Could someone help me wire/install NanoBox DIY LED arrays?

Fish Fan · Jul 31, 2018

Hi guys! I hope someone here can help me. I am a noob when it comes to electronic projects, but I really want to learn to build my own LED lighting systems for both fresh and saltwater tanks. Because of the overwhelming varieties of individual LED's out there (brand, bin, color, watts, etc.), I have gravitated towards the idea of using some kind of COB or "all-in-one" type chipset, such as the pucks or strips offered by BlueAcro or the NanoBox V3.1 Array. In my mind, this greatly simplifies my build by eliminating the whole process of what kind and combination of individual LED's to choose.

As a noob, I had some questions about both products, and I reached out to both companies, and unfortunately I never heard anything back from Blue Acro, but Dave at NanoBox has been kind enough to address all my inquires promptly. I think it's a given that his products are excellent, and since his service so far has been very good, I am now like 99% sure I'd like to order one of his V3.1 reef arrays, and one of his V3.0 freshwater spectrum arrays.

My question is, could someone here really help me get a handle on exactly what else I need to run these LED arrays? For example, I understand that I need the array, a driver, a heatsink mostly likely with a fan, and a power source at the bare minimum. I personally plan on then trying to use the free Reef-Pi controller project to control my light, but there's another group here at R2R that I'm hoping will be able to help me with that end. More generally, I'm posting here looking for help choosing the heatsink, drivers, and other electronics.

One big question I have is about the drivers. I see and read about Meanwell LDD drivers, and that's fine, but people talk about choosing the value of mah, and here's where I'm clueless. How do you decide this? Are the mah what determines the max final wattage of the LED? And how does this integrate with PWM dimming? I am very sorry if I got a lot of that wrong, clearly I need some help!

I'd like to think these NanoBox DIY arrays are fairly popular, and I'm hoping there are a few members here that are knowledgeable about these kinds of things, and would be willing to help me get this sorted out. Please know, I'm happy to do my own research, and have been trying, but this subject isn't so cut and dry, at least not for me. I'm also in absolutely no hurry. If anyone could help me, I'd be very appreciative!

Thank you very much!

-Fish Fan

Brew12 · Jul 31, 2018

Fish Fan said:
Hi guys! I hope someone here can help me. I am a noob when it comes to electronic projects, but I really want to learn to build my own LED lighting systems for both fresh and saltwater tanks. Because of the overwhelming varieties of individual LED's out there (brand, bin, color, watts, etc.), I have gravitated towards the idea of using some kind of COB or "all-in-one" type chipset, such as the pucks or strips offered by BlueAcro or the NanoBox V3.1 Array. In my mind, this greatly simplifies my build by eliminating the whole process of what kind and combination of individual LED's to choose.

As a noob, I had some questions about both products, and I reached out to both companies, and unfortunately I never heard anything back from Blue Acro, but Dave at NanoBox has been kind enough to address all my inquires promptly. I think it's a given that his products are excellent, and since his service so far has been very good, I am now like 99% sure I'd like to order one of his V3.1 reef arrays, and one of his V3.0 freshwater spectrum arrays.

My question is, could someone here really help me get a handle on exactly what else I need to run these LED arrays? For example, I understand that I need the array, a driver, a heatsink mostly likely with a fan, and a power source at the bare minimum. I personally plan on then trying to use the free Reef-Pi controller project to control my light, but there's another group here at R2R that I'm hoping will be able to help me with that end. More generally, I'm posting here looking for help choosing the heatsink, drivers, and other electronics.

One big question I have is about the drivers. I see and read about Meanwell LDD drivers, and that's fine, but people talk about choosing the value of mah, and here's where I'm clueless. How do you decide this? Are the mah what determines the max final wattage of the LED? And how does this integrate with PWM dimming? I am very sorry if I got a lot of that wrong, clearly I need some help!

I'd like to think these NanoBox DIY arrays are fairly popular, and I'm hoping there are a few members here that are knowledgeable about these kinds of things, and would be willing to help me get this sorted out. Please know, I'm happy to do my own research, and have been trying, but this subject isn't so cut and dry, at least not for me. I'm also in absolutely no hurry. If anyone could help me, I'd be very appreciative!

Thank you very much!

-Fish Fan

I think the reason DIY lights aren't more popular is that they tend to be more expensive than buying one off the shelf. Especially if you are looking for multiple controllable color channels.

I've never worked with the lighting arrays but you need to make sure of a few things, especially if you want dimming. You have to make sure you have a proper current and voltage drop across each parallel/series set of LED along with the minimum and maximums it will see during dimming. Each independently controllable channel will need to have its own driver. The driver needs to be able to supply the correct amount of power at the correct voltage to get dimming to work. It isn't uncommon for DIY projects to not dim correctly because people get this wrong. Each driver must have a controller input, so either 0-10V or PWM typically. Something to keep in mind if you want 6 controllable channels.

It isn't hard to do, but it does take a bit of math which is best done, imo, using a spreadsheet so you can easily change numbers around and see how it will work.

Fish Fan · Jul 31, 2018

Hi! Thank you very much for your reply, I really appreciate it! For now, I’m going to say let’s not worry about the cost. I am indeed comparing the cost of this project to simply buying the Kessils I want for these tanks, but this is also a case of DIY might just me the end product I want, in terms of both looks as well as performance.

As far as a controller, I plan on using the free Reef-Pi for Raspberry Pi project. This project interests me for a number of reasons, and it’s something I’ve been researching for quite a while now. I don’t understand all the particulars, but I know Reed-Pi can “speak” PWM, can definitely control Kessil lights, and even some other brands. So that’s what I want to use for a controller for this project.

So let me try to take this all piece by piece. I understand I need individual drivers for each channel. It also seems like Meanwell LDD are the way to go (short of perhaps something like the Blue Acro IQ driver, which is currently out of stock). But how do I know what mah to get for each channel? Maybe this is something I can simply ask Dave at NanoBox if I do buy his chips? Is this value what determines the final max watts of each led? I think these are two of my first, biggest questions. Any help would be very much appreciated!

Thanks again!

-FF

Fish Fan · Jul 31, 2018

EDIT: Double Post, sorry!

paphater · Jul 31, 2018

Led fixtures are fairly simple to put together, especially if you buy solderless leds. You will want to wire them in series, so + of led A goes to - of led B and so forth. Diy leds only really make sense financially if you are lighting a large area or are trying to put out a lot of light. The cost of a $100 controller spread out over 6 fixtures ($16) vs 1 fixture ($100) on a nano tank. The leds of each channel will dictate the mA of the driver. Ideally you will want all of the leds on the channel to be the same so the will all have the same max mA. When you buy the leds the max mA will be listed in the specs.

I put together a parts list for my build so it may help you out.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-radeon-clone.409451/page-2#post-4907513

Fish Fan · Jul 31, 2018

Hi! Thank you very much for the info! I will definitely take a look at your link. To be clear, if I go with an array like the NanoBox V3.1, I wouldn’t need to connect the individual LED’s, not that I had any question about how to do that. That’s easy, as you described. And my controller will essentially be free, I plan on using Reef-Pi, an open source controller project for which I have most of the core components already.

I guess I should ask at NanoBox what mah drivers he would suggest for his LED’s, sounds like that’s important to know. I’ll keep reading and researching in the meantime.

Thank you again!

-FF

paphater · Jul 31, 2018

The max mA is listed on the product page of the arrays. You won't be connecting individual leds but you will be connecting the arrays together unless you want to run each array on separate channels.

Fish Fan · Jul 31, 2018

Wow, thank you! I never noticed he’s got the max amps right on the webpage, I completely over looked that info. But let me see if I understand. For example, on the array I’m looking at it says channel 1 has a 1000 mah max. I would then buy a 1000 mah driver, something like a Meanwell LDD-H, yes? Strictly speaking, if I had an appropriate power supply and heatsink, that driver and the array, I could get that first channel to light up, yes? A simple full on, full off situation, right? Is that basically the idea, or am I missing something here? In a similar manor I could select appropriate drivers for all the other channels, and get them all working. At least this is theoretically the idea, correct? I’m not saying I’m going to it that way, I’m just trying to make sure I understand.

Oh and I’m sorry, I should have mentioned that this is indeed for a nano sized tank, so one array only ;-) I do hope to do two different tanks this way, but I’ll worry about the second system later.

For now, could someone please let me know if I have the basic idea about the driver selection now.

Thank a lot guys, I really, really appreciate it!

-Fish Fan

paphater · Jul 31, 2018

Yup you got it on the drivers! You'll also need a driver board for the drivers. I don't think you'll be able to light up the channel with out the pwm signal from the controller on most boards. Rapid leds boards have jumpers that bypass the pwm signal and allow for simple on off at %100.

Fish Fan · Jul 31, 2018

OK, great thank you! That is like a huge mental breakthrough for me, which I’m kind of ashamed to admit, lol! But cool, I’m getting somewhere, and I appreciate your help for sure!

I follow what you’re saying in your post above, but again, just so I can take things one step at a time, let’s please talk about the driver board next. In short, the drivers will need a place to “live” together, and this is the board, right? Some boards offer more or less features, such as what you mentioned from RapidLED or the one I saw from MakersLED, which holds five drivers and controls a fan, etc. Is there a basic, no frills board available? Does the board typically mount to the heatsink? I’d like to kind of read up on the boards next, but because I know it relates, I do plan on supplying a PWM signal from my home-brew controller. Although I’m not sure about all th particulars, I know it’s cabals of doing so, and there’s an active group of people that should be able to help me with that part. I also need to know if I would need a fan, or if this can be run without. But I’ll take a look closer at the boards next.

Thanks a lot for your help with this!

-FF

paphater · Jul 31, 2018

Yeah the drivers are inserted in to the board. The board can be mounted on the heat sink if desired but can also be mounted remotely. The boards are all essentially the same thing so you will just want to find one that allows for all of your drivers. Whether or not you need a fan really depends on the heat sink you source. The bigger the heat sink the less likely you will have to have a fan. All and all it's a good idea to run a fan.

Fish Fan · Jul 31, 2018

Alright, still learning over here. So what they call a "5up" board, or "4up" board refers to how many drivers you can mount on it. For the NanoBox V3.1 array I would need 5 drivers. It looks like if I don't need to worry about a fan, the 5up boards start at maybe $14 for a Coralux or similar. If I wanted a board that also powered a fan (which I likely do), I'm not sure. I know there's the MakersLED 5up Pro board, but it's $70, and that seems a little pricey to me. Assuming I need a fan, does anyone know of anything like the MakersLED 5Up Pro board? I saw tale of an O2supplies board for $30, but it appears both the company and the product is no longer available. But I have to think there's something less than $70. If not, I also know I can power a fan separately, but I'm hoping for a clean finished look without too many wires running here and there.

Which leads me too.... Does anyone know if I would need a fan to run just one of these NB V3.1 arrays? I could potentially use a heatsink as long as 12". Would that be large enough to run without a fan? Could someone recommend a heatsink? I'd like one that included a splash shield and T-slots for sure, I'm not sure what else is important.

Thanks again for the help!

-FF

paphater · Jul 31, 2018

With an array I wouldn't get a t slot heat sink. As far as a fan, I would just look for a 12v fan and get a cheap 5up board. If you want to go with out a fan get as large of heat sink as you can. It's hard to say how much heat the array is going to put out with out knowing the wattage of the leds. And even then it's just ball parking it.

Fish Fan · Jul 31, 2018

Thanks again, paphater! It looks like NanoBox sells a 5up board with power for a fan and lighting controller like the Bluefish for $25. That seems like a great deal to me, and he also offers the drivers and even heatsinks. I have sent him yet another message asking if he thinks I would need a fan, but knowing I have a $25 option to power the fan from the driver board, I should just plan on having one anyway. I must say, this is really coming together, and I'm excited!

Next up, PWM control via Reef-Pi. I know others do it, time to find out how for myself.

Thanks again for the help!

bblumberg · Jul 31, 2018

Nothing against Reef-Pi, but you might want to consider a Bluefish mini controller to drive your 5-up board. It can handle 6 channels.

Bruce

Fish Fan · Aug 1, 2018

Hi, bblumberg! Have you used Reef-Pi? The project developer told me I would be able to use Reef-Pi to control the NanoBox Array, and I did mention it had five channels. I'm not really interested in the Bluefish controllers at this time.

Thank you!

-Fish Fan

Jacobbecker88 · Jan 2, 2020

Fish Fan said:
Hi guys! I hope someone here can help me. I am a noob when it comes to electronic projects, but I really want to learn to build my own LED lighting systems for both fresh and saltwater tanks. Because of the overwhelming varieties of individual LED's out there (brand, bin, color, watts, etc.), I have gravitated towards the idea of using some kind of COB or "all-in-one" type chipset, such as the pucks or strips offered by BlueAcro or the NanoBox V3.1 Array. In my mind, this greatly simplifies my build by eliminating the whole process of what kind and combination of individual LED's to choose.

As a noob, I had some questions about both products, and I reached out to both companies, and unfortunately I never heard anything back from Blue Acro, but Dave at NanoBox has been kind enough to address all my inquires promptly. I think it's a given that his products are excellent, and since his service so far has been very good, I am now like 99% sure I'd like to order one of his V3.1 reef arrays, and one of his V3.0 freshwater spectrum arrays.

My question is, could someone here really help me get a handle on exactly what else I need to run these LED arrays? For example, I understand that I need the array, a driver, a heatsink mostly likely with a fan, and a power source at the bare minimum. I personally plan on then trying to use the free Reef-Pi controller project to control my light, but there's another group here at R2R that I'm hoping will be able to help me with that end. More generally, I'm posting here looking for help choosing the heatsink, drivers, and other electronics.

One big question I have is about the drivers. I see and read about Meanwell LDD drivers, and that's fine, but people talk about choosing the value of mah, and here's where I'm clueless. How do you decide this? Are the mah what determines the max final wattage of the LED? And how does this integrate with PWM dimming? I am very sorry if I got a lot of that wrong, clearly I need some help!

I'd like to think these NanoBox DIY arrays are fairly popular, and I'm hoping there are a few members here that are knowledgeable about these kinds of things, and would be willing to help me get this sorted out. Please know, I'm happy to do my own research, and have been trying, but this subject isn't so cut and dry, at least not for me. I'm also in absolutely no hurry. If anyone could help me, I'd be very appreciative!

Thank you very much!

-Fish Fan

Fish Fan said:
Hi guys! I hope someone here can help me. I am a noob when it comes to electronic projects, but I really want to learn to build my own LED lighting systems for both fresh and saltwater tanks. Because of the overwhelming varieties of individual LED's out there (brand, bin, color, watts, etc.), I have gravitated towards the idea of using some kind of COB or "all-in-one" type chipset, such as the pucks or strips offered by BlueAcro or the NanoBox V3.1 Array. In my mind, this greatly simplifies my build by eliminating the whole process of what kind and combination of individual LED's to choose.

As a noob, I had some questions about both products, and I reached out to both companies, and unfortunately I never heard anything back from Blue Acro, but Dave at NanoBox has been kind enough to address all my inquires promptly. I think it's a given that his products are excellent, and since his service so far has been very good, I am now like 99% sure I'd like to order one of his V3.1 reef arrays, and one of his V3.0 freshwater spectrum arrays.

My question is, could someone here really help me get a handle on exactly what else I need to run these LED arrays? For example, I understand that I need the array, a driver, a heatsink mostly likely with a fan, and a power source at the bare minimum. I personally plan on then trying to use the free Reef-Pi controller project to control my light, but there's another group here at R2R that I'm hoping will be able to help me with that end. More generally, I'm posting here looking for help choosing the heatsink, drivers, and other electronics.

One big question I have is about the drivers. I see and read about Meanwell LDD drivers, and that's fine, but people talk about choosing the value of mah, and here's where I'm clueless. How do you decide this? Are the mah what determines the max final wattage of the LED? And how does this integrate with PWM dimming? I am very sorry if I got a lot of that wrong, clearly I need some help!

I'd like to think these NanoBox DIY arrays are fairly popular, and I'm hoping there are a few members here that are knowledgeable about these kinds of things, and would be willing to help me get this sorted out. Please know, I'm happy to do my own research, and have been trying, but this subject isn't so cut and dry, at least not for me. I'm also in absolutely no hurry. If anyone could help me, I'd be very appreciative!

Thank you very much!

Know this is super old but did u ever end up doing this build with the Reef-pi? Have been looking into a DIY build with both and would love to see yours!! Thanks!