Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > Do It Yourself
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Closed Thread
Thread Tools
Unread 03/27/2009, 11:02 AM   #526
ReefEnabler
Premium Member
 
ReefEnabler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Cary, NC
Posts: 3,760
Zachtos I am using mostly Royal Blue LEDs which are on their own puck. Shouldn't be yellowish.

Basically 4 buckpucks, but two are identical. One buckpuck gets 6 royal blues, the other gets 2 whites and 1 green. The other 2 pucks are the same.

For me this is about fine tuning some lighting illusions I have been tweaking for a while now. I've tested what it should look like using other LEDs... but we ended up using those for my wife's mini since there was no way I could mount them in my canopy... but it worked good for her!





(walls are blue so the blue is exagerated). Filled the Mini with SW. PAR measurements at the bottom range from about ~150 around the edge to 230 near the middle. Measurements about two inches below the water level range from 250-340.

these are 12x1w 120vac LEDbulbs from DivineLighting. 30 degree optics.


__________________
- Ryan B

"that is enough skimmate to ruin lives." - GSMguy

Current Tank Info: 220g Display, 70g sump, 35g frag, 50g fuge, 2x250w MH, 1x400w MH, 2x80w T5, 2x140w VHO Actinic

Last edited by ReefEnabler; 03/27/2009 at 11:08 AM.
ReefEnabler is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 11:23 AM   #527
lynxvs
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: MA
Posts: 189



Here is my first prototype LED Driver and controller that I made almost a year ago. It features the STCS1 LED driver from ST micro and a PSOC microcontroller. The driver can drive 9 strings of six leds at 700 mA using one power supply. The Drivers are dimmable and can be turned on and off individually. I programmed two modes of operation, Auto and Manual. When the light is first turned on you enter the current time then you enter four time periods The four time periods that can be preprogrammed, “Sunrise”, “Daylight”, “Sunset” and “Lunar”.

The four periods are described below:

Sunrise Mode: All LED’s are initially set to the lowest intensity level and fans turn on. As time progresses the lights are gradually increased in intensity to simulate sunrise.

Daylight Mode: All LED’s are turned on to the highest setting or preprogrammed value and fans are turned on.

Sunset Mode: All LED’s are initially set to the highest level and fans are on. As time progresses the intensity is gradually decreased to simulate sunset.

Lunar Mode: Night actinic and night white LED’s are turned on to the lowest level or preset level and the fans turn off.

After all modes are set the setting will automatically be stored in nonvolatile memory where if power is lost and restored all setting will remain.

The light fixture also can be set to “Manual mode” this allows turning the individual LED’s (actinic blue, daylight white, daylight night and night blue) on or off and adjusting their light intensity.

Since this prototype I've made many changes I just haven’t got around to taking pictures and posting them


lynxvs is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 12:35 PM   #528
DeathWish302
Clown Hoarder
 
DeathWish302's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Wixom, MI
Posts: 1,603
lynxvs - I'll give you acclaim for a clean design and functional end product.

I may have to look into this in the near future....


__________________
-Frank

Save 'Wild' Nemo and his Nem.! Would you transplant a Redwood b/c it looks good with birds in the backyard??? Buy CB fish and Captive-Cloned nems.

Current Tank Info: 175gal. 3-tier Reef, 400W/250W Radiums, LED/CFL Par38 Mangrove Lagoon 12g Aquapod GBTA 'sterile' tank w/ DIY LED Lighting
DeathWish302 is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 01:00 PM   #529
bebereef
Registered Member
 
bebereef's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Sorel, Quebec, Canada
Posts: 280
Quote:
Originally posted by ReefEnabler
Zachtos I am using mostly Royal Blue LEDs which are on their own puck. Shouldn't be yellowish.

Basically 4 buckpucks, but two are identical. One buckpuck gets 6 royal blues, the other gets 2 whites and 1 green. The other 2 pucks are the same.

For me this is about fine tuning some lighting illusions I have been tweaking for a while now. I've tested what it should look like using other LEDs... but we ended up using those for my wife's mini since there was no way I could mount them in my canopy... but it worked good for her!





(walls are blue so the blue is exagerated). Filled the Mini with SW. PAR measurements at the bottom range from about ~150 around the edge to 230 near the middle. Measurements about two inches below the water level range from 250-340.

these are 12x1w 120vac LEDbulbs from DivineLighting. 30 degree optics.



Can you tell me how high are those led bulbs from the water level to achieve those par numbers?


bebereef is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 01:46 PM   #530
kcress
Registered Member
 
kcress's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Central California Coast.
Posts: 5,383
Kudos lynxvs!
Very nice.


kcress is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 02:05 PM   #531
lynxvs
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: MA
Posts: 189
Thanks Kcress and DeathWish302
My new design is a little cleaner. I will try to post new pics later tonight. I have some pics of coral growth over the last 6 months... I think. I also have pics of my light with and without optics and PAR readings.


lynxvs is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 02:14 PM   #532
ReefEnabler
Premium Member
 
ReefEnabler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Cary, NC
Posts: 3,760
Quote:
Originally posted by bebereef
Can you tell me how high are those led bulbs from the water level to achieve those par numbers?

about 4 feet.


__________________
- Ryan B

"that is enough skimmate to ruin lives." - GSMguy

Current Tank Info: 220g Display, 70g sump, 35g frag, 50g fuge, 2x250w MH, 1x400w MH, 2x80w T5, 2x140w VHO Actinic
ReefEnabler is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 02:24 PM   #533
bebereef
Registered Member
 
bebereef's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Sorel, Quebec, Canada
Posts: 280
Quote:
Originally posted by ReefEnabler
about 4 feet.

So if put closer to water level as i could then it should be fine for my LPS/Softies cube!
(45 gal).


bebereef is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 02:27 PM   #534
ReefEnabler
Premium Member
 
ReefEnabler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Cary, NC
Posts: 3,760
If you put them closer then you will need more lights, as these put out a pretty narrow beam with a hotspot in the middle. 6 are used for this 17x17 tank. I'm guessing your 45 gal has over double the footprint, so you'd need lots of these if you were to move it closer. more than double.

Also if they are closer, the white and blue will not blend together and you will see distinct color spots in the tank.

The only reason we went this route for this tank is so that you wouldn't ever see the lights (unless you look staight up when right by the tank). At $45 bucks a bulb this whole light setup was around $350 including track lights from HD. A good value compared to the ELOS E-Lite which is 750 and gets less PAR at the bottom (but arguably a brighter hotspot directly under the fixture, and less spread in the top of the tank).


btw, are you saying you think you need more than 200-300 PAR for LPS/softies??? I don't really think so.


__________________
- Ryan B

"that is enough skimmate to ruin lives." - GSMguy

Current Tank Info: 220g Display, 70g sump, 35g frag, 50g fuge, 2x250w MH, 1x400w MH, 2x80w T5, 2x140w VHO Actinic

Last edited by ReefEnabler; 03/27/2009 at 02:38 PM.
ReefEnabler is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 02:34 PM   #535
zachtos
Registered Member
 
zachtos's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 1,161
Lynx used the drivers I was talking about. They are cheap, like $4 each instead of the ripoff $20 each you pay for buck pucks. They are easy to use too and come in a variety of mA configurations. I suggest using those to be cost effective for bigger designs... And plan for optic lenses so you dont waste light energy going out the sides of the tank!


__________________
300G SPS reef build in progress

Current Tank Info: 300G reef under construction
zachtos is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 02:37 PM   #536
ReefEnabler
Premium Member
 
ReefEnabler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Cary, NC
Posts: 3,760
Quote:
Originally posted by lynxvs
Here is my first prototype LED Driver and controller that I made almost a year ago. It features the STCS1 LED driver from ST micro and a PSOC microcontroller. The driver can drive 9 strings of six leds at 700 mA using one power supply.
Excuse my confusion.... you mention a driver driving 9 strings of 6 LEDs... but I know we've covered how bad parallel arrangements are..... I also counted 9 chips... did you mean that you are using 9 drivers all sharing one power supply???

Also from the link Zachtos provided to STCS1 it says 1.5a, are you just keeping it dimmed to 700ma?


__________________
- Ryan B

"that is enough skimmate to ruin lives." - GSMguy

Current Tank Info: 220g Display, 70g sump, 35g frag, 50g fuge, 2x250w MH, 1x400w MH, 2x80w T5, 2x140w VHO Actinic
ReefEnabler is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 02:48 PM   #537
bebereef
Registered Member
 
bebereef's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Sorel, Quebec, Canada
Posts: 280
[QUOTE]Originally posted by ReefEnabler
[B]If you put them closer then you will need more lights, as these put out a pretty narrow beam with a hotspot in the middle. 6 are used for this 17x17 tank. I'm guessing your 45 gal has over double the footprint, so you'd need lots of these if you were to move it closer. more than double.



Also if they are closer, the white and blue will not blend together and you will see distinct color spots in the tank.

The only reason we went this route for this tank is so that you wouldn't ever see the lights (unless you look staight up when right by the tank). At $45 bucks a bulb this whole light setup was around $350 including track lights from HD. A good value compared to the ELOS E-Lite which is 750 and gets less PAR at the bottom (but arguably a brighter hotspot directly under the fixture, and less spread in the top of the tank).


btw, are you saying you think you need more than 200-300 PAR for LPS/softies??? I don't really think so.


It's 22 x 22 x 22 and for PAR numbers well i don't really know.


If i want good result using your same route, how high should i go?


bebereef is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 02:54 PM   #538
ReefEnabler
Premium Member
 
ReefEnabler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Cary, NC
Posts: 3,760
sent you a PM since this is somewhat of a sidetrack from fully-DIY LED's....


__________________
- Ryan B

"that is enough skimmate to ruin lives." - GSMguy

Current Tank Info: 220g Display, 70g sump, 35g frag, 50g fuge, 2x250w MH, 1x400w MH, 2x80w T5, 2x140w VHO Actinic
ReefEnabler is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 03:18 PM   #539
lynxvs
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: MA
Posts: 189
Quote:
Originally posted by ReefEnabler
Excuse my confusion.... you mention a driver driving 9 strings of 6 LEDs... but I know we've covered how bad parallel arrangements are..... I also counted 9 chips... did you mean that you are using 9 drivers all sharing one power supply???

Also from the link Zachtos provided to STCS1 it says 1.5a, are you just keeping it dimmed to 700ma?

The prototype used 50 LEDs so I had 7 of the drivers driving 6 LEDs in series and two driving 4 LEDs in series, sorry for the confusion. My latest design has 10 drivers with 60 LEDs so each driver has 6 LEDs in series. Yes they all share one power supply to keep it simple. The current is controlled by a current sense resistor and you can set it to any current you want. The board also is modular in that to increase the light size, ie add more LEDs you just add another LED driver board. the control signals are just daisy chained together.


lynxvs is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 05:29 PM   #540
Ziggy953
Registered Member
 
Ziggy953's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Owings Mills, Maryland
Posts: 690
Dude...I just made it through the whole thread. What an awesome project! You have inspired me to do this on my wife's 24g nano tank. I'm in the design phase so nothing is set as yet. Most of this stuff is WAY over my head but with your help thus far I think I can handle it.

I'm bouncing around on how many LEDs to put over a 24g JBJ nano. A friend keeps telling me 18 9 white and 9 blue. My wife wants to be able to keep SPS, zoas anemones and a clam. I have been leaning towards 12 but maybe 18 is a better idea.

Thanks a million for sharing your work. Beautifully done, so neat and tidy I really like that!!

Sorry to hear the optics didn't work out. Someone said in the thread, ..."if it aint broke..." LOL

Really man thanks for the work and keeping us posted!!

On and any suggestions would be AWESOME!!


__________________
If you want to see my tank click on the little red house.

Current Tank Info: 40g Breeder - RKE - LEDs the works...
Ziggy953 is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 09:46 PM   #541
lynxvs
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: MA
Posts: 189
Sorry pics are to big


lynxvs is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 09:52 PM   #542
Soundwave
Registered Member
 
Soundwave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Maroa, Il
Posts: 361
If you are going with SPS, just do 24. It's half of my fixture and I'm pretty sure that would be bright enough.


Soundwave is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 09:54 PM   #543
lynxvs
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: MA
Posts: 189
I give up the pictures I tried to post are too big I have to try something else.



Last edited by lynxvs; 03/27/2009 at 10:03 PM.
lynxvs is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 10:17 PM   #544
lynxvs
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: MA
Posts: 189
I can't seem to get the pictures to work in a reasonable size. If you want to check out some of my LED pics go to:

http://www.photiczoneled.com/photo_g...to_gallery.htm



Last edited by lynxvs; 03/27/2009 at 10:22 PM.
lynxvs is offline  
Unread 03/27/2009, 11:53 PM   #545
james3370
Registered Member
 
james3370's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: US ARMY - El Paso TX
Posts: 3,678
Quote:
Originally posted by lynxvs
I can't seem to get the pictures to work in a reasonable size. If you want to check out some of my LED pics go to:

http://www.photiczoneled.com/photo_g...to_gallery.htm
nice fixture

i have a great program for you that allows you to do bulk photo resizing &/or renaming at one time. you can either resize by percentage or to a specified dimension. it's a totally free program to download & very easy to use i've been using it for years. i dump all the pics off my 8mp to a folder & then resize them to 1024x768 into another folder...leaving the original large pics.

you can also do a bulk watermark add to your pics as well

http://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm


__________________
Yes I hear voices in my head, but they speak spanish
so I can't understand anything they say.

there's no place like 127.0.0.1

It's a shame that stupidity isn't painful....

Current Tank Info: currently tankless....but planning an AIO
james3370 is offline  
Unread 03/28/2009, 12:15 AM   #546
apt220
Member
 
apt220's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Chula Vista, CA
Posts: 1,305
Lynx,
Question about the PAR picture with 600 PAR and 515. Is that without the eggcrate with the fixture the same distance as this picture?





And just to clarify, you are running optics right?


apt220 is offline  
Unread 03/28/2009, 07:26 AM   #547
lynxvs
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: MA
Posts: 189
Thanks James3370 i'll try it!


apt220
The fixture is 6" above the tank without the eggcrate and spashguard with optics. Those PAR readings are from the latest design with 60 LEDs at the highest lumen bin I could get. The last picture you show the light is about 10" above the tank.


lynxvs is offline  
Unread 03/28/2009, 07:51 AM   #548
ejmitch
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Madison
Posts: 62
Lynxvs, can you tell us more about your fixture? I know you prefer the Rebel LED. Is your fixture using those? Can you provide specs and numbers on them? Are you running three on one star? Also, I assume your using your driver from above, correct? Do you think that driver could be used by us without PCB layout or manufacturing skills?

Thanks!
- E


__________________
- Eric

Current Tank Info: 90g reef, w/ 100g sump/growout
ejmitch is offline  
Unread 03/28/2009, 11:49 AM   #549
stugray
Premium Member
 
stugray's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Longmont, Co
Posts: 4,566
zachtos,

I just looked at the driver you posted above:

http://www.st.com/stonline/products/...3415/stcs1.pdf

That is awesome!

You must be very careful if you try to dim a regular Constant current source ( like a buckpuck ) using PWM.
You can blow up the LED ( trust me ;-)

This device even has "LED disconnection diagnostic".

I assume that means it can tell if a LED string goes open or short & can respond to the fault appropriately.

Thanks!

Stu


__________________
Some people think that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. They just dont understand that........ Hey! Look a chicken!

Well, We KNOW GOD exists, but for US to exist without a GOD is preposterous.Umm wait a minute. Sounds a bit circular to me

Current Tank Info: 125 Gal. display w/80 gal mud/caulerpa sump. Basement sump w/ LED Grow Light,Gravity fed Reeflo200 skimmer w/ ORCA Recirc, DIY calc reactor & kalk stirrer. Inline plumbed 75 Gal frag/settling tank.
stugray is offline  
Unread 03/28/2009, 04:25 PM   #550
lynxvs
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: MA
Posts: 189
Quote:
Originally posted by ejmitch
Lynxvs, can you tell us more about your fixture? I know you prefer the Rebel LED. Is your fixture using those? Can you provide specs and numbers on them? Are you running three on one star? Also, I assume your using your driver from above, correct? Do you think that driver could be used by us without PCB layout or manufacturing skills?

Thanks!
- E
Yes I am using the Rebel LED
http://www.philipslumileds.com/pdfs/DS56.pdf
I'm using the Cool white LXML-PWC1-0100, Royal Blue LXML-PR01-0275 and Cyan LXML-PE01-00070. I mount the LEDs on a PCB board I designed. I started off with Luxeon III stars but hated the wiring. I went with the Rebel because at the time they were the brightest. With the board and controller I designed you could use any LED you like. Here is a pick of the old 50 LED design. I need to take pics of the new and improved.



The driver must be mounted on a PCB board to work.... it's not difficult to create a PCB go to
http://www.expresspcb.com/
They give you free simple CAD software to design your board.


lynxvs is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:28 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright 1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.