# Custom shelf lighting



## Austin S. (May 2, 2016)

Looking for a good, cheap idea to light each section of these shelving units. I had two light fixtures that came with two 75 gal tanks I bought, so I used them in the first picture. I'm looking for a better idea. Cheap, and easy to install.
I was looking into LED multi-use lights:


But I would need to order 28 of these. I really do not want to pay that amt. ($200+), but its not that bad of a deal.
Just looking for other options.
What would you all do.

Reactions: Like 1


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## viper69 (May 3, 2016)

Hey Austin,

Saw these in the store, their ability to change color is easy as pie. However, the only reason I didn't get them is they seemed to bright. I wanted a nice blue moon glow for night viewing. I honestly thought they would be TOO bright.

If you only need a single color, I've seen rolls of LEDs for sale however.


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## sdsnybny (May 3, 2016)

Austin try looking at car underglow lighting in leds they come chained together in sets of 4 with add on options with extra cord between strips and can be lit up with a inexpensive power converter.
Just an example, you can buy pretty cheap ones on eBay as well. the site also has household lighting
http://www.ledunderbody.com/White-SMD-LED-Slimline-Underbody-Light-Kit.aspx

Reactions: Helpful 1


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## The Snark (May 3, 2016)

You can always dim down 12 volt LEDs with a voltage divider or variable power supply.
http://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/LM317-D.PDF

Reactions: Helpful 1


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## viper69 (May 3, 2016)

The Snark said:


> You can always dim down 12 volt LEDs with a voltage divider or variable power supply.
> http://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/LM317-D.PDF



Was hoping you would pop in on this. Not being an electrical guru, how would I go about applying one of these to an LED? When you write 12volt, do you mean the amount of power going into an LED is 12volts?


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## The Snark (May 3, 2016)

viper69 said:


> Not being an electrical guru, how would I go about applying one of these to an LED? When you write 12volt, do you mean the amount of power going into an LED is 12volts?


Automotive juice is 12 volts DC. LEDs want DC. With 12 VDC the LED arrays have their own sufficient current limiting  so no worries there. It is just a question of finding an electronics store and buying or making your own variable power supply.

You want to take household power and convert it to DC and make the output variable. If you don't have an electronic supply store near you can try MCM electronics. Get their cheap power supply. 1 amp is all you need for quite a lot of arrays.
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/category/

If you have different color LED arrays you might want one power supply for each color as they draw slightly different amounts of current. Even the ultra cheap plugs in the wall little supply with a variable voltage output for your electronic gadgets will do. The <$10 ones. If the LEDs flicker you will need a capacitor or two. Figure an output of 6 to 12 volts is about right. 5 volts is too low.

Or if you are into soldering and fiddling a little, order some LM 317 regulator chips from them, some 5 k potentiometers and some 720 ohm resistors and make your own bank of controllers. Just need an 12 to 18 volt transformer, a bridge rectifier and a filter capacitor. The circuit is very simple.
You can also power a lot of LEDs from your 12 volt USB output of your computer but that isn't variable and if you go crazy with the lighting you will piss your computer off.
LM 317s want to see about 1/3 more DC than the expected output so an 18 VDC is optimal for a 12 VDC output for automotive arrays.







Did I just make a confusing mess? Not intended!

Okay, ultra cheap power source for your automotive LEDs.Raid your computer stores for a used power supply.  Use the black and white leads, 12 volt DC, coming out of the power supply for your LEDs.


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## Thistles (May 3, 2016)

I've used LEDs in the past. I got the parts on Amazon really cheaply. I have finals tomorrow so I can't make a long post now, but they worked really well for me. Here's a (3+ year old) pic of how some of my enclosures looked with the LEDs. I had them on timers, too. I can take a pic tomorrow of the underside of the shelves. I don't have them hooked up anymore, but you can see how they worked still and I can talk you through it if you're interested.


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## viper69 (May 3, 2016)

I'm interested, who cares about finals

Reactions: Funny 1


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## viper69 (May 3, 2016)

The Snark said:


> Automotive juice is 12 volts DC. LEDs want DC. With 12 VDC the LED arrays have their own sufficient current limiting  so no worries there. It is just a question of finding an electronics store and buying or making your own variable power supply.
> 
> You want to take household power and convert it to DC and make the output variable. If you don't have an electronic supply store near you can try MCM electronics. Get their cheap power supply. 1 amp is all you need for quite a lot of arrays.
> http://www.mcmelectronics.com/category/
> ...



Sorta helped. However much of the electric parts you mention have a billion variants w/the same name sort of. So as a consumer I don't know what to purchase. I was hoping for a plug and play method of getting dimmable LEDs? I'm sure I could do the wiring IF I could see it done myself. I'm a visual learner.


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## The Snark (May 4, 2016)

viper69 said:


> I was hoping for a plug and play method of getting dimmable LEDs?


12 volt automotive LEDs:
Cheap method:
Go to an electronics - gadgets and goodies store and find a Universal DC Power Supply. A 1/2 your fist sized black thing that plugs into the wall and has a cord with several adapters. On the big black thing is a dial where you can select the voltage. Commonly 12, 9, 7.5, 5, 4.3 and 3. Your dimming should work on the 12, full brightness, 9 and 7.5. These are less than $10
From MCM http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/28-2200 $20

The AC plug in the household receptacle LED arrays will not dim. They have built in power supplies that have a threshold. On or off states.

This is frustrating! I'm building one right now to dim the dash lights in our car.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Thistles (May 4, 2016)

I used the following to make mine:




Follow Snark's suggestions to get a dimmer instead of just a regular adapter, I guess. I wasn't that fancy; I just plugged it into a timer and called it good. There are ways to link strip-to-strip, too. I had 4 of the fixtures you see pictured above at one time in a little room, and it looked super slick. I think the cost worked out to $15 per shelf, which is a lot cheaper than a fluorescent fixture per enclosure.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Austin S. (May 4, 2016)

Very interesting stuff here, I like it. Well, I will be receiving 7 4 packs of these on Monday.
They should work wonders. Very excited! I will post a final picture in this section of the boards when they are complete.

Reactions: Like 2


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## XsospoonX (May 16, 2016)

Austin S. said:


> Very interesting stuff here, I like it. Well, I will be receiving 7 4 packs of these on Monday.
> They should work wonders. Very excited! I will post a final picture in this section of the boards when they are complete.
> View attachment 210050
> 
> ...


Hi, Looks nice! Where did you find these on Amazon? Thanks


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## Felidae (May 16, 2016)

One of my shelfs I use this. Ordered from Fasttech from around 30$ the 5 meter with adapter and remote control unit. Dimmable with the remote control, but a little bit too fancy. Who needs 30 different color tones? Cutted the led strip in 50cm pieces and soldering together with 4 cables each. Sorry for the photo quality.

Reactions: Like 1


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## viper69 (May 16, 2016)

Havent seen LEDS you can dim all that much in the USA.


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## viper69 (May 22, 2016)

Thistles said:


> I used the following to make mine:
> View attachment 210037
> View attachment 210034
> View attachment 210035
> ...



Thistles how bright were they? I was thinking of doing this with a moonlight brightness as we often see in those Moonlight reptile blue bulbs for nocturnal herps.


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## Thistles (May 22, 2016)

viper69 said:


> Thistles how bright were they? I was thinking of doing this with a moonlight brightness as we often see in those Moonlight reptile blue bulbs for nocturnal herps.


Pretty bright. I used the "bright white" color. I don't know the lumens. I imagine changing to blue would look darker but still be intense.

Reactions: Helpful 1


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## Chris LXXIX (May 22, 2016)

Seems like a sort of CSI something with all of those blue lights.


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## viper69 (May 22, 2016)

I'll have to get a dimmer then. I know zip about LED connections etc.


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## The Snark (May 22, 2016)

Dozens of LED dimmers out there. These folks are well known and commonly available just about anywhere lighting parts and accessories are sold: http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/SectionDisplay.jsp?section=47594&minisite=10251

Reactions: Like 1


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## viper69 (May 23, 2016)

The Snark said:


> Dozens of LED dimmers out there. These folks are well known and commonly available just about anywhere lighting parts and accessories are sold: http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/SectionDisplay.jsp?section=47594&minisite=10251


It isn't that I'm not aware of dimmers for LEDs, it's that I'm unsure how to connect LEDs and all that goes with it. I can tell by looking at the connections that Thistles posted that it isn't hard, having built my own computers from scratch.

Thanks for the link.


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## The Snark (May 23, 2016)

viper69 said:


> It isn't that I'm not aware of dimmers for LEDs, it's that I'm unsure how to connect LEDs and all that goes with it. I can tell by looking at the connections that Thistles posted that it isn't hard, having built my own computers from scratch.
> Thanks for the link.


I know Leviton comes with connection instructions and specifications. Many reputable certified electrical companies supply data sheets with each product. (CE, UL cert)


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