[DemonicalEnvy]

I am currently getting supplies ready for making ten yes that's ten vivs and need to know if there are any Waterproof inside viv safe LEDs on the market. The vivs will be made out of Itso cubes from Target and are all black plastic. I have been on some sites and found what they call waterproof but wanted to know if anyone has any experience with using LEDs inside their vivs that get blasted with water and what not. Also i came across other LED "Bulbs" that i can possibly use by cutting a hole on the top of the cube and cover with clear Plexi or even glass if anyone can tell me if these will work or not.

Here are some i found if anyone can tell me if these are safe:

RGY 100mm Car Angel Eye White Light Ring Headlight 33 LED 2 Pcs - DinoDirect.com

RGY Attractive 24 LED Car Flexible Grill Light Strip - DinoDirect.com

Sharp Lamp MR11 1.0w 6000-6500K White Light Spotlight LED Light bulb(12V) - DinoDirect.com

Kabit Kabit MR16 12V 3W 6000-7500K Aluminum Lamp Cup 3 LED Light Bulb - DinoDirect.com

E27 3W 5500-6000K White Light LED Spotlight Light Bulb(AC85-240V) - DinoDirect.com

 

[Redknee]

Stay away from the 240V ones and get those that work at 12V.
I really doubt it that 12V is nuff to kill even a small fish if you are woried about the frogs.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

I found this store on ebay. I have purchased many groups of waterproof LED lights from him. I've purchased blue and red ones though he does have other colors as well. I'm not sure if you're wanting to light up your vivs with LEDs or just use them as nightime lighting but maybe you can find what you're looking for. Prices are low, shipping is super fast.
Find this store on ebay. VirtualVillage-Oz-Alpha

 

[DemonicalEnvy]

yea i guess i forgot to say i was intending to use the LEDs for plant growth. Sorry about that wasn't thinking. So i was needing LEDs that can stick or poke through the cube and give the plants light to grow with out the possibility of electrocuting the frogs or me.

 

[EvilLost]

Few quick things.....I don't know itso cube dimensions but even if it is small....


1) Almost ALL cheap LEDs on the market do NOT HAVE FULL SPECTRUM. Make sure to look up the spectral graphs of the light. 6500K does NOT necessarily mean full spectrum (although in most cases a full spectrum bulb will have 6500K color temp)....and a quick glance at those products they don't say "full spectrum" which they likely would say in the description if it was.

2) You realize those bulbs are not waterproof right? Even if you set it up so only the "front" of the bulb is exposed to the inside of the tank....I would *REALLY* not risk it with a non-waterproof rated bulb around humidity....

3) If you are considering lights outside the tank (non-waterproof) have you considered a high-quality CREE LED build? If you need more info on this or want some made for you dimensions shoot me a PM.

4) From my understanding, the itso cubes are opaque plastic. If so, you will need to build a protective housing for pretty much any non-waterproof bulb you put in there, regardless of what it is (since you can't just shine the light "through" it)......I would think the best bet here would be to just have glass/acrylic lids on them and put lights safely on top, but I'm not entirely sure what you are going for.

5) Those "car" or any "aesthetic" LED will put out VERY low lumens (notice how its not listed on the site). These typically can NOT be used for "lighting" applications as they are designed for "supplemental" use. I hope that makes sense.

6) Even the Sharp bulb that you linked only puts out 80 lumens....maybe if the tank was small enough, but I'd imagine you would need at least 2 or more of these to get any good light

7) A subtle point, but black absorbs all light (ie is the least reflective color). Have you considered potential heat deformation over time of the plastic?


Bottom line though, when looking for lighting.....its all about the spectral graph!

 

[DemonicalEnvy]

Few quick things.....I don't know itso cube dimensions but even if it is small....


1) Almost ALL cheap LEDs on the market do NOT HAVE FULL SPECTRUM. Make sure to look up the spectral graphs of the light. 6500K does NOT necessarily mean full spectrum (although in most cases a full spectrum bulb will have 6500K color temp)....and a quick glance at those products they don't say "full spectrum" which they likely would say in the description if it was.

2) You realize those bulbs are not waterproof right? Even if you set it up so only the "front" of the bulb is exposed to the inside of the tank....I would *REALLY* not risk it with a non-waterproof rated bulb around humidity....
Are you talking about the ones with prongs? If so if i used them i would cut a hole and cover it with Plexi or Glass andhave the bulbs shrine through the hole.
3) If you are considering lights outside the tank (non-waterproof) have you considered a high-quality CREE LED build? If you need more info on this or want some made for you dimensions shoot me a PM. i'll PM about these.

4) From my understanding, the itso cubes are opaque plastic. If so, you will need to build a protective housing for pretty much any non-waterproof bulb you put in there, regardless of what it is (since you can't just shine the light "through" it)......I would think the best bet here would be to just have glass/acrylic lids on them and put lights safely on top, but I'm not entirely sure what you are going for.
that was one of the options

5) Those "car" or any "aesthetic" LED will put out VERY low lumens (notice how its not listed on the site). These typically can NOT be used for "lighting" applications as they are designed for "supplemental" use. I hope that makes sense.
yea that makes sense

6) Even the Sharp bulb that you linked only puts out 80 lumens....maybe if the tank was small enough, but I'd imagine you would need at least 2 or more of these to get any good light.
Well the cube is only 13.5x13.5x13.5 not taking away room once substrate and BG are in.

7) A subtle point, but black absorbs all light (ie is the least reflective color). Have you considered potential heat deformation over time of the plastic?
I got the idea from someone who built cages for their Crested Geckos and another person who used these to make cages for their ETB and GTP which require humidity like PDFs and heat higher then PDFs and they used heat cable. So warping from humidity and heat is not a concern.


Bottom line though, when looking for lighting.....its all about the spectral graph!

I'll pm for some more detail on LEDs

 

[EvilLost]

Covering with plexi will work in general, I pmed you some more details

I had not heard of people using this stuff before, but if its been used in those other setups it will certainly be fine for the frogs.

 

[DemonicalEnvy]

Covering with plexi will work in general, I pmed you some more details

I had not heard of people using this stuff before, but if its been used in those other setups it will certainly be fine for the frogs.

Here's a link to the person using them for their ATBs GTPs ect.

Yearling GTP cages in Projects in Progress Forum

iHerp : Member Blog : Itso Cube + Elbow grease = WOW!! (pics and directions included)

 

[konton]

RGY 100mm Car Angel Eye White Light Ring Headlight 33 LED 2 Pcs - DinoDirect.com

RGY Attractive 24 LED Car Flexible Grill Light Strip - DinoDirect.com

Sharp Lamp MR11 1.0w 6000-6500K White Light Spotlight LED Light bulb(12V) - DinoDirect.com

Kabit Kabit MR16 12V 3W 6000-7500K Aluminum Lamp Cup 3 LED Light Bulb - DinoDirect.com

E27 3W 5500-6000K White Light LED Spotlight Light Bulb(AC85-240V) - DinoDirect.com

Just this one:
RGY Attractive 24 LED Car Flexible Grill Light Strip - DinoDirect.com
I got 21 of these from dinodirect during the 90% off sale for 26 cents each!

Takes about 5-7 of these to get any decent lighting from 18 inches above the bottom.

Jae

 

[DemonicalEnvy]

Just this one:
RGY Attractive 24 LED Car Flexible Grill Light Strip - DinoDirect.com
I got 21 of these from dinodirect during the 90% off sale for 26 cents each!

Takes about 5-7 of these to get any decent lighting from 18 inches above the bottom.

Jae

Yea but would these grow plants which seems to be the problem that Evil said if the spectrum graph isn't giving off the right stuff.

 

[konton]

Yea but would these grow plants which seems to be the problem that Evil said if the spectrum graph isn't giving off the right stuff.

Most light people use fall between 5000k to 7000k to simulate daylight. Full spectrum just means equal amounts of red, blue, and green. But you could use all red bulbs and a couple blue ones and you'd be fine. Except you'd hate looking at the light. Plants grow with red light and are vegetative under blue light. These lights tend to be more blue, so you may end up with less growth because of it. But if you get enough lumens they don't die. And like I said you need about 5-7 of those to get the light you want.

I'd be less worried about the light and more worried about how you plan to keep a tight seal at the bottom of the tank. Also how you plan to allow drainage. The website you gave was not for high humidity.

I planned out doing what you're thinking about. I got the cube, the ABS cement, some ABS shavings to cement and fill the holes with. And I used the itso cube divider to build a front with that I would later drill for viewing.

I first tried these with the plastic covers for lights:
AE series Angel Eye Headlight Accent Lights Specifications

In the end I went with the waterproof strips I directed you to because they only increased the heat in the tank by 1.5 degrees. Those SMD's will add a couple more, and forget about cree.

Now I work mainly with glass. Here is one I'm still building with those lights: