Reefkeeper ALC to Rapidled DIY

[Oprah Wrangler]

Hey all,

 

I have a 59 gallon Oceanic and a Reefkeeper Net.  I want to do a DIY Rapidled Kit that will allow me to grow anything I want in the tank and be controlled by a Reefkeeper ALC module.  I do not have any electrical background so if you could use the K.I.S.S. method for your explanations that would be helpful.  Counting on my wamas family for help with this one.  Thanks in advance.

[Oprah Wrangler]

Wow, no advice?  And the cheese stands alone.

[Neto]

Drivers

Does the RKL ALC module outputs a pwm signal? If so then I highly recommend getting the LDD series drivers (they can be purchased in http://www.ledgroupbuy.com). To mount those drivers you would need a coralux board such as this http://coralux.net/?wpsc-product=ldd-5-driver-board and it does require soldering...

 

LEDS

If you really want to grow anything then I suggest you buy quality leds such as CREE or Luxeon and cover the whole spectrum.... I recently built a fixture and used the following: 

 

- CREE XT-E Neutral White: 8

- CREE XT-E Royal Blue: 16

- LEDGROUPBUY Hyper Violet: 16

- LEDGROUPBUY OCW (this unit includes 3 leds -> red, cyan & turquoise): 4

- CREE XT-E Warm White: 1 

 

You can see how I built the fixture on the DIY forum and see more details.. Depending the dimensions of your tank you would need either more leds or better optics. The whole cost of my project was around $400 so if you really want to do it for less, I suggest buying those D120 or newer units..

[Oprah Wrangler]

Thanks Neto,

 

I am not sure about pmw?  I am going to try and talk with someone at Digital Aquatics.  Thanks again for the information.

[Matt LeBaron]

Basically there are two types of dimming, PWM and Analog.

 

From what I can tell you will need a ALC for your ReefKeeper to control the lights and it uses an Analog signal. So on the RapidLED site you will want to get the "D" version of whatever driver you decide to get. The "D" drivers use analog, while the "P" drivers use PWM. The letter for the type of driver is at the end of the name, so "Mean Well ELM-60D" for example.

[Oprah Wrangler]

Thank you very much for the information.