Tanksy Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Hi guys!After about 30 days of waiting, my 30g tank's nearly cycled.It has 2x 18W CFLs, which are not enough for corals -maybe not enough for anything, so I thought it's time to retrofit some LEDs. I've already bought all of the parts, including all the necessary components to build an Arduino Uno controller so that I can simulate sunrise/sunset, moonlight, etc. I'm going to use a LEDSee 6 channel shield driver and a Mean Well LPV-100-36. My goal is to simulate natural light -full spectrum perhaps (?). That said, I'm going to run 10x Cree XPG2 Natural White 3900-4500K @1000mA8x Cree XTE Royal Blue 450-455nm @700mA 4x Cree XPE2 Blues 460-470nm @700mA 2x Cyan 490nm @700mA 2x UV 380-385nm @700mA 2x Violet 420nm @700mA 2x Red 660nm @700mA All LEDs are on 12mm PCBs. Each heatsink will have 15 LEDs and I came up with this layout. Do you think it's OK? I don't want a disco ball. Looking forward to your comments and advice. ThanksChris Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Imho Ditch the UV and the red, and then at least double the amount of royal blue and blue while trading half of your neutrals for warms. That is unless this is just one of several arrays, in which case cut your white in half and then trade half for warm instead of doubling the blues. Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 Hey jedimasterben, Thanks for replying. I'm going to have two arrays. What do you think of the layout? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 It looks fine with the changes recommended above I've never heard of the driver that you want to use, but you cannot use a 36v power supply, it's input voltage is 3-30v. This means your output voltage per string will be several volts lower than your input, so you will only be able to run up to six LEDs on each channel. What country are you in? If you're in the US you might be better off ordering LED boards and drivers from Nanobox or BlueAcro. Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 I'm in the UK. With my current set up, the string with the highest voltage is the one with the whites. According to Cree's datasheet, the fV of XPG2 @ 1000mA is 3V. So, having 10 in a string equals 30V. Does that make sense? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 The general thinking is sound, but the stated voltages are averages, not absolutes. I would allow for a small amount of error and only allow up to 9 LEDs per channel. Can you get Luxeon Rebels easily? They have far better quality whites than the XP-G2 Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 Unfortunately I've already purchased the LEDs. I'll order some warmer whites and see how they look like. I guess it's going to be a trial and error procedure till I get the desired effect. Btw, why should I ditch the UV and red?Warm white meaning around 3000K? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 I'm in the UK. With my current set up, the string with the highest voltage is the one with the whites. According to Cree's datasheet, the fV of XPG2 @ 1000mA is 3V. So, having 10 in a string equals 30V. Does that make sense?30v is your input voltage, not your output, which will be less by 2-4v. I cannot find any data on the actual driver used, so I would assume the worst and use a 4v drop. There is no 30v LPV driver, so your next step down is 24v. With the 4v drop, that leaves you with 20v. Six 3v LEDs will use a bit over 18v due to the fluctuation that evil mentioned, so that would be the maximum load you would want to apply to them. UV light is not only unnecessary for any coral coloration, they fluoresce particulate matter in your tank, which will look like snow and really sucks to see. Red is unnecessary to be added when using warmer white diodes, and they do little more than cause colored banding in the tank. Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 30v is your input voltage, not your output, which will be less by 2-4v. I cannot find any data on the actual driver used, so I would assume the worst and use a 4v drop. There is no 30v LPV driver, so your next step down is 24v. With the 4v drop, that leaves you with 20v. Six 3v LEDs will use a bit over 18v due to the fluctuation that evil mentioned, so that would be the maximum load you would want to apply to them. Ok, that makes sense. Thank you for bearing with me! I guess I have to buy a Mean well LDD-1000 to drive the 10 whites. UV light is not only unnecessary for any coral coloration, they fluoresce particulate matter in your tank, which will look like snow and really sucks to see. Red is unnecessary to be added when using warmer white diodes, and they do little more than cause colored banding in the tank. What if... instead of replacing half of the neutrals with warms, I ditched the red and replaced it with amber/orange? I guess it'd have the same effect, right? SaveSave Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Ok, that makes sense. Thank you for bearing with me! I guess I have to buy a Mean well LDD-1000 to drive the 10 whites. What if... instead of replacing half of the neutrals with warms, I ditched the red and replaced it with amber/orange? I guess it'd have the same effect, right? Save[/size]Save[/size] An LDD will have the same voltage issue, these drivers are buck, not boost, so output voltage has to be lower than input voltage. I wouldn't run any dedicated red/amber/etc unless it is PC Amber, which is only technically amber and blends well. Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 Now you lost me. How's it possible to have the same voltage issue since it's 2-52VDC?http://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/LDD-1000H/?qs=erfQA2AIGbX6Yk%2f3J0ulyw== Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 I wouldn't run any dedicated red/amber/etc unless it is PC Amber, which is only technically amber and blends well. Luxeon pc amber's @ 588-592nm. Does that mean that a Cree XPE2 (585-595nm) would work as well? Edit: Never mind this silly question. They're both pc ambers. Duh.... Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Now you lost me. How's it possible to have the same voltage issue since it's 2-52VDC? http://www.mouser.co.uk/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/LDD-1000H/?qs=erfQA2AIGbX6Yk%2f3J0ulyw== You're only looking at maximum output voltages and not input voltages. Buck drivers (like LDD and the drivers in the board you want) have lower output voltage compared to input voltage. You give a 24v input to an LDD and you have about 21v to work with on the output side. Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 Ok, let me see if we're on the same page.The output voltage of the PSU is 36V. The input of the LDD-1000 is 9-56V and the output is 2-52V. Theoretically I'd get around 36V of output voltage from the LDD-1000, right? Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 Even if there's a loss of 9% (that means the output is around 32.5V), I'd still be able to run 10*3V LEDs, right? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Ok, let me see if we're on the same page. The output voltage of the PSU is 36V. The input of the LDD-1000 is 9-56V and the output is 2-52V. Theoretically I'd get around 36V of output voltage from the LDD-1000, right? No, if you gave a 36v input, your output would be 32-33v. You also would not be able to use your other LED driver at all, as it has a hard limit of 30v input. Even if there's a loss of 9% (that means the output is around 32.5V), I'd still be able to run 10*3V LEDs, right? As evil said earlier, don't plan on them being 3v exactly. Plan on them being 3.1ish when you run them at 1A, and the ones that aren't royal blue or white will be higher, 3.2-3.4v. Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 No, if you gave a 36v input, your output would be 32-33v. You also would not be able to use your other LED driver at all, as it has a hard limit of 30v input. Mind you, each colour will run on a separate channel. Why wouldn't I be able to use the other driver, since the rest of the strings need less than 22v each? As evil said earlier, don't plan on them being 3v exactly. Plan on them being 3.1ish when you run them at 1A, and the ones that aren't royal blue or white will be higher, 3.2-3.4v. So, what's the problem with supplying 32V to an LED strip that needs 30V? I don't want to be a smart@ss, I'm just trying to understand what you're saying. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 You're not supplying DC power to the LED strings, you are providing power to the LED drivers, which have a maximum input voltage of 30v. Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 Ok, I think I've figured it out how to make this work with the LEDSee driver that I already have.1st Channel: 5x Cree XPG2 N White 4000K 15V@1000mA2nd Channel: 5x Cree XPG2 N White 4000K 15V@1000mA3rd Channel: 8x Cree XTE R. Blue 450nm 23.7V@700mA4th Channel: 4x Epiled Violet 420nm 14.4V@700mA5th Channel: 2x Cyan 490nm 6.8V@700mA6th Channel: 2x PC Amber 590nm 6.4V@700mA What do you guys think? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 If you can find a 30v power supply, then that would work fine, but as I've been saying there is no LPV that is. 36v will not work. Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 If you can find a 30v power supply, then that would work fine, but as I've been saying there is no LPV that is. 36v will not work. Why not? Edit: I got it. It's because the maximum input voltage of the driver is 30V, right? Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 So the sensible thing to do is ditch the LEDSee driver and get 5 LDDs (1x 1000mA and 4x 700mA) with this configuration :1st Channel: 10x Cree XPG2 N White 4000K 30V@1000mA 2nd Channel: 8x Cree XTE R. Blue 450nm 23.7V@700mA3rd Channel: 4x Epiled Violet 420nm 14.4V@700mA4th Channel: 2x Cyan 490nm 6.8V@700mA5th Channel 2x PC Amber 590nm 6.4V@700mA Have I got it right this time? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Looks good to me. But unless you want your tank to look like natural sunlight and not blue-tinted, you still want to cut your white light to less than half of your blue Link to comment
Tanksy Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 I do want the tank to look like natural sunlight. Thank you for bearing with me! Link to comment
evilc66 Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 There is also no real need for a 1000mA driver for the whites. Even with the ratio of blue to white that you have now, you won't be running anywhere near the max current of the driver. 700mA will be more than enough in this scenario. Link to comment
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