I Built an open-source LED controller and app from scratch

[PPBlimpy]

That is awesome. I want to build one! what wattage are the LEDs you are running? wondering how hard it would be to scale this up?

I have a 300g i wouldn't mind playing with.

 

[jsmkmavity]

That is really cool!

 

[oldrev]

That is awesome. I want to build one! what wattage are the LEDs you are running? wondering how hard it would be to scale this up?

I have a 300g i wouldn't mind playing with.

My design splits the controller and the LED driver circuit, so there’s no limit on power scaling. You can parallel the controller's PWM signal to multiple driver circuits based on your needs.

My prototype has a max power of 58W. Yes, it can measure the LED’s current and calculate the power.

 

[Besieged]

Small update: This week, I got the firmware and app to support the acclimation mode. Once you turn it on, it gradually increases the brightness a bit each day within your set date range until it hits your current dimming setting.

Also, I redesigned the dashboard interface.

One last thing, in the settings, you can now pick from 5 different brightness correction algorithms.

You may wondering why there's a latitude and longitude setting for your location. Don't worry, it's not for stealing your privacy. It's just that the fully automatic sun simulation feature, which calculates your local sunrise, noon, and sunset times based on astronomical algorithms, needs to know your location on Earth. All that fancy math happens in the tiny LED controller, not the phone app.

Okay the auto thing is awesome... now, could we have some sort of manual offset, of both sunrise and sunset? Right now, where I live, sunrise is about 06:30, and sunset is at 20:30... which is not only way longer than I want my lights to run (especially in this phase of the tank growth, where a photoperiod that long would only fuel algae growth), but rather off from the times I'm in here with it.

Due to my schedule (and my use of a reverse-lit "display refugium"), the lights in my tank come on 8 hours after sunrise (at 2:30pm), full "daylight" begins at 4pm, sunset begins at 10:30pm, and lights are out by midnight, so, if I could offset sunrise and sunset separately by +/- some hours, that would be super helpful.

 

[oldrev]

Okay the auto thing is awesome... now, could we have some sort of manual offset, of both sunrise and sunset? Right now, where I live, sunrise is about 06:30, and sunset is at 20:30... which is not only way longer than I want my lights to run (especially in this phase of the tank growth, where a photoperiod that long would only fuel algae growth), but rather off from the times I'm in here with it.

Due to my schedule (and my use of a reverse-lit "display refugium"), the lights in my tank come on 8 hours after sunrise (at 2:30pm), full "daylight" begins at 4pm, sunset begins at 10:30pm, and lights are out by midnight, so, if I could offset sunrise and sunset separately by +/- some hours, that would be super helpful.

The sun simulation is just to make things easy. For advanced players, you can use the "Scheduled" mode for programming, with up to 48 time points to set.

 

[badstraw]

Have you been able to make it work with IOS? it would be amazing if it worked both on iPhone and android

 

[oldrev]

Have you been able to make it work with IOS? it would be amazing if it worked both on iPhone and android

Theoretically possible, but this is an open source project, and I don’t have the budget to buy Apple devices for testing.

 

[oldrev]

I built a small web page for it: https://www.borneoiot.com/products/ulva6

 

[DIY-Labs]

Big respect for what you do @oldrev!
The hobby needs people like you.
Keep rocking it!

 

[oldrev]

Big respect for what you do @oldrev!
The hobby needs people like you.
Keep rocking it!

Thanks, I'm here to destroy the entire aquarium LED industry.

 

[Hooz]

I'm just following along with this. It's a VERY cool project, and it will be even cooler when all the DiY parts are available to make our own lights! :D

 

[Besieged]

I'm just following along with this. It's a VERY cool project, and it will be even cooler when all the DiY parts are available to make our own lights! :D

One of my local club members was doing a really awesome job of DIY lights, until the tariffs hit.

He was able to build, iirc, ~90w light bars for about $50 or so using components sourced mainly from alibaba, then the cost of everything tripled or more.

 

[vandy]

Love the sun mode you created! Can you set your location to another place? Something like the apex option for a specific geographical area where your corals are from? Would be cool for natural spawning

 

[I never finish anythi]

Amazing work . Thank you !

 

[oldrev]

Love the sun mode you created! Can you set your location to another place? Something like the apex option for a specific geographical area where your corals are from? Would be cool for natural spawning

Yeah, I was thinking about it too. I will implement it soon.

 

[strich]

Super cool project mate and thanks for making it open source.
Can you talk about the LEDs you've chosen and why?
One topic of research I always meant to look more into was UV A or B LEDs in the 350+ range. There is research to support the usefulness of that spectrum in coral health and brightness, but they're difficult to work with or find.

 

[oldrev]

Super cool project mate and thanks for making it open source.
Can you talk about the LEDs you've chosen and why?
One topic of research I always meant to look more into was UV A or B LEDs in the 350+ range. There is research to support the usefulness of that spectrum in coral health and brightness, but they're difficult to work with or find.

Thanks. I'm not a scientist, I just saw everyone using LEDs at this wavelength. As I mentioned before, the LED arrangement is "borrowed" from an older version of the AI Prime.

 

[strich]

Thanks. I'm not a scientist, I just saw everyone using LEDs at this wavelength.

Well neither am I for that matter.

But did you do any research on the LED hardware or just pick the cheapest for the wattage?

 

[oldrev]

Well neither am I for that matter.

But did you do any research on the LED hardware or just pick the cheapest for the wattage?

Of course, I’ve done my homework. The choice of LEDs balances quality, cost, power, and manufacturability.

 

[oldrev]

Please allow me clarify here: of course I could choose high-efficiency, high-quality 3535 LED beads from Cree or Osram, but without a custom integrated lens, it doesn't make much sense.
The LEDs currently used come from a supplier I've been buying from for years, and they're good enough. I'm not aiming for the highest efficiency or something that lasts a century.