I've been pondering a few upgrades to my 90 gal reef and I'm wondering which direction to take, and/or if they are feasible.
I have an RA+ with the salinity expansion and analog dimming in the relay for my Apollo LEDs. Overall, I've been very happy with its performance and everything is running great.
I would like to run my (yet unused) RA moonlight off an ATO port which is currently vacant. I understand the ATO is only 0-5v while the moonlight wants 0-10v. Then I found Roberto's schematic for a DIY PWM booster. http://forum.reefangel.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2915
It's been about 15 years since I took circuits, please forgive my ignorance, but where should the input PWM from the RA (0-5v) come in and where does the output PWM (0-10v) go out to the moonlight on that diagram?
I already have a 12v supply and I found the circuit components on mouser.com for like $16 with shipping, but I'd gladly pay Roberto double if he had one for sale.
Next questions concern the WP40 and analog dimming circuits. I'm thinking I'd like to run a WP40 off one of my dimming signals. In the 9 months I've had my tank, I've literally never had the actinic and daylights at different levels, so I figured I could use one of those ports instead of getting an expansion hub plus an analog expansion for a bunch of ports for which I have no current use.
Would it overload the dimming circuit to run all 4 Apollo Solarblast drivers (Meanwells, I think) off one channel?
Also, could I just cut off the connector that comes with the pump and splice in one of my extra dimming port leads?
I understand I'd have to modify the pump code by 50% to keep voltage 0-5v instead of 0-10v, but that seems like a relatively easy fix.
I'm trying to get creative so my fiancé doesn't kill me for spending more money on the tank....we are paying for the wedding ourselves...
Any other ideas/suggestions are welcome....
Thanks in advance, you guys are fountains of knowledge, I've learned a lot about electronics and reefing from this forum!
-Ken