hi everybody, joey here again and welcomeback. in today�s video, i�m going to show youguys how to build a diy led aquarium light that regardless of how big your aquarium is,will not cost you any more than $25. for an example, i built a 2 of these lightsfor only $50 and they are lighting a pair of 8 foot long aquariums.
light booth for color matching, the benefits to these lights are simple. they are cheap, they are easy to do, and theyare very light, durable and water proof. not to mention, they come with full customizability.you can change the color to anything you want and you can even change the brightness.
all for $25. the best part about this is you can customizeexactly how you build it or what you use to suit your needs. in this video, i�m going to show you oneidea i did, but the options are really limitless. so let�s start off with supplies. obviously we need leds. we will come backto more details on them in a second. you will also need a plastic rain gutter typicallyused on houses. you will also need some end caps for those gutters. now obviously costswill vary based on location, however i got a pair of 10 foot long plastic gutters and4 end caps for $12.
having a small drill and some electrical tapewill also come in handy. now on to the leds. i got these strips fromebay. i heard good things about them and decided to give them a shot.i found a seller that allows you to customize your package and was really affordable. igot everything i needed for $37 with free shipping. i will leave a link in the descriptionto where i got them. i must add that i have absolutely no affiliation with that sellerand in no way endorse these leds; however this project will be useless to you guys ifi don�t tell you where i got them. so let�s get started with the build. your package of led equipment will contain3 packages.
the first package will contain your roll ofwater proof leds. the second package will contain your controlbox, the remote control and instructions. the last package will contain the power adaptor. we will want to start out by first testingthe leds first. by simply connecting the roll of leds to the controller and then the controllerto the power adaptor, we have completed the assembly. now we can move onto preparing the housingfor the leds. i cut the gutter a couple inches shorter than the length of my tanks to allowthe end caps room on the ends. i used a hack saw to cut the gutter to do this.
i then drilled a few holes in the end of anend cap to allow for the led strip to fit through. this way strip does not have to exitunderneath the light. i then placed the end caps on the gutter. i fed the power supply end into the hole icreated in the end cap and laid the led strip the length of the gutter. i did find the led strip was too long andhad to cut it though. cutting it had to be done at specific spotson the strip though. however, it still remains water proof after doing so. now since the led strip actually comes witha double sided tape already installed on the
strip, all i had to do was remove the backingof the tape and lay the led strip in place. with some electrical tape i cover the holeon the entrance of the end cap so no light would leak. i also laid a few extra piecesevery so often on the led strip just to reinforce it. and that was it. it was ready to be pluggedin and turned on. the remote allows me to change colors andbrightness of the light which was a huge benefit and one of the main reasons i used this light. now obviously, there are many options andideas for an led strip like this one, so feel free to explore what your needs are. thiswas simply one idea.
now a note i must make is this light willnot be strong enough to grow plants or coral. it is simply used either as an accent lightor a light just to be able to see the fish like i use it for. however, while i only useda strip long enough for my tank, if i were
to do this again, i probably would have ordereda strip twice as long as i needed and simply run the led up one end of the gutter and thenback down it to give me twice the brightness. anyways, i hope you guys enjoyed the video,i also wanted to thank you for watching and we will see you next week for another project.
