So I finally have my new-to-me L4 set up and water running over the screen. Now all that is left is to program my Apex to turn the lights on and off. I wanted to start out with 3hrs on and 5hrs off, running in a loop. This would give me 9hrs a day of lighting. Additionally, I have noticed on my led boards that there is a series and parallel configuration. Can someone please explain what this is and how I am supposed to have them configured? Thank you, Tom
If you're referring to this Rev 3 L4 My newest L4 ATS There's nothing special you have to do for on/off configuration, that's just like a controlled power strip. The jumpers are for adjusting the intensity of each pair of LEDs. The jumper for the blues should always remain in parallel configuration, but the jumpers for the reds can be adjusted to the Series configuration to change them from 50% current per LED to 100% current according to your needs. Generally, leave them all in parallel until you have a base of growth that can handle the additional intensity, and then change a few over to series, let that run for a few cycles, repeat as necessary until you find the match of intensity and duration that is ideal for your system. I advise to start out with all parallel and 9-12 hrs/day on the duration, then increase the duration to closer to 16-18 hours after you get a base of growth to confirm that you are on the right track. Every tank is different so you have to adapt your ramp-up to your tank and needs. Then change 1 red jumper on each LED board from Parallel to Series and let that run for a while (a few growth cycles) then increase duration to 18-20 hours and let that run a few cycles, etc. At that point, it's again dependent on your system and the scrubber response. Things like, is there enough bioload to justify more intensity/duration? Do you really "need" to push the scrubber harder? You may not know until you get there. So that's kind of the long answer, the short answer is that your Apex turning the LEDs on and off doesn't really have a direct correlation to the jumpers since those older boards are not "controllable" - meaning, they don't have an input for 0-10V dimming control, so the only thing you can do (or need to do) is put the power supply on a controlled outlet on the Apex breakout box Hope that answered your question and then some! Bud
Yep Bud, that is the one. It was the R3 L4 that I picked up a few months ago. Also, thank you on the setup of the boards being in parallel or series.
