# Typhon controlled full spectrum multi cannon build (PAR data up!)



## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

So some people wanted me to do a build thread of my dual LED cannons so here it is. It will be going over a 29g tank.

*Parts list*

Typhon controller with with LDD board from O2Surplus
Each color will be fully independently controlled so I can dial down the desired spectrum. Light will be on a 12-hour cycle but with dawn and dusk ramp ups of 3 hours each as of right now.

Luxeon ES from stevesleds (No optics)
12 - Cool White 6400K (6 per cannon) 
2 - Deep Red 660nm (1 per cannon) 
2 - Cool Blue 470nm (1 per cannon) 
2 - Hyper Violet 420nm (1 per cannon) 
Each color string will be wired in series.

MeanWell drivers
3 - LDD-1000H (whites, blues, and greens)
1 - LDD-700H (reds)
These drivers are tiny and super cheap ($5/ea). You can load from 2-52v on them and they use a 5v PWM signal. Another great thing about these is that you can can dim to 0%. They will be wired in parallel to the PSU.

350w 48V 7.4a power supply (absolute overkill but was cheap)
24w 12V 5a power supply for Typhon and LED fans

Going with these drivers and power supply will allow me to add 2 more cannons to the system very easily without much modification.

2 - Intel Ivy Bridge heatsink/fans (these can cool 70w of LEDs easily)
3/4" aluminum flat bar from home depot for mounting plate for the LED

DIY acrylic pendants for housing the cannons and misc hanging hardware

Cat5 cable for running the pendants to the Typhon (4 strands per string)

I made the pendant housing tonight with scrap acrylic I got at the at the store. Bonded together with IPS Weld-On 4.

This is the housing - 4x4x4"









This is the heatsink with the flat bars. The flat bars will go on the heatsink with Arctic Silver Alumina thermal adhesive. They are cut in 3" lengths for 3 rows of 3 LEDs.









HSF inside the housing









Top view of cannon










The LEDs from steve should be here early next week as well as the meanwell LDDs.

To be Continued...


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

Looking good so far. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the build.


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## Edub (Mar 23, 2011)

I like this idea and I like how cheap your drivers are. Would be very interested in seeing how this turns out and how it looks in action.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

Subd, want to see this build finished out!

Could you provide links of where your getting the equipment? 

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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

NWA-Planted said:


> Subd, want to see this build finished out!
> 
> Could you provide links of where your getting the equipment?
> 
> Sent from... The BEYOND via tapatalk


I got the LEDs from stevesleds
http://shop.stevesleds.com/LUXEON-ES-3-Watt-LEDs_c27.htm

The drivers are Meanwell LDDs from powergate
http://www.powergatellc.com/mean-well-ldd-h-power-supply.html
The HW series have wires and H does not.

Power supply was from ebay do a search for 48v 7.3a power supply.
The 12v Typhon power supply I already had lying around. Will wire the fans and Typhon in parallel to the brick.

Intel heatsink/fan I got for free as I had one lying around from a recent PC build and a coworker just built a new PC as well so he gave me his as he bought a beefier one. On ebay though you can buy them in lots of 5 for as little as $15 so comes out to $3/ea. I would need to have over 20 LEDs per HSF to reach cooling capacity.

For the acrylic I went to an acrylics shop in town and they sell scraps for really cheap. $10 in scraps is enough for be to build 10-15 housings.

This is the Typhon that O2Surplus builds

Front









Back
This is the addon board for the drivers. You just slide the drivers in and connect LEDs to outputs and PSU in the bottom.









Side
You can see the main Typhon board and LDD board connected together.









In total for the build I have $200 in it but that includes the Typhon controller. I can add 2 more cannons to the current config for ~$33 a cannon which can cover a 5ft tank easily.

One cannon with same number of LEDs 11" from substrate with no optics on an 18" long tank puts out over 500 PAR in a reef config. I am sure 2 of these with optics at 2ft from substrate will have no issues putting out 60 PAR to the substrate on my 30" long tank.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

gus6464 said:


> I got the LEDs from stevesleds
> http://shop.stevesleds.com/LUXEON-ES-3-Watt-LEDs_c27.htm
> 
> The drivers are Meanwell LDDs from powergate
> ...


Thank you!

Wow.. That's really cheap all things considered... I may have to revisit building me an led setup

I feel like I am missing something though... Those drivers just seem super cheap??

Do they have to have a separate power supply?

Sent from... The BEYOND via tapatalk


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

NWA-Planted said:


> Thank you!
> 
> Wow.. That's really cheap all things considered... I may have to revisit building me an led setup
> 
> ...


The LDD drivers are an amazing little piece of technology, considering their $5 price tag. They do require an external power supply, but a typical 48V supply can be purchased cheaply on FleaBay.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

NWA-Planted said:


> Thank you!
> 
> Wow.. That's really cheap all things considered... I may have to revisit building me an led setup
> 
> ...


You need a separate power supply but they are cheap. My 7.4a 48v power supply cost me $30 before shipping on [Ebay Link Removed] I can power 7 1a LDDs with that thing which means that for $70 I can power 105 LEDs at 1a. If you went with the MeanWell ELN stuff that has built-in power supply you would have to spend over $200 to power the same amount of LEDs.

The only thing you have to look out for with the LDDs is that for dimming you need a 5v PWM signal. This means that you cannot use basic pots for dimming unless you make a 555 timer.

Also the 48v ELN drivers have a 24v minimum voltage requirement which means you need at least 8 LEDs to use them. LDDs just need 2v to run so you can put a single LED on them.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

This is awesome information.... So basically those "drivers" are a power modulater, but regardless huge savings!!

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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

NWA-Planted said:


> This is awesome information.... So basically those "drivers" are a power modulater, but regardless huge savings!!
> 
> Sent from... The BEYOND via tapatalk


Yeah these are awesome drivers. They are right at home with Arduino. Some people at nano-reef have DIY Arduino setups that control lights, show temp and pH, and have programmable light events like clouds, thunderstorms, etc. I have just started to get into the Arduino stuff but you can put together a full blown controller with a touchscreen for around $80 in parts.


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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

Nice build. Definitely subscribed.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

LED's are in! Still waiting on meanwell's though and have no clue when powergate is shipping them. I should have the cannons built and wired by tonight though.


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

gus6464 said:


> LED's are in! Still waiting on meanwell's though and have no clue when powergate is shipping them. I should have the cannons built and wired by tonight though.



Which ones did you order? They're showing 23 Ldd-1000H in stock right now. I'm thinking about snapping them up, but it could be just a ruse. I ordered 20 in November of last year and had to wait until near the end of January before they actually shipped, LoL. I've got 4 1000's and 7 700's that you can "borrow" if you need some in a hurry,LoL. That way you don't have to wait, just send'em back to me when the replacements arrive.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

O2surplus said:


> Which ones did you order? They're showing 23 Ldd-1000H in stock right now. I'm thinking about snapping them up, but it could be just a ruse. I ordered 20 in November of last year and had to wait until near the end of January before they actually shipped, LoL. I've got 4 1000's and 7 700's that you can "borrow" if you need some in a hurry,LoL. That way you don't have to wait, just send'em back to me when the replacements arrive.


I ordered 4 1000H and 2 700H. When I ordered they said 50 in stock for 1000's and 130ish for 700's. I just need 3 1000's and 1 700 for this build though so if you don't mind that would be great.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

I got my LDD's in today from powergate so the build begins.

Attached aluminum bars and LEDs









Finished the wiring on one cannon. The wire going to the controller and other cannon is cat5 and I am using 2 wires per color.









Back of Typhon with LDDs connected and wired to LEDs.









Attached optics and light inside the housing.









Did a test with one cannon and on full power the heatsink is cold to the touch. As far as light intensity these little thing is bright! There is no disco effect with the colors and there is a huge shimmer effect now compared to the Ray 2. It is definitely brighter than the Ray 2 at full blast 2ft from the substrate whereas Ray 2 is 16in from substrate.

I get my other heatsink tomorrow and have to hang the unit but should be done by tomorrow.


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

Wow- what a difference a day makes. PowerGate came through and delivered. Your project is looking good! I'm looking forward to some full tank shots when you're done.


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## Edub (Mar 23, 2011)

Very cool, I'd also be really interested in seeing a full tank shot. How's the spread using 2 pendants? Do you notice any spotlighting, especially near the top of the tank?


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

Edub said:


> Very cool, I'd also be really interested in seeing a full tank shot. How's the spread using 2 pendants? Do you notice any spotlighting, especially near the top of the tank?


With the single cannon test I put the light 2ft from substrate and I didn't notice any spotlighting. I think I decided on placing the light 2ft from bottom of tank exactly and adjusting power. I will have the shelf up tonight and hopefully my other heatsink comes in but if it doesn't I will put up a video tonight of the single light. Two things that really stood out immediately though was shimmer, and the colors just started to pop. Kinda hard to explain but it was as if my tank became HD all of a sudden.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

Photos... Of single unit... Time now!! 

Just reading this is making me excited

Is all the power to the drivers handled though the typhoon board?

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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

NWA-Planted said:


> Photos... Of single unit... Time now!!
> 
> Just reading this is making me excited
> 
> ...


Yeah this picture explains better how the wiring goes.










So the top connectors that are currently wired are all going to the LED strings. CAT5 or 6 works great when doing multi strings as it cleans up the wiring. The bottom connectors go into the power supply. The power supply is wired in parallel to the typhon and the LEDs are wired in series. Fully wired up the power supply will have a 3.7A current and ~42V load.

The Typhon controls the power to the LEDs though so the cannon will only light up when the Typhon is powered on. The heatsink fans will be wired in parallel along with the Typhon to a separate 12v power brick. The fan is pretty much silent and keeps the heatsink cold to touch.

Looking at color rendition though I think neutral white (5000K) will be my go to choice for future lights. If I had to do it all over again I would actually go with the following per cannon.

2 Luxeon M 5000K with 63deg optics
1 Luxeon ES 3UP with 2 cool blue and a cyan
1 Luxeon ES Red
1 Luxeon ES Green

The Luxeon M simplifies the cluster a lot because 2 of those puppies put out more light than 8 regular Luxeon ES at 1A.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

Cost wise you seem to be saving a lot compared to many other led builds and still getting some fantastic output and control.

I am dying to see this in operation over your tank!

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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

Here is a pic of half the tank with the cannon at full blast vs the Ray 2. For the Finnex to match the output I have to turn down the cannon to ~50%. The Ray 2 is 16" from substrate and cannon is 24" from substrate.

Finnex









DIY









Photo taking skills suck so it's hard to see the other colors doing their thing but there is a big difference. With current optic setup it has no problem lighting half the tank.

Here is video showing light output at 100%.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

Once I get the other cannon installed I am going to play with color reproduction. It's way too crazy at 100% power.


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## aparker (Mar 12, 2013)

Looking good man, subd to this thread and definitely copying at some point in the future.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

Damn that's bright!!

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## Lowe (Nov 11, 2011)

Wow, very nice work Gus! If you were in Illinois I'd hire you on the spot to work with our manufacturer haha jk


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Very interesting, economical build of a LED light. Do you know if there is a cheap, simple module you can use to control the dimming as if it were a 0-10 volt dimmer - rotate a knob to adjust brightness?


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

Hoppy said:


> Very interesting, economical build of a LED light. Do you know if there is a cheap, simple module you can use to control the dimming as if it were a 0-10 volt dimmer - rotate a knob to adjust brightness?


LDDs use a 5v PWM signal. You can use a knob type dimmer with them but you have to have a 555 timer between the knob. I am pretty sure O2Surplus known where to get a cheap 555 timer circuit.


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

gus6464 said:


> LDDs use a 5v PWM signal. You can use a knob type dimmer with them but you have to have a 555 timer between the knob. I am pretty sure O2Surplus known where to get a cheap 555 timer circuit.


Knobs? for dimming? I wouldn't bother with a 555 timer anymore. I could build a six channel dimmer using 6 pots, a few resistors, and an Atmega 328 for less money and complexity than the 555 timer.

But why even bother with all that when the "Typhon" Controller can handle all the dimming chores automatically?


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

O2surplus said:


> Knobs? for dimming? I wouldn't bother with a 555 timer anymore. I could build a six channel dimmer using 6 pots, a few resistors, and an Atmega 328 for less money and complexity than the 555 timer.
> 
> But why even bother with all that when the "Typhon" Controller can handle all the dimming chores automatically?


Think Hoppy is looking for an economical way to do it vs the Typhon.


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

gus6464 said:


> Think Hoppy is looking for an economical way to do it vs the Typhon.


I'm building 4 channel 10V analog/ 5V Pwm convertors that would work perfectly for his needs. These are built to work as an interface module that is connected between a Neptune APEX and any led driver that uses a 5V PWM signal for dimming. All I have to do is make a few changes on the input side to include 4 pots ( one for each channel ) and dump the voltage divider network. Check this out- it's a $15 dimming solution.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

And the build is complete. Here are the lights installed and just need to clean up wiring.

Here are pics at white 75% Blue 75% Green 75% Red 100%. These were taken in a completely dark room.



















And some pictures of the lights hanging


















I am going to switch the optics on the colors to 60deg instead of 90 because I want a bit more penetration. Just have to order some on my next stevesleds order.

The shimmer really makes the lights worthwhile. Also my black neons have a little red spot on top of their eyes and now it flat out glows with these lights. Tomorrow I get a pair of Triple Red Apistos and GBRs from Matt so I can't wait to see what their color looks like under this light.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

O2surplus said:


> I'm building 4 channel 10V analog/ 5V Pwm convertors that would work perfectly for his needs. These are built to work as an interface module that is connected between a Neptune APEX and any led driver that uses a 5V PWM signal for dimming. All I have to do is make a few changes on the input side to include 4 pots ( one for each channel ) and dump the voltage divider network. Check this out- it's a $15 dimming solution.


Wow that's tiny. Could it interface with an LDD board like the Typhon does?


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

gus6464 said:


> Wow that's tiny. Could it interface with an LDD board like the Typhon does?


This is much simpler than the "Typhon". It's just a signal convertor that converts a 0 - 10V analog signal into a 0 - 255 step 5V PWM signal. It comes in handy when you have a commercial lighting controller like an APEX or Profilux with analog outputs, and want to use it to control an Led driver that only accepts a 5V PWM signal.
The thought occurred to me, after seeing Hoppy's question, that this convertor could be modded a little to provide "manual dimming" for the LDD's. I'm going to make the mods, but post the info in a new thread, just to keep yours from being hijacked anymore.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

Well I have had the lights on the tank for 4 days now at the following setting:

1 hour blue night
4 hour dawn
4 hour day intensity
4 hour dusk
1 hour blue night

My day intensity is set to:
100% white 75% blue 75% green 100% red

Light power is too strong for this photoperiod as I am getting a bit of algae but plants wise I am noticing some differences.

HC is now spreading super close to the substrate.
My plants that were red only at the very top of the tank are now slowly turning red at the middle and bottom.

I am going to switch light schedule to following:

1 hour blue early morning
2 hour dawn
4 hour day power
2 hour dusk
1 hour blue late night

I wish I had a PAR meter to test vs the Ray 2 to see if what I am seeing is actually correct though.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

gus6464 said:


> Well I have had the lights on the tank for 4 days now at the following setting:
> 
> 1 hour blue night
> 4 hour dawn
> ...


Everyone can have a very usable PAR meter for $50 if they want one. If you can't figure out what I'm referring to, just PM me or check the For Sale forum.

The reason I asked my question about dimming with a knob is that some people, like me, aren't at all interested in a programmed light schedule, but want to be able to dial in the PAR that they want with a knob. The tiny little thingee that O2surplus showed looks like just what I was referring to. Keep this up and I will feel forced to make another LED light:icon_evil


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

Just give in and make one hoppy 

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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

If TPT had a "street corner", where people like me could put a hat out, and sit and wait for people to fill it with nice green paper, I would definitely be ready to make another LED light, similar to this one, but, of course different.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

So I got a PAR meter coming thanks to Hoppy, so I will have measurements in a couple of days. I also ordered 420nm hyper violets and will be adding one each per cannon. Also going to change all optics to 90deg as well.

Just learned that my father-in-law has access to a CNC machine so I think I can make the housing better. So I will be copying this for version 2.0:










The controller will be inside the housing and 1/4" acrylic all around except for the front which will have to be thinner so that the Typhon buttons can stick out unless I can figure out something else.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

I got the PAR meter from Hoppy and here is a preliminary. The readings are where the plants are so for the bottom it's right where the HC is, etc.

I took two readings as I have multiple colors. First was with whites only and then with other colors. This is with full spectrum on at following power:

White - 90%
Blue - 85%
Hyper V - 100%
Red - 70%










As you can see the 60deg optics on the whites have to go, so tomorrow I will be installing 90deg all around when they come in.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

That's above impressive. That 40 at top center seems to be out of place.

Gus, are you up to replicating your build for brain-dead folks like me? 

via Droid DNA Tapatalk 2


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

OVT said:


> That's above impressive. That 40 at top center seems to be out of place.
> 
> Gus, are you up to replicating your build for brain-dead folks like me?
> 
> via Droid DNA Tapatalk 2


The 40 is because of the 60deg optics on whites so only blue, red, and hyper v are hitting it there. Once I get 90deg optics all around it should fix it.

As far as another build I can do better than separate multi cannon. This weekend I am building a new housing that will replicate the AI Hydra. If all goes well I can definitely make something for you OVT.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

I just took a cannon and did an open air PAR reading to double check. At 2ft from the light the meter right underneath reads:

400 PAR

Then it slowly starts to taper off. This just reiterates that 60deg optics is not necessary at all.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

gus6464 said:


> If all goes well I can definitely make something for you OVT.


Much appreciated 

via Droid DNA Tapatalk 2


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

O2surplus said:


> I'm building 4 channel 10V analog/ 5V Pwm convertors that would work perfectly for his needs. These are built to work as an interface module that is connected between a Neptune APEX and any led driver that uses a 5V PWM signal for dimming. All I have to do is make a few changes on the input side to include 4 pots ( one for each channel ) and dump the voltage divider network. Check this out- it's a $15 dimming solution.


LOL.. funny how we are going in opposite directions.. (Oreo57 @reefcentral..and the 10vpwm to analog obcessor)


gus6464 said:


> I just took a cannon and did an open air PAR reading to double check. At 2ft from the light the meter right underneath reads:
> 
> 400 PAR
> 
> Then it slowly starts to taper off. This just reiterates that 60deg optics is not necessary at all.


good job...


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## Dan's85 (Mar 18, 2013)

So far this is the best bang for your buck light that I have seen. Great job with this!!


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Hoppy said:


> The reason I asked my question about dimming with a knob is that some people, like me, aren't at all interested in a programmed light schedule, but want to be able to dial in the PAR that they want with a knob. The tiny little thingee that O2surplus showed looks like just what I was referring to. Keep this up and I will feel forced to make another LED light:icon_evil


He's going the opposite way.. taking "knob dimming" and converting it to PWM.. As a current "knob dimmer" myself the cheapest and easiest way (one of the ways) was using the "D"" series Meanwell drivers 
(not really "cheap").. 
Get a cheap "constant voltage board off flea bay", scavange a 12v DC out wall wart to power the cheap board, adjust the board to 10v out (I got one w/ an LCD display of Vin and Vout ), wire in the 10k "pot" and your done.. No messing w chips/ opamps or programming a Typhon board.. And everything is BIG to solder and wire nut!!! 
$1.50 dc/dc voltage step down regulator to protect the meanwell 10v dimmer circuit.. 










$4.00 (inc shipping) you get the fancy one w/ the "easy wiring"..:


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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

I am fairly competent at soldering and assembling things, but getting all the right parts and interpreting where exactly they go is where I fall short. I'd be willing to pay for a detailed parts list and step by step assembly instructions.

Gus, do you have access to a deeper column of water? I'm interesting to see if this would be feasible for a 29" deep (water depth) 200g aquarium. I'm trying to build this on a budget and have everything but the lighting worked out.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

thelub said:


> I am fairly competent at soldering and assembling things, but getting all the right parts and interpreting where exactly they go is where I fall short. I'd be willing to pay for a detailed parts list and step by step assembly instructions.
> 
> Gus, do you have access to a deeper column of water? I'm interesting to see if this would be feasible for a 29" deep (water depth) 200g aquarium. I'm trying to build this on a budget and have everything but the lighting worked out.


For a tank that deep I would actually take it a step further and go Bridgelux BXRA. Those puppies put out 1100lm @ 500ma and can be driven up to 1A. They are 21v but clusters of two will get you crazy PAR. If you wanted more penetration you could get Ledil reflectors. So per 2x2ft area I would do 2 BXRA, 1 Luxeon M Royal Blue, 4 Hyper Violet, and 2 deep red.

Ohh and BXRA are $7 a pop at Newark.

What are the other dimensions of the tank?


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Gus, you did mention that you might have access to CNC for housing.

Just in case that does not pan out, I do have a (tiny ) business interest in a full fledged machine shop (web site on request) in CA that moded my light suspension. If you decide to go with 'commercial/retail' quality light housing, shoot me a PM.

via Droid DNA Tapatalk 2


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## jeffdenney (Jun 21, 2013)

I plan on building a led setup very similar to this but I have a few questions. 
#1 why different driver for the reds?
#2 how did u wire up the fans? And pics of that wiring? 
#3 is the typon board totally programmable for time and light spectrums??
#4 on stevesled.com it looks like the typhon board comes without the ldd board. Where did u find that?

Thanks jeff

25 gal.-api renastart xp1 anf xp2- 2 custom spraybars with diy inline heater and water change valve (so key!)-odyssea-4x24w t5ho. 4in raised.-injected co2 via up inline diffuser-florite and sane substrate.-java fern-amazon sword-marsilea minuta-water wisteria (crappy)-dwarf hair grass-anubias afanzeli (spellcheck)-telanthera cardinalis-10 tiger barbs-6 glofish tetras-7 otocinclus -1 german blue ram. females died.-2 albino corydoras. I know need 6
ei dosing and 6 hours light 100%


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

jeffdenney said:


> #1 why different driver for the reds?


I'll start.. Red LED's are "different" (lower Vf, lower amp rating) from others (actually there are other colors that are different as well)..
you can string them w/ other LED's w/ "work arounds" but it is simpler (to me) to just have a dedicated channel..
ALSO red is a very overpowering color and being able to control them is helpful.


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## jeffdenney (Jun 21, 2013)

jeffkrol said:


> I'll start.. Red LED's are "different" (lower Vf, lower amp rating) from others (actually there are other colors that are different as well)..
> you can string them w/ other LED's w/ "work arounds" but it is simpler (to me) to just have a dedicated channel..
> ALSO red is a very overpowering color and being able to control them is helpful.


Thanks. thats what I was wondering if they handled power differently or a something like that. And I found my answer for #3 also searching around the web.

25 gal.-api renastart xp1 anf xp2- 2 custom spraybars with diy inline heater and water change valve (so key!)-odyssea-4x24w t5ho. 4in raised.-injected co2 via up inline diffuser-florite and sane substrate.-java fern-amazon sword-marsilea minuta-water wisteria (crappy)-dwarf hair grass-anubias afanzeli (spellcheck)-telanthera cardinalis-10 tiger barbs-6 glofish tetras-7 otocinclus -1 german blue ram. females died.-2 albino corydoras. I know need 6
ei dosing and 6 hours light 100%


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

jeffdenney said:


> I plan on building a led setup very similar to this but I have a few questions.
> 
> #4 on stevesled.com it looks like the typhon board comes without the ldd board. Where did u find that?
> 
> Thanks jeff


The answer to #4 is- I built for Gus. It's my version of the "Typhon" controller that includes the MeanWell LDD-H sub PcB. You won't find it in online stores.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

jeffdenney said:


> #2 how did u wire up the fans?





> 24w 12V 5a power supply for Typhon and LED fans


Taps power off the "wall wart" for the Typhon ...most likely..5A seems overkill though..


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

jeffkrol said:


> Taps power off the "wall wart" for the Typhon ...most likely..5A seems overkill though..


Yeah my wall wart is absolute overkill. I just had one laying around so why not. I wired the fans in parallel along with the typhon plug. 2 fans and the typhon use less than 1a.

Rebel ES deep red is rated for up to 700ma. Putting anything more than that is asking for it to blow. I run my reds at a much lower power than everything else because it's very strong. Also if you are not supplying enough nutrients and CO2, the red will create an algae farm quick. You want 1 red per 10-12 LEDs give or take. My colors are there to hit photosynthetic peaks and make things pop. This ratio produces good color:

3 white (anything between 5000-6500K)
1 royal blue
1 deep red
1 hyper violet

A ratio like that will get you a nice full spectrum that hits all peaks. Although do not add another red unless you are doing at least 4 clusters of that ratio.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

gus6464 said:


> I just had one laying around


yes, that was my guess...


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## jeffdenney (Jun 21, 2013)

Awesome you guys qere a great help. I was totally overwhelmed when I started looking at diy led but now I thi k I understand it pretty well. 

25 gal.-api renastart xp1 anf xp2- 2 custom spraybars with diy inline heater and water change valve (so key!)-odyssea-4x24w t5ho. 4in raised.-injected co2 via up inline diffuser-florite and sane substrate.-java fern-amazon sword-marsilea minuta-water wisteria (crappy)-dwarf hair grass-anubias afanzeli (spellcheck)-telanthera cardinalis-10 tiger barbs-6 glofish tetras-7 otocinclus -1 german blue ram. females died.-2 albino corydoras. I know need 6
ei dosing and 6 hours light 100%


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

jeffdenney said:


> Awesome you guys qere a great help. I was totally overwhelmed when I started looking at diy led but now I thi k I understand it pretty well.


I am guessing you have a 24" long tank?

If you want to super simplify and not solder a bunch of LEDs close together get Rebel ES 3UPs. This cannon will cover a 12-18sq. in area up to 24" high with high PAR. No optics needed. Anything higher than 24" and you are going to need optics.

2x Rebel ES 3UP (cool white x3)
1x Rebel ES 3UP (royal blue x2, green)
2x Hyper Violet
1x Deep Red


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## jeffdenney (Jun 21, 2013)

gus6464 said:


> I am guessing you have a 24" long tank?
> 
> If you want to super simplify and not solder a bunch of LEDs close together get Rebel ES 3UPs. This cannon will cover a 12-18sq. in area up to 24" high with high PAR. No optics needed. Anything higher than 24" and you are going to need optics.
> 
> ...


I saw those on stevesled but I wanted to be able to control all the colors independently and I could use a variety of 60º and 90º optics to get the effect I want. I also dont mind soldering either lol. And maybe do an arduino sunset/sunrise sequence. 

I also thought of another question while im conversing with the gurus. They say all optics lose a little light so If the beam spread is 100-120º from the factory and you add a 90º optic like you have for the colors. Would it have been just as bright without since its still kinda similar beam concentration? Or is the stock beam more of a spray and the optics concentrate it more?

25 gal.-api renastart xp1 anf xp2- 2 custom spraybars with diy inline heater and water change valve (so key!)-odyssea-4x24w t5ho. 4in raised.-injected co2 via up inline diffuser-florite and sane substrate.-java fern-amazon sword-marsilea minuta-water wisteria (crappy)-dwarf hair grass-anubias afanzeli (spellcheck)-telanthera cardinalis-10 tiger barbs-6 glofish tetras-7 otocinclus -1 german blue ram. females died.-2 albino corydoras. I know need 6
ei dosing and 6 hours light 100%-diy pat meter courtesy hoppy.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

jeffdenney said:


> I saw those on stevesled but I wanted to be able to control all the colors independently and I could use a variety of 60º and 90º optics to get the effect I want. I also dont mind soldering either lol. And maybe do an arduino sunset/sunrise sequence.
> 
> I also thought of another question while im conversing with the gurus. They say all optics lose a little light so If the beam spread is 100-120º from the factory and you add a 90º optic like you have for the colors. Would it have been just as bright without since its still kinda similar beam concentration? Or is the stock beam more of a spray and the optics concentrate it more?
> 
> ...


The above config is a 4ch config with independent controls for whites, blues, reds, and violets. The 3UPs just have 3 emitters on one MCPCB. Also optics create a spotlight effect which increases PAR substantially on certain areas vs no PAR on others. Like I said earlier, if the light is only going to be at the most 24" high from the substrate do not use optics. Also optics require you to have more LEDs because the light spread is a lot more narrow.

Also I no longer have optics at all. There was no need for them and it hurt light spread.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

jeffdenney said:


> Or is the stock beam more of a spray and the optics concentrate it more?


that is one way to put it.. though it is more "spray" vs "tighter spray"... 

There is the equiv. of an "optic" on the LED.. you now put another lens over the first lens and have some light loss through the air/plastic interface (some to absorption, some to refraction into directions you don't want..).. but in the scheme of things not really that important.. What is important is concentrating photon flux and getting better penetration and of course "selective" color absorption i.e. reds get "absorbed" much faster than blue, and reflection off the surface (probably the major reason for tighter optics)..
To balance this water has a tendency to focus light "in" which makes it even more fun..
in essence you want maximum surface area but w/ a more perpendicular entry to avoid light losses..
Then there is the water/glass interface issue.. All more complicated than we really need to be concerned w/ 
Though understanding why water has a ripple effect is fun...


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

gus6464 said:


> The above config is a 4ch config with independent controls for whites, blues, reds, and violets. The 3UPs just have 3 emitters on one MCPCB. Also optics create a spotlight effect which increases PAR substantially on certain areas vs no PAR on others. Like I said earlier, if the light is only going to be at the most 24" high from the substrate do not use optics. Also optics require you to have more LEDs because the light spread is a lot more narrow.
> 
> Also I no longer have optics at all. There was no need for them and it hurt light spread.


also this.................


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## jeffdenney (Jun 21, 2013)

I wish I would have known all this bwfore I bought my first three light fixtures.. could have juat skipped to the led setup and saved money.

25 gal.-api renastar xp1 and xp2- 2 custom spraybars with diy inline heater and water change valve (so key!)-odyssea-4x24w t5ho. 4in raised.-injected co2 via up inline diffuser-florite and sand substrate.-java fern-amazon sword-marsilea minuta-water wisteria (crappy)-dwarf hair grass-anubias afanzeli (spellcheck)-telanthera cardinalis-10 tiger barbs-6 glofish tetras-7 otocinclus -1 german blue ram. females died.-2 albino corydoras. I know need 6
ei dosing and 6 hours light 100%


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## jeffdenney (Jun 21, 2013)

Did u just wire the fans on/off? No variable speed right? Got a typhon board in the mail. Starting my build. Slowly


25 gal.-api renastart xp1 anf xp2- 2 custom spraybars with diy inline heater and water change valve (so key!)-odyssea-4x24w t5ho. 4in raised.-injected co2 via up inline diffuser-florite and sane substrate.-java fern-amazon sword-marsilea minuta-water wisteria (crappy)-dwarf hair grass-anubias afanzeli (spellcheck)-telanthera cardinalis-10 tiger barbs-6 glofish tetras-7 otocinclus -1 german blue ram. females died.-2 albino corydoras. I know need 6
ei dosing and 6 hours light 100%


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

jeffdenney said:


> Did u just wire the fans on/off? No variable speed right? Got a typhon board in the mail. Starting my build. Slowly
> 
> 
> 25 gal.-api renastart xp1 anf xp2- 2 custom spraybars with diy inline heater and water change valve (so key!)-odyssea-4x24w t5ho. 4in raised.-injected co2 via up inline diffuser-florite and sane substrate.-java fern-amazon sword-marsilea minuta-water wisteria (crappy)-dwarf hair grass-anubias afanzeli (spellcheck)-telanthera cardinalis-10 tiger barbs-6 glofish tetras-7 otocinclus -1 german blue ram. females died.-2 albino corydoras. I know need 6
> ei dosing and 6 hours light 100%


You can do either. If you want speed control get a controller from newegg.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

gus6464 said:


> I got the PAR meter from Hoppy and here is a preliminary. The readings are where the plants are so for the bottom it's right where the HC is, etc.
> 
> I took two readings as I have multiple colors. First was with whites only and then with other colors. This is with full spectrum on at following power:
> 
> ...


Serious light spread problems.
You can reduce this different by raising the light, but then you lose the intensity and the PAR will be lower overall.

For planted tank,s rather than MH/Cannon style, you'd be better off with a pancake style spread out over the top, but........you would need to add each color for each point, otherwise you end up with pink, blue, red, white colors coming through each point, if they are close together, then you can mix evenly.

So if you had say 4-6 cannons like this, then you could achieve high PAR+ even spread with nice color.

But 4-6 on a tank this size? That's a lot of work and $.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

plantbrain said:


> Serious light spread problems.
> You can reduce this different by raising the light, but then you lose the intensity and the PAR will be lower overall.
> 
> For planted tank,s rather than MH/Cannon style, you'd be better off with a pancake style spread out over the top, but........you would need to add each color for each point, otherwise you end up with pink, blue, red, white colors coming through each point, if they are close together, then you can mix evenly.
> ...


I fixed the spread by taking off optics. Now I have even spread throughout but PAR went down to 70 at the substrate which is ok. I lost 50% PAR from those readings but PAR was high to begin with so I am still at high light throughout.


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## jeffdenney (Jun 21, 2013)

What if I build one fixture thats like 4"x20"x4"? And spread the leds out a little. Maybe throw a 90º optic on every other white. I was thinking my reds, blues, and greens in the middle longitudinally and then 6-8 of the 5,000k neutral whites down the front and back. Do u think that would work better? Im gonna use the same colors as u. For whites do u recommend mixing the 5000k and the 6400k for a littlw more of a white light?

25 gal.-api renastart xp1 anf xp2- 2 custom spraybars with diy inline heater and water change valve (so key!)-odyssea-4x24w t5ho. 4in raised.-injected co2 via up inline diffuser-florite and sane substrate.-java fern-amazon sword-marsilea minuta-water wisteria (crappy)-dwarf hair grass-anubias afanzeli (spellcheck)-telanthera cardinalis-10 tiger barbs-6 glofish tetras-7 otocinclus -1 german blue ram. females died.-2 albino corydoras. I know need 6
ei dosing and 6 hours light 100%


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## jeffdenney (Jun 21, 2013)

What r u housing your typhon unit in? I just recieved my typhon board and I saw the box on steves leds but im sure that wont fit... r u building a custom housing?? 

25 gal.-api renastart xp1 anf xp2- 2 custom spraybars with diy inline heater and water change valve (so key!)-odyssea-4x24w t5ho. 4in raised.-injected co2 via up inline diffuser-florite and sane substrate.-java fern-amazon sword-marsilea minuta-water wisteria (crappy)-dwarf hair grass-anubias afanzeli (spellcheck)-telanthera cardinalis-10 tiger barbs-6 glofish tetras-7 otocinclus -1 german blue ram. females died.-2 albino corydoras. I know need 6
ei dosing and 6 hours light 100%


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

jeffdenney said:


> What r u housing your typhon unit in? I just recieved my typhon board and I saw the box on steves leds but im sure that wont fit... r u building a custom housing??
> 
> 25 gal.-api renastart xp1 anf xp2- 2 custom spraybars with diy inline heater and water change valve (so key!)-odyssea-4x24w t5ho. 4in raised.-injected co2 via up inline diffuser-florite and sane substrate.-java fern-amazon sword-marsilea minuta-water wisteria (crappy)-dwarf hair grass-anubias afanzeli (spellcheck)-telanthera cardinalis-10 tiger barbs-6 glofish tetras-7 otocinclus -1 german blue ram. females died.-2 albino corydoras. I know need 6
> ei dosing and 6 hours light 100%


Right now it's just bare with no housing. I don't know what I'm going to do for it.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2


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## jeffdenney (Jun 21, 2013)

Yeah im just looking to keep it dry. I get a little wild at water changes sometimes. Lol 

25 gal.-api renastart xp1 anf xp2- 2 custom spraybars with diy inline heater and water change valve (so key!)-odyssea-4x24w t5ho. 4in raised.-injected co2 via up inline diffuser-florite and sane substrate.-java fern-amazon sword-marsilea minuta-water wisteria (crappy)-dwarf hair grass-anubias afanzeli (spellcheck)-telanthera cardinalis-10 tiger barbs-6 glofish tetras-7 otocinclus -1 german blue ram. females died.-2 albino corydoras. I know need 6
ei dosing and 6 hours light 100%


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