Biocube 29 lighting

[jrvelie]

I have ordered the Rapid LED lighting upgrade and went with the Solderless Coralife Biocube 29 Dimmable Retrofit Kit. I am getting the Storm controller and plan on running the LED's on 3 circuits. I chose the full spectrum option and plan on having the all the Royal Blues on one circuit, the cool whites on another and then the 1 red, 1 green and 4 UV's on the third circuit. What I need some advice on is how to lay it out on the heat sink. I was thinking of putting them on like this. This is my first set up so I am just taking a guess on how I should do this.

UV RB CW CW RB UV
RB CW RED RB CW RB
RB CW RB GRN CW RB
UV RB CW CW RB UV

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[Teecz]

Following... Will be upgrading my light as well want to see how this turns out

[ReefWreak]

I have to see if I have that listed in my thread. One thing to keep in mind is that if you're running the whites on one channel and blues on another, and colors on another, you need to have extra cable lying around to solder those odd lengths. I did the solderless kit, and had to do some fanageling to get the standard length solderless cables to fit.

Did you buy extra lengths of solderless connections?

I've been having a busy weekend with parents in town, but I promise I'm on this and will help (I might be one of 2-3 people who are regular posters on here with the answer).

[jrvelie]

Thanks ReefWreak. I did not even think about getting longer connections when I ordered the kit.

[ReefWreak]

Ugh. RC "token expired" so it deleted all of the nicely written out explanations I had. Grrr.

So, I've been happy with my lights since I installed them right around 4/1/15. I started them off at 25% or so I believe, and I now have them up to 50%. I have excellent color and growth in many acropora, montipora, and LPS species.

My "color" string of CW, NW, Red, Green, and UV are running with the drivers at 700mAh, the RB string is all RB, and is running at 1300mAh. The second row color string is actually wired upside down to fit into pattern with the shorter wires. It is probably worth your time to order extra longer solderless connections and not rush through like I do with everything.

Also, each screw should take 2 nylon washers. Do a dry test-fit with one LED just to see how it mounts before actually doing any installs or applying heatsink grease.

Feel free to ask any more questions!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/1EMlWBcjogURJrnYWZKy3J7vVTLQ0IETd021kropINeT8N0IPZyJnR5tpNcE34UnXXpBGPexgV7XjDYoqBY-x-0c6z3ct21NmYnJqWwqNXp3zgH4-VsGMZ_fL3Albecr4KvY94XSVHFBTzm6V5mMI2hYVqLoMPcskkX5Vnwlu1O8tPSeOgMpbNatm1Il2NH6xFJOi2ChrTwCLBLeYFGXE rjPoj5DeffcVqcv9Iz9cJXWgzP3ssDYL0R6ljT4z1dsVG3U1ksVEhT4TmfbIZcuV24-z9Pk-FfqcoMn28cOgaTEHGF9HC4TEG133lpxcPetOFGoefXA9bvdzm9ukBHjX2c-EJNRgqaQjHZGSbqST1WJgpT4xTi2zKH7pFL2BwQinbdxcDpCWx4XMp2g_XjtM1tM8JfHeisXPd8zmH0WCsWUnfeglpjkRkGh71yD lE1edE9ozheqAHZNbUVMGKTU0foSPsF9vJdaW8EKc03eYRkCTuiPOq__WTmNjWCuYVGO308CmEQG-DIF1Yp0kph46QYpmCGEnw4W49XljDAhUQg5Zs1AXti1w2X8VWD3fCg8DWWdXg=w3451-h1941-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_ZEnsVPr9xMB-P_3oFRxlroSIExs2o3WJ0IKazxj1Zww0JqK1WEGSBVBPZQg7b9lMPARawJdJ_aEKHkrhGP0Wt3CUkORaun8FZ_uHuqZF5-j5FDF-1b3ODh-FVAgy77QFTa_oPUBF5nwtyK1mFmqI-OHbs4UI-GmBE18gCKymmfGdQ6ZwODg97ehejY3JYye5J3o5nX4hlwvpAimsJ6xqKUBEWu5YkNr5gSkbbQpRGYgZfi6U-c0o1O91HdOysV2SjEBnI_SXNqKBgDggThBKMq_psYMzK1LLn2DgSgikyTZGd6vjVxEW-x-PPoCAHw3eVeeTHeyPYAJKR-AhIZEcX1zMjvE05kvPR8URRz6dYRTDom-s3sTnOYDJ2aJjnb8dAO_976yGvuUbN3OQnuBibqY89O2WQWeDgGSI5Hfh7QjoXNuRnyPwS_Dc_Z3YpxZno7qOEi5Sxf7Aa3YtbwE IWiA2IlfTn7wqeg2ZlHMlD89miFey4Cxf3lpD0a67-U3T-MwP6vpfTtFWm7RQ3wD-CnI5pfSssiBYxy233TQxNUCjRVoaFvW1LgyhIqHPkNBjtt19w=w3451-h1941-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fIqWfK46tZuyWxZUOjX25TPl7i5PZq__nWhA1-5rne7RzzCdrL57zdmInShiZmAwxXEJhEkth3EJ1ymPdxxBODdr6CehC5rwnllMh2DvYrf46PZptdBJ9PbTg3NSilC9j3ZqpQ9om9 9gk4q7jDAJMPIyRmGczNWR4QZpQtmQuLF_k9KnAIKfsXbzTfmNTxKwxyz9MP6BisuJYmYUuBNbi74ev4A0RKsOj-uJt_rQIZHw03odIpBiJUOUWbhqqMVujUPLKoTEIwURSLybxHEb_zb5dNasXl_3KbJtPofijdRFcpGdPHx1tmo4q7peGBaCglYJPX jHM7I3FQ35OxIPKoGw_uTQMaKgVhaBSvteu4BA0tg0mqUrplLc8DTpY3Of0d1qNJJuc5sFHN30WQq6a6qucWBxQsMtaRCYFIVhV9 6LKpChpScniqozvhNkwHhRhNZprX_-JX6HDrSgpLj8NZ4zq4O-5hX7EXuCnSynMduEuOIOssCoiPyOSlwI3SidOLdVqQeH6Cj-kCekVvHXTm3j1iEM13Ld-W-UNposiNNoIGDs6yeQmkKYUJTHUR6vCfdgYw=w916-h515-no

[jrvelie]

Thanks ReefWreak. I am ordering some more jumpers.

[homer1475]

You definitely need longer jumpers. The ones supplied are a mere 6" and not long enough for jack. IMO

When I added more LED's from them to supplement the Aurora puck, the jumpers were so short I couldn't even get them from one starboard to another.

You have a great idea laid out, my only suggestion would be to put the UV's on the same driver as your blues. You'll find you'll want to run the UV's at a higher percentage then the colors, and more closely to the same percentage as your blues. Plus the UV will enhance the blue's in a night time mode.

[ReefWreak]

You have a great idea laid out, my only suggestion would be to put the UV's on the same driver as your blues. You'll find you'll want to run the UV's at a higher percentage then the colors, and more closely to the same percentage as your blues. Plus the UV will enhance the blue's in a night time mode.

Your recommendations on the other stuff were spot on, but it's worth pointing out here that the UVs shouldn't be run at more than 700mAh. This is similar to the red Cree LED, and the green only runs at 1000mAh max, so might as well stick it on the 700mAh string.

That's why I have my colors string and my RB string. I bought a third meanwell driver to do white, RB, and colors, but ended up just adding the whites into the color string since the meanwells need more LEDs than just the 6 color LEDs that I'm running.

Now what I want to do some more research on (when I have time, which I don't have any of right now), is to see if I could fit an extra wide heatsink, and maybe add at least one more row of LEDs to each side of the current setup. It would also be worth adding another row towards the back of the tank as well, since the back doesn't get as much light.

I haven't taken apart my hood since the install, since it is a PITA, but it's something I've been thinking about a lot recently. I think the trick to success with LEDs is a large volume of lower intensity LEDs (though I know many have success with the Kessil light cannons and other more densly packed LEDs), so I'd ideally like to broaden the area of light coming from above, efficiency be damned. I can see corals on the sides and back of my tank get less light. It's okay, because some corals need less light. But I think the drop-off of PAR between my mid-side and side (2-3" from the glass on the side) is dramatic.

[jrvelie]

I just want to make sure I having the wiring correct. I understand how to wire the system if I was using just one channel. But I will be using 3 so the question I have is this. Do I run all 3 black wires into the same V-Input slot. Then the 3 red wires would go to the PWM Inputs marked 1,2 and 3? I hope someone understands what I am asking. O have trying to add a photo but have not had any puck doing so.

[jrvelie]

I think I have the photo attached.337002

[ReefWreak]

This guide from rapidled does a pretty good job of explaining the connections on the driver board. I'll check the thread again later today and answer any other questions.

http://menarilighting.com/rapidled/documentation/LDD-H%20Board%20Quick%20Start%20Guide.pdf

[ReefWreak]

So yea, you are correct. Using 3 of the PWM channels, you would put the + from all three PWMs into the PWM 1/2/3 slots on the driver board, and then all 3 of the - from the controller would just go to the ground/V- connection.

If you're familiar with PC fans, PWM fans on a PC work the same way, in that they have a single lead for the PWM part, and the V- from the PWM is sent back into the common ground on the PCs/12V- through either a 4 pin molex, or a 3 pin fan header (with the PWM signal being the third pin and the ground going to the common/main negative, since fans and other electrical stuff only use a + and a -)

[jrvelie]

Thanks a lot for your help ReefWreak.

[jrvelie]

Just wondering how you guys mount the Mean Well SE 350 power supply? I have the Coralife Biocube 29 wooden cabinet and just want to make sure it is okay to just have this sit on the shelf just want to make sure that it will not get to hot. thanks

[ReefWreak]

I'm not sure how hot that psu gets, but for the meanwell combo driver psu units, I believe soulpatch and I both used wood screws to mount the drivers to the underside of the shelf in the stand.

[Cabo2008]

When I had my BC29 and RapidLED's retrofit kit I just had the PSU sitting on the shelf. Never had an overheating issue.

[jrvelie]

Thanks for the help guys. Have the LED's attached to the heat sink and all wired up. Going to install it tomorrow. Will also be putting in the InTank filters. Thanks again for all the help.

[homer1475]

My drivers are screwed to the underside of the cabinet. Just make sure the screws you get are short enough so that in no way can they penetrate the top of the wood(touch the glass on the tank).

[ReefWreak]

My drivers are screwed to the underside of the cabinet. Just make sure the screws you get are short enough so that in no way can they penetrate the top of the wood(touch the glass on the tank).
Excellent point. Isn't the biocube sitting on a frame though, so in theory there should be something like 1/4" or so between the glass and surface of the wood?

Still, always use the right size screws to not go entirely through the wood.

[jrvelie]

Got the Rapid LED with the storm controller installed. Now I just have to get the settings figured out. But I will say it looks to be a big improvement compared to the stock lighting.