Really struggling with lighting!!!

[gdogg371]

Hi all,

Ive got a basic algae scrubber design nailed down. Im building it out of an old fish tank, which i have divided into 3 sections using sheets of glass. the middle section is the wet chamber and the out ones are for the lights. the problem i have got is that i thought some of the LED tiles i had seen in ebay were suitable for an algae scrubber and they arent. As a result the outer chambers for the lights are pretty narrow. i think my only practical options light wise now short of making the outer chambers wider and the middle one narrower is to use T5s or some sort of bespoke LED build.

the tank i have got is about 18 inches long so i have been looking for 1ft 3000k T5 or T8 tubes all over the internet but cant seem to locate any. I have found some 3000k 1 ft LED tubes but i dont know if these are suitable. any ideas on where i can buy tubes of the above spec?

the other idea is to build a DIY LED system. from what i have seen so far online, wiring the thing up doesnt look too difficult but i dont understand which components should go with which. i will be looking at building a seperate system for each side of the screen. each one will have 4x3w 660nm LEDs, so im going to need an LED driver that will work for those and a AC to DC power back. what rating will the pack and the driver need to be and where can i get them from? will i need anything else?

Please help if you can as this is driving me up the wall now and im giving serious consideration to just packing the whole idea in.

[gdogg371]

actually, ive just seen these LEDs that someone appears to have had success with. what does everyone think? will they do the job?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-NEWES...4a62d2d&_uhb=1

[rleahaines]

If you use RapidLed or StevesLEDs they will provide hook up info. Look at their sites.

You can get LED's etc. from Rapid that you just plug in - so you don't have to solder at all.

[gdogg371]

If you use RapidLed or StevesLEDs they will provide hook up info. Look at their sites.

You can get LED's etc. from Rapid that you just plug in - so you don't have to solder at all.

ok thanks. would you say the LED link i posted are suitable?

[gdogg371]

anyone??? these are the specs for it. the reds are 630 nm rather than 660nm, but there is a video on another thread showing these lights appearing to worrk:

red 630nm 18pcs 3W for blooming and flowering

blue 460nm 5pcs 3W for fruiting

orange 610nm 2pcs 3W for blooming and flowering

Worldwide Voltage: 90v-240v

Input current ≤0.5A

Work frequency 50/60 Hz

Lighting Area 19.6 M²/3m

Lumens ≥1500LM

Lifetime over 50,000 hours

[SantaMonica]

They will probably work.