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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

LEDs bought in America

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01 Dec 2013 20:14 #1 by Mr B (C B)
Looking for some expertise on this everyone. I've been shopping for a fairly large LED system to fit a 5 foot tank and it's pretty difficult to get anything that's not really expensive. Looking at some of the LEDs available in America, however, is far more interesting and the postage costs seem to be comparable to shopping in the UK. I've two questions though: 1)The 110V to 220V problem - since LEDs are normally run off a low voltage adaptor can I just buy the 220V equivalent and that would work fine? 2) Do you have to pay a large customs fee for buying outside the EU?

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01 Dec 2013 20:21 #2 by blade (Michael G)
Hi you can do 2 things , 1.use a a 110v transformer (yellow box most builders have) or buy a step down type in maplin , i use tools i bought in America on my 110v tranformer without any trouble for years , you will need to change plug to yellow round 3 prong type ,

Michael

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01 Dec 2013 20:27 #3 by Mr B (C B)
Replied by Mr B (C B) on topic LEDs bought in America
I thought of doing that alright but I was thinking that the fact that the LEDs don't work off 110v anyway but 12v instead maybe I could pop down to Maplins and get a 240v universal adaptor that would have a 12v setting

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01 Dec 2013 23:09 #4 by murph (Tony Murphy)
It might not be the best idea to "pop down to Maplins" without knowing the current draw of the LED's. Normally, 5-20A can be involved with bright LED's. More details on your proposed purchase would be usefull.

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02 Dec 2013 01:53 #5 by Miamiheat (Stephane Lemaire)
get voltage, amperage, and with that get a suitable transformer. It is also very likely that the transformer provided may take both 110/220 volt inputs as more phones, digital cameras and modern electronics do.
anything over a certain amount (i believe 150 euros) you have to pay VAT. Best is to declare a lower value but then you take your chances if you have an insurance claim.
Also, US POST slower than Fedex, but Fedex will charge you something like 30 euros just for clearing the item through customs, so find out from each courier what the fees are.
good luck
pls share link of the led you bought :)

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02 Dec 2013 12:23 - 02 Dec 2013 12:23 #6 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)
Have a look at rapidled, if you can get the heat sinks locally then postage won't be too much.

But it depends on your budget.
Last edit: 02 Dec 2013 12:23 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh).

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05 Dec 2013 08:30 #7 by Miamiheat (Stephane Lemaire)
just wondering what has happened with this?
And if you have the link to the lights you bought I am interested.
Cheers

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05 Dec 2013 21:15 #8 by Mr B (C B)
Replied by Mr B (C B) on topic LEDs bought in America
Didn't buy any LEDs yet, wanted some advice first.

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06 Dec 2013 08:53 #9 by Redser (Richard)
The website is www.rapidled.com

What is so annoying is that there is no shop that I know of in this country that you can go into and buy this equipment, and get set up with what is needed for my own setup!

Richard

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06 Dec 2013 09:53 #10 by paulv (paul vickers)
Just my thoughts on your US bought LEDS, with the postage and other transformer cost maybe its cheaper just to buy in say UK. I got 4 meters of LEDS from UK company called Bright litz, cost 20sterling per meter but they are fully water proofed.

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09 Dec 2013 20:53 #11 by Mr B (C B)
Replied by Mr B (C B) on topic LEDs bought in America
How are they goin for you? Are they bright enough?

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10 Dec 2013 15:55 #12 by paulv (paul vickers)
I dont have any plants in my tank so dont need bright lights, just enough to produce warm white lights and moon light for the night feeders.

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10 Dec 2013 17:11 #13 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic LEDs bought in America
You could just get some led strips in maplin or eBay and get a 12v DC converter to suit

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10 Dec 2013 17:35 #14 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)
thats true, if you dont have a tall (greater than 30 inches) tank the small strips will do fine,

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