russell

well, i mainly did it to have somthing to do. i have been spending a lot of time riding my motorcycle lately, but it is getting colder so it was eather learn a new skill and build somthing or play video games all day. when i get bored i like to build stuff. wether or not it is a complete success is not as big of a deal

but ya, i will probably play with some luxeons very soon. if someone could explain their xa.... somthing power supplies to me i would definately try some. right now i can't figure out exactly how many stars you can use with each power supply.

but like dekstr said, you can use some of these recources to make diy moon lighting if nothing else.

Adragontattoo

Basically it is very easy, all you need to do is look at how many amps (milliamps = 1000 to make a single amp) and go from there.

12v 2amp would mean you can use the cumulative total of 2amps worth of power.

The voltage means little to you as most LEDs only use 3 volts.

ruki

It's not always so easy. The brightest LEDs need to have both regulated voltage and current. There are some pre-packaged power supplies out there that help simplify matters though. One place that has them is http://www.theledlight.com/luxeonled_drivers.html

I'll probably go this route after experimenting with lower power LEDs that don't need the fancy power supplies.

russell

i know how to figure amps out, but when i was looking at their stie, the 2,000ma one said it could power 4 of the 1000ma lights, or somthing of that nature. i was just wondering if i was missing somthing like bridging an amp for a stereo. or are they just saying that and each would only pull 500ma?


i am looking at some posts of ratios of blue/red/uv etc led's to grow plants. i found several for terrestrial plants, so i may go with one of those designs. i really enjoied this making this light, so i know i want to do some more in the future.

on a side note, my white lights have a blue/purple tone to them almost like 1400k bulbs. not that it matters, from what i have read so far they shouldn't grow plats well anyways.

Fortuna Wolf

There are two main types of red LEDs, the common cheaper ones are not the right frequency for plants, whereas the other type have the most efficient frequency for plants. Annoying, isn't it?

Adragontattoo

There are always exceptions to the general rules and I know that the Luxeons and CREE LEDS are those. I was giving the basics from my experience using them in the hobby (Computers, and general tinkering) mindset.

Adragontattoo

That right there is the big hold off on LEDs getting a broader use (well that and price), the color sets so many people off that they are getting growing but still limited exposure in home use.

russell

so guys, if you wanted to design an array preferably using cheaper led's what ratios of colors would you use? IE 40% red, 20% blue etc.

if you guys can give me somthing that you think would work i will build it and then give the results here.

ruki

Understood, but for aquarium use, high power Luxeon and Crees are more appropriate (except perhaps for tiny tanks and containers) than the lower-power traditional "super bright" LEDs.

Remember that the human eye sees with red, green and blue cones. So, LEDs that appear "white" use a mixture of red, green and blue emitters. People on this board have had good luck with high power LEDs described as something like "6500". LEDs labeled like this usually have enough reds and blues to grow plants. One could add blues and reds with nanometer ratings most favorable to plants if you want to go the extra mile.

For tiny, 5 gallon and less tanks, I am trying the following:
11-WHP6 White LED bulb

MR11 with 6 High Power White LED 12 Volt AC/DC operation, GZ4 base,
Produces 65 lumens at 7000K, 120 degree beam pattern
approx 80 lumens per watt
$ 14.95 each

Note that this is probably not practical for anything larger than 5 gallons. I'm thinking that around 6 of them will be needed for a 5 gallon tank. But, these are very convenient to use since you don't have to individually solder a bunch of LEDs, and it doesn't need current regulation. Also one can disassemble these from one project to another with little effort until one finds the most appropriate use for them.