driver for led lights
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Equipment
Forum Description: This is the place to ask question about reef equipment.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=68172
Printed Date: June 17 2026 at 3:47am
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Topic: driver for led lights
Posted By: bmac2
Subject: driver for led lights
Date Posted: December 05 2013 at 10:20pm
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I have 4 sets of led lights on my 300 gallon, and one that is for my frag tank. I got them from a company in Virginia, and they are pretty damn awesome. now the one on my frag tank I am thinking of upgrading the drivers to ones that are computer controllable and dimmable with the computer/controller. The ones that are in it are simple ones with a knob dimmer/adjustment. The specs on the driver are: 100v-240V 50/60HZ 55 - 100 /V 500-550 mA standard connectors. There are literally thousands of drivers on ebay, but I need some guidance on what ones are decent and people have used. Links to websites with the parts is most welcome!! Mac ------------- Aquarium Creations 300 gallon tank Stand by Dion |
Replies:
Posted By: phys
Date Posted: December 05 2013 at 11:55pm
| stevesleds.com has some that should work for you. Any on that site should be sufficient. Just find the ones that closely match the original power specs. You also want to be sure you get a variable voltage/non-variable amperage driver. That just means the driver will change its voltage to supply the needed wattage instead of the amperage. |
Posted By: Fatman
Date Posted: December 06 2013 at 7:25am
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Mac, there are two methods of controlling drivers, analog and pulse width modulation (PWM). You need to determine how you are going to control them before ordering them. The analog work with Apex controllers and the PWM work with some of the other designs such as Reef Angel. Most drivers have the dimming channel controlled by 10 VDC and draw about 10-20 mA. There are some however that use 5 VDC for the dimming channel, so be sure to check that. The analog drivers will also work with PWM controllers but the dimming channel will not go up or down linear. |
Posted By: Krazie4Acans
Date Posted: December 06 2013 at 7:40am
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Mac, From those specs the units look like the majority of the Tao Tronics units around. Those drivers use a PWM dimmer to control them. If you look inside the unit you will see a small circuit board connected to each driver. The dimmer knob is generally attached to this board. There are two wires running from that board to each of the drivers. Those are your dimming control wires. I have clipped those wires and connected them to an external connector that I then run to a controller that uses PWM dimming (Reef Angel and most of the LED controllers on RapidLED and StevesLED sites). You can also get Analog to PWM adapter boards that will allow you to use an analog controller to dim them. I found it very hard to get a compatible replacement driver for those units because of the high voltage and low constant current output. Most drivers output 700mA or 1000mA not 500mA. Some are adjustable and can be turned down to that but then don't supply enough voltage (Max of 48 to 52 Volts not 100v). I found it was easier to just use the stock driver and replace the dimming control. Hope that helps. Krazie  ------------- My ocean. 90g (yup, won it!), 40g, 28g, & 10g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63568&title=krazies-nano-paradise" rel="nofollow - Tank Thread: |