Led's For Low-level Lighting?

[Mr^Man]

Hey guys!

Recently, I started shortening the length of time my tank light is on, in an effort to control algue... (it seems to be helping)
I guess maybe the light is too bright for a non-planted tank...
Anyways, I was thinking of putting in a couple of LED's for tank lighting, when the big light is off... just something low-level, so it isn't totally dark...

any ideas or comments as to whether or not I should do it, how I'd go about it, and should I go with just blue, just white, or one of each or something? Maybe UV LED's?


Thanks,
Mr^Man

 

[xxBarneyxx]

It is pretty easy to do. Avoid UV LED's as UV is not good for anything near it that is living. Blue and/or white LEDS make a nice "moonlight" (combination of both gives a nice colour).

In short all you need is a bunch of LED's, some wire, resistors and a low voltage power supply (like an old 9v phone charger). Then just wire them up in parallel.

Take a look at http/www.llamma.com/xbox360/mods/How%20t...%20an%20LED.htm
This has a resitance calculator which tells you which resistor you need based on what LED's you are using and how many you have.

 

[Mr^Man]

Thanks!!

How many would you use, in a 15gal tank? do you think 2 blue and 2 white would do? I was thinking of drilling them into the back edge of the canopy, the whites at the back corners, and the blues on either side of the filter... opinions?

Mr^Man

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Yeah 4 might be good. It depends how bright you want it. Normally you buy LED's and resistors in packs so you can start off with 4 and more resitors then add extra LED's and take some resitors away until you are happy with the brightness.

 

[Mr^Man]

I just picked up a 4-pack of Hyper LED 12V blue led's, which, as near as I can tell, have the resistors pre-wired and heat-shrunk... now I just need to dig up a 12V adapter, then I should be golden...

Then I'll have to pick up some neon tetras, should look gorgeous under the blue light... hehe

 

[Rooster]

Another option is to use "cold cathode" tubes... these are sold in most computer shops for tarting up your PC case, again you will need a 12vDC supply, but are typically 12" long, so would give a more "natural" spread of light...

Ebuyer link