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Aqua Pro Builder · 05-13-2006, 03:58 PM

LED

Comment for aquarium application
It best to use for shifting the color tone and moon light application in a tank.

If you want to fool around with LED, you must have a LEd testor, and an soldering iron somewhat around 30W. In general, using high wattage iron will burn your electroncis and hard to control the solder. Fiddling the 30W iron on electronic parts long enough will still over heat the component, so you need to develope the skill in soldering. Quick to the point, precise dip is best. Use flux wax to clean and make better solder points. Use an aligator clip as a heat sink when soldering if you have a higher powered iron and need to get the job done immediately.

Most commonly seen are the 5mm LED, these are inexpensive but making them to be useful in reef environment are tedious.

They cost like around 25 cents in smaller qty. 10 cents a pcs in huge qty.
Most of these LEDS operates at a max of 3.2-3.3Vf, therefore, if you put 3 rechargable batteries in series you will burn the LEDs because 3 rechargable batteries = 1.2V x 3 = 3.6V. Also different color LEDs usually have a different max forward or backward voltage.

4 x LEDs running at 12V is not as bright as 3 x LEDs with proper additions of resistor. Therefore, to obtain optimal brightness and energy effectiveness for illuminations, you need a full spec sheets of them. That makes DIY projects hardly optimal enough for replacing MH or such.

The shimmering effect of MH lighting is easily obtained with LED using the narrow angle ones. The penetration is also very high compare to flourescent light.

Annoucement
Some time next week, I will post a pic of running the blue in a small tank so that you have a better idea how many is sufficient for your application. I will use the high flux ones since I am all out of the regular 5mm blue LEDs. Stay tuned.

FIRST BATCH OF PICS

Pics of Green Black Sun are taken with a cel phone so pic quality is low.

Under "MY DIY" 0.4W of blue LED (make up of only 2 LEDs)

Under 0.4W of "MY DIY" LED plus a 1.44W commercially /v blue LED

Under 0.4W of "MY DIY" LED plus a 1.44W commercially a/v blue LED and 1.44W commercially a/v white LED

Under 2 x 36W VHO Actinc 03

Under MH 175W and 2 x 36W VHO Actinc 03 (need to take another pic to show better comparison)

05-13-2006, 03:58 PM	#2
Aqua Pro Builder Vendor Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Flushing NY 11355 Posts: 4,736 Reefer Ratings: (75) Friends: (22)	Reserved LED Comment for aquarium application It best to use for shifting the color tone and moon light application in a tank. If you want to fool around with LED, you must have a LEd testor, and an soldering iron somewhat around 30W. In general, using high wattage iron will burn your electroncis and hard to control the solder. Fiddling the 30W iron on electronic parts long enough will still over heat the component, so you need to develope the skill in soldering. Quick to the point, precise dip is best. Use flux wax to clean and make better solder points. Use an aligator clip as a heat sink when soldering if you have a higher powered iron and need to get the job done immediately. Most commonly seen are the 5mm LED, these are inexpensive but making them to be useful in reef environment are tedious. They cost like around 25 cents in smaller qty. 10 cents a pcs in huge qty. Most of these LEDS operates at a max of 3.2-3.3Vf, therefore, if you put 3 rechargable batteries in series you will burn the LEDs because 3 rechargable batteries = 1.2V x 3 = 3.6V. Also different color LEDs usually have a different max forward or backward voltage. 4 x LEDs running at 12V is not as bright as 3 x LEDs with proper additions of resistor. Therefore, to obtain optimal brightness and energy effectiveness for illuminations, you need a full spec sheets of them. That makes DIY projects hardly optimal enough for replacing MH or such. The shimmering effect of MH lighting is easily obtained with LED using the narrow angle ones. The penetration is also very high compare to flourescent light. Annoucement Some time next week, I will post a pic of running the blue in a small tank so that you have a better idea how many is sufficient for your application. I will use the high flux ones since I am all out of the regular 5mm blue LEDs. Stay tuned. FIRST BATCH OF PICS Pics of Green Black Sun are taken with a cel phone so pic quality is low. Under "MY DIY" 0.4W of blue LED (make up of only 2 LEDs) Under 0.4W of "MY DIY" LED plus a 1.44W commercially /v blue LED Under 0.4W of "MY DIY" LED plus a 1.44W commercially a/v blue LED and 1.44W commercially a/v white LED Under 2 x 36W VHO Actinc 03 Under MH 175W and 2 x 36W VHO Actinc 03 (need to take another pic to show better comparison) Last edited by Aqua Pro Builder; 04-30-2007 at 04:28 PM.