DIY Lighting Project (LED Strips)

I've had my aquarium for almost a year now and have never been completely happy with the lighting.

I have 2x 18W 'bulbs' and whilst the light is OK, it's a bit warm (colour, not heat) yellowy and I would have preferred it if it were a little brighter.

This is the kind of light bulb (x2) supplied with the tank:



I had previously added a small blue LED light to serve as Moonlighting in the morning and evening, but also leave this on alongside the main light during the day.



This is how it looks with the standard lighting and the blue LED:



Anyway I decided I would try and improve the lighting without breaking the bank.

I decided to use LED strips which are the kind sold to go underneath kitchen units:



I bought 4x 1M lengths of 5630 strips as these seemed to be the brightest available.


I also bought a 12V adapter:


And so I set about attaching the 4 LED Strips to the lid.
I had previously added some reflective tape to help maximise the lighting.
This is how it all looks underneath.



I spent a total of just under £30

LED Strips £3.99 each
AC Adaptor £6.00
Wire and Electric Terminal Connector £6.00

Annoyingly, photos just don't do the end result justice at all.
The camera makes the difference seem so subtle as to have been not worth the expense and the effort.

This is the tank lit with the standard bulbs, the blue LED and the 4x LED strips:




I'm really pleased, the new lighting is much a much cooler whiter light (approx 6000 - 6500k) and really helps the fish look their best, especially the Cardinal Tetras.

It's also given me a new option of running the LED strips without the standard bulbs and I'm doing this in the morning and evening, before increasing the lighting by adding the standard lights, as a kind of dusk/dawn effect.
Again, unfortunately photos just don't do it justice.



Incidentally, this is running on a tank with the following dimensions: W80 x D43 x H55cm so on a smaller aquarium (especially one with less depth) you may get away with using these LED strips on their own.


So my new lighting regime, all controlled with timer sockets, looks like this:

07:00 Blue LED comes on for Moonlighting
07:30 LED Strips come on for Dawn (+ Blue LED)
08:30 Standard Lights come on (+ LED Strips + Blue LED)
18:30 Standard Lights go off (LED Strips + Blue LED stay on for dusk)
19:30 LED Strips go off (Blue LED stays on for Moonlighting)
22:30 Blue LED goes off for total darkness



Next I think I'm going to replace the standard lighting with equivalent LED 'bulbs' which should last longer, cost less to run and should provide that cooler, whiter light.

Hi Richard,

Many people with high-tech planted aquariums are running far more light than I'm running, but I would only consider something like this with a heavily planted aquarium.
With a sparsely planted aquarium the fish might feel overwhelmed and stressed.

My fish have plenty of places to hide beneath the broader leaves and the bogwood, but they appear unaffected.
In fact, if anything they seem happier, the Celestial Pearl Danios are currently exploring out in the open and they're the most timid of the fish I own.

The 5630 LED Strips have 60 LEDs per metre.

These are the specs:

*LED type: SMD 5630
*long life: >50,000 hours.
*View angle:120°
*Silicon gel type :Waterproof  IP65.
 *Working power: 12W/M.
*Working Temeprature: -20~50°.
*Color Temperature: Warm White 2500~6500K / Cool White 6000~6500K
*Working input  Voltage: DC 12V
*Low power  consumption,super bright  but running with low  temperature.
*Can be cut per  unit(3 LED).

For a planted aquarium (as I'm sure you already know) light as close to 6500K is needed so Cool White is one to go for.

Loving your work Simon, very nice

The tank ( a small 60 cm. one) which I bought with LED lights as standard only uses 26 LEDs. While some people might find the light not bright enough aesthetically, I do find (to my surprise) that the plants have grown perfectly well under this light only, though I do stick to "easy" plants which are not too light demanding.

I have bought a single 120 cm. LED strip which has 120 LEDs. I haven't fixed it in the tank yet, but having seen how much light it produces, I reckon that it will easily be enough on its own for another 60 cm. tank which has non-standard fluorescent tubes which are difficult to find and expensive. I'm planning to glue the light strip to the hood in a U-shape.

I do wonder, considering the low price of so many LED lights these days, why some aquarium LED lights sell for hundreds of pounds? Maybe the Chinese haven't yet entered the market for those yet .........

Different fish seem to be happy with different light levels, in my tank with danios, WCMM and barbs, they are all out in the open all of the time, but in the tetra tanks they do seem happier with more subdued lighting.

I have looked at LED tube replacements, but I found that they are pretty expensive and don't use much less power. Also, in most cases, you have to rewire the connections.

Wow- this all looks fascinating. So many people on here are so talented.

The tank ( a small 60 cm. one) which I bought with LED lights as standard only uses 26 LEDs.

Is this the lighting you have in your tetra tank, Richard, or what do you have in it? I've mentioned recently that I'm looking for dimmer lighting suggestions for my tetras and harlequins http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/forums/fish-tanks-and-equipment/dim-lighting-suggestions/msg21985/#msg21985 , so any additional examples of what people use would be helpful.

That's looking pretty good

I've been using LEDs for a while now, and wouldn't go back to traditional lighting. Someone mentioned the the fish may not like the extra brightness. One way to stop shocking the fish, is to have the light fade on and off rather than an immediate switch. This is pretty easy to do with a DIY setup by using a TC420 controller, have a look here if you're interested. BTW, I'm not affiliated with the people that make this or anything, I've just found it to be a very good and cheap product which can make DIY LED aquarium lighting look so much better

Great; thanks, Richard and Darren - and welcome to the forum, Darren! 

That looks so handy as a timer and dimmer. It seems there's always another bit of kit to buy for every eventuality. One day I'll be able to just sit down and enjoy the tank without thinking about tweaks and improvements I can make. Although that's half the fun. 

They are a great bit of kit, and if you have strip LED lights already, chances are that's all you'd need as it'll just sit between the transformer and LEDs

Haha, one day maybe we can sit and look at them, I'm constanly thinking about mine at the moment, doesn't help that the project tank is right next to the sofa

Great; thanks, Richard and Darren - and welcome to the forum, Darren! 

Thanks for the welcome. I've yet to have a proper look round, but it seems like a nice, friendly place

Hi Darren, welcome to the forum. 

BDS, just ask Simon if there is ever a time when you can sit back and enjoy your aquarium without thinking about improvements and tweaks. Simon has a great tank and is still making adjustments and improvements.

Simon - awesome tank and I really like the new lighting.

Thanks again 

That looks really interesting. Thanks for stopping by to share your knowledge.

I wish I was better at maths and electronics as I would love to get my lights to fade up in the morning and down in the evening.

It would be amazing to have the lights fade up from 0% to 100% over the space of an hour in the morning, and back down to 0% again in the evening.

I might just have to invest in one of these and see if I am able to get it to do what I want.

I don't suppose you have a video showing your unit ramping up the light, or fading down?

You'll be able to do that easily It get more complex when you are running multiple tanks off one controller or are planning on doing what I'm planning to do in my next aquarium. I've made a tool that helps with this though, which is on my web page too. If you need any help just holla.

I don't have any videos of this controller working, I'll make one for you soon. This video shows a similar fade on a unit I built from scratch. I stopped developing my own unit when I found the TC420 as it was cheaper than me making one and was easier to use.