Pickle010 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 One of the best DIY Led write ups I've seen to date. Good Job. Quote Link to comment
andru24 Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 (edited) did you ever get a picture of the light over the tank? The camera battery died before I could get pictures with the whites on... But here are some pics with just the blues. It really make corals pop. The pictures don't do it justice. Edited February 1, 2011 by andru24 Quote Link to comment
dekonstruktr Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Looks great! Awesome guide, I've just started researching these DIY led systems and this has been very helpful! Quote Link to comment
andru24 Posted February 2, 2011 Author Share Posted February 2, 2011 Can you tell me what the driver output voltage is once it starts to flicker? Hey Evil... I took everything home today, took it apart and put it back together this time doing more permanent soldering of all of the wire connections, then wire nuts over top all in a more legitimate project box from Radio Shack. The flashing no longer occurs. Now when I dim it will dim nice and slowly then when it gets really low it will basically shut off (in actuality it's just barely lit). I am guessing this normal as it is basically the same as when the power adaptor isn't plugged in at all. I tested voltages and they go basically like this: Royal blues (x 10): Max @ ~37 volts (makes sense) dims until around 28v then the voltage jumps to 24 volts and the lights go to their "shut off" mode (just barely lit) Whites (x 8) Max @ 28v Dims to 22.5v then jumps to 20v and the lights go to super dim Let me know if this seems normal or not. I am guessing the pot basically just shuts off all additional power from the adaptor at those points where the voltages jump. Quote Link to comment
Llamaguy Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 I would LOVE two of these! Very clean and tidy DIY. Quote Link to comment
evilc66 Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Sounds like everything is working well now. Quote Link to comment
andru24 Posted February 2, 2011 Author Share Posted February 2, 2011 Sounds like everything is working well now. Is it possible to dim cleanly and evenly from 0% light up to 100%? Or are you pretty much always only going to be able to dim a certain subset of the range (40% - 90%)? Quote Link to comment
evilc66 Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 There are limitations in the LED and the driver that will set how dim they can be set. LEDs have a minimum current to actually generate light. Meanwell ELN "D"s are supposed to dim down to 5%, but I think the practical limit is higher than that on those particular drivers. Linear dimming with buck drivers isn't easy below a certain point. Quote Link to comment
NirvanaandTool Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Great write up! Thanks. Definitely bookmarking this for when I tackle my diy led light in a few weeks Quote Link to comment
andru24 Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 There are limitations in the LED and the driver that will set how dim they can be set. LEDs have a minimum current to actually generate light. Meanwell ELN "D"s are supposed to dim down to 5%, but I think the practical limit is higher than that on those particular drivers. Linear dimming with buck drivers isn't easy below a certain point. Yeah.. it dims awesome then it just hits a point where the LEDs bsically switch off, but are just barely lit. The point at which it switches off seems much higher than 5%. Great write up! Thanks. Definitely bookmarking this for when I tackle my diy led light in a few weeks Cool. Hope it helps. Quote Link to comment
AFRobert568 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 This is probably the first LED guide that makes me feel I can do this. Is a multimeter the same thing as a voltmeter? My dad has a voltmeter, but I went back to your thread and noticed you said multimeter. Quote Link to comment
Arkayology Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 I'm glad someone mad ea thread for me! lol Quote Link to comment
WillWork4Frags Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 (edited) Thank you for the detailed and well illustrated DIY. I will be doing mine soon and your guide put my mind at ease. Edited June 5, 2011 by WillWork4Frags Quote Link to comment
karisma Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Awesome write up bud! Wish I ha this when making my fixture haha! I just finished my pico lamp led fixture. Im curious what brand fixture you retro fitted the heatsink into there? Is it an odyssea? Quote Link to comment
kleankord Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 great thread, thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment
longbeachstateofmind Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Thank you for the write it, it cleared up a bunch of questions and concerns i had. Quote Link to comment
Gig 'em Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Do you have any pictures of the wire connections for the wires going to the pots? I'm not entirely sure how to connect them the way you have in the diagram Quote Link to comment
redfishsc Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Excellent write-up. I've been thinking of doing this for the planted tank forums but haven't had time. Anyhow, I found something you'll want to correct. Your caption for the pic below says that the SRV2 screw is on the right, but it's actually on the left in the pic. For those who haven't taken apart a Meanwell, it can be a bit tricky to find in your pic, but THANK YOU for posting it. I'll be referring a LOT of people to this thread. Quote Link to comment
FishSticks Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 (edited) Quick question about the Meanwell driver, so you need a 10v adapter for the pot to work? With two drivers you're going to have 3 plugs/outlet total? Edited August 17, 2011 by FishSticks Quote Link to comment
Sailfish Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Quick question about the Meanwell driver, so you need a 10v adapter for the pot to work? With two drivers you're going to have 3 plugs/outlet total? I once had a dog, and his name was BINGO! Quote Link to comment
redfishsc Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Quick question about the Meanwell driver, so you need a 10v adapter for the pot to work? With two drivers you're going to have 3 plugs/outlet total? Sorry for the ridiculously late answer lol, but you have the right idea. However, many Meanwells (in fact, EVERY one of the 10 Meanwells I've set up) could be "tweaked" to allow a 6-volt input into the dimmer to allow a full 1,000mA into the LEDs. Meaning, you don't need exactly 10v. Anything from 6-10 will work fine. LOTS of cell phone chargers are 5.9v which will do just fine. I use a 5.0v on my 11g tank and my LEDs run at 700mA, but I could go higher. All you have to do is hook everything up, put a multimeter inline with your LEDs to measure current, and turn it all on. Then carefully adjust the SRV2 screw (see the pic above, the white plastic screw on the bottom left). Turn that screw GENTLY until you hit the desired current level. Quote Link to comment
jprime84 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 How does a fixture like this compare to T5 HO or metal halide? How do the corals like it? Quote Link to comment
Jodah Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 (edited) Rapidled Has DIY 2 color Dimmer kit. goes for like $30 bucks. OP: awesome write up, solved a lot of my issues especially considering I am doing a 20G tank thats almost exactly the same size. (Mines a bit taller at 16") So, I've essentially decided to use your exact same setup (except for the fixture) Thanks for solving a lot of questions that I had! Edited October 9, 2011 by Jodah Quote Link to comment
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