LED build experts?

[Who.Me?]

Well; it is the 'off topic' area...

Has anyone here got experience working with DIY LED build projects?

I'm following a set of old plans to build an LED light kit to replace T5 flourescents for a nano reef aquarium and want to know whether I can use in-line programmable dimmers with the kit.

The kit plans are quite old. The kit is designed to fit in hood to replace the T5s and ballast currently in there. I'm using them because the aquarium is no longer manufactured and has an integrated hood, so there's no off-the shelf fixture that fits.

The kit uses a couple of non-dimmable meanwell constant current drivers to power a bunch of CREE CoB LEDs that are mounted on star-type PCBs, mounted on an aluminium heatsink (the hood has built-in cooling fans).

I also have a couple of in-line dimmers that I bought and used to control a manufacturer's LED light fixture on a previous aquarium. They're similar to this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225065902050?hash=item3...BMkqixw_Bg

I don't know whether they're basically PWM dimmers or just vary the voltage to the fixture. They allowed me to dim the LEDs up and down over a period of time to simulate sunrise and sunset.

I'd like to reuse those dimmers in the new fixture that I'm building. Will they work if I simply insert them in-line between the meanwell CC drivers and my new fixture like I did with the transformer-driven lights on my old aquarium?

That fixture on my old aquarium was potted to keep it waterproof and was 'driven' by a 12V 'wall wart' transformer, so I don't know whether that fixture was run as constant voltage or constant current, but the dimmer worked OK in line between the transformer and fixture. Would it also work between the meanwells and my new fixture?
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Andy


Looking for info on my truck's history. Are you from Campbell California or nearby. Do you recognise it? ... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=636786