Ooh err missus indeed. I'm surprised that those power supplies need fans to keep cool even at that low of an amperage. Sounds like a poor design to me. While it may cost a little more, see about stepping up to a better power supply.

What kind of tank is that ? Looks amazing.

Hi mate :-D

They arent cheap power supples. They sell for £55 each and are rated up to 6A@24V so should do the job nicely if theyre not just crap.

Do you think its likely that its a short or something in my array thats causing is to draw too much current?

If its probably just down to crap quality power supplies I will try to exchange them for a different model. these are the current ones and im thinking these may be better. They are alittle cheaper but are rated just as high and dont need a fan to keep cool.

It's possible that a short would cause a problem, but I think you would be seeing a multitude of issues elsewhere also.

Get this power supply if you are looking for the same capacity

http://www.simplypowersupplies.com/Merchan...egory_Code=01C7

I will guarantee that it will be higher quality than the unit from Maplin. Only 2 pounds more. They have smaller, cheaper units there too.

24v 3.2A chassis mount £42.00

24v 5A laptop sytle £54

24v 3.33A laptop style £50

Spent this evening knocking together a spare LED controller. It took about 3 hours and I was amazed when it worked first time. I followed the schematic in the documentation to the letter and it worked perfectly which is great news for anyone that wants to build a controller as Im a electronics novice, so if I can do it anyone can.

Wait, what was that? DIY controller? I need one! i'm afraid to mess everything as I know chit about programing and little knowledge on electronics.

where can I get an instructional manual?

did you happen to find a reliable power supply yet?? I read that you had some problems with the original ones you tried

You got Hackaday'ed

http://hackaday.com/2010/01/29/salty-leds/

I tried

I read that site every day, so I was pleased to see your tank.

Man, just finished going through this whole thread. Phew. Awesome!! My only problem is loading the program into my arduino. I get tons of error messages when I verify/compile the sketch. I think my problem is the zip file locations. ha ha actually figured it out while I was writing this. Working fine now. This thread is stellar thank you!!!

Have you built the full controller with proto-shield etc?

Not yet, I'm still waiting for parts. LED's, meanwell drivers & LCD are on their way. I already have the arduino and protoshield. I'm going try the meanwell drivers just to see if they'll work, if they dont I'll go with the buckpucks. Just looking for a way to try somthing different to add to the thread.

Do you know of any sites that sell the chips I need for the in the US? Cant find any. Thanks again for an awesome thread!!

any updates on the tank and everything in it? corals? fish? etc ... color? growth? Thanks Dave!

Charlie

you would or wouldnt go back to T5s???

Looking really good there.

omg. you're alive.

i didn't post much back in the early days... just sat back and did my best to learn from you and the rest of the old crew.

Ok, update. Meanwell drivers are not plug and play as suspected. They actually do have a few minor dimming capabilities but as a working system it will not work plug and play as expected. For those of you who don't know the Arduino puts out a 5V pwm signal to the meanwell driver. The meanwell driver needs a 10V pwm signal to operate properly. So, my guess is your going to need to wire in a mosfet chip to up the 5V pwm to a 10V pwm. I'll let you know when I get the parts.

Hello I saw you put the R13 in the assembly but is
changed anything?
To use the Meanwell what you need to set?

C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:144: error: prototype for 'const String& String::operator+=(int)' does not match any in class 'String'
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:44: error: candidate is: const String& String::operator+=(const String&)
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:158: error: prototype for 'const String& String::operator+=(long int)' does not match any in class 'String'
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:44: error: candidate is: const String& String::operator+=(const String&)
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp: In member function 'const String& String::operator+=(const String&)':
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:175: error: '_array' was not declared in this scope
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:178: error: 'setArray' was not declared in this scope
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:182: error: '_array' was not declared in this scope
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:182: error: 'const class String' has no member named '_array'
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp: At global scope:
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:190: error: no 'const String& String::append(char)' member function declared in class 'String'
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:195: error: no 'const String& String::append(char*)' member function declared in class 'String'
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:200: error: no 'const String& String::append(const String&)' member function declared in class 'String'
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:205: error: no 'const String& String::append(int, int)' member function declared in class 'String'
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:216: error: no 'const String& String::append(long int, int)' member function declared in class 'String'
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:225: error: no 'const String& String::append(int)' member function declared in class 'String'
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:233: error: no 'const String& String::append(long int)' member function declared in class 'String'
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:320: error: prototype for 'char String::charAt(int)' does not match any in class 'String'
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:57: error: candidate is: char String::charAt(unsigned int) const
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:336: error: prototype for 'void String::setCharAt(int, char)' does not match any in class 'String'
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:71: error: candidate is: void String::setCharAt(unsigned int, char)
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:352: error: prototype for 'boolean String::equals(char*)' does not match any in class 'String'
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:60: error: candidate is: unsigned char String::equals(const String&) const
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:363: error: prototype for 'boolean String::equals(const String&)' does not match any in class 'String'
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:60: error: candidate is: unsigned char String::equals(const String&) const
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:369: error: no 'boolean String::contains(char*)' member function declared in class 'String'
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:377: error: prototype for 'byte* String::getBytes()' does not match any in class 'String'
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:79: error: candidate is: void String::getBytes(unsigned char*, unsigned int)
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:383: error: no 'void String::setArray(const char*)' member function declared in class 'String'
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:390: error: prototype for 'int String::indexOf(int)' does not match any in class 'String'
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:65: error: candidates are: int String::indexOf(const String&, unsigned int) const
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:64: error: int String::indexOf(const String&) const
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:63: error: int String::indexOf(char, unsigned int) const
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:62: error: int String::indexOf(char) const
C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries\String\WString.cpp:396: error: prototype for 'int String::indexOf(const String&)' does not match any in class 'String'
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:65: error: candidates are: int String::indexOf(const String&, unsigned int) const
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:64: error: int String::indexOf(const String&) const
C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019\hardware\arduino\cores\arduino/WString.h:63: error: int String::indexOf(char, unsigned int) const

Hi All,

My first post, & it begins with a couple of appologies...

Firstly, I'm not a Salty Aquarium type, Tropical Planted is my thing.

Secondly, this seems a way strange place to be asking the question, but as this thread put me onto the track of LED lighting & the Arduino, it's kinda appropriate.

OK, I'm building a setup for my 4' loosely based on the great build & advice here. I am going to use the Arduino & Krusdino code, just maybe tweak a few bits to suit. I've got the Arduino & all the parts listed in the pdf.

Here's the problem, I have the Arduino connected to my PC, I can load the test program, Blink. But, when I try to load the Krusdino program I get nothing but compile errors, sample below.. There is more before & after this sample.



I'm running Windows 7 64bit, Arduino software is installed at C:\Program Files (x86)\arduino-0019

The sketch directory is here with the libraries C:\Users\Dad\Documents\Arduino\libraries - this is the default location & correctly identified within the Arduino software environment preferances.

I've looked on the Arduino site, & to be honest, I may as well just throw the Arduino away. There's nothing in the pdf about loading the Krusdino onto the Arduino apart from where to put the libraries.

Can anyone offer any help, a thorough step by step loading guide?

TIA

Gary

Would love to see an update, including a FTS.