Led build

[reefergeek]

Ok might as well start my led build thread now

[reefergeek]

I have to find led drivers that will run and dim the 30w leds or even the 50w ones then can control with a bespoke unit

[reefergeek]

these pics are on a 36x18x24 tank


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[reefergeek]

Thinking of the following for the main leds then a few 3w leds blue, white and violet

50w
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/High-Power-50W-Blue-4000Lm-Save-Power-50Watt-LED-/290410042554?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item439dc994ba

3 X 30W WITH DRIVERS
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3x-30W-White-HIGH-POWER-LED-2500LM-140-AC-POWER-DIY-/280555584052?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41526a7a34

1 X 30W WITH DRIVER
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1x-30W-White-HIGH-POWER-LED-2500LM-140-AC-POWER-DIY-/270645357174?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f03b86a76

[reefergeek]

Think i have found the solution will order the 30w leds with psu supplied then order one of these for each led

http://www.cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=Recom+Drivers
they are £25 each

DC input Voltage 4.5V to 36V
Output Voltage 1.2V to 35V
Output Current 350 mA, 500mA, 700mA, 1000mA &1200mA
Output Current Accuracy ± 2% typ
Temperature Coefficient 0.015%/ºK
Ripple/Noise <120Vpp
Operating Temperature -40ºC to +85ºC, full load
Dimming function 0 to 100%

Any one used these before



If i have 5 or 6 drivers 240v to 35v around 1.2amp for the leds or there abouts can i interrupt the feed put the dimable driver in from the cutter link then use the Arduino to control them all at the same time ?

[reefergeek]

This is the 90 deg lens
10x 78mm High Power Flood led Lamp Lens Reflector 2-90° on eBay (end time 28-Jan-11 0227 GMT) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10x-78mm-High-Power-Flood-led-Lamp-Lens-Reflector-2-90-/390275842633?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Suppl ies_ET&hash=item5ade40c249)

One of the sellers got back to me with a decent price for 6 x 30w leds one psu with drivers and a remote control dimming function with multi channels which i think can incorporate in to the Arduino all for $250

Think for now will just put the high power leds in to the halide unit and rip the halide guts out then order the other items when funds allow it

Have been told you can get driver booster kits up to 600w so the 50w leds might be a idea

This might be a good idea for some tanks


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LED-Flood-light-50W-high-power-replace150W-halogen-lamp-/220714223332?pt=Lamps_US&hash=item336397c6e4

100W led street lamp

[reefergeek]

Think i have my final choice on the build

White leds

50w 12k 4000-4500lm 24-26v 2200ma 150deg £30.28 each

Will order one first and check the kelvin if i am not happy will have to get the 36v 50w leds at 7500k then all the driver and psu will need changing

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390245307832&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


LENS Not to sure if i need any of these yet

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330512757508&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180606127716&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220664135458&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT XXX





Driver 34.92 esr

http://www.esr.co.uk/velleman/products/index_modules.htm
* 3 channel 0..10VDC PWM DC dimmer
* Selectable: 0..10VDC or 1..10VDC operation
* Selectable fast / slow response
* PWM frequency: 90Hz
* Will work with any 0 - 10V (1 - 10V) controller
* 0..100% level adjust by means of external potentiometers is possible
* DIN-rail enclosure: 2 modules wide
* Max output current: 5A /channel
* Power supply 12 - 24VDC



psu £48

480W 24V 20A Regulated Switching Power Supply for CCTV
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260713055330&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT






Ultraviolet leds £34 for 10

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10PCS-x-1W-Power-LED-Ultra-Violet-UV-LED-400-405nm-/390231916427?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5adba27f8b

# Emitting Colour: Ultra Violet
# Reverse Voltage: 5.0 V
# DC Forward Voltage: Typical: 3.0V Max: 3.4 V
# DC Forward Current: 350mA
# Luminous Intensity: 2-4lm
# Wave Length: 400-405nm
# Viewing Angle: 120 - 140 Degree
# Lead Soldering Temp:260oC for 5 seconds
# Intensely Bright

[Tangman]

You have been a busy boy Kev i hope you sort it before i buy one LOL Twiggy

[reefergeek]

Well febs out of the question for buying the parts need to get the holiday paid off lol Thought if i used the 50w leds then i can always run them at lower power if there to bright Unlike if i get the 30w ones and there not bright enough

[reefergeek]

For all those who dont know the difference between pwm and led drivers like i did not here you go

Pulse width modulation dimmers

This is the professional way of dimming LEDs. The full dc voltage is applied to the product for a very short time, thousands of times per second. The LEDs effectively flash, too quickly for the eye to see, the resultant brightness depends on the time the power is applied. This kind of dimmer should successfully dim, all the way from full to off, most LED products designed to operate directly from dc voltages. Again, if there is further power conditioning included within the product then this is likely to negate the dimming effect. Pulse width modulation is inherently incompatible with ac products, although thyristor dimmers offer a similar solution.


Constant current dimmers

The latest high power light engines are designed to operate from constant current sources. It is also possible to operate other dc products from this type of supply. Basically the supply will apply the voltage necessary to achieve the required current. If this current can be varied then the supply can be used as a dimmer.

[reefergeek]

Got an email back from the chap who makes the led drivers and pwm mosfets this is what he recommends as i was still unclear,

What i hope I can explain is also the same method
employed in all commercial LED controllers (PWM).

Current cannot be "changed" easily, it can be
"burnt off" through say a resistor as heat. This
is rather wasteful and difficult to do at any
reasonable power whilst remaining controllable.
There's however a feature of humans to take
advantage of. Our eyes cant see on/off light
transistions faster than 25 times a second.

So if we switch the LED on and off for an equal
amount of time and do this quickly enough, all the
human eye will see is 50% dimming. By changing the
ratio of on to off we can represent any dimming
level. This "effectivly" is achieving current
control but is doing no more than switching on/off
very quickly. This is all PWM is. There's a much
larger explanation of this technique on

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-width_modulation


Was that of some use? The wikipedia page might be
clearer.

[reefergeek]

Ok final post before ordering
50W 10000K High Power 4000LM LED Panel for Aquarium on eBay (end time 14-Feb-11 13:14:22 GMT) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270693110582&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2F%3F_from%3D R40%26_trksid%3Dp5038.m570.l1313%26_nkw%3D27069311 0582%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1)

50W 10000K High Power 4000LM LED Panel for Aquarium

Description:

* Color Temperature: 10000K cool white
* LED chips: Epileds EP-B3838B-A3 38*38mil
* DC Forward Voltage (VF): 32-36V DC
* DC Forward Current (IF): 1700mA Max
* Viewing Angle: 120 Degree
* Intensity Luminous (Iv): 4000LM
* Life span 30000 hours guarantee


Been on the phone for the last hour to A helpful guy who makes controllers for robots we building a custom led pwm dimming unit similar to this one


Arduino shaped power PWM MOSFET shield, motor, lighting on eBay (end time 12-Feb-11 13:00:12 GMT) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320642512348&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123)

The mosfets used are capable of running 52 amps at 55 volts around 2600 watts x 2 only limiting factor is the heatsink and the pcb

Thats a whopping 5kw per board

The design we are going for is one mosfet per psu to one led then we will wire all the 0-5v dimming in to the controller so will run as one channel

I am first going to order one led and one psu to make sure i am happy before ordering the other 5, I have got a feeling we are not going to run the led at over 50%. Next thing we need to order is a 4ft heat sink to fit inside the halide unit after i have taken all the halide ballasts out and lamp holders
<fieldset class="fieldset"> <legend>Attached Thumbnails</legend> http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/attachments/tank-mods-diy/35279d1295352643t-new-led-build-help-pwmmosfetshieldgif-jpg (http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/attachments/tank-mods-diy/35279d1295352643-new-led-build-help-pwmmosfetshieldgif-jpg)
</fieldset>

[Bradlowes]

That there will be bright as hell! My 60w 1w LEDs hurt my eyes like crazy gives me instant headache sometimes neve mind 30w of led. You sure you need that many? Lol!

[Tangman]

Ok final post before ordering
50W 10000K High Power 4000LM LED Panel for Aquarium on eBay (end time 14-Feb-11 13:14:22 GMT) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270693110582&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2F%3F_from%3D R40%26_trksid%3Dp5038.m570.l1313%26_nkw%3D27069311 0582%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1)

50W 10000K High Power 4000LM LED Panel for Aquarium

Description:

* Color Temperature: 10000K cool white
* LED chips: Epileds EP-B3838B-A3 38*38mil
* DC Forward Voltage (VF): 32-36V DC
* DC Forward Current (IF): 1700mA Max
* Viewing Angle: 120 Degree
* Intensity Luminous (Iv): 4000LM
* Life span 30000 hours guarantee


Been on the phone for the last hour to A helpful guy who makes controllers for robots we building a custom led pwm dimming unit similar to this one


Arduino shaped power PWM MOSFET shield, motor, lighting on eBay (end time 12-Feb-11 13:00:12 GMT) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320642512348&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123)

The mosfets used are capable of running 52 amps at 55 volts around 2600 watts x 2 only limiting factor is the heatsink and the pcb

Thats a whopping 5kw per board

The design we are going for is one mosfet per psu to one led then we will wire all the 0-5v dimming in to the controller so will run as one channel

I am first going to order one led and one psu to make sure i am happy before ordering the other 5, I have got a feeling we are not going to run the led at over 50%. Next thing we need to order is a 4ft heat sink to fit inside the halide unit after i have taken all the halide ballasts out and lamp holders
<fieldset class="fieldset"> <legend>Attached Thumbnails</legend> http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/attachments/tank-mods-diy/35279d1295352643t-new-led-build-help-pwmmosfetshieldgif-jpg (http://www.thesaltybox.com/forum/attachments/tank-mods-diy/35279d1295352643-new-led-build-help-pwmmosfetshieldgif-jpg)
</fieldset>
Yipee cant wait to see that muther i want one LOL Twiggy

[pak1802]

Dont know what it all means , but I look forward to the end result . ( you want to make me one ) . Paul

[Tangman]

Dont know what it all means , but I look forward to the end result . ( you want to make me one ) . Paul
Join the queue Paul LOL. Twiggy

[reefergeek]

Need to get my head around mine first lol then will look at doing them for other reefers for a hobby for cost p+p

[cl0wn]

Need to get my head around mine first lol then will look at doing them for other reefers for a hobby for cost p+p

sounds great bud, looking forward to watching this develop.

[reefergeek]

Had a load of criticism Peter from other forums, They cant seem to grasp that we are not trying to dim the led with the mosfet we are using the pwm to turn the mosfet on and off at such a speed it appears to dim, The engineer is designing a buckdriver board capable of driving from little .5w leds to 4amp leds at a max voltage of 48v this will mean all the luxdrive buckpucks one of the made units will be like having for of them
I have got an old psu heatsink and fan as soon as the led and driver arrives i will get it turned on and post the results

[reefergeek]

Have a ganda at this, The tank uses 4 x 10w leds and is totally overstocked with fish !!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpbbCHS_lqw&feature=related

2 x 100w leds
part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuNyhB6AMJQ&feature=related

part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h75OMl02Sak&feature=related

part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bgT_6LiNfM&feature=related

Not to happy with the colour of this one think i have made the correct choice going for the 10k led

[Bluez]

Considered a PC PSU? various outputs on it.. 12v.. 3.3v can buy them upto and perhaps beyond 750watts in size, this way you could run 3.3/3.5v leds and 12v leds from 1 power source... crowbar and short circuit protection, and cheaper then the "led psu's" that are on ebay...
Not sure if you have also considered the size of the leds in terms of wattage? I am just about to embark on the same project as this, and have done a fair amount of searching around for info, and in my personal choice, I have opt`ed to go for lower wattage but more of them, (in my case 1w cree's) x 32 *this may increase/decrease still yet.

The idea behind it... if for whatever reason 1 led fails, I have enough leds still up there to keep things alive, if I was to use 1 or 2 say 30w/50w leds, and 1 of these fail then its going to make a big difference and could risk losing corals...

Colour temp, most white cree's seem to put out 5500k - 7500k, personally I am aiming more for the 16k/20k spectrum, as I dont really like the "red" side on my tank, therefore I am aiming to add more "blue" leds then "white" on a basis of around 60% blue, and 40% white.
As for drivers for the leds, again i've looked into this, and it seems you can get away with resistors rather than drivers, working on ohms law (for me anyway, as im using lesser wattage leds which only require 3.0-3.5v at a max of 350ma/750ma with an output of around 100lumes per led), ive also ordered some UV leds, just to bring out the colour more at night, though these wont be on for long, maybe 2 hours at night because of the UV side killing off things in the tank that I believe can be benificial.

but anyway im hijacking your thread now, lol... so i`ll leave it at that and will watch with interest how things progress with your design and hope I can pick up a few tips along the way... :)

[charley]

Bluez has a very good point regarding computer power supplies, I just found one on maplin, 750W @ 12V with twin outputs for £50. If you wanted a dimming function, you could split the outputs again and switch a row of LED's at a time. In terms of drivers, I've only ever used LED's with integral resistors or seperate precision ones (just more wiring that way). Might be a cheaper option for you?

[reefergeek]

pc psus are regulated at +3.3, +5, and +12 volts no good for a 36v led but perfect for other smaller led builds

I was going to go for a 96 cree build but was going to be silly money and also drilling and tapping 128 holes err no thanks lol

I started reading about the higher power leds and reading threads, Some maxspect lighting units use 4 x 30w leds alsong the cree leds which in my eyes they dont need the crees on it, Also the link on the other page the guy using 2 x 100 leds didn't like the colour and was not dimmable but kind of the same idea

The leds can run of any psu as long as you use the constant current led drivers this is where my problems started, You cannot get any pwm led drivers for the power of the led i am going to use although the 30w led at 24v you can, This is why i have had to use the regulated led psu and use the pwm to run a mosfet to turn the led on and off

If one of my leds fail it would not be no problem as the spread of the leds are around 120 degrees and these leds will only be ran about 50%.

Running the leds from the same psu using no current regulation is a no good according to every thread and electronics forum i have seen so far

If you fancy a play around with a pc psu heres a good link http://www.wikihow.com/Convert-a-Computer-ATX-Power-Supply-to-a-Lab-Power-Supply

These drivers will be perfect for the smaller led build

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250746985841&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260713497934&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230558142605&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230565028784&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[Bluez]

Yup that would be a dimmable problem for sure, I guess really its down to each individuals own choice, some may want 2x 100watt leds, others may prefer 4x 50watt, and others may want 100 x 1watt, for spread personally over 50" I have opt`ed to go for 1watt leds spread evenly, though as I say there is no "wrong/right" in whatever way you do it I think, as long as you get the result you require, and hopefully save money as well, be it on parts or the elecy bill...lol.

I just wish I could find a place that sells lighting bare canopys, rather than having to strip apart a perfectly good light just for housing a project like this... and I have considered some serious wacky ideas on how to make one, acrylic heated up and bent over, drain pipe, guttering etc.... but nothing you can make is going to look proffesional as a canopy brought one... keep us updated on how things go though, as any tips / *pit falls which I hope you dont get* hopefully will make it easier for us all.

[reefergeek]

I even contacted a few lfs to ask if they had any faulty lighting units lol, I would of thought the 3w leds at a minimum then just change the optics to suit

For the blues i am thinking of going for the 20w ones and using around 10 or maybe the 10w ones and using around 15-16

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270684548250&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I like the look of the maspect lights they use violet leds as well as the whites to enhance corals suppose it will give a warmer look as well to the spectrum

so the violets are on the shopping list when i find some prob 4 x 5w

http://maxspectusa.com/features.html

You can custom make your own led hood
http://www.finsreef.com/xcart/home.php?cat=288

[reefergeek]

Found this of another forum might help you with led choice

Assuming I'm emulating a 8x T5HO, with something like 4x ATI AquaBlue Plus (Actinic blue), 3x ATI AquaBlue Special and 1x KZ Fuji Purple, using the spectrum I've found online, I should be using the following color bulbs

400-420nm for purple range - both ATI bulbs have a tint of 420nm, right now I don't have any but I've already placed order and will be getting 2x 420nm bulbs to replace the 400nm purple installed on my fixture by default.

445nm Royal blue (SemiLED) - that's the peak wave length shown in the blue spectrum for both ATI blue bulbs.

460nm Royal Blue (Cree XP-E) - that should fill the missing gap between 450nm and 480nm blue.

480nm Blue (Cree XP-E) - that's the near-cyan color spectrum.

I didn't use any 503nm cyan, because according to the ATI bulb spectrums, there's very little cyan color in their bulbs, and the 480nm Cree XP-E blue already have a strong tint of cyan.

10000-12000K white (SemiLED) - that will cover most of the green to red spectrum

16000K white (15w x 4, SemiLED) - these will be turned on only 5 hours a day to simulate the brightest period between 11am-4pm.

620nm red to add a tint of purple to the overall appearance, to emulate the KZ Fuji purple color.

Therefore the layout should be something like this:

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/139/g2160wcustom2.jpg



11340

[pak1802]

Still watching with bated breath . one off many questions ... do you use 1 driver per led or do they run multi ??????????????????????? Paul

[michael.]

Depends on the driver, I have 4 leds running off 1 driver in my loft conversion and they are all high output, however I have 3 watt leds in my hall which have individual Drivers, now the fact LEDs are now being develloped for marine aquaria doesn't mean they will be any different, the driver capability would decide whether you could connect 1 or more LEDs to it.

By the way, Great post reefergeek, brilliant post :thumbsup:

[Tangman]

Aye he his a clever lad is Kev he knows his stuff. Twiggy

[reefergeek]

Cheers people, Me been awkward i wanted 50w leds is i went down to the 30w leds then i could get a built in dimmable ballast, The bloke who i am buying the kit off is getting made a dimmable ballast suitable for 20-100w leds n

[michael.]

34mm2, wow, thats flipping huge for a LED, huge :drool5:

[reefergeek]

Do you think i have gone overkill with the led size, Going for 6 of them lol, The way i see it they are guaranteed for 3000 hours run them at 50% power and that turns in to 60000 hours

One thing i did forget to buy is the rtc board will have to get that ordered in the morning without that the arduinos useless

Found the other screens took some finding the colour ones only 3.4" though ir the normal ones 4"


http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/TFT32.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/normalscreen.jpg

[reefergeek]

For those of you who are not really sure about drivers and heatsinks here are some ready made units just add psu

cree 6 x 3w

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390217864427&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

1 X 30W led

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360329507292&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[Bradlowes]

Wow mate looks good. How do you program the unit to swap blue/whites etc?

[reefergeek]

You have to program the unit but you can include cloud cover storm function etc etc

the programming looks like this



/*
Arduino controller for reef aquariums

//** Current Functionality
// paramterized LED lighting control for reef aquariums
// use a DS1307 RTC to kick off lighting schedules
// trigger a master pin "on" when the preset start time is reached
// then, fade up on a given slope
// delay a set amount
// fade back down
// such that the photoperiod lasts the correct amount of time

//** Functionality under development
//
// trigger "random" storms:
// lights fade down from side to side to imitate cloud cover
// during cloud cover, randomly strobe a bank of LEDs to imitate lightening
// run wavemaker powerheads at higher-than-normal levels to simulate increased
// wave action
//


//** Circuit
//
// PWM pins described below connected to dimming circuits on drivers
// ledMaster pin below connected to a 120V AC relay to turn the LED drivers on and off
// grounds from drivers connected to arduino ground
// DS1307 RTC connected via I2C
//
//
//

*/

// Pins to control LEDs
int eastLed = 3; // LED PWM channel for east end
int centereLed = 5; // LED PWM channel for centereast
int centerwLed = 6; // LED PWM channel for centerwest
int westLed =9; // Led PWM channel for west
int westblueLed =11; // LED PWM channel for west blue
int eastblueLed = 10; // LED PWM channel for east blue


// Set up RTC
#include "Wire.h"
#define DS1307_I2C_ADDRESS 0x68

// RTC variables
byte second, rtcMins, oldMins, rtcHrs, oldHrs, dayOfWeek, dayOfMonth, month, year;

// Set up One Wire for single DS18S20 temp sensor
/*static const int ONE_WIRE_PIN = 8;
#include
NewOneWire oneWire(ONE_WIRE_PIN);
DallasTemperature tempSensor(oneWire);
float temperature = 0;
*/
// Other variables. These control the behavior of lighting.
int minCounter = 0; // counter that resets at midnight
int ledStartMins = 660; // minute to start lights
int photoPeriod = 450; // photoperiod in minutes
int photoStagger = 20; // minutes to stagger photoperiods for each bank
long stormChance = 0; // random number to generate storms
long storm = 0; // minutes remaining in a storm
int noStorm = 0; // minutes since the last storm happened
int stormFreq = 0; // how frequently storms are allowed to happen
long stormLength = 0; // base length for storms

void setup() {
//pinMode(ledMaster, OUTPUT); // Set the LED master pin as output

// init I2C and One Wire
Wire.begin();
Serial.begin(9600);
//tempSensor.begin();

// Change these values and uncomment to set RTC.
// format is: second, minute, hour, dayOfWeek, dayOfMonth, month, year
// setDateDs1307(10, 30, 18, 3, 22, 9, 9);
}

/****** LED Functions ******/
/***************************/
//function to set LED brightness according to time of day
//function has three equal phases - ramp up, hold, and ramp down
void setLed(int mins, int ledPin, int start, int period) {
if (mins > start && mins <= start + (period / 3) ) {
analogWrite(ledPin, map(mins - start, 0, period/3, 0, 255));
}
if (mins > start + (period / 3) && mins <= start + 2*(period / 3)) {
analogWrite(ledPin, 255);
}
if (mins > start + 2*(period / 3) && mins <= start + period) {
analogWrite(ledPin, map(mins - (start + 2*(period/3)), 0, (period/3), 255, 0));
}
}

/***** RTC Functions *******/
/***************************/
// Convert normal decimal numbers to binary coded decimal
byte decToBcd(byte val)
{
return ( (val/10*16) + (val%10) );
}

// Convert binary coded decimal to normal decimal numbers
byte bcdToDec(byte val)
{
return ( (val/16*10) + (val%16) );
}

// 1) Sets the date and time on the ds1307
// 2) Starts the clock
// 3) Sets hour mode to 24 hour clock
// Assumes you're passing in valid numbers
void setDateDs1307(byte second, // 0-59
byte minute, // 0-59
byte hour, // 1-23
byte dayOfWeek, // 1-7
byte dayOfMonth, // 1-28/29/30/31
byte month, // 1-12
byte year) // 0-99
{
Wire.beginTransmission(DS1307_I2C_ADDRESS);
Wire.send(0);
Wire.send(decToBcd(second)); // 0 to bit 7 starts the clock
Wire.send(decToBcd(minute));
Wire.send(decToBcd(hour)); // If you want 12 hour am/pm you need to set
// bit 6 (also need to change readDateDs1307)
Wire.send(decToBcd(dayOfWeek));
Wire.send(decToBcd(dayOfMonth));
Wire.send(decToBcd(month));
Wire.send(decToBcd(year));
Wire.endTransmission();
}

// Gets the date and time from the ds1307
void getDateDs1307(byte *second,
byte *minute,
byte *hour,
byte *dayOfWeek,
byte *dayOfMonth,
byte *month,
byte *year)
{
// Reset the register pointer
Wire.beginTransmission(DS1307_I2C_ADDRESS);
Wire.send(0);
Wire.endTransmission();

Wire.requestFrom(DS1307_I2C_ADDRESS, 7);

// A few of these need masks because certain bits are control bits
*second = bcdToDec(Wire.receive() & 0x7f);
*minute = bcdToDec(Wire.receive());
*hour = bcdToDec(Wire.receive() & 0x3f); // Need to change this if 12 hour am/pm
*dayOfWeek = bcdToDec(Wire.receive());
*dayOfMonth = bcdToDec(Wire.receive());
*month = bcdToDec(Wire.receive());
*year = bcdToDec(Wire.receive());
}

/***** Main Loop ***********/
/***************************/
void loop() {
// get time from RTC and put in hrs and mins variables
getDateDs1307(&second, &rtcMins, &rtcHrs, &dayOfWeek, &dayOfMonth, &month, &year);
minCounter = rtcHrs * 60 + rtcMins;
//comment out these print commands to disable debugging
Serial.print(rtcHrs, DEC);
Serial.print(":");
Serial.print(rtcMins, DEC);
Serial.print(":");
Serial.print(second, DEC);
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.print(dayOfMonth, DEC);
Serial.print("/");
Serial.print(month, DEC);
Serial.print("/");
Serial.print(year, DEC);
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.print("Start At: ");
Serial.print(ledStartMins);
Serial.print(" Counter: ");
Serial.print(minCounter);
Serial.print(" End: ");
Serial.println(ledStartMins + photoPeriod + 2*photoStagger);

// determine if it is day or night, and act accordingly
if (minCounter > ledStartMins && minCounter < ledStartMins + photoPeriod + 6*photoStagger) { //day
// set LED states
//digitalWrite(ledMaster, HIGH);
setLed(minCounter, eastLed, ledStartMins + 2*photoStagger, photoPeriod);
setLed(minCounter, centereLed, ledStartMins + 3*photoStagger, photoPeriod);
setLed(minCounter, centerwLed, ledStartMins + 4*photoStagger, photoPeriod);
setLed(minCounter, westLed, ledStartMins + 5*photoStagger, photoPeriod);
setLed(minCounter, eastblueLed, ledStartMins, 2*photoPeriod);
setLed(minCounter, westblueLed, ledStartMins, 2*photoPeriod);

// Determine if a storm should happen
if (oldHrs < rtcHrs) {
stormChance = random(10);
}
if (oldMins < rtcMins) {
noStorm = noStorm + 1;
if (storm > 0) {
storm = storm - 1;
}
}
if (stormChance > 8 && noStorm > stormFreq) {
noStorm = 0;
storm = stormLength + random(30);
}

}
else { //night
//digitalWrite(ledMaster, LOW);
analogWrite(eastLed, 0);
analogWrite(centereLed, 0);
analogWrite(centerwLed, 0);
analogWrite(westLed, 0);
analogWrite(eastblueLed, 0);
analogWrite(westblueLed, 0);

}

// Do some stuff with temperature probe
/* temperature = tempSensor.getTemperature();
Serial.print(DallasTemperature::toFahrenheit(tempe rature)); // Use the inbuild Celcius to Fahrenheit conversion. Returns a float
//Serial.print(temperature); // Print temp in C
Serial.println("F\t");
*/
// Get ready for next iteration of loop
oldMins = rtcMins;
oldHrs = rtcHrs;
delay(1000);
}</pre>

[reefergeek]

if you search for arduino sketches they are readily available then you tailor one to suit your lights

[Tangman]

You have to program the unit but you can include cloud cover storm function etc etc

the programming looks like this



/*
Arduino controller for reef aquariums

//** Current Functionality
// paramterized LED lighting control for reef aquariums
// use a DS1307 RTC to kick off lighting schedules
// trigger a master pin "on" when the preset start time is reached
// then, fade up on a given slope
// delay a set amount
// fade back down
// such that the photoperiod lasts the correct amount of time

//** Functionality under development
//
// trigger "random" storms:
// lights fade down from side to side to imitate cloud cover
// during cloud cover, randomly strobe a bank of LEDs to imitate lightening
// run wavemaker powerheads at higher-than-normal levels to simulate increased
// wave action
//


//** Circuit
//
// PWM pins described below connected to dimming circuits on drivers
// ledMaster pin below connected to a 120V AC relay to turn the LED drivers on and off
// grounds from drivers connected to arduino ground
// DS1307 RTC connected via I2C
//
//
//

*/

// Pins to control LEDs
int eastLed = 3; // LED PWM channel for east end
int centereLed = 5; // LED PWM channel for centereast
int centerwLed = 6; // LED PWM channel for centerwest
int westLed =9; // Led PWM channel for west
int westblueLed =11; // LED PWM channel for west blue
int eastblueLed = 10; // LED PWM channel for east blue


// Set up RTC
#include "Wire.h"
#define DS1307_I2C_ADDRESS 0x68

// RTC variables
byte second, rtcMins, oldMins, rtcHrs, oldHrs, dayOfWeek, dayOfMonth, month, year;

// Set up One Wire for single DS18S20 temp sensor
/*static const int ONE_WIRE_PIN = 8;
#include
NewOneWire oneWire(ONE_WIRE_PIN);
DallasTemperature tempSensor(oneWire);
float temperature = 0;
*/
// Other variables. These control the behavior of lighting.
int minCounter = 0; // counter that resets at midnight
int ledStartMins = 660; // minute to start lights
int photoPeriod = 450; // photoperiod in minutes
int photoStagger = 20; // minutes to stagger photoperiods for each bank
long stormChance = 0; // random number to generate storms
long storm = 0; // minutes remaining in a storm
int noStorm = 0; // minutes since the last storm happened
int stormFreq = 0; // how frequently storms are allowed to happen
long stormLength = 0; // base length for storms

void setup() {
//pinMode(ledMaster, OUTPUT); // Set the LED master pin as output

// init I2C and One Wire
Wire.begin();
Serial.begin(9600);
//tempSensor.begin();

// Change these values and uncomment to set RTC.
// format is: second, minute, hour, dayOfWeek, dayOfMonth, month, year
// setDateDs1307(10, 30, 18, 3, 22, 9, 9);
}

/****** LED Functions ******/
/***************************/
//function to set LED brightness according to time of day
//function has three equal phases - ramp up, hold, and ramp down
void setLed(int mins, int ledPin, int start, int period) {
if (mins > start && mins <= start + (period / 3) ) {
analogWrite(ledPin, map(mins - start, 0, period/3, 0, 255));
}
if (mins > start + (period / 3) && mins <= start + 2*(period / 3)) {
analogWrite(ledPin, 255);
}
if (mins > start + 2*(period / 3) && mins <= start + period) {
analogWrite(ledPin, map(mins - (start + 2*(period/3)), 0, (period/3), 255, 0));
}
}

/***** RTC Functions *******/
/***************************/
// Convert normal decimal numbers to binary coded decimal
byte decToBcd(byte val)
{
return ( (val/10*16) + (val%10) );
}

// Convert binary coded decimal to normal decimal numbers
byte bcdToDec(byte val)
{
return ( (val/16*10) + (val%16) );
}

// 1) Sets the date and time on the ds1307
// 2) Starts the clock
// 3) Sets hour mode to 24 hour clock
// Assumes you're passing in valid numbers
void setDateDs1307(byte second, // 0-59
byte minute, // 0-59
byte hour, // 1-23
byte dayOfWeek, // 1-7
byte dayOfMonth, // 1-28/29/30/31
byte month, // 1-12
byte year) // 0-99
{
Wire.beginTransmission(DS1307_I2C_ADDRESS);
Wire.send(0);
Wire.send(decToBcd(second)); // 0 to bit 7 starts the clock
Wire.send(decToBcd(minute));
Wire.send(decToBcd(hour)); // If you want 12 hour am/pm you need to set
// bit 6 (also need to change readDateDs1307)
Wire.send(decToBcd(dayOfWeek));
Wire.send(decToBcd(dayOfMonth));
Wire.send(decToBcd(month));
Wire.send(decToBcd(year));
Wire.endTransmission();
}

// Gets the date and time from the ds1307
void getDateDs1307(byte *second,
byte *minute,
byte *hour,
byte *dayOfWeek,
byte *dayOfMonth,
byte *month,
byte *year)
{
// Reset the register pointer
Wire.beginTransmission(DS1307_I2C_ADDRESS);
Wire.send(0);
Wire.endTransmission();

Wire.requestFrom(DS1307_I2C_ADDRESS, 7);

// A few of these need masks because certain bits are control bits
*second = bcdToDec(Wire.receive() & 0x7f);
*minute = bcdToDec(Wire.receive());
*hour = bcdToDec(Wire.receive() & 0x3f); // Need to change this if 12 hour am/pm
*dayOfWeek = bcdToDec(Wire.receive());
*dayOfMonth = bcdToDec(Wire.receive());
*month = bcdToDec(Wire.receive());
*year = bcdToDec(Wire.receive());
}

/***** Main Loop ***********/
/***************************/
void loop() {
// get time from RTC and put in hrs and mins variables
getDateDs1307(&second, &rtcMins, &rtcHrs, &dayOfWeek, &dayOfMonth, &month, &year);
minCounter = rtcHrs * 60 + rtcMins;
//comment out these print commands to disable debugging
Serial.print(rtcHrs, DEC);
Serial.print(":");
Serial.print(rtcMins, DEC);
Serial.print(":");
Serial.print(second, DEC);
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.print(dayOfMonth, DEC);
Serial.print("/");
Serial.print(month, DEC);
Serial.print("/");
Serial.print(year, DEC);
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.print("Start At: ");
Serial.print(ledStartMins);
Serial.print(" Counter: ");
Serial.print(minCounter);
Serial.print(" End: ");
Serial.println(ledStartMins + photoPeriod + 2*photoStagger);

// determine if it is day or night, and act accordingly
if (minCounter > ledStartMins && minCounter < ledStartMins + photoPeriod + 6*photoStagger) { //day
// set LED states
//digitalWrite(ledMaster, HIGH);
setLed(minCounter, eastLed, ledStartMins + 2*photoStagger, photoPeriod);
setLed(minCounter, centereLed, ledStartMins + 3*photoStagger, photoPeriod);
setLed(minCounter, centerwLed, ledStartMins + 4*photoStagger, photoPeriod);
setLed(minCounter, westLed, ledStartMins + 5*photoStagger, photoPeriod);
setLed(minCounter, eastblueLed, ledStartMins, 2*photoPeriod);
setLed(minCounter, westblueLed, ledStartMins, 2*photoPeriod);

// Determine if a storm should happen
if (oldHrs < rtcHrs) {
stormChance = random(10);
}
if (oldMins < rtcMins) {
noStorm = noStorm + 1;
if (storm > 0) {
storm = storm - 1;
}
}
if (stormChance > 8 && noStorm > stormFreq) {
noStorm = 0;
storm = stormLength + random(30);
}

}
else { //night
//digitalWrite(ledMaster, LOW);
analogWrite(eastLed, 0);
analogWrite(centereLed, 0);
analogWrite(centerwLed, 0);
analogWrite(westLed, 0);
analogWrite(eastblueLed, 0);
analogWrite(westblueLed, 0);

}

// Do some stuff with temperature probe
/* temperature = tempSensor.getTemperature();
Serial.print(DallasTemperature::toFahrenheit(tempe rature)); // Use the inbuild Celcius to Fahrenheit conversion. Returns a float
//Serial.print(temperature); // Print temp in C
Serial.println("F\t");
*/
// Get ready for next iteration of loop
oldMins = rtcMins;
oldHrs = rtcHrs;
delay(1000);
}</pre>
Is that all you do thats no probs i will do that before brekkie LMFAO. Twiggy

[reefergeek]

Lol usually when i am looking at stuff like that the kids need to be in bed tv off and a jds lol, So they were in bed a 3.30pm and now i cant stand up hahaha

[Guest101]

You have to program the unit but you can include cloud cover storm function etc etc

the programming looks like this ........



What chips do they use I dont reconise these labels?

[reefergeek]

You can program Krusduino or these ones

Think the chips the atmega 328 ring any bells ?

[Guest101]

You can program Krusduino or these ones
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1831741&highlight=arduino+sketch

Think the chips the atmega 328 ring any bells ?

Atmel, ive avoided them so far didnt want to learn a new set of instructions think ill stink to PIC's for now.

[reefergeek]

Its not to bad as the sketch programs are freeware so readily available and just have to ammend to suit your application, Seen a much better controller board though will send the link if i can find it again

Ah found it

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Arduino-Compatible-All-in-One-Controller-RoMeo-328-/140497537935?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item20b64e4b8f

Seen a good way we can use the arduino to display the water level of the sump as well using a pressure sensor

[reefergeek]

Seen a gimmicky temp display if you like that kind of stuff

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350431418431&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

11347

[Bradlowes]

keV. Any chance of connecting that up to a power supply as appose to a pc? And how? Looks cool

[reefergeek]

Yeah it would run of 4.8v 4 x rechargeable aa batts or 4 x aa batts 5v or 5v psu around max £10

I would shove silicone over the probe though or put it in a camera film case and fill it with silicone

[reefergeek]

Wish i waited before ordering the arduino now found some boards biased on c++ and net framework

http://www.gatopardos.com/video/jOAqTpAy8-g/Dare-to-Dream-DIfferent-Contest-Aquarium-Controller.html

http://codele.com/2009/01/14/net-micro-framework-and-free-development-board/

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/STM32F103ZET6-development-board-3-2-TFT-LCD-/110633825234?pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item19c24a33d2

11348

[Bradlowes]

Done it ! Lol

Bought it and it all came to £8.50! Including temp thing, psu 5v and project box! :0 will take a while from china but worth it for the hell of it!

[Bradlowes]

I don get any of this ! How many LEDs are u looking to buy? I can get Cree XRE blue and whites for £3.50 a piece ...

[Bradlowes]

Xp-g blue *

[reefergeek]

6 x 50 watt whites, May be 10x 10w blues, 4 x violet 1w and 4 x ultra violet 1w

I was going to use 96 of the crees 48 blue and 48 White but would of cost far to much

So the crees are around £400 then we have the drivers to source and the psu

[Bradlowes]

That's some power you'll be consuming there. Lol

If u want any crees it'll be £330 for 96.

Brad

[reefergeek]

Have a ganda at this which heatsink would you go for ?


Heat sink - Large Aluminum Heatsink DIY Class A Amp on eBay (end time 01-Feb-11 19:18:44 GMT) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250646315626&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT)
US $27.00 Approximately £16.87
Start of panel

Postage:US $42.00
You are biding this high density aluminum heatsink (Part # HS-0710). It has 135 square inches surface area per linear inch or total 1350 square inches on this heatsink. Estimate heat dissipation 0.5 degree per watt per inch in still air. Please send email for more detail for drill & tap or anodize.
Features & Specs
10” long x 7” wide x 2.3” high

Bottom plate = 3/8” thick

Fin spacing = .2” (1.9” tall)

Fins are Tapered 0.1” bottom x .06” top x 1.9” high

Total area per inch = 135 square inch



Aluminum Heatsink HiFi Audio Amp IGBT SCR MOSFET on eBay (end time 01-Feb-11 20:31:39 GMT) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370392594133&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT)
cost $42 £26.25 postage $20 £12.50
US $42.00(approx. £26.25)
Description
You are biding this large aluminum heatsink (Part # HSG-0710). It has 90 square inches surface area per linear inch or total 900 square inches on this heatsink. Estimate heat dissipation 0.8 degree per watt per inch in still air. Design for convection air application. Please send email for more detail for drill & tap. We carry a full length of 6 feet and cut to your specification.
Features & Specs
10” long x 7” wide x 1.75” high

Bottom plate = 3/16” thick

Fin spacing = .39” (1.5” tall)

Fins are Tapered 0.12” bottom x .08” top x 1.5” high with groove

Total area per inch = 90 square inch

[reefergeek]

Have a butchers what do you think ?


http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/circuit_diagram.png __________________

[pak1802]

understand as well as your other post . ha ha .
can follow a couple of lines.

[cl0wn]

Have a butchers what do you think ?


http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/circuit_diagram.png __________________

where do the gerbils on the running wheels go?

[ROB]

I have noticed a flaw in the schematic diagram and there is a knot missing on the incoming feed to reduce power flow,

Rob.

[Tangman]

Theres no Fufoo valve that goes on the thingy-me-bob other than that it looks good. Twiggy

[reefergeek]

The led driver has turned up today just waiting for the led and Erics heater

[Tangman]

The led driver has turned up today just waiting for the led and Erics heater
Yippee lets get started i cant wait after seeing what price LED lights are its the only way to go and build your own. Twiggy

[cl0wn]

come on kev, get building, really looking forward to this. keep pausing to take pics - will reduce the chance of mistakes!!!

[reefergeek]

Haha or you lot can pee your selfs laughing when it all goes wrong lol, Eric the 50w leds i am using are £30 each and the drivers which are a lot smaller than i thought are around £11

Eric do you want to lend the halide unit for now ? at the min its all on one plug though so the halides come on with the blues

[reefergeek]

Cool Guess what arrived today, nearly everthing apart from Erics heater controller sorry Eric

So got the single led on a little heatsink with a fan working overtime, With no lens on its bloody bright with the lens on its bloody bloody bright, Note to self do not look at the led when its on still see stars lol

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2337.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2338.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2339.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2340.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2341.jpg

Now i would get away with using four but what the hell going for 6 of the beasts so next step order the heatsinks (ignore the washing laundry day lol )

[Tangman]

By jeez there bright how many would i want for a 28 inch cube. Twiggy

[cl0wn]

holy crap! they're massive!!! brilliant work so far, keep up the good work kev.

[charley]

Are you going into production, or at least sell the plans?

[reefergeek]

Here you go these are without the 90 deg optic on

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2350.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2355.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2359.jpg


Dont forget this is a single 50w led 10000k i am quite impressed

[Bradlowes]

That's neat mate. Very nice heatsink / fan module.

Looks like the plasma light effect. 90 degree optics would spread light much better? Have you got plans for blues ?

[cl0wn]

any PAR readings for these, kev? also interested to see what plans you have for blues and mounting.

[reefergeek]

getting 6 11"x7" heatsinks around £120 imported then i wull have a 50w lead on each one 2 blues either 5 or 10w on each one and 2 x 1w uv on each one well thats the plan anyway

Got the arduino but cant do nothing until i get the colour touch screen and the sensor shield

Tried it last night with the 90 deg i does half light the substrate up think i will use them just awkward to hold when its on due to the size

[reefergeek]

Having a play with the arduino today at first nothing was working none of the example sketches then i found out the lcd pins configured in the sketches did not match the pins i had so got them altered and alls fine, Managed to get reef-corals up and scrolling nothing to complex yet

A good supplier i have found in the uk yes UK for them are http://www.nuelectronics.com/estore/index.php?main_page=contact_us&action=success

Kev

[pak1802]

Web link does not seem to work . Paul

[reefergeek]

Yeah i was trying to order something and it stopped lol, Must be updating it

The nokia lcd shields are £10 then you need an arduino around £15-£20 then a rtc however the colour touch screen include that

[cl0wn]

have you thought about putting them in some sort of unit, how are they gonna be housed?

[reefergeek]

The heatsinks are stepped so was thinking like a box on the other thread on the darkside but having 6 heat sinks then the colour controller in the middle

Just got this thing reading all the pc stuff cpu useage, free space, even news feeds will put a vid up soon

[charley]

Bloody hell, get some sunglasses for your fish!

[reefergeek]

Oh bugga hes sold out of the nokia 3310 shields what do you think to this one shall i get it ordered ?

2.4 TFT Color LCD,touch screen sheild V1.2 for Arduino Mega - £25.00 : nuelectronics.com, Arduino Freeduino projects (http://www.nuelectronics.com/estore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=30)

was thinking of getting the sensor and rtc shield as well saves me messing around soldering


Cool, ph attachment for arduino
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/pH-Stamp-PROBE-AVR-PIC-Arduino-Parallax-/190495274225?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5a6734f1


oh orp as well
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ORP-Stamp-PROBE-AVR-PIC-Arduino-Parallax-/190495286476?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5a6764cc

[reefergeek]

ok another wall, thinking of how to drive the 10w blue leds was going to use 2 per heatsink at the front and rear of the whites

12 x 10w blue leds

5 X 10W 300LM Blue LED Light Lamp Bulb 120 Degree on eBay (end time 28-Jan-11 12:31:54 GMT) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5-X-10W-300LM-Blue-LED-Light-Lamp-Bulb-120-Degree-/150540656972?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Lighting_Lamps_Light ing_SM&hash=item230cec214c)


# á Forward voltage (VF): 19 - 12VDC
# á Forward current (IF): 1000mA

So we cant run them in parallel as we know thats bad so running them in series

one of these at 24v for 2 leds
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5w-LED-Driver-...item563c2b4d0c (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5w-LED-Driver-MBI6651-based-Luxeon-White-I-1000mA-/370376658188?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item563c2b4d0c)

Any thoughts

[reefergeek]

Found even cheaper orp and ph circuits for the ardunio, Got the data logger with rtc and the wrong lcd shield so just ordered another one the correct one this time lol

ORP-Stamp: AVR, PIC, Arduino, Parallax on eBay (end time 12-Feb-11 16:30:16 GMT) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ORP-Stamp-AVR-PIC-Arduino-Parallax-/190490363422?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5a1c461e)

pH-Stamp: AVR, PIC, Arduino, Parallax on eBay (end time 09-Mar-11 20:33:39 GMT) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/pH-Stamp-AVR-PIC-Arduino-Parallax-/190499685390?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5aaa840e)

Trying to merge the attached files by removing the rtc sketch in the program 1 file and overwriting with the rtc and sensor shield, The data logger takes an sd card and records what params you want it to quite a smart bit of kit, I have seen one of these controllers been controlled by an iphone maybe the future lol

Kev

Heres a simple code for dimming

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

leds program


#include <wprogram.h>
#include <wire.h>


boolean whiteFadeOn = false;
boolean whiteFadeOff = false;
boolean blueFadeOn = false;
boolean blueFadeOff = false;
int whiteLedPin = 9;
int blueLedPin = 10;
int userDefMaxWhite = 100; //0-100 user defines the max intensity of the leds
int userDefMaxBlue =50; //0-100 user defines the max intensity of the leds
int fadeMaxWhite;
int fadeMaxBlue;

void setup(){
// rtcStart();
}

void loop(){
maxCalc();
ledFade();
rtcCatch();
}

void maxCalc(){
fadeMaxWhite = userDefMaxWhite*2.55;//converts user defined percentage (0-100) into a PWM value (0-255)
fadeMaxBlue = userDefMaxBlue*2.55;//converts user defined percentage (0-100) into a PWM value (0-255)
}

void ledFade(){
if(whiteFadeOn = true){
for(int fadeValue = fadeMaxWhite ; fadeValue <= 255; fadeValue +=1) {
analogWrite(whiteLedPin, fadeValue);
delay(60000);
}
}

if(blueFadeOn = true){
for(int fadeValue = fadeMaxBlue ; fadeValue <= 255; fadeValue +=1) {
analogWrite(blueLedPin, fadeValue);
delay(60000);
}
}

if(whiteFadeOff = true){
for(int fadeValue = fadeMaxWhite ; fadeValue >= 0; fadeValue -=1) {
analogWrite(whiteLedPin, fadeValue);
delay(60000);
}
}

if(blueFadeOff = true){
for(int fadeValue = fadeMaxWhite ; fadeValue >= 0; fadeValue -=1) {
analogWrite(blueLedPin, fadeValue);
delay(60000);
}
}
}

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</wire.h></wprogram.h>

[reefergeek]

Right got the code done just got to set the code up for the touch screen next but thats it for tonight got a headache, only just realised you dont need a screen at all for all this to work just upload the code as long as your happy with the dimming ramp and times just upload the leave alone on that biases the controllers £20 and rtc £8 then will need led bucks / drivers for the arduino to control




#include WProgram.h
#include Wire.h
#include DS1307.h<wprogram.h><wire.h><ds1307.h><wprogram.h><wire.h><ds1307.h>

int whiteFadeOn = 0;
int whiteFadeOff = 0;
int blueFadeOn = 0;
int blueFadeOff = 0;

int whiteLedPin = 9; // White Led chain linked to Digital pin9
int blueLedPin = 10; // Blue Led chain linked to Digital pin10

int blueFadeValue = 0;
int whiteFadeValue = 0;

int userDefMaxWhite = 100; //0-100 user defines the max intensity of the leds
int userDefMaxBlue = 100; //0-100 user defines the max intensity of the leds
int fadeMaxWhite; //variable used when converthing userDefMaxWhite into a PWM value
int fadeMaxBlue; //variable used when converthing userDefMaxBlue into a PWM value

int hour;//variable used for the RTC timed event.
int minute;//variable used for the RTC timed event.

int counter = 0;//counter for PWN

void setup(){
Serial.begin(9600);
rtcStart();
}

void loop(){
debug();
maxCalc();
ledFade();
rtcCatch();
}

void ledFade(){
if(counter < 60){
counter++;
}
else{

if(whiteFadeOn == 1){
if(whiteFadeValue <= fadeMaxWhite) {
analogWrite(whiteLedPin, whiteFadeValue);
whiteFadeValue = whiteFadeValue+4; // 255/4 = 63.75 i.e. 0-100% takes 63.75 minutes roughly to complete if it takes 1 minutes to complete 1 cycle.
}
}

if(blueFadeOn == 1){
if(blueFadeValue <= fadeMaxBlue) {
analogWrite(blueLedPin, blueFadeValue);
blueFadeValue = blueFadeValue+4;
}
}

if(blueFadeOff == 1){
if(blueFadeValue >= 0) {
analogWrite(blueLedPin, blueFadeValue);
blueFadeValue = blueFadeValue-4;
}
}

if(whiteFadeOff == 1){
if(whiteFadeValue >= 0) {
analogWrite(whiteLedPin, whiteFadeValue);
whiteFadeValue = whiteFadeValue-4;
}
}
counter =0;
}
}








void maxCalc(){
fadeMaxWhite = userDefMaxWhite*2.55;//converts user defined percentage (0-100) into a PWM value (0-255)
fadeMaxBlue = userDefMaxBlue*2.55;//converts user defined percentage (0-100) into a PWM value (0-255)
}

void rtcCatch(){
hour = RTC.get(DS1307_HR,false);
minute = RTC.get(DS1307_MIN,false);

if((hour == 8)&&(minute == 0)){//sets for 08:00
blueFadeOn = 1;
}

if((hour ==8)&&(minute == 2)){//sets for 08:02
whiteFadeOn = 1;
}

if((hour ==15)&&(minute == 0)){//sets for 15:00
whiteFadeOn = 0;
blueFadeOn = 0;
}

if((hour ==20)&&(minute == 0)){//sets for 20:00
whiteFadeOff = 1;
}

if((hour ==20)&&(minute == 30)){//sets for 20:30
blueFadeOff = 1;
}

if((hour ==3)&&(minute == 0)){
whiteFadeOff = 0;
blueFadeOff = 0;

}
}

void debug(){
Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_HR,true)); Serial.print(":"); Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_MIN,false));Serial.pri nt(":");Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_SEC,false));
Serial.print(" Counter:");
Serial.print(counter);
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_DATE,false));Serial.<acronym title="Google Page Ranking">pr</acronym> int("/"); Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_MTH,false));Serial.pri nt("/");Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_YR,false));Serial.p rint(" "); Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_DOW,false));
Serial.print(" Blue LED state:");Serial.print(blueFadeOn);Serial.print(blu eFadeOff);Serial.print(" PWM Value:");Serial.print(blueFadeValue);
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.print("White LED state:");Serial.print(whiteFadeOn);Serial.print(wh iteFadeOff);Serial.print(" PWM Value");Serial.print(whiteFadeValue);
Serial.println();
delay(1000);
}

void rtcStart(){
RTC.stop();
RTC.set(DS1307_SEC,01); //set the seconds
RTC.set(DS1307_MIN,59); //set the minutes
RTC.set(DS1307_HR,7); //set the hours
RTC.set(DS1307_DOW,6); //set the day of the week
RTC.set(DS1307_DATE,22); //set the date
RTC.set(DS1307_MTH,1); //set the month
RTC.set(DS1307_YR,11); //set the year
RTC.start();
}</ds1307.h></wire.h></wprogram.h></ds1307.h></wire.h></wprogram.h>

[reefergeek]

Tweeked code to add a third pwm channel for the violets

#include WProgram.h
#include Wire.h
#include DS1307.h

int whiteFadeOn = 0;
int whiteFadeOff = 0;
int blueFadeOn = 0;
int blueFadeOff = 0;
int violetFadeOn = 0;
int violetFadeOff = 0;

int whiteLedPin = 9; // White Led chain linked to Digital pin9
int blueLedPin = 10; // Blue Led chain linked to Digital pin10
int violetLedPin = 8; // violet led chain linked to digital pin 8

int blueFadeValue = 0;
int whiteFadeValue = 0;
int violetFadeValue = 0;

int userDefMaxWhite = 100; //0-100 user defines the max intensity of the leds
int userDefMaxBlue = 100; //0-100 user defines the max intensity of the leds
int userDefMaxViolet = 100; // 0-100 user defines the max intensity of the leds
int fadeMaxWhite; //variable used when converthing userDefMaxWhite into a PWM value
int fadeMaxBlue; //variable used when converthing userDefMaxBlue into a PWM value
int fadeMaxViolet; //variable used when converting userdefmax into PWM Value

int hour;//variable used for the RTC timed event.
int minute;//variable used for the RTC timed event.

int counter = 0;//counter for PWN

void setup(){
Serial.begin(9600); //not needed in end product
rtcStart();
}





void loop(){
debug(); //not needed in end product
maxCalc();
ledFade();
rtcCatch();
}

void ledFade(){
if(counter < 60){
counter++;
}
else{

if(whiteFadeOn == 1){
if(whiteFadeValue <= fadeMaxWhite) {
analogWrite(whiteLedPin, whiteFadeValue);
whiteFadeValue = whiteFadeValue+4; // 255/4 = 63.75 i.e. 0-100% takes 63.75 minutes roughly to complete if it takes 1 minutes to complete 1 cycle.
}

}


if(violetFadeOn == 1){
if(violetFadeValue <= fadeMaxViolet) {
analogWrite(violetLedPin, violetFadeValue);
violetFadeValue = violetFadeValue+4; // 255/4 = 63.75 i.e. 0-100% takes 63.75 minutes roughly to complete if it takes 1 minutes to complete 1 cycle.
}


}

if(blueFadeOn == 1){
if(blueFadeValue <= fadeMaxBlue) {
analogWrite(blueLedPin, blueFadeValue);
blueFadeValue = blueFadeValue+4;
}
}

if(blueFadeOff == 1){
if(blueFadeValue >= 0) {
analogWrite(blueLedPin, blueFadeValue);
blueFadeValue = blueFadeValue-4;
}
}

if(whiteFadeOff == 1){
if(whiteFadeValue >= 0) {
analogWrite(whiteLedPin, whiteFadeValue);
whiteFadeValue = whiteFadeValue-4;
}

}

if(violetFadeOff == 1){
if(violetFadeValue >= 0) {
analogWrite(violetLedPin, violetFadeValue);
violetFadeValue = violetFadeValue-4;
}


}
counter =0;
}
}








void maxCalc(){
fadeMaxWhite = userDefMaxWhite*2.55;//converts user defined percentage (0-100) into a PWM value (0-255)
fadeMaxBlue = userDefMaxBlue*2.55;//converts user defined percentage (0-100) into a PWM value (0-255)
fadeMaxViolet = userDefMaxViolet*2.55;//converts user defined percentage (0-100) into a PWM value (0-255)
}

void rtcCatch(){
hour = RTC.get(DS1307_HR,false);
minute = RTC.get(DS1307_MIN,false);

if((hour == 8)&&(minute == 30)){//sets blue on for 08.30
blueFadeOn = 1;
}

if((hour ==10)&&(minute == 30)){//sets white on for 10.30
whiteFadeOn = 1;
}

if((hour == 21)&&(minute == 00)){//sets violet on for 21.00
violetFadeOn = 1;
}




if((hour ==20)&&(minute == 0)){//sets for 20:00
whiteFadeOff = 1;
}

if((hour ==10)&&(minute == 0)){//sets for 10:00
violetFadeOff = 1;
}

if((hour ==21)&&(minute == 00)){//sets for 21:00
blueFadeOff = 1;
}



}
}

void debug(){ //not needed in end product
Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_HR,true)); Serial.print(":"); Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_MIN,false));Serial.pri nt(":");Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_SEC,false));
Serial.print(" Counter:");
Serial.print(counter);
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_DATE,false));Serial.pr int("/"); Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_MTH,false));Serial.pri nt("/");Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_YR,false));Serial.pr int(" "); Serial.print(RTC.get(DS1307_DOW,false));

Serial.print(" Blue LED state:");Serial.print(blueFadeOn);Serial.print(blueFadeOf f);Serial.print(" PWM Value:");Serial.print(blueFadeValue);
Serial.print(" ");

Serial.print("White LED state:");Serial.print(whiteFadeOn);Serial.print(whiteFade Off);Serial.print(" PWM Value");Serial.print(whiteFadeValue);
Serial.print(" ");

Serial.print("Violet LED state:");Serial.print(violetFadeOn);Serial.print(violetFa deOff);Serial.print(" PWM Value");Serial.print(violetFadeValue);
Serial.println();
delay(1000);
}

void rtcStart(){
RTC.stop();
RTC.set(DS1307_SEC,00); //set the seconds
RTC.set(DS1307_MIN,34); //set the minutes
RTC.set(DS1307_HR,9); //set the hours
RTC.set(DS1307_DOW,06); //set the day of the week
RTC.set(DS1307_DATE,12); //set the date
RTC.set(DS1307_MTH,02); //set the month
RTC.set(DS1307_YR,11); //set the year
RTC.start();
} <wprogram.h><wire.h><ds1307.h></ds1307.h></wire.h></wprogram.h>

[reefergeek]

Got some of the code finished, Couldnt be bothered to start from fresh so took an open source code and amending for my set up, just got to include the violet led code now but heres some pics to keep you going

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2396.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2392.jpg

Any one for spares lol

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2398.jpg

[pak1802]

Cant wait till you do mine . !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[reefergeek]

Cough, Cough. Will make the controllers for people at cost you lot will have to buy the leds and wire them up, Dont worry me and mark will be here for advice

[pak1802]

Cough, Cough. Will make the controllers for people at cost you lot will have to buy the leds and wire them up, Dont worry me and mark will be here for advice

Look forward to it . Give me a shout when you reach this stage . Thanks Paul

[charley]

Look forward to it . Give me a shout when you reach this stage . Thanks Paul

Give me a shout as well,! cheers

[reefergeek]

Got the rtc shield done today just got the temp sensor to sort out and will link the program to pwm fans for cooling

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2425.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2428.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2429.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2431.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2434.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2436.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2435.jpg

[Mark J]

looks like its getting there matey :)
Whats the ETA on getting it hung up over the tank? hoping mine will be sometime early this week coming IF all goes to plan (quick scan around for the spanner that always seems to be thrown into the works LOL!!!)

[reefergeek]

My priority is getting our holls paid off need to within 6 weeks, as soon as thats paid off then will start ordering the expensive parts again need 2 x 36v psus £50, 6 x heatsinks £130, 6 x led drivers for the whites £7 each not to sure how many for the blues, Then the leds need another 5 at £30 and 12 blues not to sure about the wattage of them yet either 10w or 20w each

[reefergeek]

Is it a good sign that my montipora confusa frag is showing more growth when i have had the single 50w led turned on the frag is sat on the bottom of the tank, Noticed today the base of the frag has spread and is double the thickness and more tips are starting to show, On the top of the frag it has white bits on i guess thats growth

[reefergeek]

Poor mans led build

11457

[Mark J]

Wth? Lol it looks like a worn out length of Velcro hahaha.

[reefergeek]

Still trying to work out what the other thing above his tank is behind the xmas lights

[Mark J]

Lol god knows!! Looks like a well aged chunk of 6x2!! Not exactly what you'd expect next to a reef tank lol

[cl0wn]

any updates kev?

[reefergeek]

Not yet buddy got the controller done just waiting for two led drivers coming from over seas, I use the 50w led on the tank now with the t5s the corals seem to be having a growth spurt might be just a coincidence

Will get the watt meter on the 50w led psu and see how much it pulls

[reefergeek]

if it works out will be also building a small one for the sump i think i would need a more or a warm white led for cheato, would like a frag rack in the sump also feel another upgrade coming on soon

Having just seen the energy meter on 1200 watts was a little shock


Water cooling for the led heatsinks sounds a good idea have a separate tub with water in flowing around cooling cores on the heatsinks then a coil of the ehiem pipe in the water vat with a pump operated from the heater controller also could put the heaters in the water vat instead of the sump, Feel a plan coming on

Could use copper for the heatsink cooling as its just normal water and does not come in to contact with the tank water

[Tangman]

if it works out will be also building a small one for the sump i think i would need a more or a warm white led for cheato, would like a frag rack in the sump also feel another upgrade coming on soon

Having just seen the energy meter on 1200 watts was a little shock


Water cooling for the led heatsinks sounds a good idea have a separate tub with water in flowing around cooling cores on the heatsinks then a coil of the ehiem pipe in the water vat with a pump operated from the heater controller also could put the heaters in the water vat instead of the sump, Feel a plan coming on

Could use copper for the heatsink cooling as its just normal water and does not come in to contact with the tank water

Cant you use the heat to heat the tank by running it through eheim pipe. Twiggy

[reefergeek]

Got a 10w and 5w led driver delivered today just took some pics to upload not doing much with them as i am a little under the weather with no painkillers not happy lol

anyway here you go the 10w one looks like a doubled 5w version the 10w driver i have already had on 36v and seems ok even though the specs are up to 35v max ma is 1550 so should be ok for my 1700ma leds we shall see.

When i do start testing shall use a dummy load to save me blowing a £30 led

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2663.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2670.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2669.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2666.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2665.jpg


http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2668.jpg

[reefergeek]

Learn something new every day

I was under the impression if a led says 32-36v then it would not light up unless the voltage was in that range or so i was told, On the first dimming stage 0 been off 1 on and 255 full on 1 we got 0.01amp and 25v

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2695.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2692.jpg


On 123 out of 255 so around half way 0.61amps 29.4volts



http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2696.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2697.jpg


On 255 out of 255 full 32.4v 1.29amp so i would say the led is still not driven at full power as its max is 1700ma

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2698.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2699.jpg


Sorry for the vid could not be bothered to wait for hd to upload


http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/th_DSCN2691.jpg (http://s768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/?action=view&current=DSCN2691.mp4)

[Guest101]

Your LED's are getting 32 volts even though your multimeter is reading less, Its down to the sampling rate of multimeters

[reefergeek]

Did it on the psu side of the buck though and it said 35v then the variable was on the led side

[Guest101]

If you put it on an oscilloscope you would see the true square wave produced by the PWM module the wave goes from 32v straight to 0v.

[reefergeek]

Hang on lol

The first way i was going to dim the leds was with a pwm mosfet so like a fast light switch no current altering or voltage altering at all, Now using the led bucks which regulate the current to dim the leds this is controlled by the pwm 0-5v feed from the arduino so do the led buckpucks have a pwm output to the leds ?

[Guest101]

No

The Arduino will produce the PWM signal which is read by the buckboost's comparator which will turn the buckpuck's output on/off.

think of the arduino as the swith and the buckboost as a battery

[reefergeek]

grrr wish i kept to the original plans now of a motor pwm speed controller 30 amp 36v

I was given conflicting advice on another forum


So both led bucks and pwm dimmers work on the same way, I always though led bucks restricted the current and and as you cant simply get rid of the current turns it to heat, Where as the pwm mosfets is just a very fast switch so not regulating anything so hardly no heat builds up

Pulse width modulation dimmers

This is the professional way of dimming LEDs. The full dc voltage is applied to the product for a very short time, thousands of times per second. The LEDs effectively flash, too quickly for the eye to see, the resultant brightness depends on the time the power is applied. This kind of dimmer should successfully dim, all the way from full to off, most LED products designed to operate directly from dc voltages. Again, if there is further power conditioning included within the product then this is likely to negate the dimming effect. Pulse width modulation is inherently incompatible with ac products, although thyristor dimmers offer a similar solution.


Constant current dimmers

The latest high power light engines are designed to operate from constant current sources. It is also possible to operate other dc products from this type of supply. Basically the supply will apply the voltage necessary to achieve the required current. If this current can be varied then the supply can be used as a dimmer.

[brimacdav123]

kEV WHY DONT YOU JUST BUY MY OLD LIGHTS AND SAVE YOURSEL A FORTUNE, LOL

[Guest101]

You still need to run a buckboost with power leds,

I'll try to explain;

take a 1w led they run on 3.2volts and need 350ma.
the 350ma is the max rating, anymore and the led burnout, when you supply 3.2v to the led it will light up, it will also heat up, when it heats up it draw more current this cycle of heatingup and drawing more amps will continue until the LED burns out.
The BuckBoost is classed as a current limiting circuit which means that no matter how much current the LED try to draw the circuit will only allow what it was designed to allow (in this case 350ma). If you just use a mosfet to control the led then there will be no way of controlling the amp that get drawn.

hope that makes some sense I could explain it to you face to face alot easier then I can write it.

[reefergeek]

I would be happy with the 8 x 54w unit bri but 500watts to run it and £25 each per tube, Halides i would need 3 x 150w and its £50 x 3 for bulbs every 9 months and then 504 watts to run them

Leds good for 5 years + and 1/4 of the elec not to mention no heat problems caused by halides or t5s

Hey bri i made you them old light lol

reason my i am looking to save on watts is the tank pulls 1200wats 1.2kw when the heaters are on leds will save me around 250watts then going to try and water cool the led heatsinks in to a vat of water so doent matter how hot the water gets then have a pump controlled by the heater controller pumping water from the sump through a coil in the vat then back to the sump

[reefergeek]

I understand that leds will keep on drawing current until they blow the thing i did think was different was buckpucks to buckboosters

The psu i have got at the min is regulated for the led at 1400ma leds max is 1700ma so i am using the pwm buck for dimming now for the led build will be using 2 x 36v 10amp psus with 6 of the ledbucks that have a maximum of 36v and 1550ma

I did not think that bucks had a pwm output

[reefergeek]

Ah right

"When shopping for LED drivers, you will soon discover the terms "boost" and "buck." Basically a driver with a boost type of circuit will be able to drive an LED with less battery voltage than that required to light the LED. So with a boost driver you can drive an LED that requires 3.5 volts with a 1.5 volt battery. I've got several small flashlights that work this way. The "buck" type of circuit reduces the voltage of a higher voltage battery down to the required voltage for the LED"

So i have the std buck type

[Guest101]

A Buckpuck lowers the input voltage to the correct voltage for the leds whereas a Buckboost raises the voltage

Bucks dont have a PWM output, what I ment was the PWM from the arduino turns the output of the buck on/off

[Guest101]

Ah right

"When shopping for LED drivers, you will soon discover the terms "boost" and "buck." Basically a driver with a boost type of circuit will be able to drive an LED with less battery voltage than that required to light the LED. So with a boost driver you can drive an LED that requires 3.5 volts with a 1.5 volt battery. I've got several small flashlights that work this way. The "buck" type of circuit reduces the voltage of a higher voltage battery down to the required voltage for the LED"

So i have the std buck type

I need to type faster

[reefergeek]

The first plan i had as i was struggling to find led bucks at 36v 1700ma was a pwm motor speed controller hooked up to 36v psu up to 30amp, the arduino pwm output controlling the speed controller and the speed controller connected to 1600ma current regulators then the leds so the leds could not be over driven

The motor speed controller was only £20

I am thinking the pwm way of dimming is a more efficient way of running leds as it does not shed current to heat, the way pwm does it 75% dim the power supply is connected to the led 75% of the time and at 50% dim the power supply is connected to the led 50% of the time

[reefergeek]

Found a good thread for tank automation, Made me laugh about his wiring

http://sites.google.com/site/richardorme1979/home

[reefergeek]

Wanted a little frag tank remembered i had a little hex around 40 ltr tank but the 8w tube had broke so i put the 50w led in maybe a little to bright lol

The main tank has 8x54w tubes 3 x narva blues and 5 x ati aquablue specials

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2713.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/DSCN2715.jpg

[reefergeek]

Finished the Temp and rtc protoshield today will get pics up little later, The arduino is now controlling the led on the frag tank

[reefergeek]

Just waiting for the 7667 chip

Ignore the red wire it will not be there when the chip arrives

[reefergeek]

These leds will be interesting in a led build

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-SSC-P7-White-900-Lumens-10W-Light-LED-DIY-3-6V-4-2V-/260746560171?pt=US_Flashlights&hash=item3cb5b4c2ab

[reefergeek]

Had to order another atmega 328 chip which arrived today as the old one seemed to get fried somehow

I would like to make some more aquarium controllers one that might take a while will be controlling all of this and using a nokia colour lcd screen



Sump pump
Skimmer
WM1
WM2
Daylight led
Actinic led
Moonlight led
Auto top up

Also including orp data and ph data

Will have to make a 8 plug bank and wired to the arduino all enclosed on the high voltage side for total safety

[Guest101]

Take a look here http://www.olimex.com/dev/index.html they have a range of development board for the AVR chipset could be of some use.

[reefergeek]

Great stuff thank you john

[cl0wn]

Take a look here http://www.olimex.com/dev/index.html they have a range of development board for the AVR chipset could be of some use.

if only there were a member with bulgarian contacts would save a fair few quid on postage! be very careful with shipping from there, lots of things go missing in the post i always ship recorded at the very least.

any updates kev?

[reefergeek]

about to order the heatsinks this week cant afford the £130 imported ones so getting second hand uk ones 6 for £65

Got the 50w led running on the little frag tank next to the main tank the led is way to bright driving it at 50% and it still miles brighter then 8 x 54w t5s with ati bulbs in

Wakey mentioned the 10w leds are far brighter than the tmc tiles

Controller is running faultless after the little hick up, Still would like to use the touch screen Johns looking at the code for me, I have ordered enough to build 3 of the protoshields on the arduinos in case anyone else struggles to get one made

[cl0wn]

tell you what would make an excellent article, kev. electronics for dummies explaining what each part of a diy led build does.

[reefergeek]

As soon as we get it finished Pete i am sure between us we can get one done including al the links to the hardware, Got the last payment of the holls on the 28th so can get on with the build fully then

[Guest101]

Still would like to use the touch screen Johns looking at the code for me,

Ive had a quick look and it just C code with different libraries, havnt had time been trying to get quote and other stuff but will have a look this weekend for you.

[reefergeek]

Thats brill John will see you right no rush for it though using the r14 code on the 3310 at the min.

[reefergeek]

Any thoughts from nuelectronics message ?

I am current developing a new Arduion platform based on ARM cortex-m3 chip, which has built-in RTC and USB interface, Li-ion battery interface and charging circuit. It has Arduino compatible interface, so you can plug the 2.4", 2.8" TFT LCD directly into the shield. The board is similar to Maple board, the link - http://leaflabs.com/devices/maple/ . There is also a very good GUI library available for the Cortex-m3 platform. It is a much more powerful, but cheaper platform than the Arduino/ Arduino Mega. My first prototype will be available in 2 weeks.

What I'd like to know whether you think this product - Control fish tank light via TFT screen- has any commercial potential. If it's only a hobbyist project, I think you'd better use the Arduino Mega platform. But if it has commercial potential, then I can help you develop the most suitable and low-cost platform for it.

[CP Ocean]

I have no idea what you just said !! haha

[Guest101]

Im not a fan of atmel chip I dont see the point in having to run a program on the chip to program the chip its just a waste of memory.

personally I dont think the Arduino has a commercial application other then what they used for now. what they've done is created a slot together product out of an existing system, If people where to make a aquarium controller it is much easier and cheaper to produce your own PCB and code.

[reefergeek]

My thoughts as well each aquarium controller is made to the individual no two systems are the same

[Tangman]

I have no idea what you just said !! haha
Dont you know geek speak its the new talk here on RC LOL. Twiggy

[CP Ocean]

Only just got used to water flows and plumbing, dont go throwing electrics in as well! :)

[reefergeek]

I hate plumbing even though i used to do it for a couple of years give me electrical things any day, Plumbing can cause more damage if it goes wrong it electric work goes wrong and you find out 9/10 you wount be around to give a stuff anyway lol

[CP Ocean]

haha thats one way of looking at it

[reefergeek]

Had a little disaster today whilst moving rock round in the main tank, found some green zoas so i told the better half to put them in the little frag, whilst she was moving them to the tank she spilt salt water all over the led driver and arduino never realized until she said oh look that things sizzling grrrrrrr

Got them all cleaned off with elec cleaner but i think i will not be using the led driver in the main build, the lcd shield has just started working ok again now one of the joystick buttons was constantly on, lesson learnt do it myself next time lol

[reefergeek]

Came across this picture a simple diagram for a led controller converting the output from 0-5v to 0-10v, T5 ballasts, halide ballasts and meanwell led drivers this would run and dim

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Led%20build/KRUSDUINO_P2.jpg

[Mark J]

Ooo totally off topic but looking at your sig the meet at crystal clear waters is on my birthday! Might just have to see if I can make it as might have some birthday money if I be nice :) hehe. Well I DID install the loft ladders the other day (and injured my ribs in the process lol!) so maybe get as much as £3.76 to spend LOL!!!

[Tangman]

Ooo totally off topic but looking at your sig the meet at crystal clear waters is on my birthday! Might just have to see if I can make it as might have some birthday money if I be nice :) hehe. Well I DID install the loft ladders the other day (and injured my ribs in the process lol!) so maybe get as much as £3.76 to spend LOL!!!
Yes get yourself there Mark as it would be good to see you and your wife again. Twiggy

[reefergeek]

Yeah mark if i am coming across from ripon i think you should lol

[owlbassboy]

hey kev, a little help required, can you tell me exactly that molex stuff i need for making 2 arduino controllers? i dont really understand from the krusduino pdf. also where to get them? anywhere other than farnell. mark forgot them off the order and they have a minimum £20 order lol

[Guest101]

The molex connectors are just to make it easier to disconnect and reconnect the buckpucks and other parts if you need to, any pcb connector will do try the link below nop minimum order

http://www.rapidonline.com/Cables-Connectors/Connectors-Multipole/PCB-Interconnect/2.54mm-KK-PCB-Connectors/66414

[owlbassboy]

thanks mate, but their crimp connectors are expensive and ive no need for 100 lol

[reefergeek]

I have ordered these ones
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120689909190&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

If there any good will send you two

Or here http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=searchProducts&searchTerm=+70553-0003&x=0&y=0

[owlbassboy]

i havent really looked much into it but is it not 4 pin connectors i need? i actually need 4 of them as me and mark are doing 2 builds. if you dont have that many spare let me know and i can order some ;)

[reefergeek]

You can mod the shield as you only need two wires for the sensor and 3 wires for the led dimming the gnd from the led dimming to be connected to the bucks ground as well

I put 2 x 3 way connectors on just modified the wiring slightly

[owlbassboy]

thats just went right over my head dude, im hoping it all makes more sense as i start to build lol

[reefergeek]

You could try to look for the pcb screw terminals
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10-3-Way-PCB-Screw-Terminal-Low-Profile-5mm-Connector-/360351764227?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Suppl ies_ET&hash=item53e6a38f03

Will just have to work out the pcb hole width to match the terminals

[owlbassboy]

even that is over my head lmfao. plugs look much easier than screw terminals

[reefergeek]

Oh dear lol, As you build the shield it will become clear (i hope) just make sure you cut through the 2 pcb tracks use a multimeter to check

[owlbassboy]

i do have electronics knowledge, basic knowledge lol so i should be sweet when i have it in front of me lol

[reefergeek]

Why dont you hang fire and see what the 3.2" arduino mega and touch controller come out like, just waiting for them to be delivered now

When i first got the blank shield from nuelectronics i thought bloody hell its small and some of the wires are around 10mm i cheated on a few and use link pins instead of the 10mm wire far easier

[owlbassboy]

ive already ordered the screen, will the new screen be interchangable with the protoshield and chip?

[reefergeek]

You can use the 3310 screen on the arduino mega and with the protoshield the mega i got cost me around £21 but the normal arduino cost around £16

[owlbassboy]

im not honestly sure of all the parts, its the same as chris c used, but neonplanet ordered them all for us

[reefergeek]

Ah right well you have this lot then

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ATMEL-ATMEGA328-Board-Arduino-Duemilanove-USB-Cable-/290538433804?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item43a570ad0c

http://www.nuelectronics.com/estore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3

http://www.nuelectronics.com/estore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=12

Then you just need the rtc parts and the mosfet

[owlbassboy]

rtc? is that the battery holder and timer thingymabob? all ordered as is power supply and soldering iron

[reefergeek]

Thats it the real time clock (RTC) and the crystal the battery just keeps a supply to the rtc to keep the crystal vibrating to keep the time in simple terms

[owlbassboy]

mark has posted pics of what he ordered on my forum, i have ordered the protoshield its not here yet though

[reefergeek]

Well if you get stuck just pm me buddy, oh you might want to get one of the cheap magnifying glasses to check as you solder for shorts on the pcb

[owlbassboy]

ill look see if the soldering set i ordered has one lol. its a cheapy ebay set, only cost £7 so if its no good ill have to get a better one

[reefergeek]

Esr electronics have some cheap good ones

[owlbassboy]

cool ill check them out if this one is rubbish

[reefergeek]

Cool got my 3.2" colour touch screen delivered on Saturday just waiting for the mega now, The arduino and the 3310 shield has seemed to recover from the salt water bath thanks to bev and must of got it all cleaned off as theres nor corrosion yet

[Guest101]

I will get to look at your code soon just been a bit busy lately

[reefergeek]

No rush at all and when you get around to it and its sorted let me know what you want off a sponsor and i will sort it out anything at all as long as its under £2.50 lol

[Mark J]

Any updates on your build yet matey?

[reefergeek]

No buddy, The 50w leds still on the hex frag tank and very bright i am running it around 40% anything more everything hides away lol

Got the 3.2" touch screen for the other controller i am building, soon as these holls are paid off going to crack on with it as i am sick of t5s and halides now

[owlbassboy]

kev did them little connectors from the states arrive yet?

[owlbassboy]

oh also can you help me with what i need for the veroboard thing? its capacitors but i dont know what size i need or how many or if theres anything else....or where on earth i go for veroboard lol

[reefergeek]

Sorry buddy, yes the connectors came the other day i put them straight in to the top draw will have a look tom to see if they are correct as i think i might of dropped a clanger

What do you need the capacitors for, if its in case of the led flickering just try it without first it is not forced to flicker

Oh that 10k led is good for cheato growth so will be building one for the sump as well just a simple led driver and potentiometer for dimming will do

[owlbassboy]

hey kev, i am struggling to figure out the 3 pin connections i need to make, one of the connectors in the pdf files diagram looks like it has 4 pins being used?

[cl0wn]

kev how much would you estimate to parts etc would cost for a 3x2x2.

[reefergeek]

Cant see the diagram at the min will have a look tom as i have to put adobe back on the lappy, I am sure the protoshield had 2 x 4pins so i out 2 x 3pins on

The 4 pin near the icl7667 only wires used are 2 wires for the pwm led drivers and i also shoved a +5v on that one, then the other 4 pin only really need 2 wires the temp sensor wire and the gnd wire

Pete just for leds i would use 6 x 10w whites and 4 x 10w blues around £100 for leds then psu £25 bucks £25ish if you do the arduino around £50 then just the heatsinks

[owlbassboy]

got the arduinos working but not 100% on how to wire them to the lights and how to wire the temp probe in

[cl0wn]

just found these:

http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/12-x-3-watts-DIY-LED-Kit.html

look pretty cool.

[Guest101]

just found these:

http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/12-x-3-watts-DIY-LED-Kit.html

look pretty cool.

looks quite good them and only about £45 delivered

[reefergeek]

Sorry back on for a while now, On the protoshield the 3 pin connector near the icl7667 has two outputs for the leds connect these to the pwm buck one for the white and the other for the blue then also connect a gnd wire from one of the connectors to the output ground of the psu i did it at the buck then it should be able to dim the leds

The temp has two wires centre pin of the DS18B20 to the sensor wire from the protoshield then join the left and right pins together on the DS18B20 and then connect to ground

11959


Good find Peter takes the hassle out of making sure everything works can simply order more for modular kits so can adapt for any size of tank

[owlbassboy]

lol i havent really got a clue what you mean about the ground connections the connector you mention has got a +5v on it as far as i know, i copied your photos for your board setup

[reefergeek]

Hang on will dig some pics out and try to explain

[owlbassboy]

thank you for the patience with my stupidity lol

[reefergeek]

What driver are you using and what led drivers ?

The psu connects to the bucks then on the other side of the buck connects to the led, also on the buck there should be a spare wire/terminal ths is for the 0-5v supplied from the arduino to ramp the buck from off to full

Now the arduino can not control the buck just by the 0-5v link you also have to link the negative from the led supply to the negative of the arduino


The white 3 pin connector at the top is for the leds, you only the two wires that are needed to run two bucks one for white and one for blue

[owlbassboy]

did you not get my pm on the other forum with a full list of what im using? if not ill hunt the names out again.

[owlbassboy]

do you mean a negative from the led supply as in the negative of the last led to the negative of the arduino? in that pic which pin is negative?

[reefergeek]

On this diagram you can see that pins 5+6 run the ICL7667 mosfet then the grey and the blue go to the meanwells ignore the 10v psu and Lm7810, If you follow the black wire you can see it goes to the dim- On the led bucks it simply would go to the Led-

[reefergeek]

Sorry my laptop went down and lost all the emails then broadband went off had a shocker for the last 2 weeks lol

Yes that negative doesn't matter if its after the leds before the leds or before the buck connects to the arduino negative shall have another look to see witch one of mine was neg as i cant remember lol

[owlbassboy]

is that as layman as you go mate, thats more confusing that the previous post lol, i thought i was getting the hang of it til you posted that lol

[owlbassboy]

can you come on facebook chat please dude lol

[reefergeek]

On mine with the led at the bottom, the bottom white 3 pin connector bottom pin is sensor middle pin is negative so you could join the leds neg to the middle pin or even to the dc jack plug supplying the arduino

[reefergeek]

Ok buddy 2 secs

[owlbassboy]

massive thanks to kev......what a guy :)

[reefergeek]

Your welcome as long as it helps a fellow reefer

Got my arduino mega yesterday at last, Soldered the pin header on the 3.2" touch screen and plugged the itdb02 v1.1 converter shield in to the arduino, Uploaded the program and err nothing at all god dam lol. I uploaded all the sample sketches for the lcd and still doesn't work so i am guessing a duff screen

The ITDBO2 V1.1 shield is used because the lcd runs on 3.3v max and the arduino supplies 5v so this board has a few resistors and a built in rtc to cut the power down for the screen, I have emailed the company but i think i might as well just order yet another screen to save prating around at £20 each

So i have now got 16x2 lcd spare, 2.4" touch sd lcd spare,possible faultly 3.2" touch spare jeez

[reefergeek]

Maybe 6 will be overkill as this is on 75% power

[cl0wn]

that's a hell of a coverage. maybe 4 or 5. will 3w royal blue crees cut through the white?

[reefergeek]

Got the 4x 1w violets and 700ma regulated backplates today so now just need the 6 x 20w blues (mix of royal and normal) and i think i am going to try a 7500k 50w led before i take the plunge and order them all.

Get one built Pete if you struggle i will help with the controller

[cl0wn]

Got the 4x 1w violets and 700ma regulated backplates today so now just need the 6 x 20w blues (mix of royal and normal) and i think i am going to try a 7500k 50w led before i take the plunge and order them all.

Get one built Pete if you struggle i will help with the controller

been reading diy led builds all morning and i'm so tempted. love the look of led light, so clean and crisp.

[reefergeek]

Wakey used 2 x 10w whites leds and 2 x 10w blues and although the blue was a little overpowering they beat the tmc tiles hands down think he said was going to have 6 x 10w whites on his 8ft but i would double it better to have to much and dim they to little and to be driven on full

[reefergeek]

If you want to do it with 3w leds i would start with making a sting of 6 whites and 6 blues on a single heatsink then make two of them, If the unit is not bright enough you can simply add another heatsink and another 12 leds, This would also spread the cost out for you

[cl0wn]

If you want to do it with 3w leds i would start with making a sting of 6 whites and 6 blues on a single heatsink then make two of them, If the unit is not bright enough you can simply add another heatsink and another 12 leds, This would also spread the cost out for you

aaarrrggghhh!!! just re-reading this thread, dontcha just hate photobucket?!?!?

[reefergeek]

lol yes i have left a right trail behind the bloody thing

[cl0wn]

s'why i use facebook, no expiry on photos.

[reefergeek]

When john said go to properties on the facebook pic i cant on mine under firefox as the pics some up in a black box but if i do it under explorer it doesn't and the properties tab is there nothings simple anymore, If the site would allow me to upload them i would do them straight on here but keep forgetting to turn the camera down to 3mb

[cl0wn]

click on them so they're full size then right click, do it with all of mine as i'm not over keen on thumbnails. or i can edit them for you if you want.

on the housing for the leds, what about a custom build? something like on here:
http://www.alumacraft.co.uk/

[reefergeek]

Will try to get a screen print to show you

[cl0wn]

put the post number under your photo's on fb and i'll pop them on here for you. this thread is too good to not have them.

[reefergeek]

Grr cant i right click under firefox and get

Back
forward
reload stop
bookmark
save
send
view background image
select all
view page source
view page info

Now the picture comes up with a black background with a left and right tab at the side of the picture not like facebook used to be

Cant even log in to photobucket it says site problems lol, shall go through my pics over the next few days and try to downsize them and upload thats is i remember which ones i have put up lol

[cl0wn]

just found these:

http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/12-x-3-watts-DIY-LED-Kit.html

look pretty cool.

so would these work with an arduino to dim kev, and are the power supplies ok or are they for the yanks? also are the led's any good?

sorry for all the questions kev!!!

[cl0wn]

oooohhhh! nice housing!

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/208043214/Custom_aluminium_housing/showimage.html?newId=208043214&pn=1&pt=10&t=12&cids=200912509,200272117,50135523,200262120,200012 322,200844031,200707235,200706435,200680101,200761 264,200973579,200706859,50140436,200206083,2007166 04,200761033,200925402,200825014,50080412,10194233 5,200862132,200938887,200715400,200707949,20097311 0,200927725,50145294,50140608,200561237,50069388,2 00769061,200264130,200823040,200885196,200719428,5 0145466

[reefergeek]

Sorry Pete bloody broadband playing up again speed test 128kbps then had 8kbps for around 2 hours yet bt say 10 day settling period what a load of rollox

Back to your leds all you would need to make them dim is this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10w-LED-Driver-MBI6651-based-Luxeon-White-I-1350mA-/350456199287?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5198d13877

then have one of them per chain of leds so one for blue and one for whites

the best way to work it would be to buy a 6x whites and then a 6x blues then on the arduino you can dim the whites or blues to get the look you want, so every one of them led kite you buy also order one of the above pwm drivers

[reefergeek]

Do like that housing dont think it would be like that when it gets to the uk though lol

[reefergeek]

That psu if fine pete same as the ones sold on ebay and ok for 240v the leds are the same make they use in these

http://www.ocreef.com/product_print.php?item_id=569

this one

http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/KEY-LED-K3-Bridgelux-version.html

is more or less 4 of them kits and an arduino

[cl0wn]

thanks for the help kev, yeah the housing does look fairly tasty, doesn't have size spec so it's prolly 4"x2" might email them for sizes and prices. will let you know.

[cl0wn]

just wondering if it might be worth popping a couple of 30w 16k led's with wide angle optics for maybe 4hrs a day. give a bit of oomph for sps growth. these wouldn't have to be dimmed just regular timers, or would it be fairly simple to add to the dimmer?

loving this thread btw.

[cl0wn]

also are you gonna program lightning into the arduino. seen some youtube vids and it does look pretty cool.

[reefergeek]

I will do anything you want me to as long as its legal lol, Hold fire until i get the 3.2" colour touch arduino built and soon as its up and running will post both of the controllers cost up

The most powerful dimmers i have found is the 10w ones 36/36v at 1550ma so these will power any led up to that not to sure over 50w, If you post links or pm links of the leds your thinking about using and the ammount i will try to work out the drivers for you and try to keep it the cheapest way

[cl0wn]

cheers kev. will get back to you!

[reefergeek]

Your welcome buddy

[kofi.butler]

You can use basic mr16 12v led's from ebay £3-£4 each (350lm white, each bulb, blues?) and using a constant current driver and dimmer (? why dimm) also from e-bay can do pretty much what you want and you don't have to heatsink the led's. Total build cost under £100. Using more drivers you can then with more cost use timers to sequence the led's creating morning, midday, evening, night sequences. These are modular and if led's blow are easier to replace. The unit would be as thick as the transformer/drivers 2-3".

[Bluez]

Well, its been awhile since I updated, mainly due to work and spending all my time getting my canopy together, but at last its done... only taken hmmm 3 months? anyway, its not as "fancy" as reefergeek's will be, however it does what I want it to do, and so im happy... lol.
Quick break down of whats what...

There is 6 cycles all told, in running order: Dawn, Morning, Midday, Dusk, Night, Off, this starts at 7am with dawn, and then continues to run throughout the day untill 22.30, where upon the main cycle switches itself off for 8 and half hours and restarts, there is a 27 day moonlight cycle thats running which goes up and down in brightness over the 27 period, (day 14 being obviously the brightest), total amount of light is 4000 lumnes *ish*, which is broken down into segaments for each part of the cycle, dawn/dusk being the lowest, midday being the brightest, total ampage is 25-26amps @ 12v, (run from a 30amp 12v supply built in the canopy) which runs 2 timers (both customised) which in turn powers a diode power board with relays, switching the light patterns/cycles.

Anyways, enough of the long post and all, as I said on page 3 I think it was, this may not be everyones cup of tea, and some may want more or less things etc... but this is what I wanted, for the record the canopy etc... was all built from scratch, taking the word DIY to the limit... lol.

http://s149.photobucket.com/albums/s67/bluezphoto/?action=view&current=Ledlights.mp4

Total Cost to make from scratch: £180 ish.
Total hours to build: too many.... lol, about 80 or more I guess.
Size: 50" x 18" x 5"

*Forgot to add, the fan on top of the unit is only temp, I will get around to putting that inside the canopy at some point, as well as tidying up the joints etc... as I was in a rush to get the thing up and running.. lol.

[reefergeek]

Looks well goes to show its possible at a cheap price

[Bluez]

Looks well goes to show its possible at a cheap price

*bows thanks reefergeek, I did think about loads of other options, lighting colours, etc... but at some point you have to draw the line and just go with what you think is best for your needs, though in hine sight soldering 140 leds was`nt my favourite past time, but then again its the colour coding and intensity that determines really how much work is involved, I opt`ed for the dawn/dusk cycles to go with 5mm leds for less intensity but obviously wanted the best colour for that time of day, hence forth, reds/oranges/yellows/greens, and the string of sm5's which I would say gives off close to a 30w t5, just nice to wake up everything before the "morning" cycle kicks in and reduces the risk of light shock with the extra (21 white 3watt).

unfort my mobile video/camera doesn`t pick up the colours of the leds/tank properly, as the night cycle is fantastic, all the corals glow, etc... which consists of: 9 blue 3watt, 20 UV 5mm, and 10 pink 5mm.

Anyway, thought I would just update you on how I got on and all, dont want to hijack your thread and all, and will continue to look forward to see'ing yours when its all up and running bud.

[reefergeek]

Just about got the new controller done now, Got a slight glitch the touch panel is upside down somehow when i press the top of the touch panel it selects a tab at the bottom of the screen

[reefergeek]

Oh the arduino mega the sensors what are programed are

PIN FUNCTION

6 BLUE LED
7 WHITE LED
9 HEATER PIN
10 COOLER
11 ALARM
4 PWM HEATSINK FAN
5 PWN HEATSINK FAN
49 ON - OFF FOR FAN

[cl0wn]

that looks well cool kev, very impressed.

[reefergeek]

I would be if i could work out why the touch screen is miles out almost as if they have put it on upside down

[ShyTalk]

That does look good though Kev....have you tried turning it off and back on again? (bless the IT Crowd)
Have you worked out how much it has cost so far?

[reefergeek]

Yeah and even blew on it and still never worked lol

3.2" TFT screen £16.80
mega shield inc rtc £12
arduino mega £18

Then i just need to make a shield with terminals on for the outputs to the led channels

Got all of my 4 x 1w uv leds and 4 x 3w violets now just need 6 x blues royal and normal and 5 x 50w whites

[Mark J]

Nice screen!
Is the touch reversed only top to bottom or is left and right switched as well?
Can you not put a debug string on the screen to display the x and y coords and any other data etc (ie raw data from the touch screen to make sure the program your using isn't fiddling about with the values etc)

[ShyTalk]

Well I'm after lighting for this upgrade i may give a set a go, i'll let you do the hard work prototyping and sourcing the parts first though heh heh
50W whites though???

[reefergeek]

Yes mark just top to bottom will post the sketch up 2 secs

[reefergeek]

Bloody got it grrr all the uploads have to be changed from include_graph.h to include_graph16.h

also had to run a touch calibration sketch first that gives the touch params which gives

#define PixSizeX -15.29
#define PixOffsX 277
#define PixSizeY 10.88
#define PixOffsY 357

Shytalk you should of know this i was waiting for you lol

50w total overkill but better getting a high power one ran around 75% then low power one ran at 90+% these leds i think had 30k or 50k hrs guarantee so half power will give even more

[cl0wn]

Take a look here http://www.olimex.com/dev/index.html they have a range of development board for the AVR chipset could be of some use.

i'm off out to bulgaria ina few weeks, would it be cheaper buying components out there or importing from china and swallowing the customs charges?

[Guest101]

i'm off out to bulgaria ina few weeks, would it be cheaper buying components out there or importing from china and swallowing the customs charges?

would be cheaper buying out there and bringing in nut would you have to pay customs when you come back?

most stuff like that has a lead time so you would have to order it and then collect whilst out there

[cl0wn]

my parents live out there, can have it delivered to them. customs allowances are EU so you can buy all the usual gift, electricals etc to value of £750 or something.

[reefergeek]

I am lucky as i have not once been stung with charges always a first time though

[reefergeek]

As i will be using 4-5 leds would it be worthwhile putting them on separate channels on the arduino this way i can then simulate cloud cover

Just tried to upload the code but

The text that you have entered is too long (10731 characters). Please shorten it to 10000 characters long.

[Mark J]

It almost ready for it's unveiling yet Kev?
You've not reached the codesize limit on the chip by any chance?

[reefergeek]

Nupe lol, slowly does it lol, got all of the smaller leds just need 5 x 50w whites, heatsinks and psus.

When i get back from our holls will order a 12k 50w and a 7k white 50w just to make sure i am happy with the spectrum before i order all 6 of them

[reefergeek]

We got a strange package through the post today opened it up and its another arduino 1280 mega kit i think the bloke sent another out as a mistake lol

I am sure the postman has funny ideas about us what with a bag bursting full of bicarb of soda and all the other white powders we order the last lot was 5kg lol

[Robbiec]

wheres all the pics gone mate??

I am running a set up of 3 strings of 9 cree whites and 2 strings of 7 cree blues, each string running off these drivers http://cgi.ebay.com/5w-LED-Driver-MBI6651-based-Luxeon-White-I-1000mA-/370376658188?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item563c2b4d0c then off a big psu, just wondering mate whats the easiest way to be able to dim my strings??

[Tangman]

We got a strange package through the post today opened it up and its another arduino 1280 mega kit i think the bloke sent another out as a mistake lol

I am sure the postman has funny ideas about us what with a bag bursting full of bicarb of soda and all the other white powders we order the last lot was 5kg lol
You can use that and build me a LED for that small acrylic tank for when i set it up with SPS. Twiggy

[reefergeek]

At last got the little heatsinks today will get some pics up a little later, so a recap still need 4 x 50w whites and 8 x 20w royals also the psu so all in all around £212 left

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/led%20suppliers/DSCN4716.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/led%20suppliers/DSCN4714.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/led%20suppliers/DSCN4718.jpg

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/led%20suppliers/DSCN4719.jpg

[cl0wn]

yes, get it on! get that soldering iron out! when you getting the parts?

[reefergeek]

Just waiting for my balaclava so i can rob a bank mind you not much point these days as there struggling

Should be done in 12 weeks well it better bloody be, going to keep the led on the sump as well but maybe get a 20w 10k one as the 50w is far to bright for it

[Marine Life Uk]

about time you finished this isnt it mate

[reefergeek]

Perfection takes time buddy, Would have had it done by now if the cat never got bloody shot ! bloody vet bills

[cl0wn]

Just waiting for my balaclava so i can rob a bank mind you not much point these days as there struggling

Should be done in 12 weeks well it better bloody be, going to keep the led on the sump as well but maybe get a 20w 10k one as the 50w is far to bright for it

you using it to grow cheato? how's the growth, supposed to be difficult under led's?

[reefergeek]

Got a huge build up of green algae in the sump have had to put more flow through but also got the phos reactor and nitrate reactor so hard to tell

[cl0wn]

just found these:

http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/12-x-3-watts-DIY-LED-Kit.html

look pretty cool.

have you seen the options they have now? dimmables, strips, allsorts!

[Cookie]

Hi Reefergeek

What are you using thermal paste wise, i've got 1 20w and driver on order so will be making one as well, did think computer thermal paste but iirc it has copper in, although it is going to be circa 10" from tank.

Cheers
Simon