Moonlight on a FW Tank

[kaimarkhirst]

anybody know if this is appropriate, or will alge populus get out of control?

thanks

Kai

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Shouldn't be a problem at all. I've seen it before and it doens't look bad. Nothing inappropriate about it IMO. Never heard of it causing algae growth either.

[rich311k]

Moonlights are just fine. No way they produce enough light to effect anytype of green plant or algae. They do allow you to watch your nocturnal fish in action.

[dragoonwoman]

IMO they make a tank look very cool. I have them on both my tanks. I even have a moonlight on my Q tank!

My fish seems to enjoy playing in the "moonlight" as well. Plus it eliminates the shock of going from lights on to total darkness in an instant.

[Northernguy]

I made my own moonlights for my tanks.
I have been using them every night for over a year without any issues.
They are a great addition to any tank that is veiwed into the evening.

[Aeonflame]

If you need practical help on making your own, then send me a pm. I made one a few weeks ago and it works great!.

[Scrup]

I used rope lights in my big FW tank, $8 for 12' of em. works like a charm.

[Crispy]

Do you hafta get the LEDs or any string of blue xmas lights? I am gonna do some moonlights very soon also.

[Sarkazmo]

You definitely want LEDs. They're low voltage, low current, very compact, very energy efficient, much safer than xmas lights (incandescent), and pretty easy to make. Some people use blue, others use white, it's a personal preference.

I'm interested in your DIY designs, guys. Let's see 'em!

Sark

[Aeonflame]

I used four 3 volt leds with suitable resistors and hooked the circuit up to a phone charger.

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

you can go there to calculate the values of the resistors you need and get a diagram of your circuit.

materials

1. leds (I used 4. you will need the voltage of the ones you are planning to use before you calculate.)

2. Wire ( I used 24 gauge I believe)

3. Resistors. (A parallel/series circuit is best, so you will need 2 resistors. It wont hurt to buy more since they are pretty cheap. The calculator I posted above will tell you the value resistor you need)

4. An ac/dc adapter. ( phone chargers work great)

5. A soldering iron

6. Solder

7. Heat shrink or electrical tape (heat shrink works best)

8. Helping hands (that robot looking thing that holds things in place for you. Trust me, it will make things a lot easier.)

9. A multimeter for testing your circuit.

the trickiest part of this is figuring out your power source. Four 3 volt leds are supposed to work well with a 12 volt adapter, but Ive found that most adapters actually output much more than their rated voltage. I opted instead, for using a lower rated adapter ( a 6 volt motorola phone charger.) It wasnt as bright, but it worked and doesn't heat up the resistors very much. I didnt want to chance burning out the leds with a too high voltage either. Although not as bright as when using a more powerful adapter, the leds give off a beautiful subtle light, which in darkness looks great and doesnt stress my fish out.

[Crispy]

Nice DIY writeup aeonflame, but I think I'll just buy a string of LED blue xmas lights and be done with it. :)

[Scrup]

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

stick it to the top of the canopy.

[Aeonflame]

Lol... actually, I wish i'd thought of that before I built the darn thing
:hmm3grin2orange: