Reef Central Online Community - View Single Post - Moving LED Array to Simulate Tracking of the Sun

herring_fish · 01/30/2013, 09:06 PM

Thanks for answering. Yes I am familiar with that. Surprisingly enough, I do remember some of the 70's.

I have concerns that if I move the light, I will either have too much light and get bleaching or too little and get stunted growth or both. I should get more even growth but the amount of light could be an issue.

I hope to get away from a panel because it gives me more freedom. I also have heard about them for years but I have not actually seen storm shows and they sound cool. They are far down on my list for now. I actually want to see the angle of the rays and the shadows change during the evening. I just think that it would be more interesting to me.

I could convert a strobe light for the lightning or have a big array of LEDs to do it. Its just not the direction I am looking to try at first. I also have a design to build the blue array so that each LED can be individually aimed. By the way, I am an over active designer by trade and I am looking for this particular look. I really like to see the rays flashing through the water. I am working toward NPS corals so there are often lots of particulates in the water column which accentuates the rays but now they are fixed and constant. If I was an electronics guy, I would be more interested in storms because they ARE cool.

Now, the "solar flashing" is a feature that may have some particular requirements that I don't know about (beside not knowing how to accomplish it). What is the optimal speed of the flashing? I read in one study that found an on off ratio of 1:10 worked but is that the latest? Of course this can be done with a large flat array or compact ones like I want to build. I need some insight and practical knowledge.

I can do some low level programming and I can cut an paste like nobodies business but electronics is not in my skill set. I just assemble so I need to be led around with simplified instructions so once I get started on the project, I will need some rudimentary instruction.

Thanks again.

01/30/2013, 09:06 PM	#3
herring_fish Crazy Designer Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Winston-Salem NC, USA Posts: 1,029	Thanks for answering. Yes I am familiar with that. Surprisingly enough, I do remember some of the 70's. I have concerns that if I move the light, I will either have too much light and get bleaching or too little and get stunted growth or both. I should get more even growth but the amount of light could be an issue. I hope to get away from a panel because it gives me more freedom. I also have heard about them for years but I have not actually seen storm shows and they sound cool. They are far down on my list for now. I actually want to see the angle of the rays and the shadows change during the evening. I just think that it would be more interesting to me. I could convert a strobe light for the lightning or have a big array of LEDs to do it. Its just not the direction I am looking to try at first. I also have a design to build the blue array so that each LED can be individually aimed. By the way, I am an over active designer by trade and I am looking for this particular look. I really like to see the rays flashing through the water. I am working toward NPS corals so there are often lots of particulates in the water column which accentuates the rays but now they are fixed and constant. If I was an electronics guy, I would be more interested in storms because they ARE cool. Now, the "solar flashing" is a feature that may have some particular requirements that I don't know about (beside not knowing how to accomplish it). What is the optimal speed of the flashing? I read in one study that found an on off ratio of 1:10 worked but is that the latest? Of course this can be done with a large flat array or compact ones like I want to build. I need some insight and practical knowledge. I can do some low level programming and I can cut an paste like nobodies business but electronics is not in my skill set. I just assemble so I need to be led around with simplified instructions so once I get started on the project, I will need some rudimentary instruction. Thanks again.