Hey if your ever willing to do or want to try a Rasberry pi im willing to donate mine to your i had intentions of doing one but got lost to even start.
Reef Discussion
Going back to the previous post, this was actually a business that started in California in 2010 - http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=3321.
It appears that it did not succeed however, as the website is no longer active.
It appears that it did not succeed however, as the website is no longer active.
Thanks for the offer Cheeko :) I have read a few articles on the pi and, to me, it seems to be more of a small general purpose computer with many features which would never be used for our purposes. What we need are General Purpose Input/Output pins for sensing things and then turning other things on and off - unfortunately the pi is lacking in this regard.
I will let you know if I ever want to have a closer look.
Cheers
I love this idea (even more if you offer your code) For me, i run an ATS, and i notice when it comes on of a night, Temp jumps up from 24-26. It would be cool to bring on a fan and turn off the heater when this happens.
I have seen somewhere before that someone puts probs in tank, sump and on heater.That way you can see when everything is working.
I have seen somewhere before that someone puts probs in tank, sump and on heater.That way you can see when everything is working.
Controlling Tunze pumps (the DC controllable versions) is something that I have looked briefly into, and believe that it is possible. There are a number of posts on various forums where people have started their investigations but never get anything finished and working.
I have got to the stage of removing the cover of a controller and inside is an Atmel chip, similar to what is used in the Arduino's - so I believe that they are controlled via a PWM control. All I have to work out is what the voltage is and what wires are used. I have access to an oscilloscope so this will definitely be a project for the future.
The Tunze have a number of different control options available but you have to choose one - what I would like to do is either randomly, or via a schedule, rotate through some of the options to create more varied flow patterns in the tank.
Turning lights off if they get too hot is easily done - maybe just reducing the output will suffice?? When I tested the LDD drivers on the weekend I ran a CREE XP-G at 500mA fixed to my aluminium heatsink by Arctic Alumina - this ran for 2 hours and the heatsink directly underneath the led did not, as far as my finger could tell, get any warmer than the surrounding heatsink. LED's driven at low currents do not get warm, let alone hot..
Ken, my thinking for the presets was slightly different to yours :rolleyes
My thinking was that it would be good to have some presets available in Manual mode.When people are looking at the tank during the day, they don't see the effects of the Royal Blues, Violets etc. I often adjust the lights so the fluorescent effect is evident and then have to change them back again afterwards. The same things happens if I want to take some photo's of the tank - I have to adjust the lights and then change them back again. My thinking was to have 3 presets available - one for normal lighting conditions, one with the evening settings and one for whatever you like - all I was planning to save in each preset was the % of each string output.
So, onto your wish for a different schedule for, potentially, each day of the week. The data to be input/saved is currently start time, ramp time, total photoperiod and the maximum % for each string i.e. 4 items for each string x 10 strings = 40 data items. If we need to allow each day to be different then that number will increase to 280 data items :eek This is still possible if it is something that you think is required.
My thinking would be...... Set up one day, say Monday for String 1 i.e. start time, ramp time, total photoperiod and the maximum %. Have an option to populate this data for everyday in the week. Then have the option to manually vary any day if you wish. Is this what you are after??
My issue is trying to make the GUI look good when you are trying to deal with this many input options. I have an idea how it might work but I would need to have a think about it :)
Hi Alan
Controlling a low voltage DC fan is one thing, doing the same with a 240v heater is totally different. I do currently control all my 240v equipment via a Solid State Relay board but that is beyond the aim of this LED controller.
DS18B20 temperature sensors, which are easy to integrate with the Arduino platform, sell for around $1 each so it doesn't cost a fortune to put them where ever you want.
I have currently spent an estimated 40 hours working on the code, and expect to spend another 40 hours :eek I have not yet decided on what basis I will make it available - my current thinking is that it will be freely available to all genuine, contributing Reefuge members but don't hold me to this.
Yes they are - have a search for a @firebird thread as I seem to remember she did this for her first DIY led build.
Spot on @MagicJ,
Monday to Friday would be the same every day, a constant. Being able to manually adjust the Sat/Sun setting would be perfect. Inputting 280 data streams is just silly & not many would go to that extreme, would they?
Your explanation of the 3x pre-sets is also a great idea. For the reasons you have put up. :)
My 2c worth is you should never have the same device monitor and control - they should be separate devices. Far more redundancy - if the monitor fails it's likely your controller has not. If your controller fails, your monitor should tell you.
All in 1 device means a failure of either system could leave your tank in gods know what state (heater on, pumps off, lights running 24x7, etc) and chances are you won't be able to check/control it remotely.
here you go @alan Do work- had to play around with lighting hours though a bit
Also had LEDS on a small waterfall I built which were effective too
I am liking this progress @MagicJ I will be lining up to get one!
At the moment my arduino knowledge extends to pre-setting the output level in the code and then turning it on with a manual timer :D It works but its not great!
At the moment my arduino knowledge extends to pre-setting the output level in the code and then turning it on with a manual timer :D It works but its not great!
Hi all, and specially MagicJ. I'm writting from Spain. I'm very interested in this thread, as I'm working in a new LED fixture using Meanwell LDD drivers and controlled by Arduino. Well, at least I was trying it to be controlled by arduino.
Currently my set up is organized in 4 channels: royal blue, with a total of 4 series composed by 13 LEDs each; white, with a total of 3 series composed by 12 LEDs each; violets, with a total of 2 series composed by 12 LEDs each, and OCWs, with a total of 2 series composed by 4-5 tri-stars each (red, cyan and blue LEDs). Each series of LEDs is driven by a LDD driver, so I have 11 of them (7 LDD-1000 for blues and whites and 4 LDD 700 for violets and OCWs). Everything is fed by a Meanwell SP-480-48.
I'm collaborating with a friend of mine and he designed an arduino 1 to control all the channels. When we tried the arduino with a couple of LDDs it worked fine and the dimming was great. But when I hooked up everything only the white and OCWs channels worked, but not the blues and violets, and that was for a short time. After a few minutes the arduino overheated and got fried.
We suspect that 11 LDDs suck more current than what the arduino 1 may deliver. Do you think is it possible to modify it somehow to deal with 11 LDDs or that I should switch to an arduino MEGA like the one described here?. My idea with the MEGA would be to connect each LDD driver in a separate PWM output, and the join the LDDs that regulate the same lights via software. Do you think it may be feasible?
I'm eager to see the future development of the project. Thanks.
Currently my set up is organized in 4 channels: royal blue, with a total of 4 series composed by 13 LEDs each; white, with a total of 3 series composed by 12 LEDs each; violets, with a total of 2 series composed by 12 LEDs each, and OCWs, with a total of 2 series composed by 4-5 tri-stars each (red, cyan and blue LEDs). Each series of LEDs is driven by a LDD driver, so I have 11 of them (7 LDD-1000 for blues and whites and 4 LDD 700 for violets and OCWs). Everything is fed by a Meanwell SP-480-48.
I'm collaborating with a friend of mine and he designed an arduino 1 to control all the channels. When we tried the arduino with a couple of LDDs it worked fine and the dimming was great. But when I hooked up everything only the white and OCWs channels worked, but not the blues and violets, and that was for a short time. After a few minutes the arduino overheated and got fried.
We suspect that 11 LDDs suck more current than what the arduino 1 may deliver. Do you think is it possible to modify it somehow to deal with 11 LDDs or that I should switch to an arduino MEGA like the one described here?. My idea with the MEGA would be to connect each LDD driver in a separate PWM output, and the join the LDDs that regulate the same lights via software. Do you think it may be feasible?
I'm eager to see the future development of the project. Thanks.
Hi @Chema and :welcome.
I am not sure what board you are using - Arduino 1 is not an official board as far as I am aware. Maybe a UNO??
I suspect that your problem is caused by the LDD dimming circuit drawing an excessive current from the Arduino pins, although I would have thought that that would have resulted in the individual pins being fried rather than the whole board.
How are you powering the Arduino?
Each of the pins is rated for a maximum current draw of 40mA, with the hole board rated for around 400mA.
The actual current draw of the LDD is suspected to be around 10mA (I will try to measure this later on if I get a chance) so I would not be putting any more than 3 LDD's on each pin, with a safer option being 2.
With the UNO you have 6 PWM pins available so you should be able to easily manage your 11 LDD's with this board - 1 pin for the OCW's; 1 for the violets; 2 each for the whites and blues. It is also possible to use ordinary digital pins as PWM's if you need more.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
I am not sure what board you are using - Arduino 1 is not an official board as far as I am aware. Maybe a UNO??
I suspect that your problem is caused by the LDD dimming circuit drawing an excessive current from the Arduino pins, although I would have thought that that would have resulted in the individual pins being fried rather than the whole board.
How are you powering the Arduino?
Each of the pins is rated for a maximum current draw of 40mA, with the hole board rated for around 400mA.
The actual current draw of the LDD is suspected to be around 10mA (I will try to measure this later on if I get a chance) so I would not be putting any more than 3 LDD's on each pin, with a safer option being 2.
With the UNO you have 6 PWM pins available so you should be able to easily manage your 11 LDD's with this board - 1 pin for the OCW's; 1 for the violets; 2 each for the whites and blues. It is also possible to use ordinary digital pins as PWM's if you need more.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
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