# Other Aquarium Forums > Equipment and Accessories > DIY Projects >  DIY LED Light for planted tank

## chong99

Hi All,
Sharing my LED project for planted tank.
Had been searching and trying various types of leds which I got from SimLim and finally found something suitable for my planted tank.
The light module is basically constructed with LED strips, aluminium case and powered by 12Vdc.
Also added a dimmer to control the light intensity, plus an acrylic cover to prevent water splash.

To get the brightness I want and also considering the power consumption, heat problem and cost... After quite some testing... finally, decided to use 3x of 50cm LED strips for 2ft light module

Construction: 
LED strips are glued on the aluminium case with thermal glue. 
DC jack is secured on the case using cable tie.
Some soldering works to connect the DC jack to the strips.
Mount the dimmer, cover, power adapter.
Job done 

LED power vs Power Adapter:
Good thing that for most of the LED strips sold in the market, they are operating at 12V DC.
So it is very easy to get those off-the-shelf 12V power adapter from hardware shop.

When you buy the LED strip, ask for the voltage and power rating of the LED strip, normally it is about 10~20watts per meter.
What you need to know is how much is the total power consumption of your LED strips and then select the right adapter for it 
The trick is always give a extra buffer on top of your LED light power consumption.
Remember, higher power rating is better for the life of the power adapter however the cost is another factor you might need to consider
eg: Led strip I used is 18W per meter, I used 3 strips of 50cm each for my 60cm light module, so total power is about 27W (9W x3)
So, for my LED module 27W requirement, I am giving it extra 50% buffer, the power becomes 54W (27W x2) and the power adapter suitable for my requirement is the 60W ones (12V 5A).
Hope this helps you to understand the relationship between power of your LED strip and choosing the right power adapter.

Testing:
... and it works !!!
From the photo below, total power consumption of the 2ft LED light module including the power adapter is about 32W.
2A is the actual current drawn by the LED, so power of the LED module itself is 24W (12V x 2A). 
Power adapter itself consumes about 8W (power lost). This very much depends on the efficiency of the power adapter.
By rotating the dimmer knob, the brightness / power can be adjusted from 0~33W.
 


Results:
Tested on my tank (LWH: 81x36x50cm), light panetration is enough to cause pearling at optimum CO2 and fert.
[IMG][/IMG]

video Link click _here_ .

Hope this thread gives you some understanding on LED lighting  :Smile: 
Have fun DIY-ing

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## AQMS

Nice,where and how much for the heatsink?

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## pinhole

Looks good! Where did you buy the aluminium case and how much?

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## kurty

actually i have the heat sink aka aluminum case and also keen in this project.
can anyone build while i provide the part.

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## chong99

Thanks for your comments.
The aluminium case acts as reflector and heatsink for the LEDs. 




> Nice,where and how much for the heatsink?





> Looks good! Where did you buy the aluminium case and how much?





> actually i have the heat sink aka aluminum case and also keen in this project.
> can anyone build while i provide the part.

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## chong99

Tested the light on my 4ft tank, depth 2ft.


Total power 63W.


Results:
Tenellus
 

Monte Carlo
 

Crypto
 

 :Smile:

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## damienfy

Looks good! How much did it cost you for the whole DIY set up? I am planning to make one if it is cheap enough!

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## chong99

> Looks good! How much did it cost you for the whole DIY set up? I am planning to make one if it is cheap enough!


Thanks bro, 
diy is more about the fun during the diy process...
it may not be too cheap considering the time, trial and error cost you spent.
anyway pm you the breakdown.
have fun~~

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## freezze

Led Light.jpg

Saw this at the Sitex show 2014 selling LED lights.

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## kurty

> Led Light.jpg
> 
> Saw this at the Sitex show 2014 selling LED lights.


interesting,
initially was looking at this project whereby using the housing and fixing such light to reduce heat and electricity.
too bad, i can't find any good deals locally and only strict to T5.

T8 is a better choice, if i not wrong, they are basically plug and play.
The ballast/driver are all build in the tube, which is better.

go for it, if you are using T8

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## freezze

> interesting,
> initially was looking at this project whereby using the housing and fixing such light to reduce heat and electricity.
> too bad, i can't find any good deals locally and only strict to T5.
> 
> T8 is a better choice, if i not wrong, they are basically plug and play.
> The ballast/driver are all build in the tube, which is better.
> 
> go for it, if you are using T8


They also have T5 and flood light

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## chong99

> They also have T5 and flood light


Thanks bro, what's the cost like? 
anyone trying this T5/T8 LED? do report the performance...

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## chong99

added some enhancement to my diy led...

Z-stand - 10cm height


gave some red to the light

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## MCE

Hi Chong99, great work and very well explained.

I did a few led for my tanks, if I would to do it again I would combined and discard my other AC/DC adapters (for water pump, UV etc ) into One 12 volt power supply with bigger amps to save space at Power point. The excess length wire for each device, and those adapters just took up lots of space.
There are various shape and size of aluminum strips for selection at alum shops (lavender st has a few). Old curtain railing can also be handy as heatsink. 
Use of waterproof LED is
Important safety consideration.

Cost of 12v power adapter and LEDs in JB as usual, are much lower. 
Have fun.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## chong99

Hi bro,
Thanks. 
Do share your setup also...  :Smile: 
your water pump and uv also using 12V? 
btw how the water proof led looks like?
happy DIY-ing...




> Hi Chong99, great work and very well explained.
> 
> I did a few led for my tanks, if I would to do it again I would combined and discard my other AC/DC adapters (for water pump, UV etc ) into One 12 volt power supply with bigger amps to save space at Power point. The excess length wire for each device, and those adapters just took up lots of space.
> There are various shape and size of aluminum strips for selection at alum shops (lavender st has a few). Old curtain railing can also be handy as heatsink. 
> Use of waterproof LED is
> Important safety consideration.
> 
> Cost of 12v power adapter and LEDs in JB as usual, are much lower. 
> Have fun.
> ...

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## MCE

My led comes in multiple of 3inch plastic/casing - made by Samsung. I just use 10 x 3" plastic waterproof strips which form a 1-piece panel, i placed it face down on a glass which sits on top of the tank. It can move about for adjustment, sometime I move it to the front for photo session and other time move to corner to give better lighting on certain plant.

these days most pumps and uv are doc 12 volts. I have not done it yet but intend to get a 5 amp 12volt AC/DC adapter to provide DC 12v to power light (~17watts), pump (7 watts) and uv(4 watts). That is to save space at PowerPoint.

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## chong99

> My led comes in multiple of 3inch plastic/casing - made by Samsung. I just use 10 x 3" plastic waterproof strips which form a 1-piece panel, i placed it face down on a glass which sits on top of the tank. It can move about for adjustment, sometime I move it to the front for photo session and other time move to corner to give better lighting on certain plant.
> 
> these days most pumps and uv are doc 12 volts. I have not done it yet but intend to get a 5 amp 12volt AC/DC adapter to provide DC 12v to power light (~17watts), pump (7 watts) and uv(4 watts). That is to save space at PowerPoint.


keep us update if got new project, I am still playing with lights, haha...

just completed a few customized 3 and 5 footers...
and thanks for all the enhancement ideas from many bros, 
such as, 
- additional red for more vibrant color, 
- red/blue for night viewing/moon light, controlled by separate power supply and timers...
- separate power for each strip and control by timer to simulate sunrise, sunset (cheapo version without using a high tech micro controller...  :Smile:  )

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## chong99

customized 4footers (130cm, 142cm)...

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## Kevino

Chong did a fantastic job for my 2 x 3 foot LED with red and blue additional LED on each light set. Thank you so much and now my tank and plants looks appealing and doing very well. Cheers.

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## chong99

> Chong did a fantastic job for my 2 x 3 foot LED with red and blue additional LED on each light set. Thank you so much and now my tank and plants looks appealing and doing very well. Cheers.


Thanks bro, do update us the plants progress in your 322ft tank  :Smile:

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## Despaulng

> Thanks bro, do update us the plants progress in your 322ft tank


Hi chong, are you still offering this service?  :Smile:

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## chong99

> Hi chong, are you still offering this service?


Hi, you may checkout my thread at Merchant. Thanks.

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## chong99

updates,..

6ft LED light under testing... on my 4ft tank...
6ft LED_IMAG6433.jpg

another 20cm led for nano tank...
LED Light 20cm_IMAG6223.jpg

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## chong99

My latest diy LED project :-
Introducing the Aurora - RGB night viewing light with remote control and separate power supply  :Smile: 
mainly for night viewing, color enhancement for plants, fishes, ...


can be integrated with white LED light...
any color can be set, static color or running color modes.

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## dutchmaster

Bro, you selling for how much?

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## chong99

Hi, please refer to my post in merchant subforum for details.


> Bro, you selling for how much?

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