Night Lighting

**JZA247** · 06-02-2009, 01:10 PM

Hey, i was just wondering whether there were certain coloured or styled lights that you can put in your tank overnight that wont keep the fish awake?
I know sleep is important for fish but i would like to enjoy the tank overnight, so i was think perhaps a red neon etc? i really have no idea :)

**rich311k** · 06-02-2009, 01:13 PM

There are moon lights available, many people use them. They are usually on the blue side.

**Northernguy** · 06-02-2009, 01:14 PM

They are blue!
You can check out the DIY section for a few options!They are great for night veiwing!

**JZA247** · 06-02-2009, 01:15 PM

thank you very much, ill look them up now.

**AABatteries** · 06-03-2009, 03:06 AM

Red neon would be great, if you wanna spend the money. Fish cannot see red light.

**korith** · 06-03-2009, 03:34 AM

You can read up on moonlighting. Basically all they are is one or two small led lights, you can get them in diff colors. Some light fixtures have them built in. There is a post in the diy thread where someone put one together. Don't forget out in the wild the fish had a moon that lit up their nights, so I wouldn't too much about keeping the fish awake. Just don't get too powerful a led to light up the whole tank!

**Jacko** · 06-03-2009, 03:41 AM

People use LED lights alot, but one of the main complaints with them is that they usually give a focused beam, so up at the top of the water there's 2 dark triangles that are pretty much unlit and fairly obvious, plus whatever is directly below the light is alot brighter lit than the rest of the tank.

Another route to go would be cold cathode, they're a tube and diffuse the light really well from what I've seen, you can get pretty much all the supplies at a radioshack.

Here's a great article on DIY cold cathode

**Northernguy** · 06-03-2009, 03:55 AM

I use NOMA blue screw in bulbs in a pull chain light fixture mounted up in my canopies.
Real cheap,has a nice moonlight glow and is easy to install if you don't have a stock hood.Cost me 7 bucks a tank.

**ILuvMyGoldBarb** · 06-03-2009, 04:11 AM

Originally Posted by AlexW

People use LED lights alot, but one of the main complaints with them is that they usually give a focused beam, so up at the top of the water there's 2 dark triangles that are pretty much unlit and fairly obvious, plus whatever is directly below the light is alot brighter lit than the rest of the tank.

Have you ever seen an underwater video from the night? That's exactly what the moon does. While generally fluorescent bulbs provide a more visually pleasing display in a tank, incandescent bulbs provide a bit more realistic light pattern. This same thing holds true for Metal Halides. Many hobbyists still choose metal halides because of the "shimmer" they create, this shimmer is the same shimmer you get from sunlight underwater as well. I personally have that kind of moon light on my Reef tank and I absolutely love the visual effect it gives. Sure there are dark spots, that's what should be expected, it's a more realistic view. :)

**Jacko** · 06-03-2009, 04:28 AM

I see what you're saying, but what I'm talking about is this type of thing happening when people go with DIY LED's
(not my pic, I got it here)

He adds diffusers afterwards, but alot of people don't and I've heard alot of complaints about the more unnatural straight edges of the light in the water (not too noticeable on the ground once the tank is all decorated).