• We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

DIY Aquarium Lamp

@esoxlucius They had bad wiring. If I'd done it, it wouldn't have blown up. :thumbsup:

@Lepisosteus Do you have a model or link or something on that lamp?

I saw one 60" that extends to 72" for about $80, but it wasn't dimable either.
 
 
Those are all dimmable options. The 15w are bright units. They were initially lighting my plant wall
 
Currently running two 50w on the wall, covers a 96”x84” area
 
Thanks, @Lepisosteus I will check those out too.

BTW, one reason I never bought a long lamp at the LFS, was the switches. None of them have real switches.

When I mention this, folks will tell me I need a timer to run it anyway. Then they try to sell me a timer with no real switches. They have little blisters with no tactile feedback. I hate blisters.

I have a 36" Aqueon "stick-light" I paid $65 at the LFS it's very Euro, but it's touch-sensitive. I almost bought a mate, but I hate the touch-sensitive switches. They don't always feel me. At least not my old fingers. I often have to wet my fingers to work them. I like real switches that go click-click.

They're an endangered species.
 
Lepisosteus said:
Currently running two 50w on the wall, covers a 96”x84” area
Click to expand...

My 6' light puts out 4000 lumens at 5000k (theoretically, I don't have a light meter) and "equals" 300 watts of incandescent light from from only 40.8 watts. It actually seems that each puck puts out the heat of a 10w bulb but the light of a 60.

It's ingenious: they clip off half the AC current and invert it, then filter it, to make a not-quite-DC to run the LEDs. That's one function of the regulators. I exposed this by setting the internal control too low. LEDs don't heat up as fast as a filament, and where a filament would glow weakly, the LED will flicker at some critical point. I crossed it.

But if you never cross those points, you never know where they are.

While I was repairing the one solder joint I'd blown (well actually changing that puck) it occurred to me that I might have damaged the regulators. With 20% less load they could overdrive the LEDs. I saw no evidence of that, and all the chokes are operating at the same temperature. I did find that the puck furthest from the regulators had toasted one of its 20 LEDs and it was rather yellow. I didn't consider that that puck had the longest wires, and therefore the most resistance.

I left enough space in the Lexan box for a timer, but I haven't looked for one yet. I'm thinking of maybe a Bluetooth thing I can set from my phone.
 
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I have decided to use this gear for a shop light and re-configure my lamp with GU-10 bulbs.

This will cost about $25 for 5 bulbs.The GU-10 has a better heatsink too, and 500% easier to waterproof the lamp.

I consider this experiment to be a reasonable success. But the box doesn't quite fit behind the tank without fiddling, and I don't like the unsealed pucks, and with a full length lens the housing will trap heat.

I don't need more heat.
 
Just a shocking update.

OK, no persons or fishes were shocked, but I am still running my experimental lamp. After I repaired it, it has functioned fine and doesn't generate much heat.

This is day 23, and I'm suffering no obvious issues with this experiment except the oversized case for the power supply. I made it large so the circuits wouldn't overheat, and I provided vents for the hot air.

This will vanish into the new aquarium hood . . . . . when it's finally constructed. :uhoh:

I would have built a new one but haven't found the bulbs I want to use.
 
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