NoobtoSalt Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Beautiful color! Are they on the ramp up cycle or are they on 'high noon' full cycle? Based on the image I just took it was at full color. I was playing around with them so I wanted to get it at the best possible time. the sun up sun down thing is pretty cool. So glad I did this build. I can't believe it took me this long to decided to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 no problem looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 WOW that looks great! Some day I'm going to have to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 I would be more than happy to help you with your build if you decide to do it in the 120. It would be great to go that route. Cost savings in the long run with not having to replace bulbs each year is worth every penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 50% dimmed or did you open your driver and adjust svr2 if not you may need to do that or your blues could burnout in a hurry also you may want to check your whites i had to bump my whites down because these drivers have a max current output of 1.3 Amps and as you mentioned the whtes are rated for a max of 1 Amp food for thought The drivers have a printed rating of 1.3 amp but have tested as high as 1.8 amps-to be safe its best to adjust them down to around 700mA unles you run them in a series of 24 or 36 which would reduce the mA by 50 percent or 66 percent if I am not mistaken Jesse here is how you adjust your driver; http://reefledlights.com/how-to-adjust-your-eln-60-48-driver/ adjusting and dimming are two seperate animals and here a re few diagrams if you drivers are not adjustable or you have a larger driver or you are not comfortable adjusting or or or .......... All depends what your driver is rated for and how many LEDs you run per driver; http://reefledlights.com/wiring-diagrams/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Thanks for the pages Brad. I didn't check it with a meter but I like the color...(laugh) Lots of great information on that site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Alright so the LED's are shut off and have been for a few hours but once in awhile they will keep flickering back on for a split second. I thought it was due to the Storm mode so I shut if completely off now but it still does it. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong on this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 hmm well i noticed when i unplug the drivers for mine they flash once my assumption is it is bleed off from capacitors in the circuit but if that was the case it wouldnt continue to happen so how do you have it set up if you use the dimmer to dim them off it is possible that the capacitors are building up that electricity and once it gets to a point high enough to force the diode on it drains rapidly causing the flash so if thats how your turning them off that might be the case otherwise i have no idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 I went ahead and unplugged them and plugged them back in after a few seconds. Hope that helps and maybe it was just some stored energy in the caps. Well that was fast. As soon as I typed this one it started to flash again....hmmmmmmm..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 so how are you turning it off? im not sure how your contolling yours it is also a possibility that the current didnt get turned down far enough when i did mine i had it set to an acceptable current and when i shut it off the lights stayed on they were dim but noticeably on do you have access to a multimeter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 i actually just plugged mine in to c if i left it on long enough it would do the same thing and all my leds stayed on very very dimmly so im now confused haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 It looks like it was some settings on the reefkeeper that was keeping a small current going on them. I think I have it fixed now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 so now would you mind looking at them in the dark and trying to see if the shut completley off or if the ystay on really dim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 so now would you mind looking at them in the dark and trying to see if the shut completley off or if the ystay on really dim? They are completely off now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 ok thanks now ive got my own issue to figure out haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 They are completely off now. Hopefully they stay that way-(Laugh) Mine do the random "lightning storm" everynight when they shut down as they all use that last bit of current. I have the LED programmed through different profiles on the apex and then I have the plug that the drivers are in programmed to be on or off depending on the time of day. So at 11am for example the plug goes on, and depending on the profile determines the what percentage the LEDs are on. If you are getting them dimmly lit 24/7 you have a short/ground somewhere- Here is a test, put your arm in the tank and touch that arm against the side of the heatsink-(scary) That little zap you feel, thats that random current keeping your LEDs lit-(whistle) Its a nice little feeling on the inside of your tricep, you know the tender area-(naughty) Welcome to DIY Its all good Jesse, all mine do this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Hopefully they stay that way-(Laugh) Mine do the random "lightning storm everynight when they shut down. I have the LED programmed through different profiles on the apex and then I have the plug that the drivers are in programmed to be on or off depending on the time of day. So at 11am for example the plug goes on, and depending on the profile determines the what percentage the LEDs are on. If you are getting them dimmly lit 24/7 you have a short/ground somewhere- Here is a test, put your arm in the tank and touch that arm against the side of the heatsink-(scary) That little zap you feel, thats that random current keeping your LEDs lit-(whistle) Its a nice little feeling on the inside of your tricep, you know the tender area-(naughty) Welcome to DIY Its all good Jesse, all mine do this It's so unfortunate that I can't get to the heatsink. It's underneath the plastic cover from the factory biocube lighting. Darn.....(whistle) Glad to hear that yours do it too. I did notice it the past few days but I figured it out that it was just the outlets like you are saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 If you dont fix it, they are like small moonlights-bonus(clap) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 I've setup the lights now to be on with the whites for 5 hours starting tomorrow. The ramp up has taken a little bit but I really don't want to burn any of my corals. So far everything has adapted just fine. I picked up a green millie yesterday and it's polyp extension is amazing! Can't wait to get my order from TECO on friday to add to the tank as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewey McLovit Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Noob i was talking to Bill at Reef LED Lights about the 'lightening storm that some you were talking about and he said it's typically not enough or too many LEDs on a driver. The minimum is 9 and max is either 13 or 15, depending on the driver. He is really helpful and has always picked up the phone when i have called. Here's a link for his drivers, i'm sure yours is on here. http://reefledlights.com/how-to-diy-led/driver-faqs/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omarortiz Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Noob, I noticed you have a DIY setup and a reefkeeper lite. I am wondering if you have your LED drivers plugged into slots 1 and 4? These two ports have mechanical relays instead of solid state relays. I noticed something similar lightning storm thing happening last night on my tank after I added a reef keeper. Note: I had my drivers plugged into 3 and 4 yesterday. After doing a bit of reading about it, it seems that LED drivers may require you to use ports 1 and 4 on your PC1 for the LEDs because they have a poor power factor. I am trying it out and seeing if it does it again tonight. I am curious if this will solve the issue. Now I just need to find another port to stick my top off plug onto. (scratch) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omarortiz Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Noob, I noticed you have a DIY setup and a reefkeeper lite. I am wondering if you have your LED drivers plugged into slots 1 and 4? These two ports have mechanical relays instead of solid state relays. I noticed something similar lightning storm thing happening last night on my tank after I added a reef keeper. Note: I had my drivers plugged into 3 and 4 yesterday. After doing a bit of reading about it, it seems that LED drivers may require you to use ports 1 and 4 on your PC1 for the LEDs because they have a poor power factor. I am trying it out and seeing if it does it again tonight. I am curious if this will solve the issue. Now I just need to find another port to stick my top off plug onto. (scratch) There was no "lightning storm" in my tank last night so I think this was indeed the problem. I guess now I will see if it works long-term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted April 28, 2012 Author Share Posted April 28, 2012 There was no "lightning storm" in my tank last night so I think this was indeed the problem. I guess now I will see if it works long-term. Somehow I missed this post in my thread..DOH! I'm sure you've figured it out since then, but when I had that issue with mine I just adjusted the port on the PC4 to turn off as soon as the ALC module shut off so there was no longer power to the drivers. On a side note I can't belive this thread has almost 2500 views! I posted it up on reefcentral too so I guess that's what happens. Hope it's helping others jump on the DIY bandwagon if they are interested in LED's too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 Just an updated photo and figured i would bump this thread back up since others have recently been talking about leds.. Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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