This DIY LED Bucket Light was inspired by a similar build by The King of DIY on Youtube. It only cost about $15 to make, and the entire project took less than an hour.
This light hangs above my 40 gallon Lake Tanganyika shell-dweller aquarium. It uses a single LED bulb, which puts out plenty of light for a shallow 40 breeder layout with no plants.
Materials
All materials needed for this build are listed below, with links to buy them on Amazon.
- 1 x two gallon bucket (any color or style)- link
- 1 x clamp light (with 5.5 inch reflector) - link
- 1 x LED bulb - link
- 2 x eye bolts - link
- 1 x chain - link
- 1 x shelf bracket - link
I had all of the hanging hardware and the LED bulb laying around already. Most of these materials can be swapped out for something similar. For example, you could replace the bucket with a plastic pot.
How to Build a DIY Bucket Light
1. Take apart the clamp light:
First remove the clamp. They are usually held on to the base by a thumb screw and come apart easily. Unscrew the metal reflector from the light as well, so that you have just the light socket base and the power cord.
2. Drill a hole in the bottom of the bucket
just large enough for the light socket to pass through, but not as large as the black plastic base. Insert the light socket into the hole as show below. Screw eye bolts into the base of the bucket.
3. Assemble the light:
Insert the metal reflector into the bucket and screw it onto the plastic base. Install an LED bulb appropriate for the wattage and size of the light socket. The light is now complete.
4. Hang the light.
This step is pretty straight forward. Attach the chain to the eye bolts and hang it from your ceiling or wall.
