DIY LED thread (Im at it again)

[Tonyscoots84]

so im here with a few questions about led lights ive been researching and learning and about to do my first led lights for my future 34 gallon salona tank . I put together a drawing but wanted to see what everyones thought were if everything is good the way it is or if there is any room for improvement to it. so here is the list the drawing looks different because i found diff. drivers

UPDATED

leds
12 White Cree Q5 XR-E Star Features:
107 lm @ 350mA
1000mA - Max Drive Current
3.3Vf - Typ. Forward Voltage @ 350mA
6500K - Color Temperature
Lambertian Radiation Pattern
Cree Part# XREWHT-L1-0000-00D02

12 Royal Blue Cree? XR-E Star Features:
500mW Flux @ 350mA (BIN D16)
1000mA - Max Drive Current
3.3Vf - Typ. Forward Voltage @ 350mA
450nm - Wavelength
Lambertian Radiation Pattern
Cree Part# XREROY-L1-0000-00901

driver
2








Mean Well ELN-60-48D dimmable driver

• 0 ~ 1.3A current range
• 24-48V DC Voltage (runs ~8-14 LEDs)
• 1-10V dimming control (optional)
• 100% full burn-in test
• 18 month warranty
• Compatible with most ReefKeeper/Profilux systems (make sure your specific system can regulate 0-10V)
• Mean Well ELN-60 Series Full Specifications

2
10K Ohm Linear Potentiometer

1
aluminum heat sink

1
thermal adhesive

1
fan

1
12v ac adapter

please give me some feedback on what you see here thanks in advance

in the drawing the small rectangles are supposed to be the buckpucks and the big rectangles are supposed to be the drivers exact name i dont know but i wanted it to be dimmable so i found the drivers at rapidled.com and figured i can use those instead of buckpuck and drivers. i was also going to run them in series of 9 for a total of 18 lights

 

[ming]

Quick question, how are you dimming the meanwells? If you're planning on using the transformer with the pot to make a 0-10V signal, then you need to get the D version and not P

 

[Tonyscoots84]

thanks for the note ming. appreciate it

 

[Tonyscoots84]

changed driver to the D version. So i can just wire the the dimmer right to the driver right...

 

[smoq]

Check out my LED build thread, my light was designed for a Solana tank. I would strongly suggest you to do 12x cool white and 12x royal blue, meanwells can drive 13 leds in a string.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

will def. do 12 leds per string so then should i do 12 white between 12 blue. such as white blue white blue white blue?

 

[reefoman]

will def. do 12 leds per string so then should i do 12 white between 12 blue. such as white blue white blue white blue?

Best combination IMHO...

Regards,
mark


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[ming]

will def. do 12 leds per string so then should i do 12 white between 12 blue. such as white blue white blue white blue?

I would put all the white's on 1 meanwell, and all the blues on the second meanwell. You can put the LED's in alternating form by wiring them in zig zag
Like this

 

[chinatown]

agreed. that's what i'm doing at the moment for my solana. 12x xr-e blues and 12x XP-g whites. 2 meanwells and 2 dimmers.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

the picture from smogs build confused the crap out of me how he wired up the dimmers i have no idea with that wiring. isnt there a port on the driver to put the dimmer right to?

 

[Tonyscoots84]

thanks for the advice

 

[chinatown]

lol, same here, his pictures somewhat confused me but he's a great help. definitely a great way to wire it up. he just made it so it's easier to connect/disconnect the power to the LED's instead of unplugging/plugging in the outlet.

 

[ming]

the picture from smogs build confused the crap out of me how he wired up the dimmers i have no idea with that wiring. isnt there a port on the driver to put the dimmer right to?

Yes, the driver has 6 wires sticking out of it
2 one one side which is your outlet wires to a plug
the last 4 on the other side are (2 to the dimmer, 2 to the LEDs)
The color coding is labeled on the driver itself, and on the meanwell spec document available on meanwell's site

 

[Tonyscoots84]

ahhhh ok i figured that there was something different there that he did. Im prob. just going to order the 24 led kit with the 2 drivers. we will see how it goes . thanks everyone

 

[Tonyscoots84]

here is the update i think this is the way....

 

[ming]

Tony,
If the wiring comes in the + of the LED, it goes out the - of the same LED.
You're going in and out of the same side of the LED

It should be + to - to + to - to + to -
Your pic is - to - to + to + to - to - to + to +...

 

[InfernoST]

Double check your drawing it appears to be incorrect. You are feeding the white LED's with the black of one driver and returning on the black of the other driver and the same thing with the red wiring for the blue LED's.

 

[ming]

Double check your drawing it appears to be incorrect. You are feeding the white LED's with the black of one driver and returning on the black of the other driver and the same thing with the red wiring for the blue LED's.

I didn't notice that, but that is also an issue. It should be returning back to the same driver.

 

[chinatown]

i'd use this layout. much easier to read. credit to smoq. Just replace the 2.5mm jack female with meanwell drivers and you're good to go.

 

[smoq]

the picture from smogs build confused the crap out of me how he wired up the dimmers i have no idea with that wiring. isnt there a port on the driver to put the dimmer right to?

I am building a second llight right now and I promise I'll prepare a better-to-understand guide for a dimmer.