LED Project

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Originally Posted by itsmateo

Just wondering if it is a must to use surface mount LEDs connected to a board, or can you use regular LEDs as well??

If by "regular LEDs" you mean the plain old common round 3mm or 5mm LEDs with a pair of leads sticking out the back, the answer is "probably not." The advantage an HP LED offers is the potential for extremely high efficiency, and really good built-in thermal management. Both of those factors are absolutely 100% critical when you start trying to create the amount of light you need to grow stuff in a fishtank.

[Anthonius]

im sure you could use the 2/5mm leds for moonlighting/night viewing but i wouldnt recommend it for growing your frags. another problem with standard leds i found was they really spolight so you would need some extra lens to widen out this beam-like light.

[Anthonius]

anyone want to make me the dimmer things i need for the dimmable meanwells? let me know of what it would cost for 2 of them... and ill pay for labor, shipping, and materials... i just dont want to blow up my drivers lol.

[rascole]

hows the build coming? Any pics?