Moonlighting DIY

**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.

**Drumachine09** · 07-09-2007, 06:28 PM

Make sure you dont fry your LEDS. You might have to slap on a small resistor to prevent frying one. But its a good learning experiance. Ive been toying around with the idea of moonlighting, so i think this is the the thing that will set me over the edge.

Ive often heard that the red light agitates the fish, so i would go with a white/blue LED.

**A340** · 07-09-2007, 09:58 PM

How much is the total cost?

**Drumachine09** · 07-09-2007, 10:17 PM

Originally Posted by Mdsuave13

Best of all, it takes about an hour and 8 bux to make (assuming you have the tools already)

Answer your question? lol

**Mdsuave13** · 07-09-2007, 10:18 PM

Drumachine, i have heard the same about red led's aggitating fish, but i have many different kinds and so far no bad repercussions. The best part about red is that it is darker to the eye then white or blue.. thats why they use them in cockpits of modern fighter jets. Also, i didnt have to use any resistors. I have them (6) in series which makes the total load of the leds about 9 volts. (they are 1.7v per led) i have them on 24/7 and have had no failures except for a loose connection that was my fault..

Alizee, The total setup cost me about 8 or so dollars. i had the tools and the power plug sitting around so that didnt factor into price.

**Drumachine09** · 07-09-2007, 10:28 PM

Originally Posted by Mdsuave13

Drumachine, i have heard the same about red led's aggitating fish, but i have many different kinds and so far no bad repercussions. The best part about red is that it is darker to the eye then white or blue.. thats why they use them in cockpits of modern fighter jets. Also, i didnt have to use any resistors. I have them (6) in series which makes the total load of the leds about 9 volts. (they are 1.7v per led) i have them on 24/7 and have had no failures except for a loose connection that was my fault..

Alizee, The total setup cost me about 8 or so dollars. i had the tools and the power plug sitting around so that didnt factor into price.

Ok, just as long as you arent using .5 volt LEDS. Its a different experiance. If youve got an extra one layinig around, hook it up to a 9v battery. BE VERY CAREFUL. Use goggles, and gloves.

**Mdsuave13** · 07-09-2007, 11:35 PM

haha, yes, i know about that.. they pop like a mini firework :)

i made sure to research the design before i made it, plus i didnt feel like using ohms law to figure out what resistors i needed to make it work at the time :)

BTW, the red led's put out more microlumens then the blue or the white, and they tend to be a less agressive pattern for the light dispersion. I would highly recommend the red. The led's i used from radio shack were "wide angle" and they seem to be very unobtrusive to the fish. Almost as if they were in the dark.

**Drumachine09** · 07-09-2007, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by Mdsuave13

haha, yes, i know about that.. they pop like a mini firework :)

i made sure to research the design before i made it, plus i didnt feel like using ohms law to figure out what resistors i needed to make it work at the time :)

BTW, the red led's put out more microlumens then the blue or the white, and they tend to be a less agressive pattern for the light dispersion. I would highly recommend the red. The led's i used from radio shack were "wide angle" and they seem to be very unobtrusive to the fish. Almost as if they were in the dark.

Blue LEDS are the ones used for reef nightlighting. Now, i just need to find a couple 1 watt LEDs. Go big or go home.

**dev** · 07-09-2007, 11:47 PM

As an alternative to leds I reccomend a blue cold cathode light.

They handle moisture well (I've even dropped them into the water without any harm), are inexpensive, have a low power consumption and lasts virtually forever.

I use the kind they sell to as lightmods for PCs. Those are 12v and come in a variety of different lenghts and usually include a dimmer.