Dave_uk Posted January 14, 2010 Author Share Posted January 14, 2010 What kind of tank is that ? Looks amazing. Its a Fluval Osaka 320 Link to comment
evilc66 Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 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 Link to comment
johnamon Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 I think the fact that my psu isnae happy should suggest that you probably don't have a short. The only issue with evil's suggestion is that I power the arduino off the USB port on the psu; if i went with a different style of psu then I'd need a 5v regulator :-( :-( Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted January 14, 2010 Author Share Posted January 14, 2010 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 Bugger.. to late. before reading this I just went to maplin and bought that other model of 150w supply. It does look much better quality though although i suppose thats just cosmetics. I also noticed that the new one has a proper multi-speed fan instead of the mechanically-slowed one in the first model. I'm going to try this one for a while and If I have any issues I will return it and get the one you suggested. Im also going to split the pwer supplies so there is 1 in each cupboard instead of both together to help them stay cooler. The bloke in maplin did suggest that it might be my fault for buying a power supply thats meant for laptops.. cheecky git. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Meanwell makes some dual voltage power supplies in a 24v:5v setup, but they aren't cheap. A simple TO-220 5v regulator will cost very little. With a little hunting, you may even be able to find one that could directly replace the regulator on the Arduino board. This one will fit and will take up to 30v http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/STMicr...JcGtMnQnSZII%3d Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted January 14, 2010 Author Share Posted January 14, 2010 I just used a cheap 9v power supply I had lying around for the arduino. Makes things nice and simple. Link to comment
redguppy Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Wow this is impressive makes me waht to push something like this in the future (on an upgraded tank ) ... someone was saying about the LED being so cheap but a ipod touch LCD costs like £8 there surprisingly cheap to make these days :-) Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 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. Link to comment
chuckstyl5 Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 did you happen to find a reliable power supply yet?? I read that you had some problems with the original ones you tried Link to comment
sammy113 Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 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? Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted January 28, 2010 Author Share Posted January 28, 2010 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? Have a look at post #130 Its got a link to the manual with a full parts list, schematic, code and photos etc. Theres a new, more comprehensive manual on the way but the first edition is enough to get one built pretty easily. Someone else built the first controller for me as Im an electronice newb but Ive just built a spare controller follwing these instructions and it was very easy. All the parts, including the arduino and screen only cost around £50 and it will run a pretty large array without any extra parts. did you happen to find a reliable power supply yet?? I read that you had some problems with the original ones you tried So far the new ones have been ok and are running much cooler.. touch wood. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 You got Hackaday'ed http://hackaday.com/2010/01/29/salty-leds/ Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 You got Hackaday'ed http://hackaday.com/2010/01/29/salty-leds/ Lol. I hadnt heard of that site until 5 mins ago. I dont know why they chose my build thread.. surely there are loads of better examples. I cant believe how many people have commented who have obviously no knowledge on the subject although there appear to be a couple of reefers that have set the record straight. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I tried I read that site every day, so I was pleased to see your tank. Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 I tried I read that site every day, so I was pleased to see your tank. Cheers. I thought it was someone that knew their stuff. It must be a popular site as it made my copy of this thread on the UK forum get about 15000 more hits in just a few days. I still cant understand why they chose my thread though. EDIT: Just noticed your name by the comment too. Dead give away...lol Maybe the LEDs made me blind as well as the fish Link to comment
flygremlin Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 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!!! Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted February 6, 2010 Author Share Posted February 6, 2010 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!!! Glad you like the thread Have you built the full controller with proto-shield etc? BTW. if you havent noticed, release 12 of the code is now available and works much better than R10 Link to comment
flygremlin Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 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!! Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted February 6, 2010 Author Share Posted February 6, 2010 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!! It will be really good to know if the controller works well with meanwell drivers. Hugh (designed the controller) said that it should work with the addition of a pull up resistor but it hasnt been tested. If you dont mind, please can you let me know once you have it put together. I think Farnell are in the US as well as the UK so should be able to get the chips as they are pretty standard. The only difficult part may be the LCD shield as I havent seen them anywhere apart from nuelectronics. Link to comment
chuckstyl5 Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 any updates on the tank and everything in it? corals? fish? etc ... color? growth? Thanks Dave! Charlie Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 any updates on the tank and everything in it? corals? fish? etc ... color? growth? Thanks Dave! Charlie Everything is going well so far. Ive had really good coral growth especially from my LPS with the exception of 1 candycane thats refusing to grow. My Frogspawn has at least doubled in size and the SPS frags I added just after the LED upgrade have grown well too. My sofies are also growing really well, especially my zoas. The colours also seem better although that could just be down to the amazing flourscence you get with blue LEDs rather than and actuall change on the corals. The fish seem much happier and my clowfish have started spawning which I think is at least partly because of the proper sunrise-sunset cycle. All in all Im extremely happy with the upgrade and would not go back to T5s. Link to comment
chuckstyl5 Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 you would or wouldnt go back to T5s??? Link to comment
Dave_uk Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 you would or wouldnt go back to T5s??? Sorry.. typo I would not go back to T5s Link to comment
chuckstyl5 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 ok good to know!!! i guess since i am a "noob" i wanna go the best route the first time especially when stuff inst cheap so you did add a little more confidence for LEDs lol Link to comment
chuckstyl5 Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 any new pictures you could post???? Link to comment
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