# how do people dim their lights



## NatureBoy (30 Aug 2012)

To avoid the drastic on / off of my t5 lights, is there a dimmer type gismo that can be attached to the timer switch? I'm guessing I'd need to switch/check my ballast / tubes are the dimmerable type? :?:


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## somethingfishy (30 Aug 2012)

There must be loads of dimmer units out there ... but you are quite right check your ballast/electronic starter to make sure they are compatable.


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## Antipofish (30 Aug 2012)

From my understanding, MOST aquatic ballasts are NOT dimmable as they rely on that initial spike to power up the tube.  The units that are dimmable (such as ATI) are considerably more expensive.


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## NatureBoy (30 Aug 2012)

yeah starting to realise that a second set of LED lights could be easier to work with. I find fish go ballistic when plunged in to sudden darkness...a bit like me


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## Antipofish (30 Aug 2012)

I have a TMC led controller that will give you that dimming function.  All you need is growbeams or a tile to go with it


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## foxfish (30 Aug 2012)

The simply answer is to install some cheap LED lighting as a sunrise sunset effect.
There are hundreds (tens of thousands even) of cheap low power LED lighting for sale on EBay that would be simple & cheap to fit with a basic timer to come on one hour before & stay on one hour after the main lights


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## NatureBoy (30 Aug 2012)

Antipofish said:
			
		

> I have a TMC led controller that will give you that dimming function.  All you need is growbeams or a tile to go with it


This is the kind of thing I have in mind - a graduated sunset effect, but as the sole purpose would be to graduate the on / off period, the grobeams + controller is a major expense. 

Thinking more along the lines of some simple LED downlights, as mentioned, but plugged into something that would graduate their output...household sunset / sunrise controller? Anybody seen one? :?:


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## Antipofish (30 Aug 2012)

NatureBoy said:
			
		

> Antipofish said:
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Whichever way you look at it you are unlikely to get an automated/programmable controller to create the function you require for less than £40.  I was looking into getting bespoke LEDs made and it was the dimming function that was causing the headache price wise.  And to have several staged 'ons' and 'offs' would have meant several timers which in turn would have upped the price.

When it comes to lighting you can't get fancy without a fancy budget.  Trust me, I HAVE TRIED  8)   

Get the controller this month and wait for a cheap growbeam to come up on Ebay.  Or the other way round.  I had to save and get bits and pieces over time.  Its the only way if you are on a budget unfortunately.


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## NatureBoy (31 Aug 2012)

Fair enough, just figured that there would be a well known method not involving big expense...

cheers

Gary


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## Antipofish (31 Aug 2012)

If only   My controller is sold now but there are others that you can pick up for a reasonable price.  My best suggestion, if its something you can do, is to build up your LED equipment as and when you can afford it... bit by bit.  It has taken me some time to get the kit I have, but I think it was worth the wait   Good luck

PS it may be worth taking a look on Aquarist Classifieds website as there is a guy on there who advertises as doing cheap LED stuff, but to be honest I am not convinced he would be much cheaper than good second hand TMC stuff.  Could be worth contacting him to find out though


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## james3200 (1 Sep 2012)

You need to have 0-10v analogue dimmable ballasts, about £55 for 2*54w and then a dimable controler which you can DIY if you are good with electronics or go for one of http://www.aquapro2000.de/en/Lighting-A ... :8650.html


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## NatureBoy (1 Sep 2012)

I've seen lampspecs do the dimmable T5 ballasts for about £25. Could retrofit my d-d I bar, and use a controller I guess. 

All stuff for the future!

cheers

Gary


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## wazuck (1 Sep 2012)

89 euros for the controller :O that's crazy. With a little bit of google magic and £30 you could build an arduino based controller. As stated £25 for dimmable ballast. Rip open an old fixture and hey presto!! I not quite as pretty looking ati dimmable rip off with enough money saved to buy that optiwhite tank or 100kg of mini landscape rock you've been dreaming about


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## NatureBoy (2 Sep 2012)

arduino...I'd never heard of that - cheers, sounds like a learning curve coming on! I'm gonna build a Wallis n Grommet style Aquarium!


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## wazuck (2 Sep 2012)

It's a micro computer board that can do pretty much anything. You can use it as the heart of a robot if you wish. Alot of the USA reef community use them in there fancy led setups, people have simulated cloud cover, lunar cycles, lightning, heck with the right led choice you could create that colourful sunset if you wish. With the right knowledge you could set it up with a wifi adaptor to send information to your phone while your out and about. I was thinking about making a robot with takashi amanos brain so I could get it to scape all my tanks for me, of course it would e expensive building all the robots for the amano one to order around


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## NatureBoy (2 Sep 2012)

I'm going to give my fish an Olympic opening ceremony effect!


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