LED bulbs

You buy the fittings for it and some cable and the 220v led down lights. Connect the wire to a plug and to the fitting fit thd led and plug in.

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@Wilhelm is there an option to get a led tube without the built in ballast and connect it to 1?

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@WeirdSteam I see you just wired your led downlighters without the fittings they come in in the ceilings. Can you show me picks of how you did that? And also if you use 6W in your tank that is that deep. 3x 3W should be fine for my 3ft?

 

I had 3w on my tank and it was not enough so i went with the 6w downlights.

They are just wired straight and fit into the hood





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Yes thats the easy part. Where does those wires go hahaha, I'm a zero if it comes to electrical stuff. I see thats 230V. Are you not worried about electrocuting yourself?

 

Nope when its in the hood the wires are closed. From the lights my wires go direct to my timer that supplies the 220v

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Ok. I don't have a glass cover to put them on. So it complicates things. Plus the 10W floodlights are on special at builders for R98. Think I will go with them. Will be cheaper and easier to install. Should have the same effect as the downlighters dont you think?

 

Yup just note Ferdie did a test with the cheap flood lights and they where not good for plant growth search F-fish threads

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@fishanatic
Here is what I did. Normal LED T8 Tube.
Use Electrical connector blocks to connect the pins of the tube and the other side straight to power. Remember LED tubes just need power on the one side not on both as the old fluorescent tubes
That's it.
Oh and bridged the power over to the other light in the picture.

 

@Wilhelm I ask because I need to get a light for my 3foot. I had the standard t8 in the tank running off the 25w ballast. Now I'm sitting with a ballast and no globe. Researching my best replacement option as I was not happy with how long the previous tube lasted me.

 

I also saw it somewhere, but I can't find it now. They were talking about the cheap china mall floodlights and how the LEDs they use are not suitable or something. Maybe @f-fish can help us out.
F-fish were these used for the failed test or would they work?

 

@fishanatic Was it a 6500K t8? Where did you buy it. The t8s I buy from the LFS only last about a year and then begin to fade rapidly.

 

@Francois De Vries I am not sure. I kept it as a sample so will check tonight when i get back from work and let you know.

I had bought it from turf pets and it was BOYU if i'm not mistaken.

Atleast yours began to fade. I dont keep plants as of yet but mine stopped working completely in about 3 months. It was a pink light though.

Does the colour of the light influence the lifespan?

 

@fishanatic I will cut out the ballast and just get an LED light.
So what you need to do is cut the power before the ballast and rewire it to a new LED light.
Ballast is also, according to me, heavy on the juice(electricity)

 

@Wilhelm Howmuch would the equivalent size of a t8 25w go for in an LED? Do I have to find a specialised store to burchase or would i be able to find it in a place like builders?

 

@fishanatic . Go to china mall they like 80 rand each for a 3 foot

 

T8 is 18w and I get them for around R160 Excl VAT per tube. So not that expensive according to me
Good advice from rsa also.

 

@rsa @Wilhelm Thank you so much guys. Really appreciate the info.

@Francois De Vries I'm Sorry I hijacked your thread. Will have a look at that globe for you tonight.

 

No prob. Hope you get what you need. Just make sure the t8 you get is 6500K. If its 4000K or 10000k its useless for plants. If you not planning on getting plants 10 000k is fine.

 

@Francois De Vries So I currently dont have any plants. I am considering getting some anubias in the near future. Rated as a low tech plant would you still say that 6500k is absolutely necessary?