RapidLED Coralife BioCube 29 Aurora Array Retrofit User manual

RapidLEDCoralifeBioCube29AuroraArrayRetrofit
Contents
Overview.......................................................................................................................................................1
HoodPreparation..........................................................................................................................................2
FastenerRemoval.....................................................................................................................................2
ReflectorandLEDStripRemoval..............................................................................................................3
BallastRemoval.........................................................................................................................................4
TransformerRemoval...............................................................................................................................8
RightSideACInRemoval........................................................................................................................10
PreparedHood........................................................................................................................................11
InstallingtheHeatsink.................................................................................................................................12
AuroraLEDArraySpecifications.................................................................................................................14
WiringtheAuroraPuck...............................................................................................................................14
InsideHoodWiringforLEDStringstoV+andV‐........................................................................................17
WiringtheAuroraLEDArraytoDrivers..................................................................................................18
WiringtheDrivertoACPower............................................................................................................19
RapidLEDNanoDriverswithPotentiometer(Skipifyouhaveanyotherdriver):..................................19
MeanWellLDDDrivers(Skipifyouhaveanyotherdriver):..................................................................21
WiringPowerCordtoPowerSupply..................................................................................................21
WiringLDDDriverstoPowerSupply..................................................................................................22
ConnectingLDDDriverstoLEDStrings...............................................................................................23
FinishingUp.................................................................................................................................................24

Overview
Aswithanytypeoflightingretrofit,therearemanydangers,difficulties,andpitfallsthatmay
occur.TheRapidLEDCoralifeBioCube29retrofitshouldonlybeattemptedbypeoplefamiliarwithAC
powerandwiring,electronics,LEDs,LEDDrivers,seriescircuits,andbecomfortablewiththefactthat
thisretrofitwillrequirecompletedisassemblyandremovalofmajorcomponentsoftheoriginalhood.If
youareuncomfortablewithorinexperiencedatanyoftheprerequisitesrequiredforthisretrofit,you
shouldnotattemptthisretrofit.NOTE:TheseinstructionsareforinstallingtheAuroraarrayinyour
hood.IfyouareusingthekitwithindividualLEDs,refertotheinstructionslocatedhere:Coralife
Biocube29Instructions

HoodPreparation
Ensureeverythingisunplugged.Inthisportionoftheretrofitwewillremovethehoodfromthe
tank,atransformer,thefluorescentbulbsandballasts,thereflector,theLEDstripsocketsandsome
wiringamongotherthings.
FastenerRemoval

Tobegin,youmustremovethreefastenersfromtherearofthehoodtogetitoffofthetank.
Wefounditeasiesttoinsertahexwrenchintoonesideofthefastenerandgentlytaplaterallywitha
hammeruntilitreleases.Thefastenersreleaseeasily,littlepowerisrequired.Repeatthisforallthree
andremovethehoodfromthetank.


Afterthehoodisremoved,unscrewandremovetheplasticcoverthatprotectsthefluorescent
bulbsandthenremovethefluorescentbulbs.





ReflectorandLEDStripRemoval
Next,wewillunscrewthereflectorandLEDsocketsfromthehood.Reflectorremovalrequires
unscrewingthetwometalfluorescentbulbholdersandtheLEDstripsocketinthemiddleofthehood.
Thereflectorshouldliftouteasily.Cutthegreengroundingwirefromthehoodtocompletelyremove
it.



Afterremovingthereflector,unscrewthefourLEDstripsocketsincludedwiththetank.Eightscrews
holdthemdown.

AfterunscrewingtheLEDstripsockets,unplugallfiveofthemfromthecircuitboard,andremove:
 

Next,wewillremovethetwofluorescentbulbsockets.Unscrewthefourmountingscrewsasindicated
bythearrowsinthephotobelow,unclip,andremovethesockets.



BallastRemoval
TheendgoalofthissectionistoremovetheballastsandtherightsideAClinein(twopowercords)
fromthehood.Wewillbeleftwithoneoriginalpowerplugthatwillpowertheoriginalfans.
RemovingtheballastsrequirescuttinganAClinein.Toavoidanyproblems,doublecheckandconfirm
allpowertothehoodisdisconnected.Thisportionoftheretrofithasitsownsectionbecauseproblems

canariseresultinginelectrocutionandpossiblydeath.Pleasehavealicensedelectriciandoublecheck
allmodificationsperformedonyourentireretrofit,andespeciallytheonesinthissection.
Pleasenotethatmodificationsonthisstepbeandlookdifferentdependingonmanufacturer
modificationsoutofourcontrol.Keepinmindtheactualgoalofthestepasopposedtothephotos.
Tobegin,withthehoodfacingupwiththebackofitnearestyourbody,cuttheAClineandneutral
wirescomingfromtherightmostballast.Ifyoucannotlocatethem,theballasthasawiringdiagramon
itslabelindicatingACLandACNforthedriver.















Next,stripandtightlycaptheACwirescutfromtheballastwithwirenuts.



Next,unclipthepowerconnectorfortheleftballast:








Afterunclippingtheleftballast,unscrewandremovebothballastsfromthehood.Therearetwoscrews
perballast.


TransformerRemoval
Toremovethetransformerontheright,wefirstunplugitfromthecircuitboard.Simplyunplugthetwo
wiresfromtheirsocketsinthelowerrighthandcornerofthepicturebelow.




Next,wewillremovetheunnecessarypowerconnectionsfromthehoodswitches.Becarefultonot
damagethecomponentsorhurtyourselfinthisstep–theconnectionscanbeverytightanddifficultto
remove.Pleasenotethatwewillleave4connectionsasis,whichwillswitchthefansonandoff.







Next,weremovethetransformerontheright.Simplyremovethetwoscrewsandremoveitfromthe
hood.


RightSideACInRemoval
ThelaststepinpreparingourhoodistoremoveBOTHpowercordsfromtherightsideofthehood.
First,unscrewthestrainreliefholdingdowntherightsidepowercords.





Next,cuttheendsoffofthecordsandpullthemoutofthehood.Replacethestrainreliefunscrewedin
theabovepictureandreplacetherubbergrommettheACinletwireswereremovedfrom.



PreparedHood
Yourpreppedhoodshouldlookliketheonebelow.Youshouldbeabletoplugitinandswitch
thefansoffandon.


InstallingtheHeatsink
Theheatsinkattachestotheplasticpostsalreadyinthehoodvia6screws.Thescrewsarethelarge
screwsincludedwiththekit.Tightengentlyuntilheatsinkissnug.Tighteningthemmorethanthismay
stripouttheplasticscrewbossesinthehoodatwhichpointyouwillhavefillthestrippedbosseswitha
hardglueorepoxyanddrillthembackoutsothescrewwillgripagain,orfindsomeothersolution.
Overtighteningmayalsosnapthescrewbossesfromthehood,inwhichcase,youwillhavetoattempt
repairwithsuperglue.

Forthisretrofit,itiseasiesttolineuponeoftherearmostscrewsandscrewitinfirst.Next,rotatethe
heatsinkaroundthisscrewuntilyoucandroptheotherthreerearscrewsintotheirmountingholes.Be
patient,theywilllineup.Oncetheylineup,screwthemallin.Notethetwoscrewsfurthestfromthe
rearofthehoodarenotscrewedinyet–theygolast.

Pleasenotethatnewerkitswillcomewithourgreenanodizednanotankheatsinkinsteadofa
traditionalsilverheatsink.Theholesandinstallationinstructionswillbeidentical,andyoucanusethis
holediagramforinstallation.









Afterthefourbottomscrewsaresnuglyaffixed,screwinthetoptwoscrews.Ensureyoudonotmake
themtootight.Overtighteningthetoptwoscrewsmaywarpyourhood(andthenthecoverwon’t
fit!).


AuroraLEDArraySpecifications

TheArrayhas4channels:
oBlue(1000mAmax)‐4XT‐ERoyalBlue+3XP‐EBlue
oColor(700mAmax)‐2XP‐EGreen+1XP‐EBlue+2XP‐ERed+1XP‐ERed‐Orange
oWhite(1500mAmax)‐4XP‐GCoolWhite
oUV–(700mAmax)4SemiLEDsVioletUV
WiringtheAuroraPuck

Inthisstep,wewillconnectthedriverjumpersandterminalplugstothearray.
First,insert4terminalplugsintothe2‐pinsocketsontheedgelabeled“ConnecttosecondarrayorPlug
beforeApplyingPower.”Theywillsnapinandbedifficulttoremoveiffullyinserted.Givethemalittle
tug(monkeytug,notgorillatug)toensuretheydonotfallout.



Next,ontheoppositeend,insertonedriverjumperintoeachofthe2‐pinsocketsontheedgelabeled
withthecolors“Blue,”“Color,”“White,”and“UV.”Aswiththeterminalplugs,theseshouldsnapinand
notfallout.Givethemagentletug(monkeytug,notgorillatug)andensuretheydonotfallout.











AttachingAuroraLEDArraytoHeatsink

ToattachtheAuroraLEDArraytotheheatsink,wewillusescrewswithasmallbitofthermalgrease
underthepuckwiththefollowing4holes:

Thearraywilllooklikethisontheheatsink(again,yourheatsinkmaybeanodizedgreen):




InsideHoodWiringforLEDStringstoV+andV‐
EachdriverhasaV+andV‐outputthatpowerstheLEDstrings.Sincewecannotputthedrivers
inthehoodnexttotheLEDs,wewillattachsomewiretothedriverjumpersandrunthatthroughthe
emptyspaceleftfromremovingsomeofthepowercords.
Westartbyrunningourwirethroughthevoidleftbyoneofthecutpowercords.


Next,werunitthroughtherubbergrommetseparatingtheinterioroftheprotectedhoodfromthe
exterior.Tiealooseknotaroundthestrainreliefposttopreventdamagetointernalcomponentsifthe
outerwiresgetpulledtoohard.





Next,wewiretheLEDstrings(jumpers)totheappropriatewiresonthedriversforyourkit.Last,tuck
thewiresneatlyunderneaththeheatsink.
WiringtheAuroraLEDArraytoDrivers

TheAuroraLEDArrayiscompatiblewithmanydriverchoices.ContactRapidLEDwithanyquestionsnot
coveredbythisdocument.IncludedbelowareinstructionsforusingMeanWellLPC,LDD,andRapidLED
Nanodrivers.Wedonotrecommendusinganytypeofswitches/quickconnectsontheDC(LED)portion
oftheset‐up.
***DONOTAPPLYPOWERTOANYCOMPONENTSBEFOREALLCONNECTIONSANDWIRINGARE
COMPLETEORYOURISKBURNINGOUTTHELEDsINYOURARRAY(S).***
Wewillusetheholewherethe5wirecableis,soremovethiscablefromyourhood.Runtheredand
blackdriverjumpersforeachstringthroughthisholetooutsideofthehood.

MeanWellLPCDrivers(Skipifyouhaveanyotherdriver):

ForLPCdrivers,usewirenutstoconnecttheV+fromadrivertothefirstredwireofthedriverjumper
forthefirstchannel.ThenconnecttheV‐fromthesamedrivertocorrespondingblackwireonthat
driverjumper.Repeatfortheother3driversanddriverjumpers.


WiringtheDrivertoACPower

TheACLineandNeutral,orACLandACNwires,whicharebrownandblue,connecttothepowercord
includedinourkits.Stripthewhiteandblackwiresofthepowercord(greenisgroundandunused)and
attachthemtotheblueandbrownwiresonthedriverwiththeincludedmoistureresistantwirenuts.
OrderisnotimportantbecauseACcurrentalternates.Obviously,thisstepisdangerousbecauseyouare
workingwith120ACcurrent.Makesurenothingispluggedinandhavealicensedelectricianassistyou
withthisstep.


RapidLEDNanoDriverswithPotentiometer(Skipifyouhaveanyotherdriver):
Usingascrewdriver,removethecoverscrewsfromtherightsideoftheNanodriver(thesidewiththe
potentiometer)andtakeoffthecoverexposingthegreenscrewterminals.


Next,wewillinsertthereddriverjumperwireandblackdriverjumperintotheV+andV‐screw
terminalsontheNanodriver.Todothis,unscrewtheV+andV‐terminalsandremoveanypre‐existing
wiresinthoseterminals.Makesurenottounscrewtheterminalscrewstoomuchorthescrewswill
comeout.InsertthereddriverjumperwireintotheV+jackandtightentheterminalscrewuntilthe
wiretheterminalwhenlightlytuggedon.RepeatwiththeblackdriverjumperwireandtheV‐terminal
screw.Ifyouareusingan0‐10Vanalogcontroller(ie.Apex)insteadofthepotentiometer,youwill
repeatthesestepsfortheD+andD‐terminaltoremovethepotentiometerandtoinsertthepositive
andnegativedimmingwiresfromthecontroller.Consultthecontroller’sdocumentationtoidentify
thesewires.

Withallofthewiresattachedsecurelyintheterminals,replacethecoverontheNanodriver.Repeat
thesestepsfortheremainingNanodrivers.
