led / t5 fixture build

[dale]

so after 2 days of work... this is what ive come up with... i like it , but i dont love it,, i think the fixture is too far from water surface (15") as its not very bright..so i may need to change to 60* lenses and or add a few more leds on the ends.. the moonlights are great .. dont think i would want them brighter... i havnt figured out the controller yet.. .. manual mode seems to work around the timers in manual mode,, and i stiil havt figured why there is timers in manual mode at all... in auto mode, the clock runs a 24hr clock but the timers work on a 48hr clock.. and i dont see any gradual dimming options, as it says sunrise and sunset action on the site.. i am happy with the color.. 1 pink 2 cyan 4 uv 14 rb and 14 10000k white.. i think i am going to change out the purple plus for a total of 2 blue plus t5s... ... ,, i forgot to take pics of fans.. they are on top venting into a open ended joist space drawing air in through the heatsink fins.. completely silent... i have to use a lighter to see if they are running ,,.,.,. i still have to build the canopy.. will keep you posted... thanks for watching..

 

[MrHermit85]

Is that the aquastyle kit? If so the manual mode has no option for gradual ramping. You can only set a specific percentage and then when it turns on it will be at the percentage you set it at... The auto mode can ramp up gradually but it goes from 0 to 100% and you can't choose the highest intensity... I was pretty bummed out about this too and I just use it in auto mode but have the different channels start at different times. It does suck though.  :?

They have released a new updated controller that does ramp up slowly in manual mode but it costs another $59 lol. Hense why I have just left it in auto mode lol. The manual mode is stupid though as you can do the same with a simple timer  :?. I am planning on another order so if you want the new controller we could order together and save on shipping  .

 

[Boga]

It looks good. What lens angle did you use? How tall is you tank? I see that you have plenty of surface for expansion. Is there a way to increase the amperage? I am not familiar with Aquastyle components.

 

[dale]

the tank is 18" tall, i used 80* lenses but they are 15" above the water and there is a dial on the power supply but i dont know how to use my multi meter to see what the amperage is...it says i can only go to 650ma on the driving board specs,,

 

[Boga]

the tank is 18\" tall, i used 80* lenses but they are 15\" above the water and there is a dial on the power supply but i dont know how to use my multi meter to see what the amperage is...it says i can only go to 650ma on the driving board specs,,

OK. As you already mentioned, you need the 60 deg lenses. Your multimeter must have at least 1 Amp scale. Mine has 10 Amps connection. You just have to connect it as you would add another LED in the string (in series). I think that it is very important to measure the amperage, because if the factory default is at 350 mA, you may double the luminous output if you bring it at 650 mA. I can make a sketch later tonight if you want.

 

[dale]

i dont see a factory amp setting.. it just says 0-6.5A there is a voltage adjustment screw... should i be messing with that??

 

[dale]

i got the idea for my cooling system from your build... or at least the knowledge that it would prob work... and it does..

 

[Boga]

i dont see a factory amp setting.. it just says 0-6.5A there is a voltage adjustment screw... should i be messing with that??

I've just checked their website. I think that your LED drivers have a fixed output current of 650 mA and you can not adjust it from there.

Possibly 0-650 mA is in the dimmable controller, so you would be able to decrease/increase your maximum output level. 100% is 650 mA, 50% is 325mA, 0% is 0 mA. I think that MrHermit mentioned something about this.

I guess that the only way to see if you are at 100% is to turn the adjustment screw. Or to measure the current in your LED strings and see if you got 650 mA (100%). Since I am not familiar with Aquastyle, I would wait for an answer from someone that has the same type.

 

[MrHermit85]

From memory I think my 350w power supply was giving off the correct amperage at the preset value with the little screw. I will have to pull my hood off to double check, I will take a look on my day off as I still have to Finish off a few things on it and let you know

 

[dale]

cool... thanks guys..  the lights just went through the first cycle in auto mode and seemed to work fine... lights came on at set time... fan came on, moonlights came on .. lights turned off at im guessin was the right time... the off setting is on a 48 hr clock ,, i run my lights at nite so they turn on at 17:00hrs (5:00pm) and off at 29:00hrs (5:00am) ... so what is manual mode for,,, what is different than auto..?

 

[MrHermit85]

Are you using manual or auto mode? Auto mode ramps the lights up and down at specified times over thirty minute periods and manual mode is a simple timer (straight on and off)  ;D