so, i have had a bit of an interest in reefkeeping for quite a while now. i dont actually have my own tank, but i think about it all the time, and look at corals, clams, fis, etc. my brother is the one who originally got me interested in it, as he has a 40 gal soft coral tank (which i am currently taking care of while he is at college). it is becoming somewhat common for people to build DIY high output LED setups for their reef tanks. there are several sites which sell supplies for building these kinds of lighting systems, which i have been looking at from time to time. my brother has said that someday, he might want to upgrade to led, but he isnt very good with technical stuff, like soldering and putting stuff together, etc, where as i tend to have a knack for that kind of thing. i have also heard about LED plant lights from time to time on here. i have been thinking a lot lately about making some sort of grow rack, or indoor greenhouse setup in my basement. when i started thinking about lighting, my mind immediately went to LEDs. i figured that i could make something suitable for plants with the LEDs that these reef-lighting websites are selling, if i got the right spectrum. the most common colors used in DIY reef light setups are the blue and cool white LEDs. but, as i searched through them, i figured out that these sites sell more way colors than just those, to balance out those other two . green, cyan, red, amber, even UV/purple LEDS are available from them. such colors are used in fancy DIY setups in small amounts, often with each color/group of colors connected to its own timer/dimmer, in order to simulate sunrise/sunset, moonlight, etc. for the corals. some of these light colors would be great for plants, others, not so much. i selected LEDS with the best colors for plant growth, a heatsink, driver, etc on RapidLed.com.http://www.rapidled.com/ i decided that i want to make this with RapidLed's solderless LEDs, even though i know how to solder, just 'cause it would be easier(that, and i cant find that *bleep*in' solder iron! where could it have gotten off to?) anyways, im not going to be ordering these anytime soon, as i am kindof broke at the moment, and this is about $110 total, but my b-day is just around the corner (nov. 26), and i also will work my but off doing chores around the house, mowing the lawn, etc., so i think that i can manage to get enough money!
once i have the cash, its LED time!
as for the colors i picked, i am planning to get 12 LEDs, 8 warm white, and 4 red, on a heatsink predrilled for exactly 12 LEDs
heres how i plan on arranging them:
0 = 1 warm white LED
0 = 1 red LED
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
and here's all the parts (minus the solderless connectors and thermal grease)
the warm white LEDs
http://www.rapidled.com/solderless-cree-xp-g-warm-white-led/
the red LEDs
http://www.rapidled.com/solderless-cree-xp-e-red-led/
the heatsink
http://www.rapidled.com/drilled-tapped-1-4-x-24-aluminum-heatsink/
the driver
http://www.rapidled.com/mean-well-lpc-35-700-constant-current-driver/
any advice, suggestions for a better choice of color for the diodes, etc will be very much apriciated!
and by the way, i know that there are other, cheaper (and to some, more effective) ways of getting light for your plants. i am aware that some of you consider LEDs to be a bad choice, due to their price. i am not planning on getting LEDs because they are the cheapest way to provide light for my plants, i'm am choosing them because of their efficiency (even though i am not the one paying the electric bill!), and because i think they will be the "next big" thing in horticulture, and are awesomely high tech. yes, i am choosing these lights cause i think they they are awesome. some of you will probably think that that is kind of dumb. well, its true, they are awesome! if i can get the right colors of diode, then they should provide some great lighting for my plants! so please no comments trying to convince me not to go LED, if i can get the money, i will most likely be getting these lights.
once i have the cash, its LED time!
as for the colors i picked, i am planning to get 12 LEDs, 8 warm white, and 4 red, on a heatsink predrilled for exactly 12 LEDs
heres how i plan on arranging them:
0 = 1 warm white LED
0 = 1 red LED
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
and here's all the parts (minus the solderless connectors and thermal grease)
the warm white LEDs
http://www.rapidled.com/solderless-cree-xp-g-warm-white-led/
the red LEDs
http://www.rapidled.com/solderless-cree-xp-e-red-led/
the heatsink
http://www.rapidled.com/drilled-tapped-1-4-x-24-aluminum-heatsink/
the driver
http://www.rapidled.com/mean-well-lpc-35-700-constant-current-driver/
any advice, suggestions for a better choice of color for the diodes, etc will be very much apriciated!
and by the way, i know that there are other, cheaper (and to some, more effective) ways of getting light for your plants. i am aware that some of you consider LEDs to be a bad choice, due to their price. i am not planning on getting LEDs because they are the cheapest way to provide light for my plants, i'm am choosing them because of their efficiency (even though i am not the one paying the electric bill!), and because i think they will be the "next big" thing in horticulture, and are awesomely high tech. yes, i am choosing these lights cause i think they they are awesome. some of you will probably think that that is kind of dumb. well, its true, they are awesome! if i can get the right colors of diode, then they should provide some great lighting for my plants! so please no comments trying to convince me not to go LED, if i can get the money, i will most likely be getting these lights.