DIY Lighting dualing 20in cube tanks

[kampo]

so starting my own thread on this instead of derailing the other threads going right now.

So I have 2 20in cubes I obtained before I moved last year, plan for them is one hightech planted one reef. i'm new to salt so this will be a learning process for me.

Currently I have 2 12in makers slim heatsinks I plan on using for the lights.

Planted tank light i'm pretty much settled on:
2 Channels.
Channel 1 1211 Luxeon 6500k "freshfish" run a 1amp
Channel 2 2xVero 10 3000k 97cri run in parallel at 400mah
Drivers I"m thinking right now going with a Blueacro dual driver, but might just grab a couple wired LDD drivers which is a bit cheaper but not as neat and clean a wiring setup.

Reef i'm waffling between a few ideas. since it will be awhile since i'm starting from scratch that it will need really intense light i'm thinking of starting with:
2 Channels
Channel 1 2xk16 Luxeons run in parallel at 1amp
Channel 2 2xVero 10 90cri run in parallel at 400mah
Drivers same thinking just a blue acro dual driver
then adding violet and color fill down the road based on how I feel about the lights, I might just add violets and call it a day.
control here prolly tc420 as well but I have a controller made by 02surplus running sslac16 I might use.

my plan for corals is to start with easy stuff and go from there, kinda just let the tank evolve with my skills.

thoughts?

 

[kampo]

possibly a slight change of plans for the controller, was googling arround board at work and found

https://reef-pi.github.io/

this looks really almost too easy nice basic web interface, and looks like only 2 parts needed to get the controller going a Pi Zero W and a PCA9685 board. just about the same price as a TC420 but much more convenient and can all be installed right in the light, only thing external to the light itself is the power supply if I went this route.

 

[lingwendil]

Really looking forward to this build, Sounds fun for sure.

If you still need the LDD's and haven't ordered them yet, I get mine from LEDsupply, free shipping on orders under 13oz to the US, and better pricing than nearly anywhere else, great if you only need a few at a time, I grab LDD-L's there from time to time for $3.49 each shipped, perfect for lower volt nano builds...

https://www.ledsupply.com/led-drivers/mean-well-ldd-h-series-cc-step-down-mode

Hard to beat the blueAcro drivers though, easy to mount, adjustable, solderless, very smart little drivers.

For the reef build I would recommend adding a cyan or two, and a few regular blues as well from the get-go. Them and the violet will be about all that you really need, IMHO. What sort of look are you going for, 10k? 14k? 20k? as is you will get a purpley 14k look without some blue-green to offset the pinkish hue you get from so much red and royal blue from the base colors. Are you doing the 3000 or 4000k Vero? I forget.

I personally don't like to run arrays in parallel, but in reality they should be just fine. Maybe throw a 1 or so ohm resistor in line with each array to provide a little insurance for current sharing, but since you aren't running the arrays at an operating point that would provide them with more than rated current if one fails it should be fine without.


I've seen that Pi based controller off and on for a while, and will actually be looking into it a bit more, as it does look pretty good.

 

[kampo]

4k for the reef veros.

Everything is ordered. I did go thru ledsupply for the drivers. Saved a bit of money that route.

I got a couple extra 700 mAh drivers for the color and violet LEDs for the reef haven't got the LEDs yet though debating on just getting 2 stars from stevesled with 2xblue 1xcyan 1xlime and 2 hyper violets.

I figure with those colors added I'll be able to get a look any where from 14-20k pretty easy. The light running full out is stupidly over powerd for a 20in cube i think

I think reef-pi is fairly new. There is another project called reef pi without the dash that's been arround longer. What really attracted me to reef-pi was the simplicity and ability to just use certain modules and turn off the rest of the functionality. I got a pi zero w a pca 9685 board and assorted bits and bobs on the way. Under 30 bucks all set and done. And the coolest part is the parts should all fit neatly in.the heatsink. It will litterly just have a power back on the side.

All in I'm at 215 shipped for Everything. Add in 30 for another pi zero setup for the second light and 25 for the 2 star boards from stevesled and it's looking to be right about what I planned. About 125 less than 2 ai primes, simlar form factor, but I think better spectrum wise on paper.

 

[kampo]

Ended up ordering 2 3up stars from Steve's. Each with blue and hypervilolet and one with lime one with cyan. So 2x violet 2x blue 1x lime 1x cyan

Now comes the waiting game everything is coming snail mail since I'm cheap and didn't spring even for priority mail on anything.

I ended up just going with wired ldd-h drivers also to save some money. Typically I see these just mounted on a board with little cooling other than air. Can I just double stick tape them down to the heatsink? The other idea was to use thermal paste with a small dot of superglue that would be easy to break free from if they would bennifit from the heatsink.

 

[oreo57]

Wouldn't hurt to heat sink them BUT never known it to be necessary..

 

[kampo]

Wouldn't hurt to heat sink them BUT never known it to be necessary..

kinda what i was thinking, i'm still working out on paper how i'll arrange leds and cool it, have a few ideas. i'm kinda thinking of mounting the light this way over the tank. woundering if I would get enough cooling if I put an exhaust fan on the inside of the heatsink mounted to the spash shield, kinda exhausting like I see AI do there hydra lights. hope this pic makes sence.

 

[kampo]

wish I could edit, but also notice my new plan for the led layout, yellow is white, blue is blue the reds are the stars from steves. i'm not going to do the parallel idea, going to save the extra leds i ordered for backups and other projects down the road. they were only 3-5 bucks each so no big. my fresh i'm planning a simlar layout, blue just would be the fresh fish and yellow the vero 10

 

[perkint]

That controller sounds interesting - will have to have a look. I was involved in a reefPi project for a while, but progress died on it due to a falling out, which was a shame. I think it's a great base for a controller and as you suggest with the one you link to, can be fully functional with just a web page, Pi (Pi zero W is ideal) and a PCA9685

Tim

 

[kampo]

got everything in for the controller today, so tinkering around with Reef-pi, still waiting on drivers for the leds though, although I have some left over bits from another project to atleast get it going on some 12v led strips to see how it works, i'll possibly have an update tonight on how I like it.

 

[kampo]

controller seems like a go, got it loaded with reef-pi tonight, looks like it should work well. waiting on one more shipment from arrow tommrow and I should be good to start assembling. busy week though so prolly won't do anything till the weekend

side not I did pick up the stands for the project I had made. really love how they turned out.

 

[lingwendil]

That stand looks great! How much did it end up costing you? I love that style and had something similar in mind for the 55 build I'm planning eventually.

 

[kampo]

That stand looks great! How much did it end up costing you? I love that style and had something similar in mind for the 55 build I'm planning eventually.

have 200 into the 2 stands. which is a steal compared to the 210 each I would of had into deep blues official stands which were mostly "fake" wood. really happy wit them. the tops are a tad but off being perfectly flat so will get some aquarium matts cut to go under but is what it is its hard to do that type of top and have it perfect.

 

[kampo]

Finally got some time to work on this.

Fresh water light is done, well might clean up wiring a bit (couldn't find any electrical tape tonight, so covered things with packing tape for now to just make it electrically sound) went together first try, first time using a soldering iron in years, and first time messing with a raspberry pi, but it booted up and worked first go...i'm slightly worried i've used up way to much good luck on this project lmao. salt is next...bit more soldering on that one, need to order another raspberry pi for it though since i wasn't sure if this controller would work (it works and its pretty damn slick)

Pics below. disregard the mess of a tank its over its a healthy but plant neglected tank in my fishroom. been working on other projects and haven't had time to rescape it.

 

[kampo]

Wired up the reef light last night. Need my raspberry pi yet to put the controller in. Looks like I'll be getting a bit of rainbow effect looking at shadows, will need to maybe put on a diffuser of sorts. Although not sure how it will look over a tank.

 

[kampo]

dealing with some controller issues, my pi in my planted version fried on me so holding off setting up the controller for the reef light i have a backup options i'm looking into. but got the mounting figured out, wasn't totally happy witt the mount for the planted tank, and the overflow box was wider than I thought so I couldn't center the light using that method anyway. so I got a Current USA braket off Amazon "used" (it looked new unopened) but for 19 bucks fit the bill perfectly. picture doesn't do the light justice, it needs a diffucer there is some shimmer and the different colors is a bit distracting but i think it will work well.

anyone have a recommendation for a good diffuser I can get that would slide into the rails of the heatsink in place of the clear sheild I have now?

 

[oreo57]

You can do anything from "scuffing" (sanding ect) your current panel to specific diffusion material
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000B75TTE/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awd_xs_imnkybSWCR9JH
https://www.inventables.com/technologies/light-diffuser-films material..

Rosco would be one of the easier sources and has different "grades"..
There are some "adhesive" stick on types at like Lowes..

 

[lingwendil]

A quick scuff with some xXxX fine steel wool, or a scotchbrite pad works, but you may want to do this on a spare piece of acrylic so you can swap it out if needed... I've done both in the past with good results, especially when you've got the extra power to make up for the loss of intensity.

 

[kampo]

ok been awhile. life got busy but I got the light working today. and looks really good. as usualy camera doesn't do it justice and the tank is really really young so please no judgy on the tank itself lol. just starting to add a few frags to it. its a bit more blue in person, but closest whitebalance I could get with my camera

ended up going with a different controler scheme. used MrMans Blynk Code on a NodeMCU board with a PCA9685 board handleing PWM, took a bit of hasslening but figured it out and its pretty slick.

now for pics:

rest of pics:
https://imgur.com/a/PeGui