DIY LEDs - The write-up

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OMG ... I think my eyes are going cross from reading this thread over the last 3 days. All I can say is more pictures less talking :)

Questions ???

Has anyone made a diy driver or dawn/dusk controller? <-- der_wille_zur_macht
If yes, has anyone put together a parts list with directions and diagram?

Thanks Billy
 
ok der lets see here so let me see if i have this right you can use the Real Time Clock Module from sparkfun and hook it to the Arduino then you can program the Arduino with your computer to cycle your pwm controller, did i get this correct
thanks jeff
 
Drake1, If you don't mind doing some soldering, just get a DS1302 in DIP8, a 32.768 KHz crystal and you're all set. It should cost you about $4 in parts plus a protoboard for another couple bucks. You can add a .022F supercap that will keep the time if there is a power loss (another $2). the crystal goes to p2 and p3 of the chip, then p5,p6 and p7 go to 3 digital pins on the arduino and that's it. the supercap is p8 to ground.
 
WmTasker said:
Has anyone made a diy driver or dawn/dusk controller? <-- der_wille_zur_macht
If yes, has anyone put together a parts list with directions and diagram?
Click to expand...

Yes. Dawn/dusk and plenty of other cool stuff, too. Lots of people have done simple dawn/dusk control though - I did it with an arduino and RTC (not strictly required but I want it for other reasons). I'm on the verge of doing a "build thread" though it's very simple if you used to playing with an arduino. I'll probably put something together after the holidays.

Drake1 said:
ok der lets see here so let me see if i have this right you can use the Real Time Clock Module from sparkfun and hook it to the Arduino then you can program the Arduino with your computer to cycle your pwm controller, did i get this correct
thanks jeff
Click to expand...

Yep.

terahz said:
Drake1, If you don't mind doing some soldering, just get a DS1302 in DIP8, a 32.768 KHz crystal and you're all set. It should cost you about $4 in parts plus a protoboard for another couple bucks. You can add a .022F supercap that will keep the time if there is a power loss (another $2). the crystal goes to p2 and p3 of the chip, then p5,p6 and p7 go to 3 digital pins on the arduino and that's it. the supercap is p8 to ground.
Click to expand...

I used the DS1307 which is a hair different, but very similar. The sparkfun module is based on the DS1307 but more pricey than it needs to be - $20 instead of maybe $5 if you DIY it. The IC, a crystal, two or three external components, and a coin cell (or supercap) for reserve power.
 
Everyone agrees that Royal Blue is the better option over Blue?

What about a combination of the two?
 
It's personal preference really. The Royals are a little closer to a "true" actinic, while the plain blues are more like a really blue 20kk MH lamp, or some of the blue T5 lamps.

The royals give a deeper, purple blue, while the blues are almost a richer version of a bright sky blue color.

In my 360g build I'm going to mix them, and bias towards blue where I want to simulate shallow water, vs. royal blue where I want to simulate deep water.

If you're doing a big build, I would suggest ordering a few of each and a driver. Then mix the different colors in different proportions until you get what you want.
 
I'll be ordering 72 LEDs. I'm currently trying to figure out which Blue/White/Royal Blue combination I want.
 
Seriously, I'd start by ordering 4 or 5 of each color and trying it out. You can always use those "experimental" LEDs in your big fixture, so there's no extra cost, and it will ensure you get exactly what you want.

I know a lot of people probably say "oh, I'll just get X ratio and then dim until I like it" but a small change in dimming to get just the right color can have a large impact on overall intensity - that might be a good or bad thing, but IMHO you're better off trying to nail the ratio through experimentation and then dimming for intensity, rather than "forcing" yourself to dim for color adjustment, which could throw a wrench in your intensity management.

Though, considering that most people seem to be finding that they need to dim to keep from burning their corals up, maybe it's all OK in the end anyways. :)
 
What LED's are you recomending now. I am looking to augment my 14Gal with a DIY grouping so I can do more SPS.

I have been looking at the Endor Star 16.36 each or the Cree® MC-E 24.99 each

The Endor are 540 lm @ 700mA with a max or 1000mA
The Cree are 370 lm @ 350mA with a max of 700. I don't know the lm with the cree at 700.

I was thinking the Endor at 700mA and I am still 30% below max.

I was thinking that on a 14 Oceanic bio cube 6 should be enough.
 
From the specs it looks like you're talking about the three-up Endor Star? If so, it's a decent LED. It and the MC-E are basically just multi-emitter versions of the plain Rebel and the XR-E, respectively - so you're getting 3 or 4 times the light from one star, at about the same efficiency. It can be fine if you take that into consideration - you'll also be getting three or four times the heat from one star, for instance - and, intensity will be up 3 or 4 times, but spread will be the same.

So, those two LEDs are good if you need/want a lot of intensity in a small area. I've used the three-up Endor Star on nano builds, run at a low drive current. That lets you get the right amount of light from a very small space - just don't drive them too high or the heat will kill you.

On a 14g tank, you might want 8 - 12 LEDs total. If you're using the MC-E, that means three of them. If you're using the three-up Rebels, you'll want 3 or 4 of them.

For reference, I built a fixture with 16 LEDs that a friend is currently running on a 14g tank, but the LEDs are driven VERY low - like 250mA. It's working fine for him to grow zoas and other moderate-light frags. I used a mix of three-up Endors and XR-E royal blues on this build, and I'm actually writing a thread about it right now. :D
 
Thanks I am looking to keep the 2 PC lights and add these at a high intensity. I have some Montipora, and a number of SPS. The SPS is doing great with the factory lights and the Monti's look ok, but slow growth. I think that some more intense light would help.

so my plan was to add the LED to the current lights and run all 3 2x24PC's and then add the LED
 
I'd cut the numbers down a bit - LEDs are pretty intense and highly directional lighting, which means on a small, shallow tank they hit pretty hard.

Unless you've got a really, really good reason to keep the PCs, I'd ditch them - their efficiency and cost to operate is laughable compared to the LEDs. The build I described will only cost $100 - $150 and you'll never need to replace a lamp again!

If you do keep the PCs I'd cut the number of LEDs in half and make sure you get dimmable ballasts so you can turn things down if it's too much.
 
onecoder, I have 12 LEDs on my 10G AGA (20 x 10 x 12) and they cover the tank more than enough.

You can see how I have them spaced out in this photo (look for the blue and yellow dots on the surface) and I don't have any dark areas in the tank:
http://joro.geodar.com/images/aquarium/FTS.20.12.2009.800.jpg

Also, at least 3" on the front of the tank (outside of the tank) are lit by the LEDs so my guess is you will be fine with 12 LEDs in either 2x6 or 3x4 configuration.
 
i know i was just curious if deal exteme had the blue and the lenses, i am going to need 160 leds so paying $2 more at led supply is a big deal
 
onecoder said:
Will 8 - 12 cover all the surface area given that the LEDs are so directional.
Click to expand...

Yes - as the other poster noted. If you're worried about coverage, use Luxeon Rebels instead of Cree XR-E. The field of vision is wider, meaning they spread the light out more.

Drake1 said:
where can you find the cree blues? i can find the cree xr-e Q5 on deal extreme but they don't give a color so i assume there the white ones, where can i find the blue ones and 40 degree lenses to go with the cree. here are the only ones they have on there
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2394
thanks jeff
Click to expand...

Those are indeed the cool whites. Q5 bin isn't available in colors. Plus some of the other specs (color bin code) give it away.

Drake1 said:
i know i was just curious if deal exteme had the blue and the lenses, i am going to need 160 leds so paying $2 more at led supply is a big deal
Click to expand...

DX does NOT have a suitable blue LED that I know about, which is sad, because they have the best prices. I'm not sure of optics, I've never looked for them there and I won't be using them on my builds so it never concerned me.

Check the other places I listed - ledsupply.com is a fine source but definitely the most expensive. ETG should be able to get under $6/ea at the volume you're buying.
 
der_wille_zur_macht said:
Jeff,



The ELN-60-48 is the driver of choice if you want an AC driver that's dimmable. It will do 12 LEDs. Make SURE you turn the internal current limit pot DOWN to an appropriate value, as these drivers will hit 1.3A turned all the way up. Also, get the P or D version depending on how you want to dim it. P takes a 10v PWM signal, D takes a 0-10V analog signal.
Click to expand...

what is an appropriate value? i have never seen a pot used for a current limit. how could you measure amps to adjust it, wouldn't you need a device attacted to it drawing wattage to get the amprage output? or are you talking about voltage? please explain more
thanks jeff
 
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