Evilc66's Barracuda

[ajmckay]

For sure. I've still got a few things to work out still...

[shiver905]

I might just pick one of these bad boys up.

I was just about to check out my cart in fostersmith with a new 3g Pico.

 

But now im giving it a thought, To bad its more then double the price.

 

Still giving it thought.

 

Great work delicath n evil

[cdelicath]

I might just pick one of these bad boys up.

I was just about to check out my cart in fostersmith with a new 3g Pico.

 

But now im giving it a thought, To bad its more then double the price.

 

Still giving it thought.

 

Great work delicath n evil

 

all glass cubes are available now also for a much lower price.

I am in the process of adding descriptions to them but they are available.

3/16" glass high polish and you can get them in black or clear sealant.

[gregzbobo]

Looking pretty good so far. I really like those bambams. You DID have an icky looking cycle, my pico is a tick over 2 weeks old and I am just now starting to see a very few diatoms, and I've only changed a quart or so of water during that time.

[evilc66]

Yeah, that was the worst cycle I have had in any tank.

 

Added some sps frags over the last few days. I'll get some pics up when they are all settled in.

[travisurfer]

Awesome setup!

 

Oh, and the site/products look incredibly nice Deli!

[cdelicath]

Awesome setup!

 

Oh, and the site/products look incredibly nice Deli!

 

Thanks buddy

[pismo_reefer]

that tank is soo clean eebil....

 

 

Very Nice.

[danktank]

MOAR PIX

[RyanR1212]

+1^^^^ lemme see your stuffs!

[badfish816]

any updates evil?

[evilc66]

I have some corals that I still need to put in. I'll get some fresh pictures up this weekend.

[reefone]

I have some corals that I still need to put in. I'll get some fresh pictures up this weekend.

 

tank looks nice.

 

 

if u didnt have so many led questions to answer u may have time for some pics .

[evilc66]

Ain't that the truth.

[Klink67]

How are the sps doing? I was thinking of adding some to my 5.5. What are using for filtration?

[evilc66]

Sps are doing fine it seems so far. Filtration is the stock sump with floss in the media tray. Nothing more. Haven't set up the fuge yet.

[fiction101]

Would the single satellite fixture fit nicely on this tank? It seems like the dual fixture might be too large?

[evilc66]

I think both would work. While the dual is fairly wide, the area where the bulbs are exposed should fit nicely over the display area.

[evilc66]

New pictures

 

Micro frogspawn is still doing well. Hasn't got much bigger yet.

 

Rainbow montipora and blue milli.

 

Awesome purple cap with blue polyps. It's hard to see, but they are very vibrant.

 

Gobstoppers

 

Strawberry patch montipora.

 

Bambams still doing well.

 

Eagle eyes. Simple, but they look great under the LEDs.

 

Couple of small nukes.

 

Purple bonsai. Hoping it's going to color up a little better here soon. Got a little washed out under the halides. It's really purple under the LEDs in my 40B. It's already encrusting over the glue, which I'm happy about.

 

FTS

[cdelicath]

Shweeeet......

 

Now if we can just figure out how to take pictures without the camera going ape sh!t

[fraggerdude27]

Whats your set up as far as leds evil?

[voodooaria]

Those Bam Bams look amazing!

[badfish816]

the bam bams look awesome under leds as do the eagle eyes.

[Fishmonk]

No drivers yet that are off the shelf and reasonable cost. The Recom series is equivalent to the Buckpuck, but are a little more expensive.

 

Any updates on this yet? I stumbled across what looks like a very good option, the cat4101, a "constant current LED driver with PWM dimming." It's a little chip thing that'll run a string of LEDs at 1A. It'll handle up to 25v, and only requires a PS (of course), and a resistor on the reset to gnd. Otherwise it's as good as a buckpuck, as far as I can tell.

 

I don't know enough about this to be sure from the schematics that it really is all it's cracked up to be, but if so, it's basically a $3.5 buckpuck, with optional dimming. Sounds awesome to me. But like I said, I haven't yet tried it, and I'm not electronics-savvy enough to be sure it's all this from reading the datasheet (Google it. I can't find the link to the datasheet ATM. Digikey sells this part). Maybe someone else who is savvier or who's seen or tried this driver can pipe in there.

 

If it does work out, you could run LEDs with a computer PS (a regular desktop PS) and these drivers, which are a good deal cheaper than any buckpucks I've seen. You could use a $15 24v/5-6A PS too, like the one MPJA.com has, but the advantage to a computer PS is that you may have it more readily available (old PC, or from a repair/IT shop) and it's already got a 5v out, which this driver requires, aside from the 24v to run the LEDs. (I know computer PS's have 12v out, but you can rig the -12v to the +12v for a nice 24v output. Or you can just rig 12v strings of LEDs. Works too.)

[evilc66]

Whats your set up as far as leds evil?

To be revealed. It's new. Just got it finished recently. Deli knows, but he's sworn to secrecy

 

Any updates on this yet? I stumbled across what looks like a very good option, the cat4101, a "constant current LED driver with PWM dimming." It's a little chip thing that'll run a string of LEDs at 1A. It'll handle up to 25v, and only requires a PS (of course), and a resistor on the reset to gnd. Otherwise it's as good as a buckpuck, as far as I can tell.

 

I don't know enough about this to be sure from the schematics that it really is all it's cracked up to be, but if so, it's basically a $3.5 buckpuck, with optional dimming. Sounds awesome to me. But like I said, I haven't yet tried it, and I'm not electronics-savvy enough to be sure it's all this from reading the datasheet (Google it. I can't find the link to the datasheet ATM. Digikey sells this part). Maybe someone else who is savvier or who's seen or tried this driver can pipe in there.

 

If it does work out, you could run LEDs with a computer PS (a regular desktop PS) and these drivers, which are a good deal cheaper than any buckpucks I've seen. You could use a $15 24v/5-6A PS too, like the one MPJA.com has, but the advantage to a computer PS is that you may have it more readily available (old PC, or from a repair/IT shop) and it's already got a 5v out, which this driver requires, aside from the 24v to run the LEDs. (I know computer PS's have 12v out, but you can rig the -12v to the +12v for a nice 24v output. Or you can just rig 12v strings of LEDs. Works too.)

These drivers are linear, and are only a step up from an LM317 in current limiting mode, or a transistor based linear driver. There are a few problems with this driver that start making it more complicated than you think. First off is the supply voltage. The driver chip cannot run at the same voltage as the LEDs. As a result, you need to regulate the source voltage down to a level that is compatible with the chip. More parts. More cost.

 

Next is to do with the PWM. Square wave in = square wave out. It doesn't average the current like an inductor based buck driver does. It's not as efficient.

 

Lastly, heat. Linear drivers burn off the voltage difference between the source voltage and the total LED vf in heat. As a result, you need a large ground plane to solder the tab of the driver to so it can be cooled effectively. The greater the difference in the two voltages, the more heat is generated. A buck driver can much more easily deal with these differences with much less heat. This also forces you to make your own pcb. You won't be able to use perfboard with a unit like this.

 

There are some switched inductor buck driver chips out there that are just as cheap as the CAT4101 that are far more efficient, and cost about as much to build if you know what you are doing. Some of them will also take analog inputs (pot, 0-5v), as well as digital (PWM). The CAT4101 isn't a bad solution. You just have to take into account certain limitaions.