+1

That's the same size as the frag area in my sump (18x12x11). To get my feet wet with LED lighting I want to start here and then maybe move to the 300g display. Any suggestions from the experts would be appreciated.

This has probally already been asked but after 78 pages i'll ask again
why can't i just use 4-5 10k and 2-4 act Powerbrights for my 60 cube????
I'm using 2, 4-460nm actinic LED's and love the look...

thanks for the link, 40 degree optics seem to be the sweet spot

onto the mounting phase of my fixture now. I has a few questions I hope you guys can answer for me.

• I have 18 LEDs, how much artic silver should I use? I got the 3.5g, do you think that's enough or should I opt for the 12g
• should I solder the stars together with stranded or solid wiring
• should I attempt to ground the fixture

thanks,
nips

I always use just a "drop" it is enough cause too much will do a mess when you press them to the heatsink. I like to spread it a little with my finger before putting it in the heatsink. That should be enough i think

You can use solid or stranded... its up to you. Keep in mind that stranded is easier to work with cause its more flexible.

about grounding the fixture... hmm there still a debate weather to ground it or not but evil and others have said its risky to do it. Looks like its more damage than good that it can cause if something actually goes wrong.

The post brings up some valid points, but much of what is stated isn't really that important to our setups. The heatsinks that we typically use keep the solder junction temperature way below the recommended temperature limit. Even the die temperatures are below spec at 1000mA. Now, while the LEDs are more efficient at lower drive currents, it forces you to use optics to get the desired PAR. That's fine with shorter tanks, but when you go beyond a certain point and 40 degree optics aren't enough, then what? Go to 25 degrees and add more LEDs to accomodate the spacing requirements? Might as well crank the drive current up and use wider lenses. Total current draw for the system would be about equal, but your costs to build the system will be less as fewer LEDs will be required.

Like I said, some valid points, and good things to think about, but nothing that I would get too worked up about. (I may be the "self proclaimed LED guru" that he mentions, as we talked a few weeks before that post about his new LED setup).

Anyway, on to more questions.

Same as a 10g (20" long), 12 LEDs in a 6x2 array.


You can hook them all to one if the dimmer has enough current capacity. Keep in mind that you need a regulated 0-5v power source.


2" spacing between LEDs is about standard. Considering the depth of the RSM, I'd use 60 or 80 degree optics depending on how much light you want. 80 degrees would be great for a mixed reef, while 60 degrees would be a little better suited with higher light requirements.


They are the best commercial option for a controllable LED system. You would two modules for a Solana, and 3 for an Elos 70


You could use just one provided it's got enough current capacity. 6 drivers should be fine with a 100mA or greater power supply. Don't buy a 10v supply. Get a 12v supply and use a voltage regulator. It's been discussed here before.


Jbj's can do well with as few as 6. 8 works well and offers great coverage. There are lot's of LED setups in the Pico forum.


Low power, low output, horrible spotlighting, and high cost for what you get.

Thanks Evil! After reading about the par20,30, and 38 bulbs, I might go that route. I think the par38 might be a little big for my setup and was thinking the par20 might be perfect. Do you still have any of these for sale?

No. Still looking at a better alternative.

Hi Evil66, tks for the reply. How much current capacity should I be aiming for if I'm planning to use 5 constant drivers? The 0-5v power is to be supplied to the analog dimmer?

JC

You are going to have to define what you mean by "dimmers". The Recom drivers only need a 0-5v signal to work the dimming end of things.

Hi Evil, I'll actually referring to those analog potentiometer. Apology for the confusion.

Cheers
JC

I would do something similar to what we are using with the Meanwells. Use a higher voltage power supply (12v units are common as dirt), and use a voltage regulator like an LM317 to set your voltage ranges. The pot in the circuit will adjust your output from ~1.25-5v.

when im soldering the leds for a 1A buckpuck, am I supposed to solder the LEDS pos to neg, pos to neg or pos to pos, and a single neg back to driver?

Buckpuck+ --> +LED- > +LED- > +LED- > +LED- > +LED- > +LED- > -Buckpuck

thanks evil. unfortunately, i completely suck at soldering lolz. I'll have to find someone to help me out with this part of the process

Go bug Chris. He needs the practice

Hi guys,

I've decided to build a controller based on an Arduino platform to control the leds and fans (for heatsink and tank water). Based on what I was told here and there, since the arduino delivers up to 5V and fans I'm using are 12V, I designed a circuit based on a PNP transistor. When I powered it on yesterday, the fan would'nt blow. I took voltage measurements and here's what I got :
- when Arduino's digital ouput is set to "HIGH" : I get 4,8V out of the output, the fan has 3,2V and voltage between transistor's collector and ground is 8,8V
- when Arduino's digital ouput is set to "LOW" : ouput is 0V, the fan gets 3V and voltage between transistor's collector and ground is 9V

I don't understand what's wrong, maybe because of the 10K resistor, current is not strong enough to switch the transistor.

What do you guys think ? Thanks in advance !

Put a 10K resistor between the emitter and ground. That should get your voltage up.

Okay, so I want to start my LED setup for a 33L. Not looking for enough light to do a mainly SPS tank, going to do mostly softies and a few SPS. I was thinking 12 or 15 for each side of the divider. 48x13x12. There is a brace in the middle about 1.5 inches wide.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2134 to use as my whites (gonna get 3 sets)

http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?products_id=420 wanted to use these as my blues gonna buy 15

http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php...products_id=630 driver

would like to have a couple UV on each side as well possibly

What size heat sink? and should I'd like to wire each side together, not two separate sides if possible.


What else will I need? Any suggestions from anyone?probably going to sit a few inches off of the tank, but have no decided as of yet.

Can somebody tell me if the "Putting it all together" section got done and if so, what page is it on? I went through about the first 8-9 and didn't find it. I really don't want to go through 79 pages. Thanks much. Mark

Ive hit another 2 snag I need help with =(

the first:
I wired up a meanwell 60-48p and checked with a multimeter. The meter read 350mA and 19V. Turning svr2 and svr1 did not change anything. I then wired up the driver to a string of 6 leds and got an extremely dim output. No dimmer circuit was built yet.

the second:
I have a weird grounding issue. Im using 440 metal screws that have about 1mm leeway to the conductive pads. However, if I touch a pad, and a screw X stars away, I get a complete circuit.

I then tried to see if the metal core of the star were the problem and removed all screws from that particular star. I touched a pad and a screw, and still got a circuit. That star was soldered to another star.

could it be that the screw is too close to the conductive pads? Or just having metal screws attached to the star's metal core is a bad idea?

I was worried about getting shocked and my leds frying so I wired the 6 star string to a 11v battery, all stars lit up just fine. I did not feel any shock from the anodized surface of the fixture.


Any help would be appreciated. Im hoping to continue using the 440 screws as they're a pretty perfect fit and look rather cute.

So I have been working on the dimming circuit for the Meanwell ELN-60-48P power supply to get a string of 7 LEDs lit with dimming control.

First I soldered a circuit together and that didn't show between .5v and 1v on the dimmer wires. As I turned the pot I thought I some change but that could be my imagination. Since I suck at soldering and that might be why it isn't working I then got a breadboard and tried it with that. Currently that will show 9.5v across the dimmer with no change as I cycle the pot.

I'm powering the circuit with a 500mA 12V DC power supply. I see the same results with the circuit hooked up to the meanwell (no change in brightness) or just on the volt meter.

Does anyone have any ideas what I might have done wrong? Attached the list of parts I got just in case one of those might be wrong.

16 per side (8x2) with each array positioned closer to the center brace should be plenty for that tank. Considering the depth, it will be more than enough for sps at any depth, so your choice of dimmable drivers is a good one. The P4s are certainly a lot lower output than the Q5s that we normally use. Don't bother with UV's though. Not worth the effort at this time.

Get a heatsink as big as you feel comfotable with in length. The smallest width heatsink at HeatsinkUSA will be fine.

As for wiring the array, that's up to you. The normal way is to have all the whites on one set of drivers, and blues on the other set.


Not yet, and it will be added to the first post. I'm not going to burry it in this monster thread.



Snag 1:
Without anything on the dimming input, you aren't going to get anything of any use out of the driver. Put 10v to it and try again.

Snag 2:
Try nylon washers under the heads of all the screws. If you are making a complete circuit from pad to screw, you have a screw touching an electrical contact.

You won't get shocked from low voltage DC.



Is it the pwm circuit you are building? Looks that way from the reciept. You won't see a change in voltage from that circuit. It's designed to change frequency, which your meter isn't fast enough to see. If you are getting ~10v out, that's a good start. The audio taper pots aren't that good of an idea though. I'd change them to linear pots. Review the circuit again and see if you missed a connection, or have something bridged.

Thanks for the help, is there a good way to measure the frequency with a multimeter or do I just have to go by the light level?

Most multimeters can't measure frequencies above 60-100Hz. That circuit is running at a little over 1KHz. You would need an ocilloscope to measure the frequency. Best thing is going to be measuring the output current of the driver.

Can anyone add a step by step guide to soldering stars specifically and add it to the comprehensive diy project list. So far this has easily been the hardest and tedious part of the whole build. I am new to electric soldering and my attempts so far are not going all that well. What would a min. awg for 6 rebels running at 700 Ma.. Seems I have read conflicting things about soldering before installing on the heatsink or after. Should I pretin the star if there is no solder already on them? My solder tip is pointed would a small chisel tip work better? Everything I read about good soldering is to never put solder on the tip unless it is for tinning the tip but sure would be easier to add a drip from the tip to the pad. How much should I be concerned about putting to much heat to the star? I realize that there is more than one way to do this. The guides I find on you tube only seem to deal with wires or xbox 360 leds. A video would be a lot to ask for form anyone but I am sure it would help many people trying to do this. Maybe put a Nano reef add banner on it with permission of course. Any help would be greatly appreciated before I ruin a $7 star.

i enjoy the following equipment, as Im new to this too and had to learn the hard way:

• desoldering braid
• helping hands tool

I also try to identify the spot on the solder tip that gets the best result. Then I twist some solder around the exposed wire, smash it into the circuit pad and solder. I think the traditional way is to pre-coat the pad then heat the solder, and apply the wire. It didn't really work well for me and I messed up a lot.

The stars will be fine though. I burnt all pads on my test star and it still worked just fine

gracias. I broke down and got a multimeter with thermometer. I can run all the tests now. Three more questions though.

1. 1 power supply, 3 drivers, can I still individually dim the drivers with their potentiometers?
2. All 3 of my arrays work, but I might still have some grounding issues. Do you think I can wire them up anyways? 64 hex screws is kind of a pain in the ass to work with, and the washers might not fit due to solder.
3. should I attempt to ground my fixture? There's a screw for that already in place but use of it is optional


thanks in advance again!

Whoever said to never put solder on the tip is an idiot. There is no way to avoid getting solder on the tip.

You want to tin all parts being soldered together. It makes life infinitely easier and you will guarantee a better solder joint. A chisel tip would work a little better, as you have a larger contact area to transfer heat. Using the right equipment will be the biggest help though. First, you need a high wattage soldering iron. 40W or greater is ideal. Next is your solder. Don't get lead free, low temp, or silver bearing solder. It's all junk for this application, and will be much much harder to solder successfully. Get 60/40 or 63/37 rosin core solder. Radioshack sells both in small diameters (you don't need or want the really large stuff).



1. Yes
2. It's a pain, but do it anyway. It will save you a lot of grief.
3. No. You only need to ground AC powered items. Grounding the heatsink could create more damaging problems if there is a shorting issue on one of the LEDs.

Thanks for the replies.
"Everything I read about good soldering is to never put solder on the tip unless it is for tinning the tip"
"Whoever said to never put solder on the tip is an idiot. There is no way to avoid getting solder on the tip."
What I have read and seen so far seems to make a point of this. You heat the material/wire and let the solder flow into it and to always tin your tip before soldering. I have no desire to pick a side. I just want to know what I should do. That is why for a person like me with little to no experience in solder needs info to use. I got a 40 watt iron and 60/40 rosin core. I think some of the problems I am having now is trying to use to thick of a wire and the wrong type. The insulation seems to want to melt,become soft, to easily.
Should you install on the heatsink before soldering?
Thanks for any help.

Process should be:

Tin tip (just a little solder)
Tin pad
Tin wire
Clean tip in damp (not wet) sponge
Tin tip
Place wire on pad
Place iron on wire and apply a little pressure. Sometimes you need to add a little more solder to get everything to melt and flow.
Remove iron, but hold wire in place. Solder should solidify in a second and be shiny and smooth. If it's dull or lumpy, reapply heat and add a little solder.

I have been soldering for about 25 years (and I'm only 29!) as a hobby and professionally (wire, through hole, and surface mount down to 0402 parts without magnification), and have yet to find or be told of a better way to solder.

Thanks for the reply.
1 Tin tip
Do you tin the pad by holding the iron on the pad till the pad is hot enough to melt the solder without the solder wire be in direct contact with the iron? or does it not matter if the solder wire touches the iron when it is on the pad. This is also why I am asking about if I should install on heatsink first or not. The heatsink would absorb the heat you are applying to the pad and trying to use to melt the solder. I have not tried this before and I do not want to ruin the star. I might seem so simple to someone that has done it as long as you but please bare with me I have much less experience.
Thanks for any help

With the 40W iron you have, and when you get a chisel tip, you should be able to solder with the pcb on the heatsink. It makes it a little harder, but will make your wiring neater. Place the iron on the pad as flat as possible to maximize surface contact for a second. Feed a little solder to the point where the pad and the iron meet. Add enough solder to cover the entire pad with just a little dome of solder. You may need to move the iron around a little on the pad to get it to cover completely.

I know I soldered my LEDs down when they were screwed down to the heatsink with thermal paste underneath of them and a 25W iron. It was rather hard. 40 would probably do it much better.

the washers are kind of too big. I was wondering if i should just swap the entire thing out for nylon screws. or cut the washers in half for a better fit =/

What washers are you using? I used these and they work perfectly: Washers

Currently doing a few hour run to see where temperatures end up. First I'm going to try it without the fans and see where it ends up. I've got it drilled and tapped for two small fans so that won't be an issue. I'm more wondering how much more airflow I would need through my NC12 hood.

I could have set out a better layout but this works for my tanks rockwork.

Click to view attachment

Quick question:

I just built a 15" cube that I plan on making a refugium. Right now I'm lighting it with a 26W CF spiral, 65k.

Evil suggested that a single Cree MCE would make a good fuge light.

What would be a good way to drive an MCE? Seems like the total forward voltage is 15v, right? I'm trying to avoid the Buckpuck, so maybe a Meanwell LPC-35-700W?

Also, do ALL MCE's have the red/green/blue/white, or can they be bought in all-white? Does it just look white with all the colors lit? Can the red be bypassed?

evilc66, any thoughts on my (potentially harebrained) plan of swapping out 700mA pucks for 1A on my fixture?

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=221657

My DIY thread, for reference.

MC-E started life as all white LEDs. They are available in warm and cool white color temps (you want the cool white).

The LPC-35-700W should work fine for this. It's not like you need it dimmable.



Considering the depth of your tank, I wouldn't bother. You will have more than enough light as is.

Im adjusting one of my meanwells. I have the amperage adjusted at 0.98A, what should I have the voltage adjusted to?

Also, should I try and pump the amperage up?

The svr1 knob I mean. A friend of mine was tinkering with it when we were trying to get the driver to work, Im not sure what it should be set at. It goes from 41-54.4V

The driver should adjust the voltage according to what is hooked up to it (within the limits of the driver output voltage). SVR1 should not need to be adjusted.

Thanks clive, i just hooked up said fixture and it is blinding with just 12 LED. There wasn't a grounding issue either. screw to screw had the aluminum core but no screw to pad issues. Im safe. Next, to order a power supply and wire up the bucks. Then arrange for red robot to go to nanotuner with me and grab some T5VHO for another prototype fixture

Would the LPC-35-700W run two of them? Looks like it would.

Good deal. Look forward to seeing some action shots. Don't know if Adin will be able to bring VHO's back as we only have a handfull for prototyping (and I have half of them). Soon, soon....


Yeah, you're good.

aw man I wanted to try my hand at making a slim vho and/or pc-r pendant. maybe even a vho-led combo pendant.

Soon enough buddy. Soon enough. We don't even have pricing info on the bulbs yet.

LED's on a VHO pin format? Freakin sweet!

Evil,

I have the chance to take my 8 rb XRE setup to a local coral farm for an open-house meeting. He has an Apogee Quantum, the same meter I used 6 months ago to test my PAR readings on my T5 stuff.

With 8 rb, placed about 1.75" apart (on a 2" wide stagger pattern--- you've seen my pics of the heatsink) --- and no optics, what would you expect for PAR readings?

I'm guessing it will throw around 50-80ppfd on a 20" deep sand bed.

I may order some 80-degree optics to try out and see if they change the numbers or look any.