Okay, so here's the planned setup of the LED lighting for the tank. It will be built in a curve over the tank so as to mimic the natural change of lighting angles throughout the day, and allow gradual ramping up/down across the overall fixture for more gradual lighting changes. Well, that's the plan, at least. LOL
Wouldn't it be a more efficient use of hardware to articulate the panel the LEDs are mounted to -vs- having more LEDs turning on (brighter) / off (dimmer).
Think about it like the opposite of a solar panel tracking the sun... the sun (panel of LEDs in this case) would tilt. What do you think 30 degrees off of center (flat / level) in each direction?
The shadows moving across rock work / corals throughout the day would be a cool effect. I know my SPS's have a 'bright side' / 'dark side' effect caused by uneven lighting.
I don't know the specifics of the apparatus but I am sure one could be constructed using VDM (0-10 vlts) output from a controller. -or- even more simple... pivot the panel from a a geared down motor on a timer.
It would / could obviously be synced with the panel brightness too. For example say it tilts 30 degrees to the 'right' at 8 AM with LED's being at 20%. At noon the panel would be flat (level) and LED's would be at 100%. At 8 PM, the panel would be at 30 degrees to the 'left' and output could be 20% again.
For bonus points... bring on heavy reds in the evening for a nice 'sunset' effect.![]()
Have never seen it done before...
First off, fantastic planning and great progress so far... nice to see another out there who puts an extreme amount of up-front thought into all this.
Im really enjoying your build processits going to look amazing once done.
Thanks, Chad. Awesome to see you following this build thread; I've been drooling over your DIY LED fixture for a while now. I've actually contemplated how to encapsulate the LEDs within a similar fixture while retaining the functionality and design I'm looking for. The LEDs will be enclosed in a hood, so I'm not (as) worried about how pretty the whole thing looks, or if it's clumsily large, as I would be if it were an open top tank.
Yeah, I've definitely spent quite a bit of time (too much, if you ask my better half... LOL) planning out this build. I'm curious to see how ramping up your LEDs works out for you the way you've got it. I had thought about doing so that way, but worried that for the size of the tank I'm building it wouldn't work.