Modern LED scrubber light

Don't feel bad Rygh. At least you don't have my problem I am to cheap to get a bigger pump. I use

less light instead. One day, I do want to get as much filtration as possible.

Update

Still waiting on my 680 nm led.

http://www.tech-led.com/data/SMB680-1100-I.pdf

Anyone know how to mount these?

I can't seem to find the right MCPCB.

While I am on the subject of mounting.

I have a different pair showing prespawning behavior. Although there cleaning a spot on my heater.( spot to lay eggs)

I turned it off and added a spare heater that I had. I didn't want to disrupt the mojo to much by changing things around.

I might potential have two breeding

pairs out of only five fish. Wow. Hopefully they will do the deed. I will need to separate them if they

turn out to be swingers. lol

Thanks for any help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by inkidu

Anyone know how to mount these?

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Well, other than a real PCB, my suggestion is this.

First, bend the pins upwards very slightly and very very very gently.
Just enough so that when you glue it down, they do not contact heat sink.

Second, solder wires to pins.
One wire on each side, to all 3 pins at once.

Third, glue it down to a heat sink. (Thermal epoxy )
First, put electrical tape on heat sink where the pins would hit if they are too low.
Make sure to only get glue on the heat sink part of the chip. Center square thermal pad.
It will only take a tiny amount. Hopefully that pad is slightly raised.
It says the center pad is electrically isolated, so should not be an issue there.
But if the glue hits the pins, it will short like crazy.
Alternately: Buy some thermal adhesive tape, like they use to fasten on heat sinks. Cut a small 3mm x 3mm piece,
and stick it to center thermal pad. Easier, less risk of shorting, but may not be strong enough.

Remember, no ESD protection, so take precautions. Maybe even solder in a ESD diode.

An alternative to bending pins is to build a small copper standoff, between chip and heat sink.
Probably 3mm x 3mm x 1.5mm thick.

Good luck. You will need it.
BTW: With a critical center thermal pad like that, it is basically impossible to solder by hand to a PCB anyway.

Anyone looking for a led driver?

A new Meanwell led driver line just became available.

http://www.meanwell.com/product/hlg/hlg.html

Granted they are a bit large but they are very efficient (up to 94%) and have an optional

dimming function. (allows some flexibility with setup)

I have several Meanwell drivers with no complaints.

Hope this helps.

Side note

The discus keep laying eggs maybe twice a month but I think my other tank mates eat them at night.

The eggs don't last past the second day. Might need to separate breeding pair.

I have been using a water softening pillow and have only been adding RO water to top off with no water changes

for quite some time now. Maybe I should test my water(PH, Hardness, etc...) for the first time. lol

Waiting on some PH test strips right now from a ebay seller.

I have been experimenting with misting systems to cool and water my tomato, pepper, and nursery plants.

And then I had a thought that the repeat cycle timer that I use to turn my water solenoid off and on (1sec. on and 59 sec. off)

might have some use with modern LED scrubber lights. (turn light on/off) It seems to me that one of the problems that I have had as well

as others is the lack of flexibility once a system is set up i.e. too much or too little light without the right amount of flow etc...

Let me first describe what a repeat cycle timer is. The timer allows the user to choose how long

the light is on and that choice plays apart in how long the light is off depending on which model is picked. (repeat cycle timer)

http://www.artisancontrols.com/pdf/4600.pdf

The benefit.

You can adjust, once the system is setup, these different times and even with very powerful lights the algae will

have time to rest between times of bright light.

Why this relates to LED lights and algae scrubbers.

1) One of the few lights that instant on/off periods have no affect on the life of the bulb.

2) There are some (this spec needs to be specified) LED drivers that can handle on/off cycles with no problem i.e. flashing lights.

3) From what I have read so far the algae doesn't care how many times the light turns on and off but the balance between photosynthesis and

respiration is of importance.

4) Allows the user to adjust timing with little effort. I use a potentiometer to adjust resistance and therefore the timing of the on/off cycles.

5) The flashing lights lets you get funky on the dance floor.

Things to consider (among the many I have yet to realize)

1) Power in and the power out. (1 amp max) My particular repeat cycle timer has AC going in and AC going out. (many different config.)

Might need a relay. guess???

2) Could there be a benefit (efficiency) in having this type of setup or is it just about flexibility.

This is all fairly intensive DIY work but not out of the realm of what is possible for a novice.

Trust me I am no expert and would appreciate any opinions and/or corrections.

Any thoughts on the use of a repeat cycle timer to turn off and on LED lights?

Hope this helps.

If your using on/off to control the light. I think generally you turn them off for more hours per day. If that isn't going to work. I think most mechanical outlet timers will on/off every 15/20 minutes. This should be fine I'd think instead if doing it more often?

Thanks for the reply.

Like the idea of solid state electronics i.e. the artisan repeat cycle timer $40

The mechanical timer that I own uses those little plastic tabs to turn on and off timer,

which the manufacture only supplies a couple of.

I am sure there are other timers (solid state) but they are probably (???) less flexible and reliable than what I am suggesting.

I am suggesting to some extent smaller intervals (say 30-40 sec. every 1 min.) and strong lighting.

You could even do 3 sec. every 5 sec. the possibilities are endless and once the timer is setup it does the work with no problem.

Whether there would be some benefit in efficiency ( using strong intermittent lighting) is still a ? but there is a flexibility benefit.

Solid state electronics would IMO prove to be more reliable in these circumstances.

Might also be possible that the (slight) PH swings that can occur in FW tanks from running a scrubber would be eliminated.

I always keep in the back of my head that I am trying to run a system with very little water.

(In comparison to the large streams, rivers, and oceans found in nature)

I have read and agree with that PH swings are more detrimental than other water parameter swings (temp., hardness etc.) This being the

case for a FW discus tank.

Reasoning (IMO)

1) Adding soft water (rain) to already fairly soft water probably has little effect on hardness of the water and/or the PH of the waters with a lot of tannins.

2) Changes in water temperature after say the rainy season only stimulates them to spawn, because there is a lot of water present. (a very natural thing)
My water temperature only fluctuates 0.2 of a degree (thanks Digital Aquatics)

3) There is never much of any nutrients in Amazonian waters (the great amount of vegetation consumes any nutrients before reaching the water)
Reason I like algae scrubbers for discus.

I would assume that this is very different for SW. I have been a FW discus guy my whole life.

Hope this helps.

My suggestion would be to get and Arduino microcontroller, and wire up a bunch of relays.
(Or power transistors, if you really care about solid state)
Look at sparkfun.
I got really tired of all the individual timers and everything. Plus, it is cheaper if you have a lot.
Anyone that can wire up an LED system can probably handle the micro.
Plus, you can do a lot more, for example, I have a temperature sensor that can turn on my chiller.
(Soon to be changed, to turning on a fan across the ATS screen)
Bonus: It gives you an endless opportunity of fiddling... :-)

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Interesting about the new Mean Well drivers.
But I still really prefer the simpler single-chain, specific current devices.
No risks with current sharing. Easier setup.

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I am not confident the algae will be happy with a 15 minute cycle.
The algae does more that "rest". The organic process changes a lot. Supposedly, most of the growth occurs when it is dark, while energy conversion occurs
when it is light. It takes a while for cells to switch between those processes. Likely far more than 15 minutes.

I did try a 12 hour cycle, and went back to a 24 hour cycle. My impression was that the 24 hour cycle was slightly better, but I changed other things as well,
so I do not consider that very useful data.

Thanks for the reply.

Will look into Arduino microcontroller I have heard about them and I like the concept (open source, many app.)

Good news I just got this email from Marubeni about my 680 nm led. (total of 10)

http://www.tech-led.com/data/SMB680-1100-I.pdf


Hi,

We are shipping your order this week, as early as tomorrow. We will send you a notification when we finish shipping arrangement.


Kumiko Quanrud


Was thinking about the Meanwell HLG-100-48

http://www.meanwell.com/search/hlg-100/default.htm

I am basing my decision on the ( Forward Current - Forward Voltage graph)

At the low setting of 1.2 amps the forward current will be approx. 3 volts (10*3 = 30 within the constant current region)

At the high setting of 2.0 amps the forward current will be approx. 4 volts (10*4 = 40 within the constant current region)

Both settings seem to lie in the sweet spot of the LED ( judging by the Forward Current - Forward Voltage graph)

Anyone have opinion?

Am I missing something?

Thanks for any help.

Side note.

Seems that I remember about reading that the change between respiration and photosynthesis happens very quickly.(with algae)

The resource

http://www.life.illinois.edu/govindjee/photosynBook/

Whether lab results always carry over to the real world is another thing.

I like to run at 750mA.
So I would have to make 2 chains, and run at 1500mA.
But with 2 chains, if I do something wrong (possible), and one chain stops, then the other
chain gets the full 1500, and fries.
Plus, chains really need to be identical or current will be unbalanced.

Plus, I like to check it with different configurations of LEDs.
With the simpler ones, I just have one chain, and a very wide range of voltage, which means I can
hook up pretty much whatever I want, without thinking about it or tweaking any settings.

On the other hand, it means more drivers, so more expensive.

Just an update on what is going on in the led world for anyone interested.

The Cree XP-G warm white (2800K) led are becoming more available (sometimes a manufacture comes out with cool whites first then as time passes they release other types i.e. warm white, neutral, outdoor etc....)
XPGWHT-L1-8B1-Q4-0-01 Warm White 8B (IMO would be a good choice)
http://www.cutter.com.au/products.php?cat=Cree+XPG (scroll to the bottom)

The Cree XM-L will be out in couple months but will probably need to wait on the warm whites.

I mention these things because the tech changes so quickly and the new led are significantly better.

The new Cree XM-L (single die)can handle 2 mA and produces about as much as a 60 watt bulb i.e. 750 lumen.

That is 7 watt led can replace a 60 watt incandescent bulb.

WOW

http://ledinside.com/News_cree_LED_20100513

Those and a MEANWELL HLG-100-48 could make quite a big setup.

http://www.meanwell.com/search/hlg-100/default.htm