Thinking of upgrading to LED and making a blackout box.

[b4tn]

My current scrubber is working well and have had very good results in the reduction of Algae in the display using a 4"x8" screen with dual 100watt CFL bulbs.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/29/5dde6c1eff0ef9719d8f6f409599fa99.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/24/b508ff3b41f74b39e15e2d4665e8aec2.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/22/505f0a6717886dd2eab55884eaf9850b.jpg

However, there are a few things I dont like the about my current design.

1. The spillage of light and low flow in my sump has created a huge red/green cyano outbreak.
2. The CFL bulbs and reflectors are large and bulky, get salt splash, and just dont look good
3. I dont like the idea of remembering to replace bulbs every 3 months and want something more energy efficient.

That said, I want to try and limit light spillage and upgrade to LED's. My screen size of 4" wide by 8" tall and the flow from the MaxiJet 1200 seems to be right on, so I dont think I am going to change that. What I am thinking is just building an open bottom black acrylic box with a total of 8x3 watt LED's 4 on each side. I found this calculator https://docs.zoho.com/sheet/published.do?rid=b0tmj6d91ce368ee542aba6b2b670ae00 412b and according to it I should be right about where I need to be.

Looking around I found this DIY LED kit with 8 LED's and a driver.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8x3-W-LED-With-Constant-Current-Driver-Kit-DIY-item-/120817059365

I am a little confused comparing real watts with CFL watts and LED watts.

Is my current set up of one 100 watt CFL per side comparable to 4x3w LEDs (12watts per side)?

[SantaMonica]

You need to compare real CFL watts, not equavilent. 100 watt CFL are probably 19 real watts. So you have 19 watts per side, and 38 total. Your screen is 4 x 8 = 32 square inches, so you have more than the minimum 32 total real watts needed.

The driver you listed is using 600 ma, which is strong. We use 500 ma to keep a long life, but for DIY these 600 should be good. 4x3w = 12w per side is correct if current = 700 ma, so you could estimate you are using 10 watts per side, 20 total. Since LED's generally need half the wattage as real CFL watts, you are good.

Should grow well.