Algae Scrubber Advanced

[Floyd R Turbo]

Geez o pete, how big of a scrubber is that for??

 

[outy]

Geez o pete, how big of a scrubber is that for??

his chaeto sump

 

[jalisco]

Hey guys, I think I have all of my equipment now but still haven't completely planned out the plumbing yet. I've been watching videos and reading posts trying to decide on plumbing the overflow directly to Turbo L2 (I think he included the emergency plumbing), Teeing off the return pump to feed L2 or using a separate pump in the sump to feed the L2. Also trying to decide on a custom sump for an ATS or using an eshopps or cpr that came with my used Tech 45.

I didn't plan on using a chiller as our house is cooled to 70/75 all summer (just thought about HVAC failure. hmmm) and I'm running led instead of MH so I'm thinking I should be able to have two pumps in the sump without raising the temp too much?

I've also been reading that some people with ATS are having to dose nitrates as their corals don't like 0 nitrate 0 phosphate. If that becomes a problem can you just leave a filter sock or foam block sponge filter in place? I keep reading that you have to change out your filter socks every few days because they become nitrate generators.

Getting sooo excited and can't wait to finalize and bring this baby online.

 

[outy]

I've also been reading that some people with ATS are having to dose nitrates as their corals don't like 0 nitrate 0 phosphate..

You feed your fish don't you ? Well there ya go.

 

[Devaji108]

guys I am looking for a parts list and templet of an acrylic box "turbo" style ATS.

I had built an UAS but that was for a 40br before getting tank up and running i decided to treat myself to a rimless 90. so not sure it will do the job or not. cold always build another and clean on opposite schedules. HMMM that not a bad idea...

but still would like to see a box turbo style template and instructions if anyone has done a write up.

my tank goals are to start the system with an ATS and run skimmer if needed with hopes to be al ATS..but will use a skimmer if I find my system need it.

cheers

 

[SantaMonica]

Yes you can certainly build as large as you need; two is best, and clean one at a time.

 

[jalisco]

You feed your fish don't you ? Well there ya go.

Could you please elaborate? People are saying their ATS leave the tank with 0 nitate and 0 phosphate so they dose nitrates. They have fish and I assume they feed them so I don't understand what you are trying to convey.

 

[spjames]

Nice to see a red-blue comparison.

I don't have quantitative data, but I can add that I built a diy LED unit consisting of 8 x RB ; 8 x Deep Red (all 3W). Both are on separate channels. The unit is mounted on the outside of the glass, pointed at a single side of the screen which is fully submerged in the tank without air. With both channels active growth was superb (several inches thick), primarily on the nearest side to the light. It got interesting when the reds dimmed significantly (due to a bad connection) and I didn't have time to troubleshoot. So the led unit was left with just RB's running for about a week to ten days. The previous growth starting deteriorating immediately until there was nothing but a thin film left. Eventually I fixed the bad connection and the reds came back on in all their glory and of course so did the fantastic growth !

 

[outy]

Could you please elaborate? .

You adding nitrate and phosphate by feeding your fish.

Most people will not get their water to clean

 

[jalisco]

Gotcha, thank you. But if it were to get too clean, would not changing the filter sock as often be an alternative to dosing nitrates?

 

[outy]

Gotcha, thank you. But if it were to get too clean, would not changing the filter sock as often be an alternative to dosing nitrates?

Probably

It would become a little nitrate factory after 6 weeks like cycling a tank.

I let mine go sometimes for months and never notice a problem.

 

[Jade5051]

Algae Scrubber Advanced

Need some help with LEDs...I need a specific sized resistor to make sure each circuit path is getting the appropriate voltage/wattage etc. There will be 6 paths and each path will contain 3x3w LEDs. I want to run them in parallel with resistors on each path similar to this...(again 6 PATHS 3x3w LEDs on each path).

Here is the run down...

- 24V 2.5A 60W MeanWell driver.
- 18x3w LEDs (Reverse Voltage: 5.0 V, DC Forward Voltage: Typical: 2.2V Max: 2.4V, DC Forward Current: 750mA)

If I put this 3w Watt 330 Ohm Metal Film Resistor on each path will I be fine?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3w-Watt-330-Ohm-330-R-Metal-Film-Resistor-10-Pcs-GAU-/191793626972?

If not, can you please tell me what resistor I need or please explain the math so I can figure it out cause it's been to long since I had to make sense of ohm's law.

 

[Jade5051]

I need to have decaying resistor sizes right? Like a 10 ohm then a 4 ohm then a 2 ohm and so on?

 

[spjames]

Need some help with LEDs...

Floyd already gave you the best answer and I second his choice of the Meanwell LPC-35-700. Personally, I would put all of the leds in series (1 x 18) and just use one of the Meanwell's, but 1 x 9 on each of two Meanwell's would be fine too.

 

[AZRippster]

The Meanwell are top notch and my preferred power supply. You can also match up the appropriate power supply with the Meanwell LDD drivers to provide the constant current you require without worrying about building an appropriate circuit. On the flip side, when I built my ATS, I wanted to save a little green, so I used the Maxwellen drivers you can find on ebay matched to the number of LEDs I wanted to use. They also dim, so I put two potentiometers on the dimming leads so I could control how much Red/Blue I was putting out. It has made it nice dialing in exactly how much Red/Blue I require for my screen and growth needs. The Maxwellen drivers/power supplies are pretty small, so I mounted them in an aluminum project box with the pots for easy adjustment.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Need some help with LEDs...I need a specific sized resistor to make sure each circuit path is getting the appropriate voltage/wattage etc. There will be 6 paths and each path will contain 3x3w LEDs. I want to run them in parallel with resistors on each path similar to this...(again 6 PATHS 3x3w LEDs on each path).

Here is the run down...

- 24V 2.5A 60W MeanWell driver.
- 18x3w LEDs (Reverse Voltage: 5.0 V, DC Forward Voltage: Typical: 2.2V Max: 2.4V, DC Forward Current: 750mA)

If I put this 3w Watt 330 Ohm Metal Film Resistor on each path will I be fine?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3w-Watt-330-Ohm-330-R-Metal-Film-Resistor-10-Pcs-GAU-/191793626972?

If not, can you please tell me what resistor I need or please explain the math so I can figure it out cause it's been to long since I had to make sense of ohm's law.

Which Meanwell are you using, specifically, the model number? Constant Current (CC) or Constant Voltage (CV)?

If it's a CC driver, then it's easy, but your paths don't work out.

2.5A divided across 6 matched parallel paths is 2.5 / 6 = 0.416A - 400+ mA per leg

If it's a CV driver, each leg would experience 24V drop no matter how many LEDs you had in each string, so 3 x 3W @ 2.2V max = 6.6V per string, so those are gonna blow right away.

I'm guessing it's CC, which means it will deliver current at 2.5A all the time, and the voltage (and power) will vary based on the connected load

You should not need resistors in this case, as long as your parallel paths are matched - they are just going to add to the power needs (higher voltage drop = more power output)

This below may or may not interest you, I don't think it applies, I just had it typed out then realized I had not asked the CV vs CC question. I didn't feel like deleting it



Theoretically, if you wanted to have 6 parallel paths that each received the same current, then you need to have all the components matched along each path. With devices such as resistors, you can neglect the effects of heating as these devices have a pretty well match linear curve.

With LEDs, this is not the case

LEDs will have a give Vf (forward voltage) at a given current, but this depends on the binning process. Buy quality, you are likely to get closely match LEDs, such that you can place 3 in parallel and create a current divider and it'll come out pretty well.

The Vf will increase with current, and it will also increase a bit due to heating. So if you apply a constant voltage across a set of LEDs, you will "force" Vf, which then can only result in the current varying to match the output at that Vf according to the individual LED characteristics.

This is why you really shouldn't use a CV driver unless you know exactly what you are doing. Not to say you shouldn't, but there is a reason to use CC drivers on a DIY build.

 

[Jade5051]

Algae Scrubber Advanced

Which Meanwell are you using, specifically, the model number? Constant Current (CC) or Constant Voltage (CV)?



If it's a CC driver, then it's easy, but your paths don't work out.



2.5A divided across 6 matched parallel paths is 2.5 / 6 = 0.416A - 400+ mA per leg



If it's a CV driver, each leg would experience 24V drop no matter how many LEDs you had in each string, so 3 x 3W @ 2.2V max = 6.6V per string, so those are gonna blow right away.



I'm guessing it's CC, which means it will deliver current at 2.5A all the time, and the voltage (and power) will vary based on the connected load



You should not need resistors in this case, as long as your parallel paths are matched - they are just going to add to the power needs (higher voltage drop = more power output)



This below may or may not interest you, I don't think it applies, I just had it typed out then realized I had not asked the CV vs CC question. I didn't feel like deleting it







Theoretically, if you wanted to have 6 parallel paths that each received the same current, then you need to have all the components matched along each path. With devices such as resistors, you can neglect the effects of heating as these devices have a pretty well match linear curve.



With LEDs, this is not the case



LEDs will have a give Vf (forward voltage) at a given current, but this depends on the binning process. Buy quality, you are likely to get closely match LEDs, such that you can place 3 in parallel and create a current divider and it'll come out pretty well.



The Vf will increase with current, and it will also increase a bit due to heating. So if you apply a constant voltage across a set of LEDs, you will "force" Vf, which then can only result in the current varying to match the output at that Vf according to the individual LED characteristics.



This is why you really shouldn't use a CV driver unless you know exactly what you are doing. Not to say you shouldn't, but there is a reason to use CC drivers on a DIY build.

It's the LPV-60-24 constant voltage. I can cancel and reorder a different driver if it's going to make this easier. I'd prefer to stick with one driver. If it will work I'm leaning toward series now because of simplicity. I may grab a CC and still run them in parallel.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Yeah you definitely don't want to use that driver for what you are wanting to do.

Meanwell just came out with their line of LPV drivers, and I have a feeling they are going to cause a bit of confusion initially. They are useful in situations that require a CV supply, like some LED fixtures or drivers that require a certain voltage. The cheap laptop power supplies that you can buy on eBay or Alibaba are built with like $1 worth of components and are not *really* designed to be operated at their max output. They also don't have very much protective circuitry in them. Meanwell PS's however, are and do

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

You can run parallel strings using a CC driver with say 1.5A output, and put a fuse on each string. Match the strings for Vf, and you have a current divider. If one LED blows and you lose a string, the other string will get 1.5A for just long enough for the fuse to blow, saving that whole string.

 

[Jade5051]

Yeah you definitely don't want to use that driver for what you are wanting to do.

Meanwell just came out with their line of LPV drivers, and I have a feeling they are going to cause a bit of confusion initially. They are useful in situations that require a CV supply, like some LED fixtures or drivers that require a certain voltage. The cheap laptop power supplies that you can buy on eBay or Alibaba are built with like $1 worth of components and are not *really* designed to be operated at their max output. They also don't have very much protective circuitry in them. Meanwell PS's however, are and do

Thanks Floyd! You are the best! I cancelled the order. I'll try to find a CV driver.