# led height



## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

Hi there is there any prefered height for LEDs 
I am gona attemp to make a stand out of elec conduit
So if anyone has some helpful hints on adjustment of heights
Or a preferes style I would really appeciate it
My tank is 36 x 18 x 21.5 tall stand is 42 in tall.

Thanks again
Tom


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

From top of the aquarium to the bottom of the light, you want at ~16-18" to raise the lights to access the aquarium with the adjustable "wire grippers". From there, you can determine the hanger height for your system.

Some Ideas:

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

HTH


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*light stand*

where do u guys get your "wire grippers " from

thanks for the links wtac, just waiting for electrician at work to have some time to work with me . we are gonna try with 1/2 hopefully its sturdy when done , if its not sturdy I will use rigid pipe and re doo.
hopefully it works out ok and looks good.
thanks again for the help and links


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## JamesHurst (Mar 1, 2013)

I have mine at 8" from the water...but all depends on your setup.
mine is an 20x20" cube, 18" tall, and the heatsink 6" x 10", 8" over the surface of the water. I use a combination of 60 degree and 80 degree lenses.
I ended up making 4 single heatsink leds that act as spotlights and can be pointed in all directions to cover some of the edges of the tank that lacked light coverage and removed some of the lenses on the main heatsink to reduce "hot spots", areas with way too much light (typically directly below the heatsink).

Whether or not you're using lenses makes a big difference.

But here's some info from RapidLed's FAQ's that may help. The example they show is the same size tank that you have, approximately.

Q: What size heatsink do I need?
This depends on several factors such as how high from the water you'll be hanging your lights, what degree optics (if any) you'll be using, and the dimensions of your tank. Generally speaking you do not need the heat sink to be the same footprint as your tank. For example, if your tank is 48" you do not need a 48" heat sink. Keep in mind that light will be coming down at an angle towards the water, so there will be a good amount of spread to the light (obviously the larger the angle the better the spread). _*As an example, we used a 4.25" x 23" heat sink on a 30" x 18" tank at MACNA a few years ago using 60 degree optics at about 10-12" above the waterline and had no problem with coverage.*_​Source: http://www.rapidled.com/led-university-1/

Hopefully that gives you an idea of what you need to do. It all depends on the light angles and surface area of the light panel/heatsink.

Good luck!


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