Catfish lighting

[jscoggs27]

I may be talking to myself here, or preaching to the converted. Anyway, short description of what I have found and details of avalability.

I have been experimenting with some high output led's for a while now but recently the technology has moved on a bit. It seems led's may replace conventional aquarium lighting eventually.
Anyway, Ive used two individual 7W white led's in my setup, and the light they produce is fantastic. Not just for intensity but for colour as well. They closely resemble the type of output you get from actinic bulbs. Not at all like the washed out characterless T8 flo tubes.
The other advantage is that they are dimmable and come in various sizes, power ratings, and colours.
The white ones that I brought emmit white light at 6500K. But soft white is available.
These arent the silly led lights you see on novelty tanks, these are high output flux emitters, they get hot and will need a heatsink of some sort (mine operate at 80deg C and will if not cooled reach 120deg C and melt the inside of your tank hood, or burn your house down!). The lower power (say 1W) led's in blue make an excellent moonlight.
Heres the link, These ppl have the best prices for electronic components.These are the ones I got but there's plenty to choose from and drivers as well.

http://www.rapidonline.com/Electronic-C ... LEDs/81569

[andywoolloo]

very interesting , thanks.