Finished 12" Full-Spectrum MakersLED [54W Mixed + 24W Violets per Cluster]

[xerophyte_nyc]

Pics on the tank!

Patience, my friend.

 

I like the fixture. Is it really violet though?

When only violets are on, there is a definite violet coloration in a tank, but because human perception of violet is poor, it becomes unnoticeable once other colors blend. Violet hits on some chlorophyll peaks and helps fluorescence.

[GHill762]

Any update?

[xerophyte_nyc]

Any update?

 

I soldered the LED power supply to the DB-15 connector - ho hum. I'm anxious as well. I have all the supplies/ tools I need, as of Monday. Getting close.

[The Punisher]

Great looking build so far.

[xerophyte_nyc]

A MODEST UPDATE

 

 

LED to driver wires soldered onto a male DB-15 connector. The smaller DB-9 does not have enough solder cups for 10 wires, so I had to use the bigger DB-15 and leave 5 cups unused.

 

And here they are with shrink-wrap tubing

The same was done to the female connector. I used different colored electrical tape throughout the project to organize the many wire splices.

Here is an ethernet RJ-45 jack. This will connect the Typhon Controller to the dim+ and dim- of the drivers. I purposely wired it backwards so that I can see the wire label. 4 dimmable channels = 8 wires = perfect fit for an ethernet cable. This will be attached to the project box.

Here are the Typhon dimming wires spliced to the ethernet wires.

Here is the Typhon controller outfitted in a custom acrylic box - thank you sammy113

And finally, the cable wrapped in wire mesh.

 

 

Up next...the project box, where I will be setting the drivers and making attachments for the DB-15 (LED wires), ethernet jack (Typhon wires), and the main power supply. The fan power is part of the wire bundle leaving the heatsink, but I might just let it split off the main bundle on its own.

 

[MeepNand]

Looks pretty clean. How did you get the wire into the mesh?

[SeahawkReefer]

Awesome awesome awesome! Can't wait to do my makers build! Living vicariously through yours till then... ;-)

[xerophyte_nyc]

Looks pretty clean. How did you get the wire into the mesh?

 

The mesh is cool stuff. When it is compressed vertically, it widens so you can fit lots of cables inside, then you release and it squeezes around the cable bundle.

[GHill762]

Looking good! Keep the updates coming..

[xerophyte_nyc]

Getting very close...

 

Here you see the DIM+ and DIM- wires from the driver attached to the RJ-45 ethernet port. This will serve as the connection to the Typhon controller.

 

 

 

Here is a view of my project box. It was not easy finding one that would fit 5 of the Mean Well drivers. I picked it up at PolyCase.com. I've seen other people incorporate the drivers directly onto the heatsink. I want mine hidden away, and also not adding extra weight. I think it gives a cleaner look.

 

Here you see the soldered and heat-shrunk wire bundle that connects the DC power supply from the drivers to the female end of the DB-15 connector. The male end is at the wire bundle exiting the heatsink. It really is better to solder wire together - no fear of anything coming apart especially when there is a mismatch in wire gauge, and a pretty much guaranteed excellent wire contact. It also looks better than having wire nuts jumbled together.

And finally, here is a view of the dimmer bundle, DC power bundle, and AC power bundle. It is too late now for me to start drilling and wake up the kids LOL!, so I can't connect the power cord just yet. I need to make a hole in the box and fit a grommet prior to soldering the power cord.

Tomorrow I will be busting out my snowblower which hasn't been used in 2 years, big snow storm tonight! Maybe Sunday night I can finally power up the entire set-up. I will have to bring the project box with me to work on Monday where I can cut the slots for the RJ-45 and DB-15 - high speed handpieces are not just for cutting bone and teeth after all...

[jedimasterben]

I would not enclose the Meanwells. My five are screwed onto a piece of plywood in my 'hood' that is open on the top and bottom, and still need active cooling.

[xerophyte_nyc]

I would not enclose the Meanwells. My five are screwed onto a piece of plywood in my 'hood' that is open on the top and bottom, and still need active cooling.

I have thought about that, and have contemplated attaching a small pc fan over some vent holes I could make. That should take care of heat build up.

 

Question for you: is it OK to have the lights powered down by the Typhon, or should I connect the LEDs to my RKL timer for a complete shutdown?

[jedimasterben]

I have thought about that, and have contemplated attaching a small pc fan over some vent holes I could make. That should take care of heat build up.

 

Question for you: is it OK to have the lights powered down by the Typhon, or should I connect the LEDs to my RKL timer for a complete shutdown?

Definitely put the fan on them, otherwise they may fail quickly.

 

Mine are solely controlled by the Typhon. When a Meanwell driver gets a '0' signal from the controller, it goes into its off state, and my five pull about 1-2w of power in that state, waiting for the next signal to turn them on.

[eddiecorrea]

Really nice build. Most DIY LEDs are a mess of wires and drivers. This is pretty high quality.

[xerophyte_nyc]

Really nice build. Most DIY LEDs are a mess of wires and drivers. This is pretty high quality.

 

This one is also a mess! It's just more or less under control I just hope everything works when it's all said and done.

[xerophyte_nyc]

Definitely put the fan on them, otherwise they may fail quickly.

 

Any reason I can't connect the heatsink fan and this second fan onto the same power supply? The fans are what, about .15A each? Power supply is 1A.

[penfold2]

If you're planning to run them at the same voltage, they should go on the same PS. It would just be a waste to have a separate power supply for each fan.

 

Looking forward to seeing this up and running. I vastly overestimated my soldering skills and/or patience, so now I'm waiting on some wired LDD drivers instead of the non-wired + perfboard that I initially tried. And I may add some more violet LEDs in the future if you end up making good use of yours.

[jedimasterben]

Any reason I can't connect the heatsink fan and this second fan onto the same power supply? The fans are what, about .15A each? Power supply is 1A.

As long as they're both 12v (standard 'computer' fans) they'll do just fine on the same power supply. I've run a whooooole bunch of fans on a single supply. I think it was 15x or so that were cooling a large radiator from a car. It was ghetto, but it's the best non-evaporative computer cooling I've ever used.

[SULFERHEAD93]

Ok so let me get this straight. Typhon controller>ethernet cable>ethernet junction thing>meanwell drivers> male db15>female db15>leds. Did i get that right?? I plan on using the same heatsink, but fewer leds. By the way this looks build looks sweet!

[xerophyte_nyc]

That's pretty much correct yes. Don't forget the power supply to the meanwell, and also a fan is in there.

 

 

[xerophyte_nyc]

LED there be light!

 

It works - thank goodness! I would hate to have to troubleshoot through those messes of wires. One of the known downsides to the Typhon controller is that with the Meanwell, LED's don't always go on until at least 10% of dimming has been reached. Not a deal breaker, but it is what it is.

 

There is a more significant issue though in my build: the violet strings blink until 45% is reached, and then they are fine. I suspect this has to do with the fact that there may not be enough voltage in each 8-LED string for the 48V driver. The 27V model is a tad short of the needed voltage, so it's something I will have to live with. One workaround is to set that channel to the shortest ramp-up period, which I believe is 1 minute. That way when the violets turn on, they will quickly bypass the blink and run at the desired power right away.

 

The violets appear so dim that having them start at 45% won't be noticeable - but that doesn't give me much room to acclimate my corals. I will have to take it slow and see what happens. I may hang the light higher than intended for awhile. Or I might get a diffuser for the glass screen.

 

I'm leaving for Florida on Thursday - arrive in Orlando, then off to Cape Canaveral to visit NASA for a day, and then Disney Cruise with the wife and kids! I will have to wait until the end of the month to light up my tank. Have to catch up with bills before I leave, and of course have to pack. Wife will kill me if I veer away from trip preparation.

 

[jedimasterben]

The 10% issue isn't actually the Typhon, it is the Meanwell ELN - they are not designed to work at less than 100-150ma or so (each driver will be somewhere in that range).

 

The violets blinking is indeed a forward voltage issue - which is strange, because at 45% I would imagine they'd be running higher than 2.75v or so each (the ELN-60 need about 22v to not blink in real-world use, instead of 24v like the spec sheet lists)

 

Looks great overall! You may just see a jumble of wires, but it is far cleaner looking than any of my builds have been!

[xerophyte_nyc]

The violets blinking is indeed a forward voltage issue - which is strange, because at 45% I would imagine they'd be running higher than 2.75v or so each (the ELN-60 need about 22v to not blink in real-world use, instead of 24v like the spec sheet lists)

 

To add to the weirdness, blinking is only on the true violets, not the hyper violets. But since all 16 violets with 2 drivers are connected to one channel, I have to start them all at 45%.

 

For giggles, I split the dimmers apart on the violets to see how they each behave if controlled separately. The hyper violets still work OK, but the true violets ramp up fine until they reach 25%, then they blink until 34%, and then they ramp up again until about 60% at which point they shut down completely. What is going on? I have no clue.

 

Do you think maybe I should increase the amps on the drivers from 500mA to 700mA, and max out around 70% on the dimmer? Would that change anything? Maybe the violet LEDs need more amps?

[jedimasterben]

To add to the weirdness, blinking is only on the true violets, not the hyper violets. But since all 16 violets with 2 drivers are connected to one channel, I have to start them all at 45%.

 

For giggles, I split the dimmers apart on the violets to see how they each behave if controlled separately. The hyper violets still work OK, but the true violets ramp up fine until they reach 25%, then they blink until 34%, and then they ramp up again until about 60% at which point they shut down completely. What is going on? I have no clue.

 

Do you think maybe I should increase the amps on the drivers from 500mA to 700mA, and max out around 70% on the dimmer? Would that change anything? Maybe the violet LEDs need more amps?

Wait, so violets go like this:

0-10% off

11-25% normal

26-34% blink

35-60% normal

60%+ off

 

WTF. I think you may have gremlins in your LEDs!

 

It may have something to do with how the driver is tuned down so far. I would try pushing it to 700ma from 500 and see what that does.

[xerophyte_nyc]

It may have something to do with how the driver is tuned down so far. I would try pushing it to 700ma from 500 and see what that does.

 

Great How in the world am I supposed to tune them up with my meter without snipping the wiring apart? That's a lot of work in a small space. I think I might just turn the screw a little bit without checking, and make sure to never run the violets beyond about 70% of dimming.