# Planted+ dimmer (warranty voiding, picture heavy)



## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

Sticky this!


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## Clayman (Jan 7, 2015)

Wow, that's so simple and awesome. Thanks for this walkthrough. I'm a fairly good solderer, so I may attempt this with mine.(same light)


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Don't give me too much credit yet, this hasn't been tested for more than a 10 minutes of on time yet.. 

We'll see how it does with tomorrow's light cycle... 

edit: this was working fine this morning before I left for work, it was running for about and hour. We'll see how it is doing when I get home tonight.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

As a side note.. I pretty sure you could do the same w/ these program dimmers (using only one channel of course)








Good up to 5A.. ONLY catch I ever found is apparently some "buzz" or hum or make some such odd noise (may have to do w/ switching circuit harmonics or other voodoo) at odd voltages , like 15..

some are listed 12v some 12-24V..


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Yes, there are a lot of different ways you could go with this... 

I really made a lot of my choices based entirely on cost and ease of hookup. Not being 100% sure this was going to work, I was willing to risk $10 in parts and an hour-or-so of my time. I wasn't willing to spend more on a nicer dimmer for what could turn out to be an experiment in failure.

I was also considering some 8amp 12-24v dimmers that use screw terminals, but I decided I wanted something that I could easily just bypass the dimmer if it wasn't working..

http://www.amazon.com/LEDJump-Dimming-Controller-Lights-Ribbon/dp/B00AM9H47Q/


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## sarahspins (Sep 24, 2012)

I just on a lark cut up one of my finnex lights and was able to hook it up to a current ramp timer without even taking it apart.. I just used one of those DC plug adapters with screw terminals (I have a bunch laying around already - and I did check the polarity of the light's wiring before hooking it up). Not quite as elegant solution as adding a jack to the housing, but it was quick and easy and I didn't have to source any parts to make it happen 

I'm actually happy it was so simple... that means I may put some of my other finnex lights bakc into service rather than having them collect dust.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Nice, glad to hear someone else has done similar tricks to this...

And you're right, I didn't really need to dismantle the fixture to do it, that was more a "touch of elegance" bit. 

I also figured if the dimmer failed, I'd at least have given myself a removable/replaceable power cord. Since my fixture sits on a glass top, this will make it easier to remove the fixture so I can pull the top off for cleaning.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Ok, so it has been running for several hours today. It is still working, and no signs of anything heating up at the connections or dimmer.

I think it actually works!


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## BHermes21 (May 28, 2014)

How has it been working?


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## 0xDEADBEEF (Aug 22, 2014)

mattinmd, your post inspired me to add a socket to my Finnex Planted+ 12 and add Current USA Single Ramp Timer. It worked out OK but I had little trouble fitting the socket - the one I have found has a bigger butt ;-). So I had to bend the aluminum case below the clear shield a little so the back of the socket would fit. It worked out OK and now the fish enjoy smooth sunrises and sunsets ;-)


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Yeah, I got a bit lucky on the fit... Going into it I suspected I might have to re-drill the cord mount, but as it turned out the fit was absolutely perfect.

For reference, these are the connectors I used:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CQMGWIO/

Not that I think this particular ones are of any great quality, but they do have the advantage of being somewhat narrow in the back...


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Update:

This past weekend I swapped out the dial dimmer for an IR remote controlled one..

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KS20W7Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Prior to doing that I used my kill-a-watt meter to measure the power consumption, and I'd been running the dimmer at 90%.


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## Ben125 (Dec 16, 2014)

This is really interesting. What size light do you have? Just wondering if the parts used would be the same for a 36".


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

I did it on a 30" planted+...

In general it should work for the 36", but I would suggest looking at the power supply, make sure it is 24v or less... it's probably a 15v like the 30" model.

And be careful with your insulating, there's been at least one report of a Finnex power brick catching fire (not related to this mod, but presumably due to a short). Make sure your mods don't short anything.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

mattinmd said:


> Update:
> 
> This past weekend I swapped out the dial dimmer for an IR remote controlled one..
> 
> ...


Cool.. I've tried to get some that did the same to a Beamswork to "fess up".
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=834218
Probably should have started it in the DIY area..

now all you have to do is add some color bars.. 

Have you spooked your fish w/ the "stoboflash feature".. LOL


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

jeffkrol said:


> Cool.. I've tried to get some that did the same to a Beamswork to "fess up".
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=834218


Yeah, I know and participated in your thread a bit.. I like the idea.




jeffkrol said:


> now all you have to do is add some color bars..


To be honest, my current plans are to get a second fixture that has color adjustment (probably a 24/7 when I can get my hands on one), and to control both dimmers with an ardiuno using IR. Hence, the switch to an IR controlled dimmer for the Planted+.

The main reason for a second fixture is to try and fix some of my light spread issues.. The 36bow gets pretty shadowy in some parts of the tank. Rather than run one fixture at 90%, I'll start off running 2 at about 50-40%.



jeffkrol said:


> Have you spooked your fish w/ the "stoboflash feature".. LOL


Lol, no... I haven't even tried it at all... maybe some evening I'll pull the fixture off the tank and try it out while I'm playing with the arduino control.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

So, I've done a bit of work starting to figure out the Supernight dimmer's IR protocol...

Using an IR receiver and some code from:
http://playground.arduino.cc/Code/InfraredReceivers

I went and captured and graphed the keys..

The protcol is interesting in that it starts with a 4.456ms high, followed by a very short .616ms low. It also appears to be encoded using pulses of variable high-time periods.. all the lows appear to be the same .616ms low. Highs are either .616 or something around 2.5x that long (1.6ms)...

This doesn't really fit with any protocols I've seen graphed out, but it isn't too far off from the sony protocol, other than the start being about twice as long..

Fun things to figure out....


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## Cody's Planted Tanks (Jun 2, 2014)

sarahspins said:


> I just on a lark cut up one of my finnex lights and was able to hook it up to a current ramp timer without even taking it apart.. I just used one of those DC plug adapters with screw terminals (I have a bunch laying around already - and I did check the polarity of the light's wiring before hooking it up). Not quite as elegant solution as adding a jack to the housing, but it was quick and easy and I didn't have to source any parts to make it happen
> 
> I'm actually happy it was so simple... that means I may put some of my other finnex lights bakc into service rather than having them collect dust.


I am glad to here that the pairing of a finnex planted plus light and a current usa ramp timer worked for you. I am planning on doing the same thing.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

I've decided to create a new thread for my attempts to convert this to arduino controlled IR...

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?p=7622153


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## sgtsquiggs (May 13, 2015)

FYI anyone searching about modding their Finnex Ray2 and finding this thread:

I pulled apart my brand new Ray2 (pulled the end cap off to expose the wires). This model has the AC-DC transformer packed into the frame instead of using a power brick.

The lights (my 24") draw around ~68V, which is too much for the MeanWell LDD LED drivers that I've used in the past.

I am not an electrical engineer, so I don't know where to go from here. Just reporting my findings.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

It has been about a year since these mods were started. How are they working now? I would like to be able to dim my 36 inch Planted +, but not if it fails after a few months.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Still going strong.


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## Digitalfiend (Aug 29, 2014)

I have a Planted+ 12" on a 12" cube aquarium and got to thinking about how to dim it. Instead of modding the light, I was curious if it would be safe to use something like this:

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p....pico-remote-control-kit-white.1000720944.html

I already have numerous Caseta switches and the control unit and have been running these lamp dimmers with 100w CREE LED bulbs for a while now. I got to thinking that one of these might work for dimming a Planted+. I could then create a number of "scenes" which would raise/lower the brightness on a specific schedule. I guess my concern is using this and overheating the Finnex AC adapter (I believe there is even a warning about this in the Caseta user manual).

Thanks for this guide btw, it's probably the route I'll have to go because of the transformer on the Finnex.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Digitalfiend said:


> I have a Planted+ 12" on a 12" cube aquarium and got to thinking about how to dim it. Instead of modding the light, I was curious if it would be safe to use something like this:
> 
> https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p....pico-remote-control-kit-white.1000720944.html
> 
> ...


Even if it worked (which I doubt)
Why when for 1/2 the price you can just stck this beween the power supply and light..


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## Immortal1 (Feb 18, 2015)

Hoppy said:


> It has been about a year since these mods were started. How are they working now? I would like to be able to dim my 36 inch Planted +, but not if it fails after a few months.


My hack of the Finnex Planted + has been going for several months with no issues. I honestly think it will run until an LED burns out on the light. What I really like about the setup now that it is done is if I want to make a change, I call up the computer program - make the adjustment (say I want the white LEDs at 60% instead of 75% and the red LEDs at 100% instead of 80%), plug in the light to the computer and hit upload. Seriously takes under a minute.


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

Hoppy said:


> It has been about a year since these mods were started. How are they working now? I would like to be able to dim my 36 inch Planted +, but not if it fails after a few months.


I've had a dimmer on mine for just short of a year with no issues at all.

I actually got the idea from THIS THREAD and i modified it slightly so the fixture has a pigtail instead of connector plug. If you'd like I can take some pictures


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Digitalfiend said:


> I have a Planted+ 12" on a 12" cube aquarium and got to thinking about how to dim it. Instead of modding the light, I was curious if it would be safe to use something like this:
> 
> https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p....pico-remote-control-kit-white.1000720944.html
> 
> ...




The fixture is probably not dimmable by triacing the ac mains. If it was, I would not have modded it. 

That dimmer uses a triac to cut ac power on and off really fast. It works perfectly with incandescent bulbs, but leds need a power supply to run of ac, and that supply needs to be designed differently (and a bit more costly) to work with a triac dimmer. Usually if a company has done this, they point it out.


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