Wally.B
Active member
Hi,
Thought I'd share a couple of DIY projects with the SMD LED Strip lights that have become recently available for very cheap.
I've been itching for a while to replace my MH, or T5 lights for Soft Coral Tank, but I'm not yet convinced enough to take that leap YET. I'll wait the the technology to mature more and for prices to come down even more. I actually upgraded my MH light from 150W to 250W (for the SPS tank) since I had a switchable ballast. All it took was a bit or re-wiring to change the connectors in my fixture.
So instead I decided to try to add accent lighting to my SPS tank. Main reason is I knew my Actinic VHO bulb days were coming to an end in the near future.
So for about $30 or less, you can get a 15ft roll of SMD LEDs, with Power Supply, and controller. Like below.
The LED strips rolls come in many varieties. White, Double Bright White, BLUE only, and RGB. ALso come in standard, Water Resistant, and WaterProof.
The 15 foot rolls strips can be cut every 4 inches where marked, so you can make a few projects out a roll. The roll starts and ends with a connector attached. So when you cut the strip, you have to add your own connector. Either solder a wire in, or buy the cheap clip on connectors (shown below) if you don't have a soldering iron. (For one color you need a 2 wire, for RGB you need 4 wire clipon).
The controllers come in various varieties. Simple ON/OFF switches, Simple dimmers or controllers for the RGB strips that will allow you to mix colors, and even do variety of special effects. ALso they come in two types, IR and RF. The RF controller is my preference since the signal can pass through walls. With the IR you need line of sight.
Both RF & IR remotes with associated control modules are shown below.
So now to show you my DIY accent lighting project. I was going to get a BLUE 5050 LED strip as an actinic accent light. However they were out of stock, so I got the RGB, and I don't regret that. Much more flexibility and you still get BLUE. (RGB stand for Red, Green, Blue).
I mounted the Strip at the edge of my tank pointing at an angle (as shown below). It's under, but away from my MH Fixture and just below my VHO light. The strip LIGHT BEAM is 120 degrees, so it does cover my whole tank. (SO NO REFLECTOR NEEDED). I didn't want to put the strip near the heat of my MH lights for many reasons. Also even though the strip is WaterResistant, I put in into a clear tube, to extra protect it from salt water, and give it firmness, since the strip is floppy. You need to mount it somehow. The strip has a 3M sticky on the back, but it's lousy adhesive and loosens easily.
(DON'T Attach the strip to your Fixtures or on your tank. It will loosen and fall into your tank, MOUNT IT SECURELY!!).
Here is how I mounted my LED strip over my tank.
So here is the front view of my SPS only Frag tank, with MH lights on, just to compare the with LED only views.
Here it is with the only the LED Strip on, "BLUE only".
With the remote, you can select many light mixes as shown below. You can also dim. Interesting thing I noticed, is playing with the colors, I see different features from my SPS corals. Like some polyps show up in blue, other in green etc. Like algae growing in places, and at night the CopePod running around. What's really cool, and was a surprize to me, is that I see polyps and florescent life glow on my SPS corals under the BLUE LED that I don't see at all under MH with VHO.
These are just a few of colors with the RGB LED 5050 Strip that I get.
And when you turn all the Red, Green, Blue LEDs on, you get WHITE (No MH or VHO light on. Just LED strip).
I use white to be able to view my tank and not have the HEAT of my MH lights. Gives me more viewing time. I love it. So you know why stumbling on the RGB strip was a good thing.
So that's my Tank Accent lighting project.
These Strips are great for around the house lighting as well.
In my office, I always struggled to see under my desk. Especially to get to the USB port, or SD card slot. Plus the office desk backdrop wasn't exactly easy to see with office light down.
I now enjoy working at night, with all lights off. I just use my LED strip lights with my Tank LED on.
Comparison with LED STRIP OFF vs ON (Office Lights dimmed low)
(This is using a white 5050 strip, which doesn't need a controller. Just 12 Volt power).
I just used a couple of 3 inch strip pieces for under my desk, and one 3ft for the desk backlight, and wired it through a spare House Light switch, which flips nicely, and is easy to find under my desk. All running off of one 12volt AC adapter.
As I mentioned about, I first mounted it using the sticky on the back, but it kept falling after a few days. A few glue gun drops every few inches did the job.
There are many more uses for these cheap LED strip lights. I'm just started.
I actually took out the RBG strip in my tank and hung it over our door during Halloween. Turned on the FADE in and FADE out RED cycle effect. Was great, (kids loved it)!!
I plan to use these strip to enhance lighting in closets, and under other counters like kitchen etc.
By the way, I mentioned the cost being less than $20 in the Title, since to setup the TANK with the LED, I bought the $35 package, and only used 3 ft out of the 15ft. Also if you buy on Ebay from China you can get this stuff really cheap.
Summary for me. I won't be getting LED light for my SPS tank in the near future, if ever. Low power consumption and low cost are the key drivers. I love the LED strip I'm using, especially with the RF remote. I can change colors, dim from my desk, while the adapter on a timer turns the strip ON/OFF daily. (The controller remembers the last setting when it come back on). I may add another strip in the back, someday. MH is what I need for my SPS Only Frag tank. For my Soft tank. I'm going to try these LED strips for accent lighting, or I may stay with MH, T5 combination. We'll see.
** JUST MENTIONING AGAIN **
Mount your strip firmly and safely over your REEF TANK, or else it may fall in and it contains COPPER, which will damage or kill your livestock.
See my post "TANK DISASTERS" http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2464477 which shows the effects of COPPER in your REEF Tank. Even a tiny bit will do much Damage "
Hope you enjoyed this info post about DIY strip LEDs projects so you can consider to start your own.
Wally
Thought I'd share a couple of DIY projects with the SMD LED Strip lights that have become recently available for very cheap.
I've been itching for a while to replace my MH, or T5 lights for Soft Coral Tank, but I'm not yet convinced enough to take that leap YET. I'll wait the the technology to mature more and for prices to come down even more. I actually upgraded my MH light from 150W to 250W (for the SPS tank) since I had a switchable ballast. All it took was a bit or re-wiring to change the connectors in my fixture.
So instead I decided to try to add accent lighting to my SPS tank. Main reason is I knew my Actinic VHO bulb days were coming to an end in the near future.
So for about $30 or less, you can get a 15ft roll of SMD LEDs, with Power Supply, and controller. Like below.
The LED strips rolls come in many varieties. White, Double Bright White, BLUE only, and RGB. ALso come in standard, Water Resistant, and WaterProof.
The 15 foot rolls strips can be cut every 4 inches where marked, so you can make a few projects out a roll. The roll starts and ends with a connector attached. So when you cut the strip, you have to add your own connector. Either solder a wire in, or buy the cheap clip on connectors (shown below) if you don't have a soldering iron. (For one color you need a 2 wire, for RGB you need 4 wire clipon).
The controllers come in various varieties. Simple ON/OFF switches, Simple dimmers or controllers for the RGB strips that will allow you to mix colors, and even do variety of special effects. ALso they come in two types, IR and RF. The RF controller is my preference since the signal can pass through walls. With the IR you need line of sight.
Both RF & IR remotes with associated control modules are shown below.
So now to show you my DIY accent lighting project. I was going to get a BLUE 5050 LED strip as an actinic accent light. However they were out of stock, so I got the RGB, and I don't regret that. Much more flexibility and you still get BLUE. (RGB stand for Red, Green, Blue).
I mounted the Strip at the edge of my tank pointing at an angle (as shown below). It's under, but away from my MH Fixture and just below my VHO light. The strip LIGHT BEAM is 120 degrees, so it does cover my whole tank. (SO NO REFLECTOR NEEDED). I didn't want to put the strip near the heat of my MH lights for many reasons. Also even though the strip is WaterResistant, I put in into a clear tube, to extra protect it from salt water, and give it firmness, since the strip is floppy. You need to mount it somehow. The strip has a 3M sticky on the back, but it's lousy adhesive and loosens easily.
(DON'T Attach the strip to your Fixtures or on your tank. It will loosen and fall into your tank, MOUNT IT SECURELY!!).
Here is how I mounted my LED strip over my tank.
So here is the front view of my SPS only Frag tank, with MH lights on, just to compare the with LED only views.
Here it is with the only the LED Strip on, "BLUE only".
With the remote, you can select many light mixes as shown below. You can also dim. Interesting thing I noticed, is playing with the colors, I see different features from my SPS corals. Like some polyps show up in blue, other in green etc. Like algae growing in places, and at night the CopePod running around. What's really cool, and was a surprize to me, is that I see polyps and florescent life glow on my SPS corals under the BLUE LED that I don't see at all under MH with VHO.
These are just a few of colors with the RGB LED 5050 Strip that I get.
And when you turn all the Red, Green, Blue LEDs on, you get WHITE (No MH or VHO light on. Just LED strip).
I use white to be able to view my tank and not have the HEAT of my MH lights. Gives me more viewing time. I love it. So you know why stumbling on the RGB strip was a good thing.
So that's my Tank Accent lighting project.
These Strips are great for around the house lighting as well.
In my office, I always struggled to see under my desk. Especially to get to the USB port, or SD card slot. Plus the office desk backdrop wasn't exactly easy to see with office light down.
I now enjoy working at night, with all lights off. I just use my LED strip lights with my Tank LED on.
Comparison with LED STRIP OFF vs ON (Office Lights dimmed low)
(This is using a white 5050 strip, which doesn't need a controller. Just 12 Volt power).
I just used a couple of 3 inch strip pieces for under my desk, and one 3ft for the desk backlight, and wired it through a spare House Light switch, which flips nicely, and is easy to find under my desk. All running off of one 12volt AC adapter.
As I mentioned about, I first mounted it using the sticky on the back, but it kept falling after a few days. A few glue gun drops every few inches did the job.
There are many more uses for these cheap LED strip lights. I'm just started.
I actually took out the RBG strip in my tank and hung it over our door during Halloween. Turned on the FADE in and FADE out RED cycle effect. Was great, (kids loved it)!!
I plan to use these strip to enhance lighting in closets, and under other counters like kitchen etc.
By the way, I mentioned the cost being less than $20 in the Title, since to setup the TANK with the LED, I bought the $35 package, and only used 3 ft out of the 15ft. Also if you buy on Ebay from China you can get this stuff really cheap.
Summary for me. I won't be getting LED light for my SPS tank in the near future, if ever. Low power consumption and low cost are the key drivers. I love the LED strip I'm using, especially with the RF remote. I can change colors, dim from my desk, while the adapter on a timer turns the strip ON/OFF daily. (The controller remembers the last setting when it come back on). I may add another strip in the back, someday. MH is what I need for my SPS Only Frag tank. For my Soft tank. I'm going to try these LED strips for accent lighting, or I may stay with MH, T5 combination. We'll see.
** JUST MENTIONING AGAIN **
Mount your strip firmly and safely over your REEF TANK, or else it may fall in and it contains COPPER, which will damage or kill your livestock.
See my post "TANK DISASTERS" http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2464477 which shows the effects of COPPER in your REEF Tank. Even a tiny bit will do much Damage "
Hope you enjoyed this info post about DIY strip LEDs projects so you can consider to start your own.
Wally
Last edited:
