DIY LED Question

Hey Guys.
I am new to LEDs but interested in incorporating them into a new system. I am paying someone that I know to do the actual LED setup for me.

I am thinking about creating 2-3 L shaped brackets. The flat bottom part of the letter "L" would be the mounted to the tank. The straight part of the letter L, "l" would be the part with LED's in it, and would be over hanging above the tank.

Sorry for using letters to describe the bracket, I couldn't figure out a better way to do it.

I could do this with metal brackets, but was also thinking about doing it with a small diameter PVC. Drilling holes for the where he LED will hang out of, and putting an end cap on the piece after its all wired.

These LEDs will be high powered, but nothing crazy - only for a 14 gallon tank. I would also like to alternate, white and blue LEDs.

The question, would the PVC be able to withstand the LED- or will it melt?

Thanks!

 

i cant imagin it would melt but i could be wrong .... im sure someone will verify . pvc does not melt easy . so im sure u will be just fine . nice idea btw . me and my girlfriend saw the moonlight led DIT setup someone else did on here recently and we found some leds in the X-mas treeshop and were talking about doing the same thing you are with led's so i think it will turn out awesome when you do it . post some pix would love to see end result

 

With current draw in the milliamps, LEDs generate little if any heat, so melting will not be an issue.

 

Heat will not be an issue, I have 4 LEDs mounted into plexi... no issues works great.

 

How easy are they to wire up? And also, what size/brightness LED would I want? It's going to be for a 14 gallon Biocub-- and the only lighting source. I want them to be BRIGHT, but nothing crazy.

I am hoping to find someone who I can send the brackets to, and pay them to do the wiring.

 

Wiring depends on your power source...what do you plan to use? AC or DC voltage? I recommend going to Radio Shack and getting a simple AC adaptor with an output of around 7.5 volts, LEDs dont need much power.
Then the LED's each need a resistor to limit the power on the cathode side which again will depend on the LED. I suggest getting automotive LED's rated for 12v this way the resistor will be included and pre wired to the cathode.
With this setup you simply wire them as you would a bulb but the Pos + and Neg - matter as the will not light if you have them in reverse.
Also you can power them either to a timed source for night lighting or leave them on 24/7 as they draw very little current.

www.superbrightleds.com is a good source

 

I think I posted this the other day on an LED thread, but this video is worth a look if you have not seen it:
http://www.3reef.com/forums/3reef-s-diy-video-contest/basic-led-lighting-68197.html

Hope it helps..

 

I don't know what people are saying when they say LED's don't generate heat. They are very sensitive to heat so the little boards they are mounted to are designed to remove nearly all the heat. Now try this ( don't try this), get an 1000mA 3 volt high powered Led and hold it in your hand after it's been on for an hour.

Now if you have them attached to any heat sink bigger then a square inch you will be fine. It's the same concept of a really really low powered soldering iron. All the heat is forced to a really small point.

If there's no heat sink of any form, I really wouldn't suggest the LED inside a closed PVC pipe.