LED lighting on a budget

No. A 30" heat sink isn't necessary. It can be shorter. 24" may be fine, but I'll defer to another poster.

 

Now this 22g wire, would that be solid core or stranded core?

 

I made out legs on the plate and it just sits on top of my tank. my next project is to make a wooden hood with the lights integrated in them.

 

don't matter really. stranded will be easier to work with and flexible.

 

Sounds badass.. Got any pictures showing the legs you made? Where'd you get your aluminum plate from?

 

it's not all that crazy looking. it's pretty industrial but functional. that's why I'm looking to build a hood lol. I got the metal from work. and took some scraps and bent them in the bending brake to make the legs then just riveted them on. took a total of 20 min to make my LED unit. I used a 3/16 inch clad aluminum plate. No heat issues and no fans. I'll take some pics and send them to you when I get back from work.

 

Cool thanks. I'd appreciate that.

 

Since it just sits on top of your tank, any issues with water temp? Any Water splashing on your LED unit?

 

no splash issues because I cut acrylic to use as a tank top. but either way the water doesn't splash that high up and my diy sits about 5 inches from the surface and I don't use optics.

 

Unlike traditional bulbs, LEDs put out pretty much all of their heat onto the heatsink vs the air around them. Very little heat will make its way down.