# DIY LED question(s)



## Dinofish

HI, I'm thinking of making a DIY LED light using 3W 6500K LEDs. Is this set on ebay appropriate?:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/10X-3W-Col...hash=item33bbb24c8b:m:mJUzm-qwSqRuETG1WCsTXug

I'm a complete novice when it comes to electrical things, and all instructions/videos I've watched shows how to wire it, but they leave out the crucial ending, connecting it to a power source. 
So do I simply take a spare two prong power cable and connect the neutral wire to the LED driver's blue wire, and the Hot power cable wire to the LED driver's red wire? OR do I need to purchase an appropriate power adapter?

Thanks


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## rmahabir

For my fresh water planted set up, I bought a LED/Flourescent fixture (4-footer) for $20. Then got 2 LED bulbs for $10 (6500K Daylight). The whole thing for $30. My planted tank now requires constant pruning. Because of such a strong light, the one light in my fish room lights up all 5 tanks.


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## lemuj

rmahabir said:


> For my fresh water planted set up, I bought a LED/Flourescent fixture (4-footer) for $20. Then got 2 LED bulbs for $10 (6500K Daylight). The whole thing for $30. My planted tank now requires constant pruning. Because of such a strong light, the one light in my fish room lights up all 5 tanks.


I'd like to know the brand and where you purchased these items. I'm in the same boat for my 90g, I just need light for it.

Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk


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## rmahabir

Bought at Home Depot on the Queensway. Brand is Lithonia Lighting 2-Light T12 Flourescent. It will take a replacement LED tube light where you can use a T12 LED tube 6500K Daylight.


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## cica

Dinofish said:


> HI, I'm thinking of making a DIY LED light using 3W 6500K LEDs. Is this set on ebay appropriate?:
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/10X-3W-Col...hash=item33bbb24c8b:m:mJUzm-qwSqRuETG1WCsTXug
> 
> I'm a complete novice when it comes to electrical things, and all instructions/videos I've watched shows how to wire it, but they leave out the crucial ending, connecting it to a power source.
> So do I simply take a spare two prong power cable and connect the neutral wire to the LED driver's blue wire, and the Hot power cable wire to the LED driver's red wire? OR do I need to purchase an appropriate power adapter?
> 
> Thanks


Hi there,
I made my own led lights for my tanks using the same 3w leds from the same seller. Except, being a reef tank, I used different colors (blue, royal blue, 12000k, 6500k, red and UV). Sorry I can not really help you how to connect it to the led drives, I never bought one. I made my own drivers. Might be able to help if I know witch driver are you planning to use. As I understand, some of the drivers (the input side) connect to 110 ac but some need power supply, like 36, 48 or 12 volts.


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## Dinofish

cica said:


> Hi there,
> I made my own led lights for my tanks using the same 3w leds from the same seller. Except, being a reef tank, I used different colors (blue, royal blue, 12000k, 6500k, red and UV). Sorry I can not really help you how to connect it to the led drives, I never bought one. I made my own drivers. Might be able to help if I know witch driver are you planning to use. As I understand, some of the drivers (the input side) connect to 110 ac but some need power supply, like 36, 48 or 12 volts.


Here is a pic of the driver from the ebay listing









from the listing
led driver:
Working temperature: -20-80 Deg
Input Voltage: AC85V ~ 265V 50 / 60HZ
Output Voltage: DC18V ~ 36V
Output Current: 600mA
TC: 75 degree (MAX)
TA: 50 degree (MAX)
Size: (L) 60mm * (W) 35mm * (H) 24mm
Usage: Used for the 6 ~ 10pcs 3W LED Light


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## cica

So your connection will be like:

driver's led+ /red/...+(led)-... +(led)-... +(led)-... +(led)-... +(led)-... +(led)-...driver's led-/black/

Edit:
Sorry, just reread your post and realized that you were asking for the input side of the driver.
Yes, the blue (N) from the driver goes to the neutral and the brown (L) from the driver goes to the hot side of the 2 prong plug.
No additional adapter is needed for this driver.


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## Dinofish

cica said:


> So your connection will be like:
> 
> driver's led+ /red/...+(led)-... +(led)-... +(led)-... +(led)-... +(led)-... +(led)-...driver's led-/black/


what about the input/power? Do I just attach a spare 2 prong plug (blue to Neutral and brownish red to the Hot wire)?


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## Greg_o

Sounds like it but the input on the driver says 0.25 A max. I'll let more experiences folk chime in about that.

In the meantime this might help

http://ledgardener.com/attach-power-plug-new-led-driver/


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## cica

Greg_o said:


> Sounds like it but the input on the driver says 0.25 A max. I'll let more experiences folk chime in about that.
> 
> In the meantime this might help
> 
> http://ledgardener.com/attach-power-plug-new-led-driver/


The 0.25 A max means that the unit will take maximum 0.25 A from the receptacle.
Very useful link, explains everything nicely.


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## coldmantis

Have you ever considered gu10 3w leds?. You just simply solder the gu10 sockets in parallel then solder on a $2 dollarama extension cord, screw in the bulbs (around $2-$4 per bulb, no need for heatsinks or fans, if one dies then you screw in a new one instead of desoldering and soldering on a new led diode) and you are done, no drivers to mess around with. It grows plants great and also grows corals great with the proper blue bulbs.










Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk


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## Dinofish

I've got a nice polished aluminum reflector lying around that I want to use, so these small LED chips will work perfectly. I think I'm good to go, thanks for the suggestions


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## Greg_o

coldmantis said:


> Have you ever considered gu10 3w leds?. You just simply solder the gu10 sockets in parallel then solder on a $2 dollarama extension cord, screw in the bulbs (around $2-$4 per bulb, no need for heatsinks or fans, if one dies then you screw in a new one instead of desoldering and soldering on a new led diode) and you are done, no drivers to mess around with. It grows plants great and also grows corals great with the proper blue bulbs.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk


hey coldmantis have you done a write up on this style of light? Any basic rules on lumens, colour temperatures and bulbs per gallon?

Thanks for bringing this up, I'm due for new lights and itching for a new project.


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## coldmantis

Greg_o said:


> hey coldmantis have you done a write up on this style of light? Any basic rules on lumens, colour temperatures and bulbs per gallon?
> 
> Thanks for bringing this up, I'm due for new lights and itching for a new project.


I had a little journal going on at planted tank but I didn't get any interest so I stopped updating it. But there are a few pics that shows the growth from March to May. Unfortunately I bought another tank and had to shut this one down to make space. I wished I tried these lights under co2 and fertilization to see what it can really do but I didn't get the chance. The only reason I even decided to test these gu10 leds out is because my Reef tank is a 45g tall so that's 24" tall, I was running a quad T5HO and my corals grew very very slowing, so then I decided to make these gu10 to see if it grows corals better. If I recall I hung them about 6"-8" above the water line and it grew corals way better than my T5HO surprisingly.


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## charlie1

coldmantis said:


> I had a little journal going on at planted tank but I didn't get any interest so I stopped updating it. But there are a few pics that shows the growth from March to May. Unfortunately I bought another tank and had to shut this one down to make space. I wished I tried these lights under co2 and fertilization to see what it can really do but I didn't get the chance. The only reason I even decided to test these gu10 leds out is because my Reef tank is a 45g tall so that's 24" tall, I was running a quad T5HO and my corals grew very very slowing, so then I decided to make these gu10 to see if it grows corals better. If I recall I hung them about 6"-8" above the water line and it grew corals way better than my T5HO surprisingly.


Perhaps you should consider starting a build thread here with source links etc.
I suspect interest here would be better.
Regards


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## Greg_o

coldmantis said:


> I had a little journal going on at planted tank but I didn't get any interest so I stopped updating it. But there are a few pics that shows the growth from March to May. Unfortunately I bought another tank and had to shut this one down to make space. I wished I tried these lights under co2 and fertilization to see what it can really do but I didn't get the chance. The only reason I even decided to test these gu10 leds out is because my Reef tank is a 45g tall so that's 24" tall, I was running a quad T5HO and my corals grew very very slowing, so then I decided to make these gu10 to see if it grows corals better. If I recall I hung them about 6"-8" above the water line and it grew corals way better than my T5HO surprisingly.


Appreciate the info. I might try this approach out.


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## tous

For people interested in GU10 setups, I'm building one out myself.

I ordered....

10 x of the 6500k 15w here: 
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/362114583403

4x of the 10w R/B grow lights here:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/302417090825

and 20x sockets: 
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/291922078158

This cost me a whopping 60$, when I build some sort of box I hope to get a polished looking product for around 100$ total and I'm hoping this will light a 90gallon quite well, but time will tell.

I'm gonna make a grid like this, D is 6500k, G is the Blue/Red....
D D D D D
-G G G G
D D D D D

The D are 60 degree beams, so I figure at 24 inches (tank depth) I need about that many to get a good solid coverage. I'll wire the 6500ks separately because they are dimmable.

When I get it done I'll def post some results.


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## coldmantis

tous said:


> For people interested in GU10 setups, I'm building one out myself.
> 
> I ordered....
> 
> 10 x of the 6500k 15w here:
> https://www.ebay.ca/itm/362114583403
> 
> 4x of the 10w R/B grow lights here:
> https://www.ebay.ca/itm/302417090825
> 
> and 20x sockets:
> https://www.ebay.ca/itm/291922078158
> 
> This cost me a whopping 60$, when I build some sort of box I hope to get a polished looking product for around 100$ total and I'm hoping this will light a 90gallon quite well, but time will tell.
> 
> I'm gonna make a grid like this, D is 6500k, G is the Blue/Red....
> D D D D D
> -G G G G
> D D D D D
> 
> The D are 60 degree beams, so I figure at 24 inches (tank depth) I need about that many to get a good solid coverage. I'll wire the 6500ks separately because they are dimmable.
> 
> When I get it done I'll def post some results.


Nice, start a build thread so people can follow your success, I have one at post 7 in this Journal


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## Aqualien

Dinofish said:


> HI, I'm thinking of making a DIY LED light using 3W 6500K LEDs. Is this set on ebay appropriate?:
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/10X-3W-Col...hash=item33bbb24c8b:m:mJUzm-qwSqRuETG1WCsTXug
> 
> I'm a complete novice when it comes to electrical things, and all instructions/videos I've watched shows how to wire it, but they leave out the crucial ending, connecting it to a power source.
> So do I simply take a spare two prong power cable and connect the neutral wire to the LED driver's blue wire, and the Hot power cable wire to the LED driver's red wire? OR do I need to purchase an appropriate power adapter?
> 
> Thanks


Hi , I use the same vendor for the LED's but I use the 1 watt option.
The 1 watt LED's work on 300mA and the drivers are quite cheap ( https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Dimmable-LE...uisite-/332185665987?var=&hash=item4d57cf01c3 )
You can use the non-dimmable version as well , they're a little cheaper.
Place the LED's in series as CICA described and stay within the range (# of LED's) of the driver.
Depending on your needs , you can vary the number of LED's connected.
These drivers are simple , they rely on the amperage instead of the voltage so you are free to connect any color you want and are free to mix them.
Make sure you use thermal compound ( https://www.ebay.ca/itm/New-Thermal...-10g-HC-910-/272688990546?hash=item3f7d87c952 ) to glue them to a heatsink (Any Alu sheet will do , no need for expensive heatsinks if you don't go overboard).
Easiest LED's are the ones mounted to a "star" , they have a large footprint and have soldering pads market + and - (very important not to mix polarity with LED's).
If you need more info , let me know.
I went through the same growing pains as you not to long ago , once you get the hang of it , this is by far your cheapest and most flexible option.


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## Aqualien

Easy , power from wall socket plug , brown (live , narrow part on plug) and blue (neutral , wide part on plug) are power in , red (+) and black (-) go to the leds , put all leds in series until you reach the # of leds limited to the driver (you could use a few less if so desired , the particular driver you're showing can run min. 6 and max. 10 of the 3W (650-700mA) led's.
Hook up the red wire to the last led's + side , the black to the first led's - side.
Project complete , when mounting ,make sure to put compound between the led's and your heatsink.
Project complete.


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## appak

coldmantis said:


> Nice, start a build thread so people can follow your success, I have one at post 7 in this Journal


As it turns out, I'm going to need to change the lights on a 6ft tank at some point. Thank you so much for posting, may need to give this a try.

Did you have any problems with heat being emitted from the bulbs?


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## coldmantis

appak said:


> As it turns out, I'm going to need to change the lights on a 6ft tank at some point. Thank you so much for posting, may need to give this a try.
> 
> Did you have any problems with heat being emitted from the bulbs?


3w bulbs doesn' heat up that much I can comfortably hold the bulbs while it's on. If you are going higher watts then it might get hotter, end of the day if it dies in lets say 8 months instead of 10 years because of heat then your just out 2 bucks no big deal.


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## flyingmomo

*will this work ?*

Hey not to hijack the thread but even I am thinking of DIY LED sysem. I am thinking of using these lamps

https://www.amazon.ca/Woods-2-Gauge...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KY6VQJDFHCRQVMSMA04T

with LED bulbs. Mine is a 20 gallon long so I was thinking of using 2 of these since I already have a single bulb T8 light


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