Issue with controllable black box LEDs

[AbusiveSpinach]

Hello everyone, I just bought a new LED and I have encountered an issue. The problem with these lights is that every time the unit stops receiving power, it loses its settings and goes back to full blast. The only way to change the settings is through the remote. Also is there any way to program the lights to have sunrise/sunset function? I have started looking into reef-pi and am open to any options. These are the lights I bought. I blindly bought them after a recommendation from a fellow reefer and I realize now that I should have done more research.

 

[Brew12]

Hello everyone, I just bought a new LED and I have encountered an issue. The problem with these lights is that every time the unit stops receiving power, it loses its settings and goes back to full blast. The only way to change the settings is through the remote. Also is there any way to program the lights to have sunrise/sunset function? I have started looking into reef-pi and am open to any options. These are the lights I bought. I blindly bought them after a recommendation from a fellow reefer and I realize now that I should have done more research.

Since the LED's have dimming functions you would be able to create something resembling sunrise/sunset. The down side is that you will have to open up the lights and modify them to make it happen. You need to find which LED driver it is currently using and if it is 0-10V or PWM. From there you can disconnect the wiring from the installed controller and wire the LED driver directly to a reef-pi (with the correct I/O board) or an aquarium controller. If the LED driver uses PWM you may need a 0-10V to PWM converter to make it work with an aquarium controller.

 

[AbusiveSpinach]

@Brew12 I figured I would have to do something along these lines. How do I find what drivers my LEDs are running? Thanks

 

[Brew12]

@Brew12 I figured I would have to do something along these lines. How do I find what drivers my LEDs are running? Thanks

The easiest way is to take it apart and hope it has a brand and model number in English. Many of them do since most of the electronics made in China are for the US/European markets.

Most LED drivers are rectangular devices around 5" long, 2.5" wide and 1" tall but they can be any size and shape.

 

[Brew12]

Here is an example of what you are looking for.

 

[lthary]

If you have a PWM or 0-10 V drive you can use a Coralux Sorm X controler for lights, or you can build one yourself , using an arduino Uno

 

[Ranjib]

reef-pi, Storm, bluefish, Kessil all will work. The first step is to confirm that the box is indeed 10V pwm (or 0-10v ) controller. You can use a multi meter for this. Open up the box carefully, take lots of pictures and shared them here, I am sure we can help with wiring.

 

[Ranjib]

@AbusiveSpinach I just looked at the light. I am not sure if its worth the effort. Its not a very nice light, and the controller setup will cost you almost same as the light itself (or very close). I would request thinking through before you hack it, if you really want to use this light going forward. A 10v controller might be useful none-the less, for this one or any future light

 

[AbusiveSpinach]

Unfortunately, my driver specs are in Chinese. Any help deciphering them? There was some adhesive foam on the label, I did my best to remove it.

 

[AbusiveSpinach]

@Ranjib I see. I will try to return it then. I still like the idea of buying some black boxes and rigging them with reef-pi, so I will do more research on that. I'm looking to light a 24" 10 gal that currently only has zoas and softies, but will eventually house LPS as well.

 

[Brew12]

@Ranjib I see. I will try to return it then. I still like the idea of buying some black boxes and rigging them with reef-pi, so I will do more research on that. I'm looking to light a 24" 10 gal that currently only has zoas and softies, but will eventually house LPS as well.

You can make this light work if you want. It wouldn't take much in the way of modifications. The down side is that the modifications will likely cost twice what you paid for the light.

I've never seen a driver like this one, but it makes sense. It has 2 channels both dimmable from 10W to 24W. Unfortunately, it doesn't have an external input to allow you to control the dimming which is why they say it can only be done via remote. You would need to replace this 48W driver with 2 x 24W dimmable drivers and then build or buy a controller. The only thing I am unsure of is the output voltage rating of the installed driver. You would need a meter to check that.

Here is an example of the type of driver you would need to use. Again, you would need 2 of them.
http://www.ledsupply.com/power-supplies/mean-well-pwm-series