Ok so the build officially started today 2/17/11.
I have been researching a lot (like the past 3 days, 5hrs a day, at work of course) on LED lights, and how to control those lights.
For the build I plan to order a 240 gallon, 96" x 24" x 24" with a center trapezoid overflow. Right now I plan on ordering it from here.
http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/240_Gallon_Rectangle_Tenecor.aspx
To light this beast I am planning on using 144 LED's. Still planning exactly what color's but the thought right now is 4 sections, with 36 LED's on each, 18 blue, and 18 white (still debating which whites) or I might run 24 blues and 12 whites per section. I am also building it out so if 144 is not enough, I can scale it up to add 4 more sections for a total of 216 LED's. I will post more later (once the design is 90%), still a few things I need to consider.
To control the tank, I will be building my own controller using Arduino. I order the PCB and all the components tonight, hope to start putting it together in early march.
For anyone interested, I would start by reading through this thread. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783536&page=49
Today I went and got a bunch of lumber to start building the stand. I also moved the sump and its stand into the basement.
The sump is a 150gal (tall) that a friend had in his garage for a while. I will be buying some Plexiglas or acrylic this weekend and some weld-on to make some baffles in this thing.
View attachment 1522
To drive the LED's I am looking at a Meanwell HLG-150-24_B. This will run off the 120vAC from the house, and convert it into 24vDC. This power supply also works as a driver as it runs constant current. For those unfamilar with LED's, unlike most devices, like an engine, which run off constant Voltate and when there is a load, they draw more current. LED's work off a set current all the time, and vary the voltage. I plan to set the output current at 700mA to drive the LED's. Each LED drops about 3.7A @ 1A. So even if I drive these LED's at max current, I can run 6 in serries (3.7vDC x 6 = 22.2vDC) which gives me a little buffer. I can also run 6 strings in parallel off each power supply (6 x 1A = 6A) this Power supply can output 6.3A, and since I am not really running 1A I have more than enough. As for wattage (6A x 22.2vDC = 133W) which again, is less than the 150W that this power supply is rated for.
To get my 144 LED's I will have to run 4 power supply, and if I find out the PAR is not what I want, I will add 2 more for 216 LED's.
What I plan to do is build modules with 36 LED's on each with 80 degree optics on them (maybe 60degree on the LED's around the outside edges). Each Power supply will feed 3 strings of the same color from 2 different modules. So If i have 1...2...3...4 over the tank, the blues from 1 and 2 will be on the same power supply, which will allow me to dim them together.
For the controller. It will have PWM outputs that can dim the LED's by pulsing them on and off faster than the human (or fish) eye can detect. Less pulses = less light. It also has a LCD connection, Ethernet connection with a little web server/data base to keep track of parameters. It will also have a PH probe and temp probe. I can also expand it to include relays to turn things off/on and a ORP sensor, and really anything I want.
I have been researching a lot (like the past 3 days, 5hrs a day, at work of course) on LED lights, and how to control those lights.
For the build I plan to order a 240 gallon, 96" x 24" x 24" with a center trapezoid overflow. Right now I plan on ordering it from here.
http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/240_Gallon_Rectangle_Tenecor.aspx
To light this beast I am planning on using 144 LED's. Still planning exactly what color's but the thought right now is 4 sections, with 36 LED's on each, 18 blue, and 18 white (still debating which whites) or I might run 24 blues and 12 whites per section. I am also building it out so if 144 is not enough, I can scale it up to add 4 more sections for a total of 216 LED's. I will post more later (once the design is 90%), still a few things I need to consider.
To control the tank, I will be building my own controller using Arduino. I order the PCB and all the components tonight, hope to start putting it together in early march.
For anyone interested, I would start by reading through this thread. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783536&page=49
Today I went and got a bunch of lumber to start building the stand. I also moved the sump and its stand into the basement.
The sump is a 150gal (tall) that a friend had in his garage for a while. I will be buying some Plexiglas or acrylic this weekend and some weld-on to make some baffles in this thing.
View attachment 1522
To drive the LED's I am looking at a Meanwell HLG-150-24_B. This will run off the 120vAC from the house, and convert it into 24vDC. This power supply also works as a driver as it runs constant current. For those unfamilar with LED's, unlike most devices, like an engine, which run off constant Voltate and when there is a load, they draw more current. LED's work off a set current all the time, and vary the voltage. I plan to set the output current at 700mA to drive the LED's. Each LED drops about 3.7A @ 1A. So even if I drive these LED's at max current, I can run 6 in serries (3.7vDC x 6 = 22.2vDC) which gives me a little buffer. I can also run 6 strings in parallel off each power supply (6 x 1A = 6A) this Power supply can output 6.3A, and since I am not really running 1A I have more than enough. As for wattage (6A x 22.2vDC = 133W) which again, is less than the 150W that this power supply is rated for.
To get my 144 LED's I will have to run 4 power supply, and if I find out the PAR is not what I want, I will add 2 more for 216 LED's.
What I plan to do is build modules with 36 LED's on each with 80 degree optics on them (maybe 60degree on the LED's around the outside edges). Each Power supply will feed 3 strings of the same color from 2 different modules. So If i have 1...2...3...4 over the tank, the blues from 1 and 2 will be on the same power supply, which will allow me to dim them together.
For the controller. It will have PWM outputs that can dim the LED's by pulsing them on and off faster than the human (or fish) eye can detect. Less pulses = less light. It also has a LCD connection, Ethernet connection with a little web server/data base to keep track of parameters. It will also have a PH probe and temp probe. I can also expand it to include relays to turn things off/on and a ORP sensor, and really anything I want.
