Freshwater lighting DIY arduino

Yunghov · 01/29/2014, 12:05 AM

Hey guys, not sure if you can help or if this is the right place, pls forgive me in advance. I was turned on this site by a friend, and was amazed at the vast knowledge and friendly community it was.

Some background I have a 120g fw tank with some fish and African driftwood. I do not have any corals or rocks or plants. I didn't go saltwater as everyone suggested because I was afraid of sw being too much weight on a second story as I am, for the unit under me. So I figured I would be safe with fw and running my tank along the cross beams of my townhouse.
I've searched researched and googled and YouTube but could find the exact answers so I came here.

So I want to use leds for lighting my tank, but since I am not growing anything can I use straw hat leds for lighting purposes or will they not be strong enough to penetrate through the water. If so do I have to use heat sinks? I know Crees or smds I would and also cause algae.

I would like to use my arduino uno. Can I do sunrise/sunset, lightning storm, and moonlighting with dimming capabilities on the uno? I noticed everyone using the mega or due. WHY IS THAT? I would have cool white and royal blue leds or whatever you guys suggest. This is just for ascetics and a fun project. Sorry for the lengthy thread and a lot of questions but thank you in advanced.

mcgyvr · 01/29/2014, 08:09 AM

its a fish only freshwater tank.. so you don't need any lights at all.. and there is NO need to do sunrise/sunset/moonlights/storms/lightning..
(even on SW coral tanks most of that is just for "show")

All you need is to be able to turn on a light to see the fish.. thats it.
IMO stick with a few fluorescent tubes and call it a day..

I don't see the point in having high power LED's in a fish only FW tank..
If you wanted to use gumdrop/straw hat LED's you would need a few hundred to cover the tank all with their associated resistors just wasting electricity/putting of some heat. Seems totally silly to me..

Yunghov · 01/29/2014, 03:41 PM

Thanks mcguvr, I just like the idea of those features. Plus I figured low wattage would create soo much heat and energy and have to use a ton of them. Can I use the audrino to turn my fluorescent tubes on and off. And also dimming if possible.

billdogg · 01/29/2014, 03:55 PM

what mcgyvr said. And - FWIW - the difference in weight between SW and FW is not enough to make any difference at all. If a SW tank of a given size is not safe wherever it sits, neither will a FW!!!

Yunghov · 02/04/2014, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billdogg

what mcgyvr said. And - FWIW - the difference in weight between SW and FW is not enough to make any difference at all. If a SW tank of a given size is not safe wherever it sits, neither will a FW!!!

I thought sw was much heavier. Thank you

Yunghov · 02/04/2014, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

its a fish only freshwater tank.. so you don't need any lights at all.. and there is NO need to do sunrise/sunset/moonlights/storms/lightning..
(even on SW coral tanks most of that is just for "show")

All you need is to be able to turn on a light to see the fish.. thats it.
IMO stick with a few fluorescent tubes and call it a day..

I don't see the point in having high power LED's in a fish only FW tank..
If you wanted to use gumdrop/straw hat LED's you would need a few hundred to cover the tank all with their associated resistors just wasting electricity/putting of some heat. Seems totally silly to me..

Can the arduino uno power t8 lights, and temp monitor.

rbarn · 02/06/2014, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

I don't see the point in having high power LED's in a fish only FW tank..

The ability to dim the lights, shimmer, low power consumption and heat output. There's plenty of points to go LED with fish only FW.

01/29/2014, 08:09 AM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	its a fish only freshwater tank.. so you don't need any lights at all.. and there is NO need to do sunrise/sunset/moonlights/storms/lightning.. (even on SW coral tanks most of that is just for "show") All you need is to be able to turn on a light to see the fish.. thats it. IMO stick with a few fluorescent tubes and call it a day.. I don't see the point in having high power LED's in a fish only FW tank.. If you wanted to use gumdrop/straw hat LED's you would need a few hundred to cover the tank all with their associated resistors just wasting electricity/putting of some heat. Seems totally silly to me.. __________________ Who me?

01/29/2014, 03:55 PM	#4
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	what mcgyvr said. And - FWIW - the difference in weight between SW and FW is not enough to make any difference at all. If a SW tank of a given size is not safe wherever it sits, neither will a FW!!! __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

01/29/2014, 03:41 PM	#3
Yunghov Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 17	Thanks mcguvr, I just like the idea of those features. Plus I figured low wattage would create soo much heat and energy and have to use a ton of them. Can I use the audrino to turn my fluorescent tubes on and off. And also dimming if possible.