Originally Posted by ReeferRob
No need to send any money. Just pm your addy if you decide you can use the parts.
I've only had them on the tank a couple weeks so too early to really tell. But corals are more open and seem much happier. I am still acclimating them...just running lights at 20% right now. I will slowly bump them up over the next couple months.
Yep optics will narrow them downward for deeper tanks like mine, if you wanted you could still get the lenses they come free anyways and would be useful if you decide to go deeper anyways, HeatsinkUsa will not have the necessary drill bits as they do not drill, however rapidled does drill but they only have certain size heatsinks which most likely wont be the one you need, as for drills and drill bits just go to the hardware store like home depot and ask for drill bits that will go through thick aluminum and buy atleast 2 of those drills, they tend to snap or bend on you. As for the thermal paste it is in fact for attaching it to the heatsink and is for dissipating heat away from the actual led to the heatsink without these your leds will get quite hot, I only used thermal paste to attach them to the heatsink and it was included in the package, to give you an idea how strong it is, I accidently glued a star to the heatsink in the wrong place and to get it off I had to carefully take a screw driver and hammer to get it off of the heatsink without breaking the led and it worked but I had to hit it quite hard.
As for the transformer I am not sure with electronic jargon but the plugins for the drivers are basically the male end of an extension cord cut off at about 3ft worth of cord, as for the dimmer it is the same voltage as a cell phone charger, and that is about it, as for the fans they need there own power supply as well I cant remember which one is the equivalence to a phone charger.
Just figured it out the transformer that powers dimming controller needs to be 10v just get an old cell phone charger and cut the part that plugs into the phone off of the cord, the transformer for the fans is 12v and to give you an idea I use one transformer to power 4 120mm fans.
CR Member
Nice and simple, just the way I like it! What's the difference between the "buckpucks" and the "meanwells"? Are they really just the same thing, just different capabilities for powering more LEDs?
Thanks soo much Jim, Ill fire over that PM asap.
Gotta pay my painter for the custom body he's doing for my RC, but next week Im ordering some LED's!!
"We shouldn't think of an environment where livestock can survive, we should ensure an environment where livestock can thrive."-Rabidgoose
"If it's gonna be that kinda party, Ima stick my ........ in the mashed potatoes!"-Beastie Boys
when I said drills I meant drill bits, shouldn't be able to break the drill, Oh and you will need a decent amount of solder as well, they do not include that in the package as well as you need to look up pre-tinning for how to connect the leds connections together,
CR Member
Thanks for the info, Ive got the soldering supplies and skills! from the RC thing already.when I said drills I meant drill bits, shouldn't be able to break the drill, Oh and you will need a decent amount of solder as well, they do not include that in the package as well as you need to look up pre-tinning for how to connect the leds connections together,
I can use my work drill and bits, just was thinking they might have a convenient kit with tap and screw. But it doesn't sound as though I need to secure them that much.
"We shouldn't think of an environment where livestock can survive, we should ensure an environment where livestock can thrive."-Rabidgoose
"If it's gonna be that kinda party, Ima stick my ........ in the mashed potatoes!"-Beastie Boys
When I started I had no electrical knowledge what so ever and this kit was easy as **** to build so it sounds like you will be able to do this with no problem at all, oh and as for acclimation to leds from MH I just put my leds at 45% then bumped it up 10% each week. I am at 90% and the corals love it things I had brown out from the MH I had colored up in no time with my leds. I think I might try and build those bamboo boxes tonight for mine
CR Member
This may help with the wiring
http://www.captivereefs.com/forum/di...hats-me-13367/
ReeferRob liked this post
Also if you want a timer-controlled dim up and down, I've got something that might interest you and some of the other DIY LED guys on here.. perhaps I should sell a few since I can have them made pretty quickly.
What it is, is a stand-alone LED controller, can control up to 4 channels of dimming, has timer circuitry, all sorts of settings you can modify (heck you can re-write the software if you want, I wrote the current version). It basically allows you to get very creative with your LEDs without having to have a full-on aquarium controller system.
CR Member
PWM or DC? What are you using for a RTC?
I'd be interested in seeing this, as I have more or less the same thing here. 4PWM channels, but 20GPIO pins (can tap relays off the pins), with the ability to take I2C, One-wire, and other inputs for real-time decisions. I had considered just integrating a reef controller last year, but I sold the tank. Still have the hardware here.
I am currently experimenting with the Cortex-M3 processor and a 2.4" LED touchscreen (320X240) as a front end.
You can get the schematics, parts list and code for what I have here: typhon-reef - Typhon: An LED controller for aquarium lighting - Google Project Hosting
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