Since those are about 0.0x watts per bulb...which is more convenient in terms of hooking everything up...
> 
> But what is it I see about the PAR calculation? Saw some guy did a test with his sensor on cfl lights, after a lady asked him how much watts of light her 2.5 gallon tank needed, same volume tank as mine, and he recommended 15 watts and above. This guy has a 100 metal halide lamp on his 5 gallon! 
> 
> See his reply to the person who asked him about the 2.5g tank light wattage. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...6&postcount=17
> See his cfl test with his par sensor:http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...2&postcount=21


For PAR readings, you'll need a good quality PAR meter to measure... which is usually expensive equipment. I guess you can check around to see if anyone has one to loan . Btw, if you find someone with a good quality PAR meter, please inform me too because i also want to borrow!  :Smile: 

For the vast majority of us who don't have access to PAR meters, we go by trial and error though personal experience (aka become algae farmer for a few months), and from the experiences of other planted tank owners to help gauge the effectiveness of various LED wattage and spectrum combinations in different tank setups (long-term detailed tank journals are the most informative).

Since each tank is unique due to different plant types and layout, Co2 and fert dosing regimen and even the amount of effort put into maintenance... calculations and numbers aside, i guess the best way to find out is = put the lights on your tank, if algae take over, reduce light (check your Co2 and nutrients)... if plants show poor growth (assuming Co2 and nutrients are balanced first), then increase light. Eventually you'll come to a stage where you get nice plant growth with minimal algae, then you've got your ideal light combination.  :Well done: 

From my personal experience, i find that its better to begin with less light at the start, then if things are stable, add on more light or upgrade the lights gradually until the optimal amount of light is achieved... rather than straight away go for the most super powerful lights possible (which most people tend to do, me included... its so tempting) and then after that spend weeks pulling out hair trying to constantly fight algae.  ::smt003:

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## Urban Aquaria

One more thing to add... whenever you read about light tests and their examples, discussions about T5 or CFL/PL lights may not be fully applicable to LEDs. You can't use wattage examples from those type of light sources to compare with LEDs. 

This is because T5 and CFL/PL light give out an omni-directional light so the light power is spread out and has to be redirected using reflectors... whereas for LEDs, they have a more directional light path as they point straight down towards the tank, hence the light power is more focused. 

As for the chap mentioning he use 100W MH lights on a 2.5 gallon tank... its can work too, just hang it way higher up above the tank to adjust and moderate the intensity, but it'll just be a waste of electricity when less light could be used closer to the tank instead to do the same job.  :Smile:

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## melthazor

> One more thing to add... whenever you read about light tests and their examples, discussions about T5 or CFL/PL lights may not be fully applicable to LEDs. You can't use wattage examples from those type of light sources to compare with LEDs. 
> 
> This is because T5 and CFL/PL light give out an omni-directional light so the light power is spread out and has to be redirected using reflectors... whereas for LEDs, they have a more directional light path as they point straight down towards the tank, hence the light power is more focused. 
> 
> As for the chap mentioning he use 100W MH lights on a 2.5 gallon tank... its can work too, just hang it way higher up above the tank to adjust and moderate the intensity, but it'll just be a waste of electricity when less light could be used closer to the tank instead to do the same job.


Ok! Great! Thanks for the input! I really appreciate it. Only thing is I'm running diy co2 so it's kinda hard to gauge...but based on what I see..the plants are doing well, the nana petite are growing new leaves...the riccia looks taller. All these after I put in my co2...which was about maybe 1 to 2 weeks back. And the tank has been running almost 2 months...only thing the riccia isn't pearling..haha!

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## Urban Aquaria

> Ok! Great! Thanks for the input! I really appreciate it. Only thing is I'm running diy co2 so it's kinda hard to gauge...but based on what I see..the plants are doing well, the nana petite are growing new leaves...the riccia looks taller. All these after I put in my co2...which was about maybe 1 to 2 weeks back. And the tank has been running almost 2 months...only thing the riccia isn't pearling..haha!


You can install a Co2 drop checker in your tank, just get the simple plastic ISTA or Ocean Free ones with pre-mixed indicator solution (easier to use), that will allow you to see if the Co2 injected is at an optimal level for the plants. 

Good access to a complete range of nutrients also help in encouraging more active photosynthesis (which contribute to pearling), so maybe consider dosing some fertilizers (especially trace/micro ferts) to supplement the plants nutrition.

Another way to further encourage the riccia to pearl is to position the lights directly over the riccia, or even position the riccia closer to the lights, see if that helps.  :Smile:

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## melthazor

I dose seachem florish...

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## thebaldingaquarist

HI Mel,

For a reference, i have 11 X 3W CREE LEDs running on a 2ft shrimp/spare plant tank. used to be 12 X 3W, before 1 gave way..
No CO2, no chillers. 1/2 planted. 1/2 bare.

plants 
1. blyxia
2. crypt parva
3. crypt wenditii red
4. xmas moss
5. e. tenullus.


no algae, plants growing slowly.

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## melthazor

> HI Mel,
> 
> For a reference, i have 11 X 3W CREE LEDs running on a 2ft shrimp/spare plant tank. used to be 12 X 3W, before 1 gave way..
> No CO2, no chillers. 1/2 planted. 1/2 bare.
> 
> plants 
> 1. blyxia
> 2. crypt parva
> 3. crypt wenditii red
> ...


Hello...thank for sharing. Is it a must to use CREE? I don't really know the different between them so I don't really know what kinda cree to choose. Plus they are about 5 more dollars than the normal china leds (XP-E cheaper ones I saw).

I have decided to have some white leds in the 6500k range, some royal blue in the 400-450nm range and some red in the 640-700nm range. I read about the photosynthesis chart (chlorophyll absorption) that plants absorb and grow better in the red and blue range (red for tall growing plants and blue for low and compact plants)...

Here is one of the best link I have read so far on led colours (I'm sure there are many more out there): http://www.redcherryshrimp.net/featu...planted-tanks/

The leds I'm considering to get comes in sets of 5...so I'll have 5 of each colour. I'll start at 4 x 3w and go up if necessary. I was thinking of a wooden hood with two mini cpu fans, probably a 40mm x 40mm CPU fan on each side. The back of the hood is through so the air can escape. Basically 2 sides with fans, a front and a top. I'm also considering 90 degree led lens to prevent the 120 degree spill, I saw someone use them in their DIY led on this forum, but cant seem to find the thread again. Saw he used them and took them off after.

I'm wondering if I can wire the CPU fans and the leds together in one led driver? The led driver I am considering to get powers 7 to 10 x 3w leds:

AC Input V: AC85-265V.
Output V: DC20-36V
Output Current: 600mA.

The thing is if I run the max of 10 leds x 3w, wouldn't it be 30 watts? And since it says it can take 30 watts, then how come max dc output is DC36v x 0.6amp = 21.6 watts only? Correct me if I'm wrong to calculate total watts the led driver can take this way. Or must I calculate also per led? Which is DC3.4-3.8v x 0.6amp = 2.04w or 2.28w making max watt 2.28w per led x 10 = 22.8 watts total? which is still over the 21.6 watts max dc output limit on the driver. I hope I'm not confusing people with my rubbish. My electrical knowledge is self taught or learnt from people who were willing to teach...haha!

Since I'm not running the full 10 leds...my total watts for my leds would be:

red 2.6v x 0.6amp x 2 = 3.12 watts 3.64
blue 3.8v x 0.6amp x 2 = 4.56 watts 5.32
white 3.8v x 0.6amp x 2 = 4.56 watts 5.32
total: 12.24 watts (just enough for the 21.6 watts led driver).

But if i run 2 DC 12V cpu fans:

12v x 0.6amp (led driver rated current) x 2 = 14.4 watts ( :Shocked:  so much?)

Total led + total cpu fan = 26.64 watts (still over the 21.6 watts driver).

So I saw another led driver:

AC Input V: AC90-264v
DC Output V: DC9-48v
Output Current: 700mA
Total watts: 33.6 watts

red leds: 3.64 watts
blue leds: 5.32 watts
white leds: 5.32 watts

total led: 14.28 watts
2 fans: 16.8 watts

Final total: 31.08 watts (the second 700mA led driver is 33.6 watts). All these considering I don't have to add more leds...

My calculation correct?

Now I'm thinking if it's worth my time and effort? Everything might cost $52 not inclusive of the thermal grease, 90 deg led lens, screws, wiring, soldering iron + solder and aluminum plates. Seems I'm better off going to an lfs and buying a unit for probably lesser than $52? Purpose of DIY is beating retail price no? Headache...so much calculations...

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## thebaldingaquarist

Hi Mel,
the color and temp of the lights is important and i see you have done a good deal of research. Hope to see the end result soon.
Some comments
1. is it required to use CREE? Nope, its not required. I just gave the brand as a reference. I chose CREE because i trust that their color temp and spectrum charts are accurate.
2. for the ratio of colors, I would refer to known planted tanks LED.  :Smile:  
3. material of my DIY light sets are all from my spoilt light sets. that way i can stick the LEDs onto the aluminum body and reuse the switch.
4. i would not use the same driver that powers my LED to power the fans, even though the volts/amp figures add up. this is because the built quality of the fans and the LEDs are very different. Fans, being mechanical, tend to spoil easier. once that happens, i am not sure what happens to my LEDs
5. Wattage calculation, i outsourced this to my dear engineer friends with beer and prata. suggest you do the same. works well for me. haha
6. Is it worth it to DIY? if you intend to DIY one to replicate an existing set, then its my opinion to spend more to get a good set. If you DIY because you have specific requirements to meet, then its worth it. for me, i DIY because i have a specific placement of my LEDs that i need. Also because my tank was quite odd shaped.

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## melthazor

It's very pleasant to see you start each reply with a "Hi Mel". I on the other hand am struggling to address you...some how I think calling you "thebaldingaquarist" would be rather rude of me. Haha!

On that note, I'll probably just start with "Hello Mr Aquarist!"

Thank you for your reply. I want a custom made lightset that would fit a small 9" tank perfectly, I guess that would be my sole reason for DIY. However, with the costs involved, I think I really must reconsider this project carefully, seeing as how a brand new 30cm led set would only cost $40++. Besides considering a LED lightset build, I'm also thinking of a TEC/Peltier cooler for the nano. So its either put in the $$ for this or that. Moreover, the peltier build would be a lot cheaper compared to the LED DIY. So I am really leaning more to the DIY peltier and just buying a 30cm LED lightset. This means I wont get the satisfaction of making the LED lightset myself...from scratch  :Sad: 

About wattage calculation, I do in fact have a very good friend who is a retired SIA aircraft engineer...lucky me I guess! Haha. I was on the phone with him last night talking about the hook ups and the wiring...hopefully I did not confuse myself with the many things he said about electricity connections and stuff.

Anyway, thank you and Urban Aquaria for your valuable input and advise. I really appreciate it!  :Smug:

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