Led or T5? In planted tank

[james.dyer13]

The parts cost barely £15, and I've had greater success with it than any shop bought fitting, not only that the colour temperature is aesthetically pleasing and the spectrum is ideal for plant growth.

It consisted of 6 x 3W high output LED's, a 24V transformer and a driver - all of which are easily sourced from eBay.

I'm interested I'd like to see pics and the list of the parts

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[StandbySetting]

This was a 60l 600mm tank, 6 LED's were far too powerful, the heat sinks were the most expensive parts as wel as the thermal grease.

I did in the end drop it down to two LED's which worked excellently.

 

[DutchMuch]

.you didn't have any r/g/b's?
most likely why it was so cheap, and the fact you used wood when a metal frame is most common, add a fan if it gets hot you didn't do that.
Low tech

 

[StandbySetting]

The spectrum of the LED's had peaks in the red and blue peaks necessary for good plant growth, the colour temperature of the light was aesthetically pleasing too, the wooden frame was purely to test it as it was a prototype, I work in a sheet metal shop so making a case was easy from aluminium, cooling was provided by the heat sinks and the aluminium case so no need for fans. Anyone with basic DIY skills could make their own for under £50, much cheaper than any shop bought unit, you could even go the whole hog and get a dimmer switch if you really wanted...

The cost of running it per year was £2.45 vs £10 per year for a T5 equivalent - not to mention that the LED's last way longer than fluoro tubes

 

[DutchMuch]

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/20-diy/1110266-ultimate-diy-aquarium-led-build.html
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/10-lighting/1111450-diy-led-build-125g-almost-done-build.html