diy led lights

So I was looking around rapidled's site a little more and I found this
http://www.rapidled.com/ddc-01-pwm-controller-w-remote-control/

I really like that you could manually dim the lights with a remote, I asked them and they said that when you do the automatic sunrise, daytime and sunset, there is no way to control the brightness of the daytime setting. I'm using dimable drivers, isn't there a way to adjust brightness on the driver.

My thought is, to just adjust each individual driver to the setting I want, so that way I can use the sunrise to sunset feature, I really like that.

Or could I even use a separate dimmer switch to do the same thing?
 
The ELN drivers have an internal trimpot that you use to set the nominal current. Then you use the external dimming connection to dim down from there. So you could more or less do what you're talking about.
 
Okay, cool. I think I'm going to go with the one without the remote, not much point in paying 15 dollars more for it. I will just adjust the color ratio on the drivers them self, it will be a slight pain to do at first, but once there set the way I like them, there isn't much reason to change them.
 
Last edited:
Yup, it'll do all that. Some people report that the ELN drivers don't turn fully off at a zero signal so I would still plan on a simple appliance timer on the AC supply to the ELNs to turn them on and off.

Keep in mind though that the Typhon controller was designed to be a DIY project, not a commercial off the shelf controller, so IMHO you need to approach it a little bit differently.
 
i myself am looking into building my own led lighting - with the 3 watt led's i was under the impression that 1 -3 watt led per 15 to 20 sq. inches is about the standard. is this correct or is there a newer formula maybe
 
der_wille_zur_macht said:
Yup, it'll do all that. Some people report that the ELN drivers don't turn fully off at a zero signal so I would still plan on a simple appliance timer on the AC supply to the ELNs to turn them on and off.

Keep in mind though that the Typhon controller was designed to be a DIY project, not a commercial off the shelf controller, so IMHO you need to approach it a little bit differently.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by approach it differently, what I was going to do was gut out an old battery back up tower, and mount all my drivers in there, then cut a whole in the side for the screen to fit through to control it.

As for the wiring it goes, it looks like you just wire the blue and white from the driver to the red and black plug, then the red and black from the driver goes to the led string.
 
active said:
i myself am looking into building my own led lighting - with the 3 watt led's i was under the impression that 1 -3 watt led per 15 to 20 sq. inches is about the standard. is this correct or is there a newer formula maybe
Click to expand...

It really depends on a LOT of factors - the individual LED model and bin of the LEDs you're using, drive current, height above the water, optics, what you want to keep in the tank, and so on. There are a handful of threads that explain these basics, I'd suggest starting there.

xandrew245x said:
What do you mean by approach it differently, what I was going to do was gut out an old battery back up tower, and mount all my drivers in there, then cut a whole in the side for the screen to fit through to control it.

As for the wiring it goes, it looks like you just wire the blue and white from the driver to the red and black plug, then the red and black from the driver goes to the led string.
Click to expand...

I mean, the Typhon was designed for people who aren't afraid of tinkering and want a platform to work with. Basically, your description is correct, and it's well proven to work with ELN-series drivers, so you will probably not have any issues. But - you'll need to put it in an enclosure (sounds like you have that covered) and either wire it with correct plugs for the headers and so on.
 
der_wille_zur_macht said:
It really depends on a LOT of factors - the individual LED model and bin of the LEDs you're using, drive current, height above the water, optics, what you want to keep in the tank, and so on. There are a handful of threads that explain these basics, I'd suggest starting there.



I mean, the Typhon was designed for people who aren't afraid of tinkering and want a platform to work with. Basically, your description is correct, and it's well proven to work with ELN-series drivers, so you will probably not have any issues. But - you'll need to put it in an enclosure (sounds like you have that covered) and either wire it with correct plugs for the headers and so on.
Click to expand...

Okay, I do believe the kit comes with plugs, because it says about how to wire them correctly, it comes with directions so I think I can figure it out, I like tinkering with things, and i'm not super tight on money for this build, so if something doesn't work out, it will be okay.
 
Don't get me wrong, I love the Typhon controller. :) I just want people to be aware of it's roots as a DIY-er oriented open source project, which to some people can mean a different thing than a typical off the shelf commercial product. And if you do get it and have any questions, feel free to ask away.
 
der_wille_zur_macht said:
Don't get me wrong, I love the Typhon controller. :) I just want people to be aware of it's roots as a DIY-er oriented open source project, which to some people can mean a different thing than a typical off the shelf commercial product. And if you do get it and have any questions, feel free to ask away.
Click to expand...

Okay, thank you!

I saw that it was a kit without a case and all that stuff, and I know circuit boards like that need to remain dry, I plan on putting it underneath my display refuge stand where it shouldn't get any water in it, unless my refuge were to overflow some how.
 
Another question, I was looking at the moonlight kit from rapidled, I wanted to use them with the typhon controller, but I don't think I would be able to with the driver that comes with the moonlight kit.

Any idea how I could do it?
 
I only read part of the thread... So sorry if i'm being repetitive but i have a 65 gallon with 18 cool white xp-g with 80 degree optics
36 royal blues but only 18 have the 80 degree optics

I have been been dialing mine back and i still having problems with too much light.

I would also agree about using the natural whites. They have a good nm spike in the red range which will keep you from having/thinking about putting any red LED's in your series. Hope this helps.. How high off the water are you mounting them?
 
Msleckro said:
I only read part of the thread... So sorry if i'm being repetitive but i have a 65 gallon with 18 cool white xp-g with 80 degree optics
36 royal blues but only 18 have the 80 degree optics

I have been been dialing mine back and i still having problems with too much light.

I would also agree about using the natural whites. They have a good nm spike in the red range which will keep you from having/thinking about putting any red LED's in your series. Hope this helps.. How high off the water are you mounting them?
Click to expand...

I was thinking about 6-12" above the water, going to play around with it a little and then build legs for it to sit on my tank, or better yet, build adjustable legs.
 
...by someone who's trying to sell you LED kits I suspect?

Rapidled actually talked me down when I was going to buy a 48 light kit and talked me down to 36. said it was all I needed.
 
xandrew245x said:
Another question, I was looking at the moonlight kit from rapidled, I wanted to use them with the typhon controller, but I don't think I would be able to with the driver that comes with the moonlight kit.

Any idea how I could do it?
Click to expand...

It looks like that driver is not dimmable so there's no way to control it. If you wanted to do a dimmable moonlight system using off the shelf parts I'd look at either buckpucks or inventronics drivers, since they come in "smaller" sizes and are available dimmable. Or the Meanwell ELN-60-27 if you want to stay with Rapid.

Just keep in mind - even on very low currents, HP LEDs are VERY bright! IME they are hard to use for moonlights on smaller tanks. You could just as easily get a suitable number of "normal" gumdrop LEDs and run them with a current limiting resistor directly off the Typhon's 10v output. That would be what I'd do in your case - it'll cost less than a buck and it won't overwhelm your tank.
 
Thats not a bad idea, where can I get the normal leds from that your talking about?

So I would just wire the typhon through a resistor then to the moonlights?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
55 gallon Tank Soft coral and fish under regular LED light
2
Replies
24
Views
3K
Misled
Misled
C
Scored a complete setup for $100
Replies
13
Views
2K
griss
griss
N
FS: Waterbox 20g cube, Hydra 26HD LEDs, stand, livestock, misc.
Replies
7
Views
1K
ninersrule1
N
D
LED / T5 DIY light fixture for 35inch tank
Replies
4
Views
1K
Dukeman
D
D
DIY Hanging Ocean Revive Light Fixtures
Replies
0
Views
496
dannyfish
D
Back
Top