Morning Mark. Great video. I'm an electronics engineer here in the UK and work for an LED display manufacturing company. I've recently done the same for my friend's tank. Which is a copy of my tank, but I've gone all d.i.y. with mine. I'm not trying to do any advertising but....look on Ali express for 15w dc 12v led cobs and find the 6500k daylight leds. There about £4 each and some come with a dimmer remote control. Match 1 up with a 100mm heasink from ebay. They are about £5 for 4 pieces . Then match it up with a 12v meanwell power supply. I'm currently running 1 4ft fishtank and 3 - 45cm tanks with this setup on the 1- 12v 200w power supply. I then turn the current down to around 11.5v to keep the let's a bit cooler. You can run at full 12v but there really bright!. Then you can use the included remote to dim the led's up and down. I have explosive plant growth with this setup. I "can" include links but wasn't sure about youtube and your own rules about advertising something. (I'm not making anything from a sponsor or anything!) But if your not interested in building anything d.i.y. then Marks method in this video is a great alternative. The floodlights just run a bit hot so be mindful of that. The floodlight housings are usually ip68 and are meant to be used outdoors in all weather situations and so they can take splashes from water so there safe (along as they don't get immersed in your fishtanks) otherwise you'll have dancing shrimp, briefly!
Hi can you send me links for this stuff via my email address? markpeggie@hotmail.com I had a look but pages come up and I dont know what I am looking at. 😂
Just wanted to say thank you for all the effort put into these videos. I am working my way through your vids with my little one while we tend to her neo-cardina tanks. We are both learning a ton and love watching all the beautiful shrimp! Thanks again Mark.🦐
Hello Mark! I was for inexpensive light fixtures for my 30g aquarium and I saw your video! Thank you very much for sharing! Already ordered a pair from Amazon
Mark you really need to fix your cables they shouldn't be free hanging. we dont want you getting a shock if some one was to pull a cable lose. have to say those lights look awesome and i may have to purchase some myself, thanks for sharing We need to see more shrimps please.
What I would've done differently is run the wires on top of the wood and the lights on the other side of the wood with holes drilled for the cables, then build whatever mounting support needed over the cables.
Do you have electrical wholesalers in your area? You can buy good waterproof connectors and boxes to do all the splicing in. You could connect both lights to length of cable in the junction box and then put your plug on the end of that cable.
You could coat the connector in silicon, that would make it water tight. Have you checked the heat that the new lights give off compared to the others you are replacing.
Just a note... On the wires cut from the factory, you see the ground wire is longer than the others. If you ever get some pulling force on the cable, the ground is the last one that should release from the plug. That is a safety thing. So please leave the PE cable a centimeter or so, longer than the others.
I've used IDC314 connectors in areas with high humidity and have had great luck. I wouldn't dunk them in a tank, though. A 25 pack was about $10usd on Amazon.
What about covering the connector block with hot glue? Might not be the prettiest and don't know how well that stuff acts with water but that would be my first idea if I were to, you know, unprofessionally cobbling things together haha
It adds more complication, but you could install individual breakers to each bank of lights. That way if you have a short it is less likely to take down an entire circuit in your room. Instead of wiring individual plugs to each light you could install a junction box with a panel and run the wires to terminals, creating your own power distribution. This is done often with industrial control panels for 600v/480v/240v/120v/24v/12v. What I'm imagining would look like this: incoming power (120v/240v) -> circuit breaker (rated for the combined lighting amperage) -> terminals jumpered/wired together (power distribution block) -> cables to flood lights. You will need 3 groups for hot/common/ground wiring. One advantage here is you could actually add your own timers right into the junction box(es). Certainly not a bad idea to hire an electrician at this point, that way you know you are up to local electrical standards.
@@ivancho5854 yeah that might not be so true, I worked for SUN microsystems like 30 years ago as a QC and everything was soldered, I can do basic soldering but I am not that great at it.
@@MarksShrimpTanks My electrical and material science knowledge is limited and like most things it's probably more complicated than first appearances. I'll investigate further and let you know if I find anything useful. I'm really enjoying your content Mark. Greetings from an icy Glasgow.
Good morning Mark, My name is Ricardo and I'm from Portugal. I'm not your assiduous follower, I confess. The project is interesting and I will also keep an eye out for these LED spotlights. As for the connections, I would make a hole in the board you used as a support, pull the cable from each of the lights to the top and make the connections there using a retractable sleeve. That way they were hidden and it was more of a barrier to any splashes of water
@@MarksShrimpTanks squirt silicone in a rubber glove. Pop connection in there for cheap waterproofing. I used this method after supposed to be waterproof fittings failed.
The risk of using mains voltage near water is too high for me. Also another commenter advised against soldering mains voltage wires and I agree. If going down the DIY route I would definitely pay the little extra for low voltage fittings. Remember to always have a loop of wire to shed any drips of water which could run down to the plug. All the best everyone.
Judging by the link you provided the led lamps are for outdoor use, so I am assuming they are siliconed around the edges indeed. Also, that little white connector we call 'sukkerbit' in Norwegian ('sugar cube). :D
Maybe also consider using an outdoor weatherproof 3 way switch to connect all your led floodlights. They are designed to be used outdoors. My friend's setup was 3 of those floodlights connected to the outdoor weatherproof switch. They were all screwed onto a wooden shelf above the fishtank. Sorry I had meant to add this comment into my previous comment 😅
I'd use silicone or maybe an epoxy to seal that connection. They make something called "conformal compound" for waterproofing/insulating electronics, but iirc it's rather expensive. You might even be able to use nail polish to seal them, but silicone would probably be best as it'd be at least possible to remove without just cutting the wires.
You can buy the wire(you have the black cable), just get some shrink wrap tubing with glue in it. Connect the black wire directly to extend it and then shrink wrap each connection, then shrink wrap the whole thing. You will extend the wire
The shimmer is great! Trying really hard not to buy these 😆Have a look at "3 Way Waterproof IP68 Junction Box". I think our electrician used one of these to get power to our shed. Tried to leave a link but my last comment got auto deleted 😅
You cannot put them in series, you have to put them in parallel - i.e. blue to blue , green to green.... I would solder the wires together with a short pigtail going to the plug. cover joints with a dab of silicone then heatshrink.
Too shakey to tell but did the corners have round, maybe plugs, that hide the screws? Please hold them steady for a few seconds, with bit more light, for a better view next time you showing items.
@@MarksShrimpTanks great vids btw, keep em coming. Also that idea of hot glue with the terminal block connectors sounds promising, be a bit of a pain to unscrew but for a one and done.
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The shrimping electrician, lights look great Mark, nice !
I always have second thoughts about this type of video because I don't want someone to kill themselves 😂
Morning Mark. Great video. I'm an electronics engineer here in the UK and work for an LED display manufacturing company. I've recently done the same for my friend's tank. Which is a copy of my tank, but I've gone all d.i.y. with mine. I'm not trying to do any advertising but....look on Ali express for 15w dc 12v led cobs and find the 6500k daylight leds. There about £4 each and some come with a dimmer remote control. Match 1 up with a 100mm heasink from ebay. They are about £5 for 4 pieces . Then match it up with a 12v meanwell power supply. I'm currently running 1 4ft fishtank and 3 - 45cm tanks with this setup on the 1- 12v 200w power supply. I then turn the current down to around 11.5v to keep the let's a bit cooler. You can run at full 12v but there really bright!. Then you can use the included remote to dim the led's up and down. I have explosive plant growth with this setup. I "can" include links but wasn't sure about youtube and your own rules about advertising something. (I'm not making anything from a sponsor or anything!) But if your not interested in building anything d.i.y. then Marks method in this video is a great alternative. The floodlights just run a bit hot so be mindful of that. The floodlight housings are usually ip68 and are meant to be used outdoors in all weather situations and so they can take splashes from water so there safe (along as they don't get immersed in your fishtanks) otherwise you'll have dancing shrimp, briefly!
Hi can you send me links for this stuff via my email address? markpeggie@hotmail.com
I had a look but pages come up and I dont know what I am looking at. 😂
@@MarksShrimpTanks yeah sure. I'll send you a bunch of info and some pics/video as soon as I finish work
Hi Mark. Sorry for the delay. I sent you that email. Hopefully it may be useful 😉
Just wanted to say thank you for all the effort put into these videos.
I am working my way through your vids with my little one while we tend to her neo-cardina tanks.
We are both learning a ton and love watching all the beautiful shrimp!
Thanks again Mark.🦐
Thank you for watching them all, hope you have a lot of luck with the shrimp. 😁
Hey. What do you have here in the tank with the algae 34:00 ?
Hello Mark! I was for inexpensive light fixtures for my 30g aquarium and I saw your video! Thank you very much for sharing! Already ordered a pair from Amazon
Glad I could help!👍
Mark you really need to fix your cables they shouldn't be free hanging. we dont want you getting a shock if some one was to pull a cable lose. have to say those lights look awesome and i may have to purchase some myself, thanks for sharing
We need to see more shrimps please.
I have cable tied them up so they cant drop on all my stuff.
Could you not use silicone over a connection box with a lid? Or use potting compound to make the box water tight?
Edit:spelling
yeah I did think about that, you would think silicon would work great.
What I would've done differently is run the wires on top of the wood and the lights on the other side of the wood with holes drilled for the cables, then build whatever mounting support needed over the cables.
I might just do that, great idea thank you. 👍
Do you have electrical wholesalers in your area? You can buy good waterproof connectors and boxes to do all the splicing in. You could connect both lights to length of cable in the junction box and then put your plug on the end of that cable.
Nice video Mark ❤
Thanks! 😃
Could those possibly connected to a 12 volt outdoor landscape transformer and use waterproof landscape connectors
I dont think so these are 240v lights
You could coat the connector in silicon, that would make it water tight. Have you checked the heat that the new lights give off compared to the others you are replacing.
good idea Rob and they give off very little heat almost just luke warm but then again they are only 10 watts.
Mark, a lot of work, but I agree the tanks look great. Thank you from NYC
Love the spot lights. Have 150w ones on my stock tank ponds, starting work on a new project with a 50w one today.
Awesome, I need mine to be low powered now, electricity prices are horrific here, my last bill was $800 and we had no heating on.
@@MarksShrimpTanks
Do you not mess around with full spectrum lights for your plants? Would there be a significant difference you think?
all I aim for is lights over 6000k and thats it.
This is where I buy my lights from ledlyskilder.no/lyskastere/2841-v-tac-10w-led-lyskaster-samsung-led-chip-arbeidslampe-utendors.html
They look great Mark :)
Just a note... On the wires cut from the factory, you see the ground wire is longer than the others. If you ever get some pulling force on the cable, the ground is the last one that should release from the plug. That is a safety thing. So please leave the PE cable a centimeter or so, longer than the others.
that makes perfect sense, Thank you Rikard 👍
Thank you Rikard. That's a very useful tip. 👍
Hi Mark, How many Watts per gallon or liter would you recommend
I dont do that stuff I just go by if I can see plants will grow.
I've used IDC314 connectors in areas with high humidity and have had great luck. I wouldn't dunk them in a tank, though. A 25 pack was about $10usd on Amazon.
thank you
Like a Shrimpy BigClive episode!!
What about covering the connector block with hot glue? Might not be the prettiest and don't know how well that stuff acts with water but that would be my first idea if I were to, you know, unprofessionally cobbling things together haha
I will look into that
Cake the lot in silicone cover in black tape to blend in a bit, soldering the wires and using heat shrink would work too.
It adds more complication, but you could install individual breakers to each bank of lights. That way if you have a short it is less likely to take down an entire circuit in your room. Instead of wiring individual plugs to each light you could install a junction box with a panel and run the wires to terminals, creating your own power distribution. This is done often with industrial control panels for 600v/480v/240v/120v/24v/12v.
What I'm imagining would look like this: incoming power (120v/240v) -> circuit breaker (rated for the combined lighting amperage) -> terminals jumpered/wired together (power distribution block) -> cables to flood lights. You will need 3 groups for hot/common/ground wiring.
One advantage here is you could actually add your own timers right into the junction box(es). Certainly not a bad idea to hire an electrician at this point, that way you know you are up to local electrical standards.
I would just solder a wire to it and use some shrink tubing.
That will be the next one I think
I just read in another comment that soldering is only suitable for low voltage, which makes sense.
@@ivancho5854 yeah that might not be so true, I worked for SUN microsystems like 30 years ago as a QC and everything was soldered, I can do basic soldering but I am not that great at it.
@@MarksShrimpTanks My electrical and material science knowledge is limited and like most things it's probably more complicated than first appearances. I'll investigate further and let you know if I find anything useful.
I'm really enjoying your content Mark. Greetings from an icy Glasgow.
Hello Mark!!! Is it possible that my swan mussel is eating my baby shrimp??
I wouldnt think so
I find doing it like you do is easier than using wire strippers. The wire strippers get dull after a while so the other way works better.
Good morning Mark,
My name is Ricardo and I'm from Portugal. I'm not your assiduous follower, I confess.
The project is interesting and I will also keep an eye out for these LED spotlights. As for the connections, I would make a hole in the board you used as a support, pull the cable from each of the lights to the top and make the connections there using a retractable sleeve. That way they were hidden and it was more of a barrier to any splashes of water
Thanks for sharing
Sent u link for solution my brother
Thank you mate, I am looking for something that is waterproof, any ideas?
@@MarksShrimpTanks squirt silicone in a rubber glove. Pop connection in there for cheap waterproofing. I used this method after supposed to be waterproof fittings failed.
@@garystein9536 Great simple solution. 👍
The risk of using mains voltage near water is too high for me. Also another commenter advised against soldering mains voltage wires and I agree. If going down the DIY route I would definitely pay the little extra for low voltage fittings.
Remember to always have a loop of wire to shed any drips of water which could run down to the plug.
All the best everyone.
Judging by the link you provided the led lamps are for outdoor use, so I am assuming they are siliconed around the edges indeed. Also, that little white connector we call 'sukkerbit' in Norwegian ('sugar cube). :D
Thank you Artica
Maybe also consider using an outdoor weatherproof 3 way switch to connect all your led floodlights. They are designed to be used outdoors. My friend's setup was 3 of those floodlights connected to the outdoor weatherproof switch. They were all screwed onto a wooden shelf above the fishtank. Sorry I had meant to add this comment into my previous comment 😅
I'd use silicone or maybe an epoxy to seal that connection. They make something called "conformal compound" for waterproofing/insulating electronics, but iirc it's rather expensive. You might even be able to use nail polish to seal them, but silicone would probably be best as it'd be at least possible to remove without just cutting the wires.
You can buy the wire(you have the black cable), just get some shrink wrap tubing with glue in it. Connect the black wire directly to extend it and then shrink wrap each connection, then shrink wrap the whole thing. You will extend the wire
I use one 50w led flood light on each of my 50l tanks!
A stronger light means more algae more biofilm more food for shrimp and babies
I personaly dont trust 230v above open tanks.
I use 12 V DC led lights instead .
I totally agree.
The shimmer is great! Trying really hard not to buy these 😆Have a look at "3 Way Waterproof IP68 Junction Box". I think our electrician used one of these to get power to our shed. Tried to leave a link but my last comment got auto deleted 😅
yeah I have seen them mate the problem is they are so expensive here, 10 bucks a pop for a connector.
You cannot put them in series, you have to put them in parallel - i.e. blue to blue , green to green.... I would solder the wires together with a short pigtail going to the plug. cover joints with a dab of silicone then heatshrink.
buy shrink rap sleeves
I will try this next thanks Alan
Too shakey to tell but did the corners have round, maybe plugs, that hide the screws? Please hold them steady for a few seconds, with bit more light, for a better view next time you showing items.
the corners of what?
@@MarksShrimpTanks the lamp on the backside. Could be round cast marks, can't make clear but fingers crossed maybe screws
@@discrtidunkwn ah yes maybe, my bad I had no idea what you were talking about there 😂😂
@@MarksShrimpTanks great vids btw, keep em coming. Also that idea of hot glue with the terminal block connectors sounds promising, be a bit of a pain to unscrew but for a one and done.