Tank Journal Archive

[daveH]

i love the look of black silicon, allways looks realy neat if its done well!

The black silicone was done really well - the tank was built by Clayfield Aquariums - good job, good price.

 

[MagicJ]

Expand on the switch gear dude, nice fancy box that powers the lights one would assume, but you want to go more in depth with its config?

I am still waiting :p

 

['vspec']

I am still waiting :p

 

[daveH]

I'll certainly start posting some pics as soon as some more stuff arrives to connect.
At the moment all I have is a work table of bits and pieces in experimental phase waiting for the major components.
I want one of those clocks!!!

 

[MTG]

:poidh

 

[daveH]

Whoo Hoo - the Arduino parts just arrived. Hurry up LEDs!!! :)
Pics will be coming real soon now!!!!!

 

[MagicJ]

I am still waiting :p

Dave seems to have gone a bit quiet on this one :p

'vspec' - the Arduino only outputs a 5v PWM however the Meanwell drivers require a 10v voltage to operate the dimming circuit. The circuit which Dave has shown above is simple transistor switching circuit - hook up a seperate 10v source to the collector side of the transistor and, as if by magic, you have a 10v PWM control voltage coming out the other side - there are a couple of pull-up resistors added in just to make it look nice.

Any questions, ask Dave.

 

['vspec']

Fair enough, as if by magic you say.. :)
. Thanks Dave:confused:

 

[daveH]

Dave seems to have gone a bit quiet on this one :p

'vspec' - the Arduino only outputs a 5v PWM however the Meanwell drivers require a 10v voltage to operate the dimming circuit. The circuit which Dave has shown above is simple transistor switching circuit - hook up a seperate 10v source to the collector side of the transistor and, as if by magic, you have a 10v PWM control voltage coming out the other side - there are a couple of pull-up resistors added in just to make it look nice.

Any questions, ask Dave.

Thanks Magic, you can explain it better than me.
One question - did you put a fuse between each LED string and their contoller? I thought I saw a diagram on a website that showed fuses.

 

[daveH]

I'm now looking for a different return pump, the Yasha one didn't work as I wanted with the new plumbing.
I guess I'm looking at something around the 1000lpm (the new tank is 70 L).
Any suggestions of a quality (quiet) pump that will do the job?

 

[MagicJ]

Thanks Magic, you can explain it better than me.
One question - did you put a fuse between each LED string and their contoller? I thought I saw a diagram on a website that showed fuses.

Not required when you are only using series strings, like you are. If one of the led's burns out for whatever reason, the whole string will not operate and thus there will be no damage to the remaining led's or the driver.

Parallel strings are a different animal and I would recommend a fuse if you were going down this track, which you are not ;)

 

[daveH]

Thought I'd better put some pics up to show some progress.​

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Found some really neat tubing at Bunnings for the lights support.​

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Should have the black acrylic divider here on monday.​

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I built a drawer in the cabinet I'm using for all the controls. It will an LCD screen and control button in the black panel on the front.​

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The draw has all the plugs for all the controls.The powerboard on the left will have the plug-ins for the skimmer, return pump, circulation pump, heater - all easily switched on/off. The powerboard on the right has the switchable power for the white & blue drivers, the arduino and the circuit board.​

The timer is for the UV Purple driver. The black box is the circuit board with the arduino and RTC next to it.​

Just behind the the left hand side powerboard is the plug-in for the lights and fan.​

There is still a lot of wiring to do - the LEDs and drivers should be here next week, so I'll post more pics then.​

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This is so much more interesting than just opening a box and plugging it in :)​

 

[MagicJ]

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This is so much more interesting than just opening a box and plugging it in :)​

Couldn't agree more :D

 

['vspec']

Shaping up nicely

 

[VaultBoy]

Looking good daveH

Cant wait to see the finished product!

 

[daveH]

LEDs, drivers and heatsink arrived this morning from RapidLED. I'll get some more progress shots up tomorrow. It's all coming together nicely.

 

[VaultBoy]

LEDs, drivers and heatsink arrived this morning from RapidLED. I'll get some more progress shots up tomorrow. It's all coming together nicely.

That was on wednesday... I am starting to think this is all in your imagination ;)

:poidh

 

[daveH]

Okay . . Okay!
I've wired up the lights. They still need a little tidying up but all connected up fine.
I've hung the heat sink (nice hanging kit they sell) Not quite sure about the height above the water yet, I'll see how it all looks when it's turned on. Currently it's 200mm. May go to 2 fans yet, although the heatsink is quite big and shouldn't require too much cooling.




The control box has only a couple of things to go in and the wiring finished. Then hand it over to my programmer (son). Ended up nice and tidy.


So now I'm waiting on the guys who are cutting the acrylic back panel, they did it once and screwed up the measurements - so they're doing it again. (Doh)
I've sorted out my return pump situation. Plenty of adjustable flow.


Getting there - As soon as I get the acrylic back panel I can put all the hardware in and fill the tank. I'll take the rocks from the Yasha and try for a decent aquascape. Hopefully up and running by next weekend.

 

['vspec']

getting there dude, looking good.

Q: Do you plan on putting a cover plate on your LED panel?
Looking at your pump barb, will it blow off the elbow piece?

 

[daveH]

Thanks.
The heatsink came with a 3mm clear acrylic panel that slides in to protect the LEDs.
No the elbow won't come off, it's got a plastic washer inside that as tight as a nun's. I've tested it at full blast and it's fine.
Good to keep me on my toes though ;)