# LED DIY project for Planted Tank



## Tommy72a (Jan 6, 2013)

Hi Everyone,

I was going to post this in the DIY or Tank Journal section but I've decided to post it here since it's really about the Planted Tank. I will try to keep an on-going update to give you a performance update now and then.
Some of you may have read my other thread on LED decision making process but I've finally decided to take the plunge and go with the LED upgrade. I'm sharing my experience with the community and hoping this may be useful to those thinking about an upgrade themselves. This post is based on my experience and opinion. So far, I'm happy with the project and the initial results. Is this the right move in the long run? Don't know&#8230; I guess we'll find out.

*My tank:*
Heavily planted tank
75 gallons 48x18/21
Co2 Injection
Currently using 4xT5HO (216 Watts) @ 7 hourrs a day
Modified version of PPS fert regiment.









This picture was taken little over a month ago under T5HO

*For the build:*
Purchased from Rapid LED
36 Cree Cool White XP-G (6500k)
8 Cree Royal Blue XT-E (450-465nm wavelength)
8 Philips Rebel ES Deep Red (660 nm wavelength)
5 Dimmable drivers (2 types for: 3 for white, 1 for Blue and 1 for red)
6x20 Heat sink @ 2 units
Combination of 60' and 80' lens
A hanger kit.
Tons of other misc hardware's from Home Depot.
Also Purchased Apex to control the lights, its my birthday, X-mas, Hanukah, Valentines and father's day gift to myself. After all I deserve it.:lol:

*My DIY Skill Level:*
-I've done some soldering in high school shop class. I don't recall accomplishing much or learning anything in the actual class but re-took some soldering course at the university of Google and Youtube.
-I understand the basics of electrical theory but I have shocked myself during basic home renovation projects (several times but didn't kill me).
-I do plan things carefully and research what I can. I tend to bite more than I can chew but not to enough to choke. I also enjoy challenges and DIY projects.
-There are dozens of Rapid LED DIY videos on YouTube. Including how to use a multi-Meter (A must have for these projects)

*Hopefully this upgrade will:*
1. Reduce electricity cost.
2. Reduce equipment cost (100 bucks for t5 bulbs every 9-12 months)
3. Reduce the heat emitting from T5Ho into the room and to the tank.
4. Shimmering effect: I went snorkeling in Mexico few years ago and the images of lights shimmering in the bottom of the sea was unforgettable. I love the shimmering effect! IMO LED's give much more dynamic look to the tank.
5. Flexibility: I can dim the lights.. by color&#8230; and change or ADD LED's if I wanted to.

*DIY Experience*
October: Placed an order via RapidLED and everything arrived on time. I must say it was well packaged.
Oct 30 - Nov 3rd: This isn't going to be yet-an-another-step-by-step posting. You can find those everywhere. Allow me to give you the short version. I spent an hour here, an hour there, a day here and there. 2 hours on soldering, 2 hours on little fabrication and painting, 2 hours on external wiring and about 4 hours on trouble shooting (One of my solder joint was grounding out) and couple of hours to program into to Apex. Also couple of visits to Home Depot to pick up misc items. 








Here is my soldering job. I only burned myself twice.








I used 4 pieces of 3 foot aluminum angles to put these two heat sinks together. Because I'm using 5 drivers (3 for whites, 1 for red and one for blue), 5 sets of wires are coming out from this unit. Little difficulties with concealing the wires but I managed. I only cut myself once.








Blue and Red placement. Turned out very nicely in terms of blending the colors in together. No Disco effect.








Side view with lens attached. Basically they are combination of 60' lens (on the outside perimeter) and 80' lens in the inside. LED's without the lens will give you 120 degrees. I didn't put any lens on red and blue lights (I'm regretting this decision now) and you can see some red light spilling out of the tank and illuminating the wall. All the whites are concentrated into the tank which is really nice.








The way the lens are set up, it will illuminate the entire bottom of the tank nicely when hung from 12-15 inch above the water. Not to mention very little light spillage outside of the tank. In terms of tank access, it's nice to have all that space.

Nov 4th. project completed.
<Continued>


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## Tommy72a (Jan 6, 2013)

<Continued>
*At First Look - General appearance:*

I'm guessing (in non-scientific way) when I have the whites set up at 75%, Reds at 40% and blues at 8%, it's very close to my old lights. 
I'm getting lots of pearling, like looking at the tank full of club soda. Same as before.








The picture really can't duplicate the color.. (especially when I'm too lazy and take iPhone pictures) but this is at 75% White, 40% Red, 8% Blue








Again, I apologize for the picture but you are looking at 95% white, 40 % red and 8% blue

*Energy consumption:* (energy reading measured via Neptune APEX)
When my old T5HO fixture was humming at peak time with heater and everything, it was registering 3.5A. When everything was off except for canister filters, it was registering 1.1 A
With the new LED, at Peak time it's running at 2.4 A. Keep in mind my dimmable driver allows me to ramp up my light strength. In my virtual tank world, sun rise is at 3PM, ramps up from 0% to to 95% for next 3.5 hours, then ramps DOWN for next 3.5 hrs to 0, off at 10 PM. (more detail on ramp below) To achieve an accurate comparison , I need to average out the energy consumption in that 7 hour period&#8230; My rough calculation suggest around $3 -$4 savings a month depending on heater user. (based on 6.9 cents per KW)









Screen shot first 4 peaks are with my old lights and next 3 are with LEDs

*Heat*
First thing I noticed is that my temperature swing is gone! I normally keep my tank around 24.1 C to 24.3 C. Old set up would spike the temp to 25.5 to 26. Not a big deal but it can be a problem in the summer time. It hit 30 degree few times last summer (without the lights on) and we don't have AC (just like 99% of Vancouver population) If that happens, I leave the lights off and add air stone. Heat Sinks are very warm.. not hot. It's like hot pavement in June but not enough to fry an egg.








Screen Shot - first 4 peaks are with my old lights and next 3 are with LEDs

Side note: It's November now and my furnace is running. Maybe it's me but I noticed it's running more since I switch the lights. I suppose it makes sense. 7 hours of T5HO can add significant heat in your home. Without it, it has to make up for it somehow.

*Algae:*
I usually get a light dusting of green algae on my glass. Not in any serious amount but there is enough that I spend few minutes wiping it down during my weekly water change. Since I switched to LED, I see less algae on the glass so far. It makes sense since LEDs are pointed down towards the bottom of the tank and not on the glass.

After 5 days, I have seen some increase in diatom and green algae. I suspect my lights are little too strong? I have read somewhere that this is common when switching lights. I will keep it at the same strength for now and re-evaluate in few more days to see if I need to turn it down. If it's not serious, I'll keep it or even push harder. (stronger or longer)

*Ramp schedule:*
In my virtual tank world, sun rise is 3pm, high noon at 6:30 pm and sunset at 10 pm. I control the ramp sequence through Neptune Apex controller and I absolutely love it. I did create some fancy sun rise-and sun-set sequence and I realize that's for my own benefit. However, one of the most useful feature of dimmable LED is that, I don't have to go 100% for straight seven hours. I will start off gentle and reach high intensity in the middle and come down again. This way you are not pushing the limits like growing hydroponic marijuana, avoid algae break out and possibly extend the photo period. (viewing time)

So here is my current schedule. it's a 7 hour day and likely subject to change, many times over.

2:00 to 3:00 pm(Twilight)
Blue at 8%

3:00 pm to 3:10 (Sunrise)
Whites go from 0% to 50% 
Blues go from 8% to 10% 
Reds go from 0 to 80 then 30 (to simulate sun rise, just for my visual benefit)

3:10 to 6:30 (high noon)
Whites go from 50% to 95% in 
Blue goes 5% to 40%
reds goes from 30% to 8%








A picture of the tank. Hard to see.. but it's really pearling. Bubbling like crazy!

6:30 to 9:50 
Whites go from 95% to 50%
Blues go from 40% to 8%
Reds go from 8% to 30%

9:50 to 10:00 (sunset)
Whites go from 50% - 0%
Blue remains at 8%
Reds go from 30 to 80 then 0% (again, to simulate sun rise, just for my visual benefit)








A picture of Beginning of Sunset









A picture of End of Sunset
10:00 - 11:00 pm (twilight)
Blues go 8% -0 %









A picture of Twilight before sunrise and after sunset

I read somewhere that too much red can promote algae growth. I will be playing around with red and blue lights based on the algae growth.

*Summary:*
I really enjoyed this DIY project. So far I'm very pleased with the results but the we'll find out if the plants do well in the long run.
I will report in next week with the update in terms of growth and algae growth.

Cheers!
Tommy72a


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## Treasure chest (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice work and write up. Keep us updated.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2


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## Vancitycam (Oct 23, 2012)

Looks neat but I don't think I'm that handy though


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## do-boy86 (Sep 3, 2013)

Jeez that is soo awesome!! 

It's funny when I read all these led dimmer awesomeness, everyone seems apologetic that they make beautiful sunrise/sunsets. If it wasn't for our viewing pleasure, those Damn plants and fish wouldn't even be in our home! 

I really appreciate the writeup and effects on plants. I just purchased a beamswork light and did 2 weeks of googling to get a feel on less and plant growth. I'll be posting my own progress progress when the light comes.

Beautiful setup!


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## MEDHBSI (Sep 4, 2011)

Great read! so what was the overall price? not including your time


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## Tommy72a (Jan 6, 2013)

It was around 500 bucks.. 2 heat sinks came in at 55 bucks each. Little steep but I don't have proper tools to fabricate one. I would imagine some one with little skill, know-how and scrap aluminum can build one. You can probably knock an another 100 bucks by going all white.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## ckl (Sep 9, 2013)

Excellent build and nice tank!


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## rwong2k10 (Dec 27, 2010)

looks great Tommy!


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Wow. Thanks for the detailed write up. Your tank looks great. You made the LED build look easy.


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## Bobsidd (Dec 28, 2012)

This is very cool. I love the idea of a sun-up and sun-down light on my tanks. Thanks for the detailed account of your experience.


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## Tommy72a (Jan 6, 2013)

Thank you for your kind comments. Sorry about the lack of updates but I've finally attached some pictures.

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=40193&d=1389074483









Overall, I've been happy with the results. However I did experience some problems for first couple of weeks where I had to battle with various algae. I guess I was little too excited about the new toy and ran it too strong. I ended up getting some hair algae and BBA but after dimming down the lights, I was able to stabilize and stop the algae growth. Like I've mentioned in my previous posts, lights are hooked up to 6 different drivers so I can adjust the light level by color and the location (example, back row, front row).

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=40185&d=1389074466









This is a picture of LED strength indicator/dashboard I built. If was a fun a project but it's too big and bright. Maybe I will rebuild something more discreet using Arduino controller or something.

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=40201&d=1389074497









Comments after 2 months:

-Lights are beamed down to the bottom so algae growth on the glass is pretty much eliminated. Don't get me wrong, you still need to clean the glass once a week with my water change but very little if none is noticed on the glass.

-ability to pin point the strength of the light... Typically with any aquarium lighting , you can either turn it on or off. With the new set up, I can play around until you start seeing too much algae. It takes couple of months but it's easy to find the sweet spot.

-Plants on the edge tends to lean towards the stronger part of the light. Little annoying but nothing I can't live with.

-I haven't experimented with red and blue lights. They are on at 10% for now but I think I'll start playing around with it. I do notice brilliant colors in fish when Blue and Red LEDs are on.

-Center Beam and shadow. My tank is your typical 75 gallon tank with a plastic center beam. With LEDs you really notice the shadow underneath. Again.. little annoying but I will live.

- plants grow thick and lush. My Japonicas are growing so fast that it was chocking the bottom of the tank. I had to get rid of 12-16 of them.

-I'm able to keep the lights longer! I turn on the blue lights for 1hr (call it twilight) and 30 mins of white lights at 10%, then my controller starts the old lighting routine for 7 hrs. At the end of day, 30 mins of 10% white then sunset sequence and followed by 1 hr of blue lights. Additional time added to the tank is not super bright but we can now enjoy the aquarium 3 additional hours in a day. In my opinion, it a huge benefit.

Thanks for reading and I will provide updates again!


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## Otolith (Jan 24, 2012)

That is the best strength dashboard I've seen.


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## Tommy72a (Jan 6, 2013)

Otolith said:


> That is the best strength dashboard I've seen.


haha thanks, it was fun drinking too!


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## Tommy72a (Jan 6, 2013)

Time for an update. It's been 6-7 months since my last update and everything is going so well. I'm pleased. I've yet to finish my Arduino Auto fert machine project and I really need to get on that.

I've had some trouble dialing in my red LEDs as I prefer to see more red in my tank. It tends to give that natural warm look most people prefer but your preference may vary. I kept turning it up and then one day BOOM.. huge algae breakout. One thing I learned from this experience, Go Slow. I think all I've dialed it down where I want it. Other than some light dusting on the glass, algae hasn't been a problem. I get some BBA around intake/out flow, a perhaps a gentle reminder that a BBA breakout is only a step away.

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=64833&d=1408495381









Sorry about the photo quality, it was taken on my IPad. Too lazy to break out my SLR.

Here is a shot of Monte Carlo I got from an another BCA member. Doing really well. Tiger Lilly is healthy and big, usually trimming off 1-2 stems a week.

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=64841&d=1408506658









Here is a shot of Glosso (i got them for free from an another BCA member)
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=64849&d=1408506681









Plans for next 6 months; I hoping to find some more reddish color plants to add more colour. Any suggestions? or any one willing to trade/sell?

thanks for looking!


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## opt-e (Jan 25, 2014)

Tank looks fantastic. Nice work!


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## Tommy72a (Jan 6, 2013)

Time for an another update.
Not related to to this DYI LED lights for planted tank but I finally finished my auto-doser using Arduino. Special thanks to Shift who has provided detailed instructions.














































Sorry about the poor quality iPhone photos. I'm running roughly 9.5 hours a day with 30 mins of blue/moon lights at the start and end. (Compare to 7.5 hrs a day on t5 bulbs) I was running around 10.5 hours but algae became a problem. Lights do ramp up from 10 percent strength to 75percent strength then back down 10 again. I said it before and I will say it again, ability to adjust the strength is a huge advantage. Right now algae is non issue but I do get some BBA around inflow and outflow point. Water change is about once every 2-3 weeks and seems to be doing well. I had some BNP babies... They are for sale if anyone is interested. 
Thanks again to Shift who inspired me to build my own arduino doser.


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## Tommy72a (Jan 6, 2013)

*Selecting Drivers and LEDs for your DIY Planted Aquarium LED Project*
I've received some E-mails from people asking me about some technical information so I thought I share them with the forum. I don't claim to be an expert but hopefully this write up will provide you with enough knowledge to get you started.

*What type of LEDs?*
I decided to go with Cree White Cool from Rapid LEDs and I have nothing but good things to say about these products. They are freaking bright! By the way, have you ever seen a nice planted aquarium using off-the shelf LED strips? I haven't and I read plenty of negative reviews on out-of-the-box LEDs for planted aquariums. I think some good ones are out there and they are coming but sadly majority of them were not designed specifically for planted aquariums. (no matter what their glossy packaging says)
Occasionally I see people asking in various forums if $20 LED strip from EBay would work on their planted aquariums. Problem with that is they are not strong enough. Typical $20 LED strips from E-bay would have 10mA - 100mA draw per LED compare to 800mA to 1500mA draw for Cree LED's. Sure, you can increase the number of strips but why? Also you may get lucky and receive a correct color temperature but it's a big gamble. My advice is to go with a reputable manufacture with proper data sheet. Don't pay attention to the wattage. Just because an LED may be '5 watts' does not mean that it always draws 5 watts.

*How many LEDs do I need?*
I got some people asking me how many LED's I need? Again, I'm talking about Cree LEDs (specs listed below) My tank is a standard 75G tank. I really struggled with this decision as I got many conflicted information from various forums. I was aiming for 2 drivers and 24 white LEDs but in the end I ended up using 36 white LEDs and 3 drivers. (Not including red and blue LEDs) I probably got away with using 24 but I feel 36 fills the tank nicely and it's running at 50-70% strength instead of running at 100%. If have to do it again, I will do 36 all day long. 
I don't have a formula to fit your specific needs but perhaps you can use my opinion above to come up with a number. My advice is to go more and dim down if you have to.

*What are drivers?*
Drivers come in various sizes and types but it basically it's a power supply unit for the LEDs. They convert 110v AC into DC. They are either static (meaning you turn it on and off) or offer dynamic control (example, dimmable drivers). LEDs come in different color temperatures and power output. 
*
How do I select correct drivers for my LEDs?* 
First thing you'll need to do is find out their specification or obtain data sheet. Here are the components I selected and some information on their product. Again, I picked most of the equipment from Rapid LED but I'm not here to promote them.
 LED's: Cree White Cool
•	1500mA max drive current
•	6500k color temperature
•	Forward voltage (@ 1000 mA, 25 °C) 3.15

•	Max Current: In theory, bigger is better but not always required. You want to match it or get it within the ball park of your driver output. The driver will allow me to run it at 1.3A but it is recommended that you operate at lower current. For my project, I'm going to run it at 1.0 A as recommended by the vendor. This is done through setting on the driver and u will need a multi meter.
•	Color temperature on LED:
If you grow plants, you want to go with 6500K. There are many debates on this subject but for my project, I'm running 6500k Cool White LEDs. In addition I'm going to run some reds and blues to add color but for now, I'm going to talk about whites only.
•	Forward Voltage on LED:
In your LED data information, look for Forward Voltage. For my selected LED's it is listed at (@ 1000 mA, 25 °C) 3.15V.

Driver: Mean Well ELN 60-48D Dimmable
•	current range : 0 ~ 1.3A current range 
When selecting, make sure it is appropriate for your LEDs or get it within the ball park. Mean Well Drivers come with the internal setting so that you can turn down the maximum current output. I'm going to turn it down to 1.0 A so that it's not always running at 100% and this will prolong the life of the LED lights. You will need multi-meter for this! ($10 from E Bay) Do not over power your LEDs as it will burn out. Heat is the biggest enemy.
•	DC voltage Range: 24-48V DC Voltage 
Driver will take 110v AC and convert into DC. This spec is important as it will dictate how many lights you can run on a single driver. (more on this below)
•	Dimming Control
In my opinion, dimmable feature is a must have for planted aquarium. There are a lot of debates on this subject but ability to adjust the output is a must have tool for planted aquariums (don't attack me, it's my opinion). Mean Well offers two types of dimmable divers, PWM or Voltage, think of it as analog control vs digital control. If you are going to utilize dimming feature, you will likely need to make a decision on this first. I went with the voltage control method but let me explain how they work.

Voltage control:
There is a set of input wires on both Voltage and PWM drivers and it's always listening for a signal. This signal is not powering the LEDs but it's telling the driver what to do. When you feed specific voltage between 0-10V, it will dictate the strength of the LED lights. When a driver receives 10v signal, it will run the LEDs at 100% power. 9v at 90%, 8v at 80% and so on. For example, if you take a 9 v battery and attach to it, driver will run the LEDs at 90% power, yes it's that simple! (note: These LEDs will turn off at 0.8v - 0.9v)

Controllers are easy to build if you are handy with electronics. If not, they can be purchased from many sources for $20 -$30 dollars. You can also hook them up to sophisticated controllers like Apex Neptune or homemade kits to simulate sunrise and sunset. If you are unsure, go with this method and purchase a source out a voltage controller. Perhaps I will build something using inexpensive components and post it for everyone to see.

PWM Control:
It's gets little bit more complicated but idea is the same. Instead of reading analog voltage signal, it reads PWM (pulse wave modulation) from a PWM controller. Its little bit more difficult obtain an inexpensive PWM controller but lot of Aquarium controller offers PWM functions. If you are planning to build one from Arduino, PWM will be a good option for you.

*How to Calculate:*
According to the Data sheet, my driver can handle 24v-48v. As for the LEDs my forward voltage is 3.15v. Take 48V divided by Forward Voltage of 3.15v and that equals to 15.23. It means you can safely add 15 LEDs to the driver. Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to utilize 12 LED's per driver.
Adding Red and Blue
For me, using cool white 6500K was mandatory requirement. It looks sharp, offers dynamic view in your tank and I believe your aquatic plants do best with this temperature. There is an option to go with warm white at lower temperature but it looks dull and boring! I wouldn't go as far as calling them ugly but I feel very strongly about it. Problem with 6500K is that it looks cold. Plants look little washed out. So for this reason, I've added red and blue LEDs on separate drivers. Now I can simulate sun rise, High noon, sun set and moon light. Blue will bring out the green in plants and reds will high light red leaves and give warmth. Not to mention enhancing colors on your fish too.
I added 8 Phillips Rebel ES Deep Red (660NM Wave Length) & 8 Cree Royal Blue Xt-E (450-465 nm Wave Length) on individual drivers. It was a costly decision but you will have more control over your color requirement. Marry it up with a sophisticated controllers and possibility is endless.

I hope this information helps! and thanks for reading.


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## Chiumanfu (Oct 30, 2014)

Hoppy on TPT made a great calculator for determining LED quantity and spacing for a desired PAR. 
The Planted Tank Forum - View Single Post - One Way to Design a Planted Tank LED Light


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## Tommy72a (Jan 6, 2013)

Chiumanfu said:


> Hoppy on TPT made a great calculator for determining LED quantity and spacing for a desired PAR.
> The Planted Tank Forum - View Single Post - One Way to Design a Planted Tank LED Light


Thanks for the link. I wish I can get my hands on a PAR meter.


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