With the CON1, you have a powerful control unit for all SOLAR STINGER® SOLAR RAPTOR® products with DRV power supply unit. Its three individually controllable outputs allow you to individually control the lighting for your aquariums — including natural-looking sunrises and sunsets, etc.
As with all powerful control devices, it makes sense to become more familiar with the device logic first. In the following, we will give you an overview of how the CON1 is used. However, not even we can explain it better than “Old Man Aquaristik” does in his video here. Or what do you think, isn’t that a great explanation?
Directly or More Conveniently by PC
How do you program the CON1? You can make the settings directly on the display of the device. However, if you want to program more sophisticated scenarios, it is more convenient to do this on the PC. For this, you will need a mini USB cable and the configuration tool (Windows XP or newer operating system required), which you can find here: econlux.de/updates.
This way, you can set the switch-on and switch-off times and slowly raise and lower the light, just like in nature. After all, nobody simply switches the light on or off in nature either! If you have controllable lamps such as the SOLAR STINGER® SunStrip 35 FRESH, SOLAR STINGER® SunStrip 70 MARINE or the SOLAR RAPTOR® SunStrip 35 REPTILE, which are equipped with RGB LEDs, you can also adjust the colour gradients and simulate really natural-looking sunrises and sunsets — or try out completely different colour games (at least within a framework that is suitable for your animals and plants). The three outputs of the CON1 can each be controlled individually!
Once the programming for your desired light sequence has been completed and saved, the CON1 control unit will play it back every day.
Here you see the CON1 in action:
What Else is Important About CON1?
Two things are also important for your aquarium lighting setup:
Output Power Greater than Input Power
In general, the connection is made as follows: You first connect the DRV power supply unit to the input of the CON1. It is essential that you select the output power (size) of the DRV according to the input power (wattage) of the connected products. You must therefore add together the input power of all connected devices PLUS the input power of the CON1 (1 watt) and then select the DRV to match this total power.
In total, the three outputs of the CON1 can be used to control any products. up to a total of max. 160 watts input power. Here is a calculation example, as can be found in the product information for the CON1:
Example:
Output 1 – SunStrip FRESH 35 850 mm / 31 W
Output 2 – SunStrip FRESH 70 850 mm / 60 W
Output 3 – WaterTube ActinicMoon 500 mm / 7,5 W
=> Total input power = 31 W + 60 W + 7,5 W + 1 W = 99,5 W
CON1 Input – DRV2 120W
=> Ausgangsleistung = 120 W
With this setup, for example, you are on the safe side!
And another tip: With a DRV Y-Cable, you can also control several products via one output, which are then switched synchronously according to the logic programmed for this output.
Obtain Optimum Spectrum
The second point worth noting concerns the optimum light spectrum:
As briefly mentioned above, you should not “go wild” with the colours of your aquarium lighting. This is because, at least for the light spectra of all SOLAR STINGER®/SOLAR RAPTOR® SunStrips, the following applies: These are already ideally designed for their area of application (plant and coral growth)! If you change the colour composition here, the light spectra may no longer work as well for your plants and/or corals. For these lighting products, you should therefore always control all LEDs in equal proportions, e.g. all colour channels at 100 %, all at 80 % or all at 65 %. In this way, the overall proportions remain the same and the optimum spectrum is maintained.
Software Updates
Another piece of good news: the CON1 can be updated! And of course the software updates are free of charge. You can find all available updates under the already known link www.econlux.de/updates/. Download the desired update and install it via the mini USB input of your CON1.
Special hint
You can also use the CON1 to generally dim lamps that are too strong for your aquarium or your current stocking. This means you don’t have to buy new lighting just because you might need generally weaker lighting.
