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DIY LED powerful enough for high-tech tank


biodives
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I made two 4-footers to act as second lights over two 24" deep (front to back) tanks which is too wide for a single light to cover unless you raise it up. Cost for each light about $35. Each can generate up to 4400 lumens. One participant build a light for a 5' tank using a single 4' module, also rated at 4400 lumens. The host showed 2' lights he had built in a much smaller package so it would fit in a narrow space between tank and shelf. Another light was built using 3 daisy-chained modules including one double-intensity module, but I didn't see the final product. A neat trick was to use rain gutter as the light housing for which you can buy water-tight end-pieces that will be more durable than my tape solution. Some others were going to assemble their lights at home.

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  • 6 months later...

I just build a bunch more for my new tank racks. Instead of individual lights per tank there is now one 6 foot light per 2x6' shelf, 7 lights in total. After about 10 months there has not been a single failure in power supply or LED module and I have had sword plants, water hyacinth and frogbit form flowers under these lights. 

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I tried to order enough for just 1 or 2 lights, but the minimum on the parts I wanted was 25. I'm selling for T5HO for now

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At futureelectronics.com some have to be bought in bulk but others can be bought a piece or in pairs. Those are the ones I've been using. It's a bit frustrating that there doesn't seem to be neither rhyme nor reason to why some can and others can't be bought a piece.

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Actually I have one unused 2 foot LED strip (CRI 90, 4000K) and a 4 foot light with two 2-foot modules (I assume my standard CRI 80 5000K) and power supply left after my tank rack renovation and that I could sell. PM me for details if interested.

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