DIY LED lighting for Biocube 8

Monsta · 06/17/2009, 01:50 AM

One of the ballast of this biocube stopped working so I decided to make my own led lighting. I did not want to alter the look of the hood so I made a custom heatsink using 1/16" Al plate and solid 1/2"x1/2"x4' square Al rod. (both can be found at HD or Rona)... (From the pic, you should hopefully get an idea how I did it). LED's are all different brands I recycled form previous DIY projects.( 6 K2 (@ 1000mA), 5 Lux III @1000mA and 6 cheap chinese made 3W @ 700mA.) The light is much much stronger than what is required for the size and type of aquarium and is dimmed down to 1/3 of its full strength. One great thing about the lights is the adjustment of color. I can have the light in any temperature from 6500K to very blue. The 50mm fans that come with the biocube are good enough to keep the temp low. I had 60deg collimators installed over the LED's.... The light was extremely bright but very artificial, spotty and unatractive; so I removed the optics. Overall, it was a very fun and easy project and Ive learned few new things. Now Im just waiting for my arduino board for more fun and learning...

06/17/2009, 01:50 AM	#1
Monsta Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 107	DIY LED lighting for Biocube 8 One of the ballast of this biocube stopped working so I decided to make my own led lighting. I did not want to alter the look of the hood so I made a custom heatsink using 1/16" Al plate and solid 1/2"x1/2"x4' square Al rod. (both can be found at HD or Rona)... (From the pic, you should hopefully get an idea how I did it). LED's are all different brands I recycled form previous DIY projects.( 6 K2 (@ 1000mA), 5 Lux III @1000mA and 6 cheap chinese made 3W @ 700mA.) The light is much much stronger than what is required for the size and type of aquarium and is dimmed down to 1/3 of its full strength. One great thing about the lights is the adjustment of color. I can have the light in any temperature from 6500K to very blue. The 50mm fans that come with the biocube are good enough to keep the temp low. I had 60deg collimators installed over the LED's.... The light was extremely bright but very artificial, spotty and unatractive; so I removed the optics. Overall, it was a very fun and easy project and Ive learned few new things. Now Im just waiting for my arduino board for more fun and learning...