48 x 18 x 18 High Tech Rimless Build (photo heavy)

[GDominy]

Today I intentionally erased a years worth of programming from my profilux. I was trying to make changes to it all and realised it was going to take much longer then starting fresh so I factory reset the thing.

First things first, I upgraded teh firmware to 5.15 (the most current).



Next I programmed my switchable sockets. These are the outlets on my power bars and the dosing pump.



Ive made some changes to this screen since I took this picture. The fans and QT tank are now on a different illumination channel, but you get the idea.

[GDominy]

Next I had to build the lighting schedules. This is quite extensive so bear with me.

First of all, I decided I want to run 2 different lightinbg schedules for my lights. I want the tank to be off at a reasonable hour so it doesnt shine into the bedroom at night, but on the weekend when we are typically up later, I want the lights to have an extended schedule.

Thankfully this is actually a built in feature called "Variable illumination". This lets me choose what schedule a bank of lights uses on what day of the week. It is limited to only 4 schedules though, so I am using:

Variable 1 = Left and Right Blue LED's
Variable 2 = Center Blue LED's
Variable 3 = Left and Right LED's
Variable 4 = Center White LED's

I have arranged my lights in this way as the LED density is higher on the LED arrays on the left and right, so they have to be run at a lower intensity to balance it out visually.



Next came some safety features, although not really needed with LED's it only took a couple of minutes. If the tank gets too hot, the lights dim. The chiller should take care of this, but just in case...



Now for some visual fun. I set up some aggressive cloud simulation, and enable the moonlight simulation (it mimics the cycle of the moon by varying the intensity of moonlights every day).



And now for some thunderstormss... This is mostly just a cool thing to watch, but I also use it to trigger pumps to throttle up to kick up detritus. This way once a day the tank gets a good flush.

[GDominy]

Here are the lighting schedules, Ive tried to label everything in the software so it should be pretty clear. Ill happily answer any questions about it.

[oldpunk78]

Holy equipment, Plantman!!

[GDominy]

A ton of this equipment used to run my old robotank. It has been a few more years of collecting since then

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=56456

[GDominy]

Had some time to tinker before work so I got the ecotech configuration working.

First off I had to pair the MP10wES with the Vortech module. My first hiccup was that the pump was using an out of date firmware that wasnt compatible. Thankfully the GHL module lets me broadcast a new firmware wirelessly to the pump. A few minutes later, the fully upgraded pump paired properly:



Next I had to configure how I wanted the pump to operate. In this case I went with a random wave pattern from 8am till 8pm, then a quiet running mode from 8pm till 8am. During a thunderstorm the pump will generate waves.



I also enabled "Feed Pause". This will turn the pump off when I feed my fish. You can make it slow down, or pretty much do whatever you want, but I prefer it being off for this.

[GDominy]

So I didnt know these even existed (Ive been out of the game for a while, but I will have to order one of these:



Thats a flow sensor for a profilux. It would be handy to monitor how my pump flow is doing!

[GDominy]

More programming.. Sensors this time:

First, Ph/Co2 Control. I have this set up to target my Ph 6.5 during the photoperiod. At night the tank will allow a Ph drift to about 6.7 when the plants arent using CO2. I can configure this, but its usually a safe swing to deal with.



Next is Temperature. This is where I set my options for heating and cooling. I have allowed for a half a degree swing in temp between the heater switching off and the chiller switching on. This will prevent both from operating at the same time or rapidly switching back and forth. I will most likely increase this threshold if I see rapid switching behavior.



Not going to be using this function for much, but I already have the probe, and redox can give you some indication as to how much organic sludge is building up so I figure I'll set it up anyway.

[GDominy]

Profilux touch assigned to Profilux, basic configuration set up and working:

[mrkookm]

Man I soo wish you had an Apex..lol!

[plantbrain]

I'd let the pH drift all the way about 30 minutes before the lights go off and then start controlling it 1 hour before the lights come on.

Redox: this is a useful tool for sediments, not the water column.
O2 meter/probe would be much more informative for the water column.

A redox probe can be inserted into the sediment say at 1 cm, then later at 2 cm and so on. wait 3 weeks between moving it. Generally, a reference probe is used if you DIY your own redox probes. This makes a circuit and the probes can be customized/water proofed etc.

I have 30 x 24" 1/4" PVC probes from a research project.
Platinum 18 gauge wire ain't cheap though.

[plantbrain]

Originally Posted by GDominy

Reef Fanatic CO2 regulator. Its well loved and a little corroded from being close to salt water for so long, but still runs like a champ.



These are my bubble magus tubing holders. These mount on the back of the aquarium and hold my dosing tubes in place discretely. I will only need one of these, so I have to see which one I can clean up better.

Since you have gone hog wild with equipment, might as well go wild with high grade dual regulator CO2. A good solenoid, check valve and metering needle valve.
If you really want to automate and go nuts, get a mass flow controller for the CO2 gas volume rate of delivery.

[GDominy]

Originally Posted by plantbrain

Since you have gone hog wild with equipment, might as well go wild with high grade dual regulator CO2. A good solenoid, check valve and metering needle valve.
If you really want to automate and go nuts, get a mass flow controller for the CO2 gas volume rate of delivery.

Keep in mind Im trying not to spend too much extra cash. I already own all of this stuff Im just recycling it

I do agree that a higher end co2 rig will be in the future, however It will have to do for now

[GDominy]

Originally Posted by plantbrain

I'd let the pH drift all the way about 30 minutes before the lights go off and then start controlling it 1 hour before the lights come on.

Redox: this is a useful tool for sediments, not the water column.
O2 meter/probe would be much more informative for the water column.

A redox probe can be inserted into the sediment say at 1 cm, then later at 2 cm and so on. wait 3 weeks between moving it. Generally, a reference probe is used if you DIY your own redox probes. This makes a circuit and the probes can be customized/water proofed etc.

I have 30 x 24" 1/4" PVC probes from a research project.
Platinum 18 gauge wire ain't cheap though.

Thats a pretty minor tweak for the co2. I had a similar thought on that as well and will tweak my control once I can measure everything in action.

I already own a redox probe as it used to power my ozone generator so I wont need to diy one. Im still on the fence about using it.

[GDominy]

Had a really long day at work today so I wasn't able to get much done tonight. I was able however to get my variable voltage ports configured.

As you can see I have set up the simus and left/right white leds on the first 4 L ports. This will allow them to receive the signals for lightning. I have set the minimum voltage on the white led arrays to 2.76 volts as this is the minimum voltage required to turn on the Meanwel eln-60-48p drivers through my homemade pullup resistor circuit.

The rest of the leds are powered by meanwel eln-60-48d's so I have set the minimum voltage to 1.3 volts.

The fan controllers have their minimum voltage set to 2.5 volts. This means that the fans will never run less then 25%