Moon lights...who has them?

[prof]

Who has moon lights? What lights are you using? What time period do you run them? Any other comments...


I am getting ready to complete my hood for my 58. I have 2 250watt Ushio 10k MH and 2 96watt PC actinics that should light the tank nicely but I would also like some moon lighting.

Thanks,
Dave

[scottz]

I've got moonlights set up on my new 55. I think I got them from pcmods.com


http://www.pcmods.com/details.asp?ProdID=137

I've got them on for two hours at night. They come on shortly before the main tank lights go out.

[JimD]

I made my own using a blue LED from Radio Shack, a 100 ohm resistor and a power suply from an old cordless telephone.

[SuperXdude]

Jim, please post a pic if you can.

Thanks

SuperX

[JimD]

I knew someone would ask for a pic! lol, Since I use webtv, I have no way of posting pics. But the moonlight looks as good or better than most seen on RC, do a search there and youll get an idea of what mine looks like, in fact, theres tons of info on DIYing them easily and very inexpensively.

[R.Allard]

if you want a good cheap alternative,i bought a fixture from home depot for about 10bucks and a ballast/timer combo from wal-mart
for about 20 bucks.
its a 12v system and you can buy the lights at home depot or lows
for arround 4.00 for a pack of 2.
the nice thing is that they come in different colors of blue,green and red so you can mix colors etc.
my unit is rated at 88watts so i could run a bunch of lights if i wanted.
the plus is that it already come with a timer built in.
my 20k xm turns off arround 9pm and the moon lights turn on from 8:45 till arround 3:30am.
hope that helps R.

[Louis]

I'm using a super blue LED from radio shack. It cost me under 10 bucks to build. I have a picture but it doesnt do justice at all.

http://surrealinnovations.com/saltwater/moonlight_01.jpg

http://surrealinnovations.com/saltwater/moonlight_02.jpg

My moonlight stays on 24hrs/day. I have a 10hr photoperiod on my main tank lights.

I read some very good articles about moonlights, they were very helpful.

Article on moonlight:
http://www.kaotica.com/frag/diy/moonlight/

Thread on reefcentral.com
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=205488

HTH!

[prof]

I like the cold cathode tube idea. I am running a 12/5volt computer power supply on my tank that will be used for accessories like fans and moon lights. So I figure the cold cathode or the leds are my best options. I don't want to use low voltage or incandescent.

Any ideas of the light spectrum of the cold cathode???

Thanks,
Dave

Added pics of hood progress. I am almost ready to apply the finish...

[JimD]

The pics Louis posted is pretty much how mine look, the thing about the LED lighting opposed to the CCT lighting is the same as metal halide compared to VHO, with a single point light source you get the "shimmer" effect, even with such a dim light, its very cool! You wont get that using a cold cathode tube, or it wont be nearly as visible. I run mine 24/7. No need for a timer as you cant see it with the main lights on.
Jim

[JimD]

Oh yeah, the cold cathodes run at 430nm, the led's run at 460nm,, big difference in spectrum.

[TexasState]

Jim,
What happen to those 5 blue bubls I gave you? Are they working ok? The other 5 I have left is still in the same exact spot where you left them.

[JimD]

lol, Vinh, the lamps I got from you are the ones Im using, theyre working fine! If youre not gonna use the other ones, Ill take them. uh oh, I see a blue light special in my near future. :-)

[TexasState]

If I give you two more, can you help me wired up the other three. I hope they are not already damaged by the heat inside my car. You know how that goes. LOL. I bought two $120 cordless telephone system a few years back, never use them. I guess it's a good time to put them to use. $120 for each LED light. Ouch!

[whatsareef]

Well I went the not so cheap but lazy route and bought 2 custom sea life moon lights from charley. I have them setup so that they are on either side of the tank. I put them on timers so that the one on the right turns on after the actinics go off then the other side turns on a couple hours later, then after a couple more hours the right side turns off... somewhat simulates the rising and setting of the moon... Have to say that I like the outcome so far...

[witecap4u]

I use the street light right outside our house, its the cheapest and easiest way I know....hehe

[TexasState]

LED come in many colors, and some of these colors make your corals florescent at night.

[Charley]

Glad you liked the ones you got from me. I replaced them, but still have not set one up in the fishroom. Guess I need to get off my lazy tushie. They do look quite cool I must agree.

[bozack]

Besides whitecap's street light method (which I like BTW).
Why can't I set up my actinics as my moonlights for now?

Charley,
You need to set some up so you can sell me on 'em.

Mike

[Charley]

Charley,
You need to set some up so you can sell me on 'em.

Mike

hehe. It is on my list of things to get done. I have one running in a 29 in the back of the dark fish room. Now the 29 is empty, and the light just hangs in the tank, but you know....

:)

Charley

[Reefdude]

I've read through the thread and decided im gonna make one for my 7 gallon minibow. JimD I like your idea and am gonna give it a try. Will 100ohm resistor work for only one bulb?? also, which size bulb did you use?? as you can see from the link below there are a few to choose from. thanks again. :D


http://www.radioshack.com/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F011%5F006%5F002%5F000&Page=1&find=led(keyword)

its great to be posting on the forums again!!![/url]

[TexasState]

Ben,
You can buy the LED light in bulk for cheap on Ebay. Just remember there's different kind of LED bulb(brightness, power usage, etc.)
At 1Watts, the PFO LED is one of the brightest LED out there, but they cost about $75 for each setup.

[JimD]

Reefdude,
The size of the resistor is determined, using ohms law, by the voltage of the power supply in relation to the max voltage required by the load, (bulb). I would suggest using the blue 2600 MCD 5mm led, it has a nice viewng angle and it has the correct wavelength, 468nm compared to 430nm on the other 5mm led. That little difference will amaze you. What I would do if I were you, find a power supply, usually a supply pack for a cordless phone, in the 3.7v to 4.5v range, not exceeding 20ma, then you dont need any resistors, and wire as many as you need in PARALLEL, meaning all cathode leads connected together and all anode leads configured the same. This is a reasonably simple DIY project. Lemmee know if ya need more info,
Jim