Additions to DIY builds

[NemesiS153]

Additions to DIY builds

So my old tank 48" x 15" x 15" with a simple Arduino controller and 4 meanwell Mean Well ELN-60-48P

It featured 20 x RB, 10 x NW for the main. I mixed in 4 x 3ups of Deep red, cool blue and cyan

Channel 1 – ½ RB
Channel 2 – ½ RB
Channel 3 – NW
Channel 4 – Exotics

Here’s a pic of the build



New Build

So my new tank is 48" x 24" x 16" braceless tanks currently with a set of T5 above it. The new build im planning is this





I’m also building a Jarduino controller with 7 channels including the moonlighting and the sump light for chaetos.

I’ll also be moving to stevesled drivers as I want more control, less heat and the ability to go down to 1% power

So what does everyone think of my build? Ive been working on it with Jeff @ Steveled but any advice would be great

[evilc66]

Please take my advice and don't gang all your "exotics" together. It will just cause frustration when you can't get the color just right. Also, none of the LEDs you are specifying are "UV" (UV is defined as light under 400nm). They are violet, so please call them that (sorry, pet peeve).

 

If the neutral white is a good one, meaning high CRI, then you can ditch the deep reds. If you want the ability to add more red to the light, then swap them for warm whites. Same overall effect, but blends easier with everything else. You will want this on a separate channel.

 

Cyan and cool blue can be grouped together on a single control channel. If you get the quantities right, you can even run them on the royal channel.

 

You will probably want at least double the number of limes you have specified right now, and you want them on a separate channel. You could gang them in with the whites, but it depends on the quantity you use, and how much you like the effect the produce.

 

Why are you bothering with a dedicated moonlight? You have a ton of blue LEDs and a driver that will dim low enough for them to be used as such. Saves you a channel and 6 unnecessary LEDs

[bdevillier19]

Have you thought about using the meanwell ldd drivers. They are cheaper and can dim to 0%. Also have you considered using LEDs like the bridgelux vero or the luxeon k 8 or 16 up? It would eliminate a lot of wiring and if you do clusters it would also help with color separation. Check out Jedi's build to see an example.

[DgenR8]

Wow that is amazing, way beyond what I can understand.

[NemesiS153]

cheers for all the feedback guy.

 

I'll change the name to Violets

 

I currently have the 3ups (linked) with deep red, cyan and cool blue. So ive simply added 4 more but replaced the cyans with the lime. I'll pull apart your advice and see what i can pull together. But the current 4 will need to stay on the same star.

 

Just to be clear, this is what i already have

 

3ups (separate)

10 x RB, RB, NW

 

3ups (combined)

4 x DR, CY, CB

 

My "limited" understanding is my existing exotics (save writing out all the LEDs names ) produce a white light but have wider spectrum and in my current build whe exotics and NW are on the channel. Mostly because I only had 2 channels on my last controller

 

I'll be getting the NW from steve - http://shop.stevesleds.com/Philips-Luxeon-ES-Neutral-WHITE-3-Watt-LEDs-5000K-Luxeon-ES-Neutral-White.htm

Which is always stated as the best BIN but i can’t comment if this is correct

 

for info here are the violets i'll be getting - http://shop.stevesleds.com/Hyper-Violet-V30-Vio30.htm

 

The only reason I had the additional RB for moonlight is because I was concerned if 1% with all those RB would still be too bright. I can’t comment because my current drivers only go down to around 15%. Also my controller build (Jarduino) has this lunar phase bit that mirrors the moon activity. I’ve asked the designer if I could use the main RB to run the moonlighting

 

 

bdevillier19, you’re not the first to suggest the LDD driver. To be honest I haven’t looked into them but I will be now. They seem very cheap. Is there a good guide to them somewhere? The only reason I was going for Steves driver is they can be run directly on the 5v out of the Arduino. No need to step up to 0-10v PWM. Can these drivers run on 5v?

 

lots to think about……

[jedimasterben]

LDD drivers are natively 5v PWM. I have used Steve's drivers in the past, and I personally much prefer LDD on a custom PCB.

 

So Steve's finally got some real SemiLEDs chips in, sweet. You'll be happy with those, they won't brown their lenses like their old ones would.

 

I have that same tank, and use four 'evil clusters' using Bridgelux Vero 4000K, Luxeon M royal blue, Rebel & Rebel ES blue, red, cyan, and lime, and SemiLEDs N4 violets. Output is insane, 10" off the water (I think I measured wrong, it seems like it is raised higher off the tank) I get ~300 PAR on the sandbed, which is really too much IMHO.

 

 

My previous build for this tank, though, was very similar to your old build, and probably to the disappointment of those reading this thread, I preferred the light spread I got from it versus what I have now. If (well, let's be honest, when, lol) I change the fixture it will probably be to two rows of clusters with less overall output, like the old array. 300 PAR is just too much, and the spread from a single, centered strip isn't the best and really needs the dual T5 I have now. The old fixture had 12x 5000K, 32x royal blue, 6x OCW (blue, cyan, deep red), and several old-style violets (some from Steve's, some from LEDgroupbuy).

 

 

I didn't have any problems getting color correctly from keeping the OCW all at the same current on the same driver, and I don't have much issue on my current array, which has blue and red on the same channel, and lime and cyan on the same channel. Would it be nice to have individual control? Wouldn't hurt, but I wanted to have as little soldering to do as possible.

[NemesiS153]

LDD drivers are natively 5v PWM. I have used Steve's drivers in the past, and I personally much prefer LDD on a custom PCB.

 

So Steve's finally got some real SemiLEDs chips in, sweet. You'll be happy with those, they won't brown their lenses like their old ones would.

 

I have that same tank, and use four 'evil clusters' using Bridgelux Vero 4000K, Luxeon M royal blue, Rebel & Rebel ES blue, red, cyan, and lime, and SemiLEDs N4 violets. Output is insane, 10" off the water (I think I measured wrong, it seems like it is raised higher off the tank) I get ~300 PAR on the sandbed, which is really too much IMHO.

 

 

My previous build for this tank, though, was very similar to your old build, and probably to the disappointment of those reading this thread, I preferred the light spread I got from it versus what I have now. If (well, let's be honest, when, lol) I change the fixture it will probably be to two rows of clusters with less overall output, like the old array. 300 PAR is just too much, and the spread from a single, centered strip isn't the best and really needs the dual T5 I have now. The old fixture had 12x 5000K, 32x royal blue, 6x OCW (blue, cyan, deep red), and several old-style violets (some from Steve's, some from LEDgroupbuy).

 

 

I didn't have any problems getting color correctly from keeping the OCW all at the same current on the same driver, and I don't have much issue on my current array, which has blue and red on the same channel, and lime and cyan on the same channel. Would it be nice to have individual control? Wouldn't hurt, but I wanted to have as little soldering to do as possible.

 

 

well you helped me build my old rig so no wonder it looks a bit like yours

 

 

 

 

 

so reading up on the LDD, it would seem mad not to get them really

 

so ive followed a few suggestions on here

 

ive ended up with this. I have 1 spare channel on this build. Im also thinking the current exotics could be on the same channel as NW, so another channel might be free?

 

If i did combine the NW and Exotics i could add some warm white or amber on 1 channel and maybe some cool blue on the other. That way i almost have RGB (ish) control per channel

 

What else should i add?

 

[jedimasterben]

well you helped me build my old rig so no wonder it looks a bit like yours

LOL, no wonder! I've designed so many that I can hardly remember which one mine is

 

ive ended up with this. I have 1 spare channel on this build. Im also thinking the current exotics could be on the same channel as NW, so another channel might be free?

 

If i did combine the NW and Exotics i could add some warm white or amber on 1 channel and maybe some cool blue on the other. That way i almost have RGB (ish) control per channel

At the very least, have individual control of white, blue, and violet. Violet should be kept very high in output, then royal blue/blue, then the rest from there tuned to your color preference, and then tweaking to fit the output that you require.

 

What else should i add?

I have found no difference between having any red supplementation and simply having good white LEDs. I would recommend to use the 4000K over the 5000K Rebel ES.

 

If I were to rebuild my array, I would probably use nine clusters (three rows of three, basically a row in the middle of my old array), and somewhere along the lines of these numbers of LEDs: 9x 4000K, 9x lime, 9x royal blue (Luxeon M), 9x blue, 9x cyan, 9x 405nm violet, 9x 430nm violet. Maybe with some slight tweaks in the LED numbers, or maybe just two rows of four clusters with adjusted LED numbers.

 

Also, your wattage calculations are wrong. Few of the LEDs you're using are actually using 3 watts. Multiply the voltage times the amperage.

 

What power supply for the LDD will you be using? I would very highly recommend genuine Meanwell HLG.

[NemesiS153]

arrr to much choice.....

 

i think i will put the existing exotics on the NW channel. I had this before and i was happy with the colour

 

Also looking at my Arduino controller the Moonlight will need to be on a seperate channel to work

 

So that would make it -

 

Channel 1 - RB

Channel 2 - NW & Exotics (might swap out the new NW 5000k for 4000k

Channel 3 - UV

Channel 4 - Limes

Channel 5 -

Channel 6 - Moon lights

Channel 7 - Sump

 

Hmm..... what to put on channel 5.......

 

for power i was going to use http://shop.stevesleds.com/Switching-Power-Supply-400w-24V-165A-S-360-Switching-Power-Supply.htm

 

just because im buying everything else from them. But i dont know if there is a better version

[jedimasterben]

No, you can't use a 24v input and get more than 21v output. I would recommend to use the HLG-240H-54. It is IP67 rated, very high efficiency, the power supplies that Steve's sells (along with LEDgroupbuy and most other places) are just knockoffs with low efficiency.

 

DIY is all about customizing the array to what you want. We know what the arrays need to be able to keep corals colorful, anything beyond that is personal preference.

[NemesiS153]

No, you can't use a 24v input and get more than 21v output. I would recommend to use the HLG-240H-54. It is IP67 rated, very high efficiency, the power supplies that Steve's sells (along with LEDgroupbuy and most other places) are just knockoffs with low efficiency.

 

DIY is all about customizing the array to what you want. We know what the arrays need to be able to keep corals colorful, anything beyond that is personal preference.

 

doh, with the new driver the V has gone up. completely missed that. Hang head in shame

[jedimasterben]

[NemesiS153]

so this is where im up to

 

i still dont know what to add in the spare channel, was thinking some cool blue but would that make everything too blue? I could just pull the exotics out into their own channel and call it a day, but i want to make sure im not missing something

 

i will be going down the LDD route as suggested with the HLG-240H-54 power supply

 

[jedimasterben]

Unless you have a 1:4 or 1:5 ratio of white to blue, it's not going to be 'too blue'. It takes around 14mW of royal blue for every lumen of ~4000K white to keep color temperature around 12-14K (depending on who you ask). It takes at least 20-25mW per lumen to get that up and looking more blue. The 'standard' 1:14 is a crisp color, though, looks sharp.

 

Also, what are you lighting in your sump with the NW/RB/DR? Not very much wattage for growing anything. You'll also want to run your moonlights on a 300mA LDD.

[NemesiS153]

Ok so I might add 8 cool blue then. See how that looks.

 

I have capacity to add more qty to each channel. Do you think I have the balance right? I could add another OCW and still run on one driver

 

I did have the moon light on 350. Not really why I changed it.... Is 6 about right for my tank? I'll be getting 2x 3ups to avoid more soldering

 

In the sump at the moment nothing but think I might give Chaetos another bash if I get good enough lighting. I only have about 30cm sq to grow it in

[jedimasterben]

Ok so I might add 8 cool blue then. See how that looks. I have capacity to add more qty to each channel. Do you think I have the balance right? I could add another OCW and still run on one driver I did have the moon light on 350. Not really why I changed it.... Is 6 about right for my tank? I'll be getting 2x 3ups to avoid more soldering In the sump at the moment nothing but think I might give Chaetos another bash if I get good enough lighting. I only have about 30cm sq to grow it in

What I have found in my testing is that the 'standard' 1:2 ratio should really be a 2:4:1 ratio, two 4K neutrals, four royals, and one blue as the base, this extra blue there helps to keep color temperature higher (one standard blue is brighter to the eye than a couple [maybe more] royal blue) without being overly effective or needing a lot more royal blue to do the same job. You can even go 2:1 royal to blue and it will still look good, but once you get above that the water takes on a different blue tone that isn't very pleasing (aka windex).

 

30sq cm isn't a lot of space, that's less than 3"x3", that tiny amount won't do any good for a tank this size with any respectable bioload. You'll want a refugium in the order of 20-40 gallons to make an impact, which of course would require many more LEDs

 

For moonlights, six is more than enough, even on a 350mA driver.

[NemesiS153]

i learn something new everyday

 

hopefully ive got the colour balance right as per your comments. The only bit i feel might be missing is a bit more red (i would use warm white) but i dont have a spare channel.

 

I need to have a look at the sump size etc, but i'll order the LEDs to i have the option later. Ive now got 4 x 3ups in there running 23w. Is that enough?

 

I'll be ordering in the next day or so, so any feedback would be great

 

3ups (Separate)

10 x RB , RB , NW 5000k ----Already have

4 x RB , RB , NW 4000k

4 x Lime , Lime , Blue

 

Individual

8 x Violet

6 x RB (moonlight)

 

3ups (Combined)

4 x DR , CB , CY (OCW) – Already have

4 x DR , NW , RB - (Sump)

 

Other equipment

3 x LDD-1000H Mean Well

5 x LDD-700H Mean Well

1 x LDD-300H Mean Well

40” heatsink

HLG-240H-54 power supply

Heatsink fan

Wire, paste etc etc

 

[NemesiS153]

Anyone suggest a good place in the US to get the PSU. In the UK there is a 2 week back order :-(

[evilc66]

You can try the big electronics retailers like Digikey, Mouser, and Newark, but most of them have international divisions, so they may not ship internationally.

[NemesiS153]

You can try the big electronics retailers like Digikey, Mouser, and Newark, but most of them have international divisions, so they may not ship internationally.

Thanks mate, I'll have a look. May have to wait 2 weeks.....

 

Does my build look about right? Should be placing the order tomorrow

[NemesiS153]

do i need more headroom on the PSU? I'll be using around 230w and its rated to 240w. I know i wont be using all LEDs on full power but should i get a bigger PSU to be safe and alow for more LEDs later?

[jedimasterben]

The HLG is different from 'normal' power supplies as it is also an LED driver and is rated to run continuously at capacity.

 

Plus, you will be using a controller, so you won't be running anything at 100% all the time anyway. You will probably also not have them peak at 100% either

[NemesiS153]

So all ordered and on route :-)

While in the below I have cyan an blue together, once I get it setup and working I can merge channels together if they work together and split cyan.

Here is my current layout plan, any views? Should I be doing more of a cluster approach?

[jedimasterben]

You might get some spotlighting keeping them separated, I would do small clusters.

[NemesiS153]

so my builds under way. Could someone check my wiring. Main checks are the 10k resistor and the ground from the Arduino, is that right?