BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
Have you considered driving the system with a clock? I haven't figured out the specifics yet, but I'm hoping to use a clock IC as a trigger.
DIY Hood for 12 gallon with moving moonlights, sunrise/sunsets, and cooling
- Thread starter corrado33
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Yes, yes I have. I actually mentioned it earlier. It's called a RTC or "real time clock". And yes, it would have made this project 1000x easier. But I wanted to build this thing with mostly stuff I had available, and when something didn't work, I didn't feel like reworking my code to incorporate a clock. Next time though, I'm definitely using one, and I suggest using a clock to anybody trying to do something like this. The only thing is that when you use a clock, I would suggest buying one that's already on a board. Why? If you JUST put the clock chip on a board, with nothing else, you'd have to reset it every time the power went out. While yes you probably do that with your microwave every time, but resetting a clock on a microchip is a little harder. So all prebuilt chips have battery backup systems, and some even use rechargeable batteries, so you never have to replace them.
Double post, but....
The camera is set up! The lights are supposed to go off at six ish, so we'll see what happens! I have no doubt that it'll work. I have it set to record a lot of frames, I think it's every 30 seconds it records 1 second worth of video. I know it'll make the video really long(20 some minutes), but that's good for me, it'll help me make more accurate calculations for my delays. I'll shorten the vid when I put it online.
The camera is set up! The lights are supposed to go off at six ish, so we'll see what happens! I have no doubt that it'll work. I have it set to record a lot of frames, I think it's every 30 seconds it records 1 second worth of video. I know it'll make the video really long(20 some minutes), but that's good for me, it'll help me make more accurate calculations for my delays. I'll shorten the vid when I put it online.
Ok, so the vid is uploading to youtube right now, it has 83 mins remaining... lol Anyway, the vid turned out ok, the camera had a hard time focusing and keeping the lighting right. Also, it was hard to see my moonlights because they are so dim. You could only see the one in the middle, but trust me, I can see all three. You can almost see the one on the left when it turns on, but since it has nothing to reflect off of besides the bottom, the camera really dosen't see a lot of it. Also, I think I forgot to add the correct delay for the "sunrise". And my delays are WAY off. The whole cycle was done by midnight.
The sunset worked well though. The camera made it look like a big difference between the sunset LEDs and the normal lights. There really isn't THAT much of a difference, it just looks like it. I'll post a link as soon as it uploads.
The sunset worked well though. The camera made it look like a big difference between the sunset LEDs and the normal lights. There really isn't THAT much of a difference, it just looks like it. I'll post a link as soon as it uploads.
Here ya go.
I think I'm going to change out the purple moonlights for blue ones, the blue ones are brighter, and they show up better. The cool thing is, it's extremely easy for me to change them out.
YouTube - Moonlights/Sunrise/Sunset Aquarium Lights
EDIT: It's done!
EDIT2: The project isn't done though. I still have a lot of tuning. Like I said, I'm going to switch to blue LEDs, I have to adjust the brightness of those, and I have to fix the timing. It'll be done within a week though.
I think I'm going to change out the purple moonlights for blue ones, the blue ones are brighter, and they show up better. The cool thing is, it's extremely easy for me to change them out.
YouTube - Moonlights/Sunrise/Sunset Aquarium Lights
EDIT: It's done!
EDIT2: The project isn't done though. I still have a lot of tuning. Like I said, I'm going to switch to blue LEDs, I have to adjust the brightness of those, and I have to fix the timing. It'll be done within a week though.
thincat
Aquarium Advice Addict
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2008
- Messages
- 5,330
Looking great. Good luck on the fine tuning.
Aquarium1
Aquarium Advice Addict
That's pretty awesome. How'd you make the video like that? Jw.
Thanks guys. My video camera has an "Interval" record mode, so I can record things like this.
I'm going to try to turn my lights off a bit early tonight, switch out the LEDs, and adjust the delays a bit, then put the hood back on so I can do another test/recording. Should only take me 10 mins or so to switch the LEDs and adjust the delays.
EDIT: Ah, my sunrise was off by a power of 10, some my delay(9000) got changed to delay(900). The numbers VERY roughly correspond to milliseconds, so 1000 = 1 second. So with the sunrise and sunset, there are 255 steps, so (255 * 9seconds)/60 seconds = 38.25 minutes, which is pretty much how long it takes for the "sunset" to happen, if you watch the clock.
BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
Any updates?
krap101
Aquarium Advice Addict
God, I want one!
agp
Aquarium Advice Freak
Me too, I want one of these pretty badly.
mrg02d
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Best bet is to build something like this in stages that allow you to get some use out of the thing so that you can see what you need to add, and then start saving up. It will cost you more than you planned due to needing tools and whatnot.
This way, you dont get overwhelmed and then discouraged. The end product makes it all worth it though! Be sure that you are not spending more than a comparable commercial unit. I made that mistake with mine and looking at the Maxspect brand led lighting. They use CREE leds now I believe...
Matt
This way, you dont get overwhelmed and then discouraged. The end product makes it all worth it though! Be sure that you are not spending more than a comparable commercial unit. I made that mistake with mine and looking at the Maxspect brand led lighting. They use CREE leds now I believe...
Matt
Sorry guys, I've been busy lately. I need to redo the circuit board with the correct parts... cause one of the LEDs just doesn't work, but it does when I hook it up to battery. It is wired correctly, I promise. So it's just a bit of a snag, and with my tank half emptying the other day, it's been the last thing on my mind lately. I'll work on it again soon I promise.
Similar threads
