Mdsuave13
07-09-2007, 06:06 PM
Ok, so after having my first tank for a few weeks i got annoyed that i couldnt watch the fish at night.
I decided to look into moon lights. I thought they all seemed really expensive and nothing really looked worth the money (i'm a cheapo)
So i decided to build one from scratch.
Things you will need:
Wire cutters, soldering iron, solder, electrical tape, drill with proper bit for led size, hot glue and gun.
A power supply plug from an old piece of electronics equipment.
(i used a 9v dc power plug from an old cordless phone.)
You will need to hit up your local radio shack or equivalent store for these items:
An electrical project box, about 3"x4" or so.
some 16 or 18 gauge wire
A switch for turning something on and off.
As many LED's as you think you will need to get good coverage. (i used 6 in a 55 gallon tank 48" wide.
The LED i chose is a red, wide angle LED that puts out 3000 or so microlumens. They light well all the way to the bottom and have a wide enough light dispersion that illuminates the tank well.
I have also not seen any ill effects of using these LED's.
Step 1.
You will want to figure out where you will be mounting your led's on the tank hood. I chose 3 spots behind the lights towards the filters for mounting mine per hood.
Step 2.
You will need a small bit that is the same size as the tip of the LED. You will drill your hole and if you used the correct size, it should just slip in and stay there due to its increasing size. (if not, use the hot glue to seal the back of it onto your hood AFTER you wire them up.)
Step 3.
Then you will see how long you need to make your wire to wire the LED's together. So pull the led's back out of the hood (you shouldnt glue them in untill you are done with the wiring) On your led there should be 2 terminals coming off of it. Pick the longer one or the shorter one and use that as the input side, use the other for the output side. You will make a series loop with the led's. run the first wire from led 1's output to the input side on led 2. Then from led 2's output side, run it to the input on led 3 and so on. When you get to the last led the output should go back to your negative wire on the power plug. The positive side will go to the swich, from the switch run it to the input on led 1. Now you have a loop.
Step 4.
The switch and power plug wires should be mounted into the electrical box you have. Use your drill bit and drill a hole small enough to fit the power plug wires thru, also use a bit to drill the hole to fit the switch in. Then use a bit of hot glue to keep your power plug wire from falling out or getting yanked out easily. Now plug the power plug in and hit the switch, you should have very bright led's.
Step 5.
Put the led's back into the holes that you drilled into the hood and hot glue them in if need be.
You will have an eerie glowing night light that allows your nocturnal fishies and crabs to do their thing, and not disturb them or you while you sleep. These create just enough light to see what is going on, but not too much to interfere with your sleep, the animals or anything like that. Best of all, it takes about an hour and 8 bux to make (assuming you have the tools already)
I tried to take photos of the led's illumination, but i cannot get a good shot of it. If you have any other questions, ask away.
I decided to look into moon lights. I thought they all seemed really expensive and nothing really looked worth the money (i'm a cheapo)
So i decided to build one from scratch.
Things you will need:
Wire cutters, soldering iron, solder, electrical tape, drill with proper bit for led size, hot glue and gun.
A power supply plug from an old piece of electronics equipment.
(i used a 9v dc power plug from an old cordless phone.)
You will need to hit up your local radio shack or equivalent store for these items:
An electrical project box, about 3"x4" or so.
some 16 or 18 gauge wire
A switch for turning something on and off.
As many LED's as you think you will need to get good coverage. (i used 6 in a 55 gallon tank 48" wide.
The LED i chose is a red, wide angle LED that puts out 3000 or so microlumens. They light well all the way to the bottom and have a wide enough light dispersion that illuminates the tank well.
I have also not seen any ill effects of using these LED's.
Step 1.
You will want to figure out where you will be mounting your led's on the tank hood. I chose 3 spots behind the lights towards the filters for mounting mine per hood.
Step 2.
You will need a small bit that is the same size as the tip of the LED. You will drill your hole and if you used the correct size, it should just slip in and stay there due to its increasing size. (if not, use the hot glue to seal the back of it onto your hood AFTER you wire them up.)
Step 3.
Then you will see how long you need to make your wire to wire the LED's together. So pull the led's back out of the hood (you shouldnt glue them in untill you are done with the wiring) On your led there should be 2 terminals coming off of it. Pick the longer one or the shorter one and use that as the input side, use the other for the output side. You will make a series loop with the led's. run the first wire from led 1's output to the input side on led 2. Then from led 2's output side, run it to the input on led 3 and so on. When you get to the last led the output should go back to your negative wire on the power plug. The positive side will go to the swich, from the switch run it to the input on led 1. Now you have a loop.
Step 4.
The switch and power plug wires should be mounted into the electrical box you have. Use your drill bit and drill a hole small enough to fit the power plug wires thru, also use a bit to drill the hole to fit the switch in. Then use a bit of hot glue to keep your power plug wire from falling out or getting yanked out easily. Now plug the power plug in and hit the switch, you should have very bright led's.
Step 5.
Put the led's back into the holes that you drilled into the hood and hot glue them in if need be.
You will have an eerie glowing night light that allows your nocturnal fishies and crabs to do their thing, and not disturb them or you while you sleep. These create just enough light to see what is going on, but not too much to interfere with your sleep, the animals or anything like that. Best of all, it takes about an hour and 8 bux to make (assuming you have the tools already)
I tried to take photos of the led's illumination, but i cannot get a good shot of it. If you have any other questions, ask away.