Ryujin LED Lighting System

[divecj5]

Ryujin Lighting System -- Controller/Program Review

 

Let me start this review by saying that I've been reefing for going on 6 years now and I've mainly stuck with T5 lighting. I started with some el cheapo strip lights that were called T5s but were really VHOs on a 55g. Then I switched to T5s with top notch individual reflectors with an Aquatinics fixture....then switched to a 150w Sunpod....then back to another Aquatinics fixture. Long story short, I have ZERO experience with LEDs other than knowing of them and reading about them. I was on the verge of switching over to some Par38 bulbs when DFason mentioned some ideas he had about a sleek, modern LED fixture paired with some awesome ideas for the controller and computer interface.

 

After about 10 months of chatting back and forth, GBs worth of emails, and hundreds of hours of testing on Dave's part, I now have a prototype of his final unit over my 17g rimless and I think he's on the verge of something really unique.

 

Since this isn't the final fixture fixture, I'm going to review the board and controller with of course lots of pictures and some FTS at the end.

 

LED's - Luxeon Rebel's with custom optics

2:1 Royal Blue : Neutral White

 

LED Boards - Custom 1" square three up boards. Can be run all separate, together, and 2:1. The LED's are in a radial pattern resulting in little to no issues with colors not blending. The squares also have a custom wide optic.

 

OLED Screen - OLED (organic light emitting diode) - advantages over traditional LCDs include: lower power consumption, higher contrast, and due to the manufacturing process they are sealed, making them highly resistant to vibration and moisture. Unlike LCDs, each pixel of an OLED screen is a light emitting diode and emits its own light. Power consumption is directly proportional to how many pixels are lit, making it easy to view, even in direct sunlight. The screen is incredibly crisp!!!

 

Program - There are already a lot of various LED fixtures out there that have controllers, but the NanoBox application that comes with the fixture is really one of the best features. Well at least for me, someone coming from the world of T5 and getting used to the color of LEDs.

 

Here are some screenshots of the application, which allows you to tweak the following for each individual buckpuck:

• Time
  
• Min/Max brightness (0-250)
  
• Max Time - since all of the LEDs are dimmable, this is the total time that the LEDs are at their maximum brightness
  
• Storm and Cloud Settings - will review these later
  

 

Here is the boot screen for the NanoBox program. Really simple design and easy to find what you're looking for. The controller has a USB port via a printer cable connection. Plug it in, start up the program, and you're ready to roll.

 

 

You can get all fancy smancy through the Boot Screen Editor (I haven't tweaked anything on this screen yet)

 

 

Here is the real meat of the application, the Settings tab. As you can see from the screenshot below, you can tweak all settings from this page (you can also enter edit mode on the controller without having to use a computer as well). The best thing is that you can save these to your computer, allowing you to try all sorts of combinations.

 

 

I literally spent 2 hours the weekend I got the prototype monkeying around and trying different settings.

 

Here are my initial thoughts and some suggestions for future improvements -

• For someone that has very little experience with LEDs, the program made tweaking and trying different color combinations incredibly easy.
  
• Board, controller, and program are pretty much plug and play.
  
• I'm still amazed at how small the fixture is and how much light it can produce. Each individual LED is tiny.
  
• Coming from the world of T5s, I never thought that LEDs could match the flexibility that T5 bulb combinations offer. WIth the LUXEON bulbs and this program, you can really achieve anything from a 10k look to something close to ATI Blue+.
  

 

The only real improvements that I can suggest at this point are really only minor comments relating to the computer program. Currently everything is done in military (0000-2400) time. Not a huge deal, but would be nice to have AM/PM, which may take some controller/program rewriting. The only other suggestion is to eventually have a forum or location online where people can share their settings, allowing you to share and try what others have had success with.

 

To finish, I really couldn't be much more impressed with what DFason has produced so far. I can't wait to see what the final extruded aluminum cases for the controller and fixture look like. Here is a picture of what my 17g Rimless looks under the lighting. This is with only 18 or the 24 bulbs firing and this was before I had a chance to tweak the min/max brightness for the whites and royal blues.

 

 

 

Part 2 will be coming in the next few weeks.

 

-Adam

[Rehype]

Wow nice fixture adam...Dave did a heck of a job!

[divecj5]

Wow nice fixture adam...Dave did a heck of a job!

 

I agree man. Should look even better when the controller and board are in the aluminum cases he's working on. So far I really couldn't be happier switching to LEDs. Coral have all been happy, healthy, and colorful thus far.

[nUgZ]

Oh man...I can't wait for mine!! It should be very soon. I'm glad you're happy with the prototype. I know he put a lot of time into it.

[91_two]

That looks really good(nice tank too).

 

Im new here, is this something he makes for people, or is going to produce? How do I get more information and possibly purchase one? Thanks.

[Hans Dorn]

Yea, bumpity-bump.

[Genj]

Exciting stuff!

[nanoreef31]

cool

 

Do you have any better pictures of it over your tank?

[divecj5]

That looks really good(nice tank too).

 

Im new here, is this something he makes for people, or is going to produce? How do I get more information and possibly purchase one? Thanks.

 

Thanks. After running it for close to 2-3 weeks now, I really couldn't be happier. All of my coral have responded nicely.

 

I would suggest contacting Dave through PM (DaveFason). Since every unit is custom to suit your needs, I don't have any pricing information (I got mine at cost since it's a prototype).

 

 

Exciting stuff!

 

Definitely. After using T5s for the last several years, it took a few days to get used to the look of the light as I was used to the uniform and less dramatic look of the T5s. Although I still really really really like T5s, I think the lighting from LEDs and MH just looks much more natural.

 

cool

 

Do you have any better pictures of it over your tank?

 

I'll make sure to take some more this evening. I've been battling a bit of diatomateous growth on my sand bed due to a shoddy RO membrane. I'll start posting more progression shots of how coral have reacted if folks are interested.

 

-Adam

[DaveFason]

Adam - New photo's!

 

If people are interested please send me a PM. I'll throw some teasers up tonight of the housings.

 

-Dave

[ajmckay]

Wow, looks all fancy and stuff! I'm also interested in seeing pictures of the housing. I assume the controller is built in to the housing?

[DaveFason]

The controller is separate because of the Orbitec patent. To make it easy you have to have the controller sold separate.

 

The housing it killer I'll throw some photo's up tonight!

 

-Dave

[DaveFason]

I'll snap some more photo's but its a really cool modern look. Over all size's are 12" and 24". 24 or 48 LED's.

 

 

Overall size...

 

24 LED

12"x4"x1.25"

48 LED

24"x4"x1.25"

 

All units will be anodized matte black and come with fans and venting sides. I'll have more later.

 

-Dave

[divecj5]

I didn't get a chance to snag any more pictures last night but I will certainly try this evening.

 

Thanks for posting the picture of the work in progress housing Dave. Looks incredible. Glad to see your ideas coming to fruition.

 

Every day, I'm still amazed at how much light such a small package can produce. And I'm only running it at about 1/2 of it's maximum output.

[91_two]

Looks good, waiting for more pics!

[jfarabaugh]

It doesn’t look like it is lighting the tank very evenly. Hopefully new pics of the tank will correct my assumption

[divecj5]

Looks good, waiting for more pics!

 

I'll take a bunch this evening and post them in the morning.

 

It doesn’t look like it is lighting the tank very evenly. Hopefully new pics of the tank will correct my assumption

 

Note that only 18 of the 24 total LEDs are currently firing. It's not mixing very well because only Royal Blues are on the left leaving on the right side a mix of white and natural blues. It's not as dramatic as it looks in the pictures. With all 24 on, I'm sure the color will really blend nicely. Also, I'm only hanging this unit about 12-14" above the tank.

 

Hopefully the next set of pictures will be more indicative of what it looks like in person. I'll tell you one thing, trying to color correct for the various spectrums of LED lighting makes you want to pull your hair out. Even shooting in RAW and adjusting the K value doesn't always match reality.

 

Pics in the morning for sure.

 

-Adam

[DaveFason]

His unit is only running 18 LED's. The right side being a mix of 2:1 RB:NW and the other side heavier on the RB side ( 3:1ish ). The other thing to note is each tank will be different depending on how fast you have the lights "ramping" and how high you have the blue's set. Thats the joy of the controller! If you have more chalices and acans you can crank the blue on one side and the other more white, that's the fun of it. Each person can have their tank personalized for them.

 

-Dave

 

EDIT : Like Adam said too, its damn near impossible to capture a 100% accurate shot of LED's. Most of the time the effects are much more dramatic than in person. After that said...SNAP some photo's

[phi delt reefer]

ok no one else post here until Dave or Adam posts more pics. I keep clicking hoping for a schweet update but all i get is more TEXT.

 

so....

 

PICTURES! Lets see this bad boy already! This is worse than waiting for the iPhone 4 to come out!

[DirtyC]

any chance of a 36in version in the future

[divecj5]

Didn't want the crowds to be waiting so I decided to go ahead and take some pictures with just the NW/RB mix on the right and RBs on the left. I also tried to use a hotshoe mounted flash this time to see if it helps to better portray the color of the tank. Let me know what you think.

 

The color balance still isn't perfect and it's tough to not blow out the highlights but I thought some of these might be the best yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Adam

[DaveFason]

The pictures are great! Like Adam said this is a prototype but this is great view of how small the lights are to light this tank up. Best of all they are only at 50%

 

That is the exact heatsink ( 2.25x.6" w/ 22 fins ) I am using to place inside the housing. For its size it has a ton of room to remove heat. Of course the wiring will be hidden and the hanging kit is a new wire hanging kit just like Tek/Sunpower lights.

 

The best part with the NW:RB combo is you can get colors like the old VHO bulbs with halides.

 

Thanks Adam! I hope to have the housing done next week.

 

-Dave

[agoutihead]

May I suggest having the cords come out the back, (maybe even centered in the middle) NOT the middle or sides like I see some doing.

 

I think comin out the back allows for a cleaner look on all 3 main sides.

[agoutihead]

Any updates on a finished light yet? I cant wait to see it anodized.

[Deleted User 6]

Where's part 2?