DIY Algae Reacactor and how hot??

[wonderphil-reef]

So seen some others making their own algae reactor, which got me to want to make one, I had a spare media reactor and so I ordered some strip led grow lights and wrapped it around the reactor. Now I thought about wrapping it tighter than what you see in the photo, but before I do, I wanted to ask anyone that has used LED strips how hot do they get, as these ones are really hot to the touch and I don't feel safe leaving it on.

 

[mrlavalamp]

I have one, wrapped similarly but my spacing is all even.

It gets hot to the touch on the outside to be sure. I can hold my hand on it, but any hotter and I wouldn't want to.

Initially I was worried about this as well, and so I set it up and turned it on dry so I could feel the inside of the tube, it got warm after a while but not really hot.

It adds heat to be sure, but with total system volume I considered it negligible for my situation. I run mine opposite lighting schedule too, so I figured I get about as much heat during lighting hours.