# My DIY Cree LED fixture w/ Arduino Microcontroller



## VaultBoy (Nov 11, 2010)

Great work... just like what im trying to do I just got to pull my finger out


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## trackhazard (Aug 24, 2006)

Wow. That is super sexy. 

-Charlie


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## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

Impressive work, and Aaron did a fantastic job on designing that thing. I can put together some nice LED stuff but there's always wire-hell going everywhere.... this looks sleek and sweet!


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## evilc66 (Feb 28, 2008)

Nicely done. How is the heat from all those CAT4101s? Being a linear driver, they must get fairly warm, unless your total vf and source voltage are close to each other.

I'm curious to see how the neutral and warm white LEDs look over the tank. To me, cool whites are just about perfect for planted tanks, but, like we found out in the reef world, there are alternatives.


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## Solid (Jul 19, 2009)

This Light is sweet!!

I bought all of the equipment back in December to make a light similar to this one (24 Crees) but I bought some knob dimmers instead of a arduino system because Im not great with DIY electronics. How easy is it to program the arduino on the PC?

Also do you notice any spotlighting?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

What Jose didn't show us here is:










Now, who wants any other light except a LED light, designed like Jose's?


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## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

That is stunning. Absolutely beautiful.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

VaultBoy said:


> Great work... just like what im trying to do I just got to pull my finger out


Thanks, you won't be disappointed 



trackhazard said:


> Wow. That is super sexy.
> 
> -Charlie


Thanks Charlie!



redfishsc said:


> Impressive work, and Aaron did a fantastic job on designing that thing. I can put together some nice LED stuff but there's always wire-hell going everywhere.... this looks sleek and sweet!


Thanks! I can do the Buckpucks or Meanwell drivers no problem. This stuff is a bit over my head!



evilc66 said:


> Nicely done. How is the heat from all those CAT4101s? Being a linear driver, they must get fairly warm, unless your total vf and source voltage are close to each other.
> 
> I'm curious to see how the neutral and warm white LEDs look over the tank. To me, cool whites are just about perfect for planted tanks, but, like we found out in the reef world, there are alternatives.


Thanks. The drivers are completely cool to the touch, even after being on for 12+ hours. I'm not really a fan of cool white LEDs. Every cool white LED I've seen seems to wash out the colors of fish too much. I much prefer the more natural looking, warmer colors. 

Here's my full journal with more pics of the tank:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/t...um/133528-190g-wild-discus-biotope-w-led.html



Solid said:


> This Light is sweet!!
> 
> I bought all of the equipment back in December to make a light similar to this one (24 Crees) but I bought some knob dimmers instead of a arduino system because Im not great with DIY electronics. How easy is it to program the arduino on the PC?
> 
> Also do you notice any spotlighting?


Thanks! I got an example of the code from Aaron. The code is not easy to write, but luckily there's tons of codes out there, especially on reefcentral. They even have codes to simulate cloud cover and thunder storms! It's really easy to upload the code using the Arduino software on your computer. Here's the portion of the code that I use to adjust the LEDs. It's all very straightforward:



> int oneStartMins = 450; // minute to start channel 1. Change this to the number of minutes past midnight you want to start
> int twoStartMins = 450; // minute to start channel 2. Change this to the number of minutes past midnight you want to start
> int threeStartMins = 450; // minute to start channel 3. Change this to the number of minutes past midnight you want to start
> int fourStartMins = 450; // minute to start channel 4. Change this to the number of minutes past midnight you want to start
> ...






Hoppy said:


> What Jose didn't show us here is:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Vaughn!



redfishsc said:


> That is stunning. Absolutely beautiful.


Thank you!


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## redfishsc (Aug 29, 2010)

jcardona1 said:


> Thanks! I can do the Buckpucks or Meanwell drivers no problem. This stuff is a bit over my head!


You and me both lol. I could probably figure how the Arduino with some help. I do read 400-600 pages of theology and history every month for grad school.... so if I can handle that, I should be able to handle an Arduino lol.


But the problem is, I can't handle them both at the same time


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## larams67 (Jan 24, 2006)

This is awesome! You've set the standard!


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

That photo of Jose's should be made available as an art print. I could look at it for an hour non-stop, and still enjoy it. It redefines aquarium lighting in my opinion.

Seriously, you should enter this in some contests, just to humiliate all of the others who submit photos!


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

Jose,
Thanks for the kind words about the driver. I am glad to have had the opportunity to contribute a little something to your tank. Seeing the level of perfection that you work at, I knew what I produced, had to be up to par. I'm glad you like it.
I've been lurking on this forum for a few years now and I think you've motivated me to share/contribute what I've learned in the LED lighting and planted tank arenas. I'll try to post more info on the DIY Led drivers that I built so that in the future more people will have the chance to learn "the how to" and the fun of "doing it themselves".:biggrin:


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

O2surplus said:


> Jose,
> Thanks for the kind words about the driver. I am glad to have had the opportunity to contribute a little something to your tank. Seeing the level of perfection that you work at, I knew what I produced, had to be up to par. I'm glad you like it.
> I've been lurking on this forum for a few years now and I think you've motivated me to share/contribute what I've learned in the LED lighting and planted tank arenas. I'll try to post more info on the DIY Led drivers that I built so that in the future more people will have the chance to learn "the how to" and the fun of "doing it themselves".:biggrin:


Since LEDs are apparently going to be the ultimate in lighting for few years, all of the information we can get to make it easier to design and build our own will be extremely valuable. Please do start a thread or threads in the DIY forum to show us how to do this.


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## Neya (Nov 21, 2009)

Thats a beautiful setup. I've looked into the cat4101 chips and boards, but since I have no EE knowledge at ALL it's so confusing to me. My fiance, who looked at it (who has all that knowledge) looked at it and went "Oh, that looks simple... but you're on your own, you need to learn it!" haha


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## eklu65 (Mar 3, 2011)

O2surplus said:


> Jose,
> Thanks for the kind words about the driver. I am glad to have had the opportunity to contribute a little something to your tank. Seeing the level of perfection that you work at, I knew what I produced, had to be up to par. I'm glad you like it.
> I've been lurking on this forum for a few years now and I think you've motivated me to share/contribute what I've learned in the LED lighting and planted tank arenas. I'll try to post more info on the DIY Led drivers that I built so that in the future more people will have the chance to learn "the how to" and the fun of "doing it themselves".:biggrin:


Please do! I know a few of us here are in the process of building our own LED fixtures (myself included) and the extra information from someone that really knows what they're doing would be very beneficial. Great work, and beautiful tank, jcardona1!


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## Im2Nelson4u (Feb 7, 2010)

Thats awesome dude. I was using a Mega to power mines for a while. It was a bit overkill but I had a problem with my 4x20 lcd taking up so many pins leaving me with only so many for relays and temp probes lol. Do you plan on adding anything else? Maybe some SSR since you already have a RTC module. 

Also how many pwm volts is does that powersupply need? I had a huge problem converting 5v to 10v pwm for my meanwell units. I ended up with this frankenstein board just to convert it 10v to dim the damn leds..


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## NJAquaBarren (Sep 16, 2009)

That is a great fixture. Some Folsom would pay for one of those, hint, hint


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## audioaficionado (Apr 19, 2011)

Not only was his choice of warm & neutral aesthetically pleasing, but if you look at the spectral curves, the two also blend well for PAR coverage.
http://www.cree.com/products/pdf/XLampXP-G.pdf

Awesome project roud:


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

Im2Nelson4u said:


> Thats awesome dude. I was using a Mega to power mines for a while. It was a bit overkill but I had a problem with my 4x20 lcd taking up so many pins leaving me with only so many for relays and temp probes lol. Do you plan on adding anything else? Maybe some SSR since you already have a RTC module.
> 
> Also how many pwm volts is does that powersupply need? I had a huge problem converting 5v to 10v pwm for my meanwell units. I ended up with this frankenstein board just to convert it 10v to dim the damn leds..



The led driver ic's (cat4101) take their dimming signal straight from the Arduinos pwm output pins. Since both operate at 5vdc, there's no need for additional circuitry. That's the beauty of using these particular Ic's.:icon_bigg


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## audioaficionado (Apr 19, 2011)

O2surplus, did you buy all the PCBs or did you have to custom drill/etch them.


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## eagle1 (Jan 22, 2013)

that's a nice light!!! how did you and aaron build the constant current driver? I really need one of them.


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