Terrarium/Vivarium Lighting help

[colbygingles]

Hello all!

Long time reader, first time asking.

I have a fairly large collection of terrariums housing multiple different animals. From dart frogs to snakes, and some geckos. One of the hardest parts of the hobby is lighting. We love a nice 5k light to brighten up the tank, but know we need a different spectrum for some plant life.

This has lead me here.

I am planning on building out 4 different fixtures to test each one.
All Bridgelux 560mm

Fixture 1
Gen 2 5k
Gen 2 3k
Gen 2 3k

Fixture 2
Gen 2 5k
Gen 2 5k
Gen 2 3k

Fixture 3
Gen 3 3k
Gen 3 Thrive
Gen 3 Thrive

Fixture 4
Gen 3 3k
Gen 3 3k
Gen 3 Thrive.


I am freaking lost on the drivers.
I plan on running them in parallel.
I would be fine with 4 smaller drivers(one for each fixture)
1 giant driver
2 medium drivers.

Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

[PeteR_1]

Some Calculations;
Fixture 1; ~ 3700K, ~ 108 PPF, 42 Watts @ 20 Vdc (~ 21 - 63 Watts @ 20 Vdc ; 25 - 75% of max rating)
Gen 2; Typical 13.6W @ 19.5Vdc each...

Fixture 2; ~ 4400K, ~ 108 PPF, 42 Watts @ 20 Vdc (~ 21 - 63 Watts @ 20 Vdc ; 25 - 75% of max rating)
Gen 2; Typical 13.6W @ 19.5Vdc each...

Fixture 3 (Note:1); ~ ?K, ~ 112 PPF, 42 Watts @ 20 Vdc (~ 21 - 63 Watts @ 20 Vdc ; 25 - 75% of max rating)
Gen 3 3k ; Typical 13.4W @ 19.1Vdc
Gen 3 Thrive; Typical 13.9W @ 19.9Vdc

Fixture 4 (Note:1); ~ ?K, ~ 112 PPF, 42 Watts @ 20 Vdc (~ 21 - 63 Watts @ 20 Vdc ; 25 - 75%of max rating)
Gen 3 3k ; Typical 13.4W @ 19.1Vdc
Gen 3 Thrive; Typical 13.9W @ 19.9Vdc

Notes:
1. The recommendation is for "Homogeneous" (same) electrical characteristics for each Parallel circuit or Parallel wired Strips.
2. The recommendation is that Grow Lights are sized for the actual grow area... download/file.php?id=4438&mode=view

EB Gen2... https://www.bridgelux.com/sites/default ... ev%20A.pdf
EB Gen3... https://www.bridgelux.com/sites/default ... ev%20A.pdf
EB Gen3 Thrive... https://bridgelux.com/sites/default/fil ... ev%20A.pdf


Individul LED Driver ~ 40 - 75 Watts each;
75 Watt LED Driver - XLG-75-24-AB... https://www.digikey.com/en/products/det ... A/10129175
75 Watt LED Driver - TRP LED75W-025-C3000-D... https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/ ... C3000-D-ND

Two LED Drivers ~ 80 - 150 Watts each;
150 Watt LED Driver - XLG-150-24-AB... https://www.digikey.com/en/products/det ... QEEQBdAXyA

One (single) LED Driver ~ 160 - 300 Watts;
320 Watt LED Driver - HLG-320H-24AB... https://www.digikey.com/en/products/det ... gEYgC6AvkA

[colbygingles]

@PeteR_1


So i went the 280mm route.

Thought i had it figured out but all I am getting is a pulsing light.

Was going to wire 3 in parallel with the below driver
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/det ... iALoC%2BQA

What did I miss?
3 boards wired parallel
20.3 V 9.7W. 700mA max each board.

[PeteR_1]

So i went the 280mm route.
Thought i had it figured out but all I am getting is a pulsing light.
Was going to wire 3 in parallel with the below driver
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/det ... iALoC%2BQA
What did I miss?
3 boards wired parallel
20.3 V 9.7W. 700mA max each board.

Not familiar with that model LED Driver, rated 24 Vdc, +/- 5% (1.2 Vdc) which is 22.8 Vdc (?) minimum.
LPV-35-24 LED Driver Datasheet... https://www.meanwell.com/productPdf.aspx?i=225

Recheck the "Parallel Wiring", (+) and (-) wired to each strip...
@ 20 Vdc 1.5 Amps should be ~ 30 watts driver output (~ 36 Watts from the wall @ 86% Eff), 10 watts each LED Strip.



Series Wiring Top, Parallel Wiring Bottom...

[Sinfor]

So i went the 280mm route.

Thought i had it figured out but all I am getting is a pulsing light.

Was going to wire 3 in parallel with the below driver
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/det ... iALoC%2BQA

What did I miss?
3 boards wired parallel
20.3 V 9.7W. 700mA max each board.

Your pulsating light is a driver protection (hiccup mode).
Your driver is constant voltage(24V fixed), when you connect the strips the driver try to deliver as much current as the strips can accept at 24V, wich is more than the max output current the driver can deliver(1.5A), the driver detects this as an overload condition.

To solve this you can connect a DC/DC buck converter, add monocromatics diodes or resistors to drop the excess of voltage(4.5V+-)