@Floyd R Turbo Thanks for the response, that ratio of LED/sq. sm sounds great and i'll try and stick to it.
I am making a fishonly tank, with minimal softies to make it a better display, I think i will be feeding around 3-4 cubes and somepinches of flakes a day when the tank is fully stocked. Can a screen be too big for a fish tank or can i just let it run less hours?
The answer to both of the questions is yes. Your screen can be too big, but you can run it less hours and that will offset it a bit, but you are only really filtering when the lights are on also.
However think about this in terms of cost. If you're only feeding 3-4 cubes/day, I would consider downsizing the screen to a maximum of 2x what you are planning on feeding. This means your screen can be nearly half the size, thus half the LEDs (that is the biggest cost) and now probably a smaller pump (less heat/power). Your scrubber will take up less room and the LEDs would be on for a longer period, meaning filtration is active longer per day.
You can also just build it to your feeding and then build a second unit if you want to feed more or add more fish, and 2 is better than one as you can alternate cleaning. You might even try building the unit as a dual screen unit, and only use one screen. You would make a left side and a right side, and just cut the slot in the pipe for one side and use the LEDs only on that side. Then if you want to add more filtration, you just cut a new slot for 2 side-by-side screens and wire up the other set of LEDs.
Was supposed to be 7 cm and 11 cm.
Okey i've made the whole screen smaller, 25x20cm=500sq. cm. The top bit will be inside the pvc and the bottom in the water so I will get an active bit of app. 400 sq. cm. That should be enough for 3-4 cubes of feeding a day.
I choose for 12 LED's a side, because the ratio over the screen is nice like this and they can easely fit on 1 driver.
Any comments on this are appreciated, are these leds good enough?
Looks good; happy building...
All parts are ordered and building should start soon.
Can i still use the UV-light or will it affect the scrubber in a negative way?
no UV
Took a little while for the LED's to arrive, but they are here now and after a visit to the hardware store i had enough to finish the lighting fixtures.
Wiring it up tonight so they are finished and then I need to find a shop who can sell me the canvas, haven't found it in the hardware store. Also need to figure out how i can get the waterfall silent ...
That's a giant heat sink
In order to get the waterfall silent, will it work to put a plastic bag over the screen? or will this hinder the growth?
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