Moonlights?..how to?

[EnderG60]

Ok I would like to make a moonlight for my 55g and i know they are just blue LED's but i have also seen some that come with red LED's also whats up with those?

also could a cold cathode (either 6 or 12") be used or would that be to bright?

[Fiji Live Rock]

No.

True moonlights are not just blue Led's.

They are actually spectrometry tuned to mimic the moon's actual spectrum. (Hope I spelled it all in context. :roll: )

If you use normal blue Led's then you will just be able to use it for show with no added benifits.

[Sandworm]

Here is a link that will help you make PROPER moonlight for your tank for about 40 bucks US..

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

[EnderG60]

cool thats what i need

now then what is up with those red "night visoin" lights???

[dave_at_winterpeg_ca]

cool thats what i need

now then what is up with those red "night visoin" lights???

Hi, First post here - I think I can answer the red light question.

As far as I know red is the only colour that does not affect your viewing of objects in the dark ie - looking at something and then causing blindness afterwards for a short bit of time. I learned this from staring at the stars one night and hearing this from someone very much into nighttime viewing with little to no light.

Hope that helps;
Dave

[Sandworm]

Hi Dave,

Welcome to the Reeflounge, glad to see a newbie here chiming in.. Hope to see you around more and let us know what tank you have and the critters in it.. Enjoy.

[DEAD_BY_DAWN]

thanks for tis post i have already called around trying to find those leds,radio shack has them but there 600nm is that ok,and would two be enough for a 20g reef ?:)

[1996 cobra]

600 is to high 450 is the optimal blue color for moon lights.

justin

[kaotica]

Hi, I wrote the moonlight DIY that was referred to in the thread.
just wanted to say hello, and urge some of you who have used the instructions to please post in the moonlight forums i set up, i'd love get some feedback from everyone using them!

thanks in advance

regards
fabio


90G reef w/ 30G sump

[bzzbee2]

1996 cobra. i have read in several different places that 470-480 is the correct wavelength for the moonlight.. anyway... there are also 2 types of superbright white led's one is a blue tinted one and the other is a yellow tinted one. i think if you were to use the blue led's and suppliment with a white.... or search online for a Aqua colored LED... it woud look cool..

on another note, if you want an awesome shimmer effect from your moonlighting, place the led at one end of the tank and point to the other... of course it helps to have two led's. but you eliminate a lot of your spotlight effect, and the tank looks awesome with the shimmer. I pointed mine from one side to the other aiming about 3" below the surface. the refraction of the light lit the tank in a great way... my led's have a 15 degree viewing angle...

[dave_at_winterpeg_ca]

canadians take note: www.digikey.com has canadian operations that will get you 10 blue led's for 28.50. i ordered it at 3pm, and it was on my desk at 8am the next morning - didn't realize their office was based in winnipeg :)

anyways - i'm using 5 leds on a 65 gallon 9volts 500mA with 180ohm resistors. Not as bright as I thought it would be, but my tank is cloudy from sand right now..

we'll see how things go ;)

[bzzbee2]

humm.. you might want to check what the mcd rating of those led's that you have is... you may not have bright LED's. you are running at the correct resistance, if your running 30mA. and you have 1 resistor per led. just make sure each resistor comes from a positive lead, and not from another LED.... each resistor has to be coming directly from your power source to wire this way...

here are some alternative methods...

http://www.projectx.com/Kits/LEDNotes/

wire in series or wire parallel...

[dave_at_winterpeg_ca]

I'm using 1000mcd lights - I think I just expected it to be _REALLY_ bright, but it is bright enough I think ;)

[bzzbee2]

1000mcd, although bright, is not nearly as bright as a 4000mcd led. I believe the ones that i am running run at 4500mcd at 20mA. I could probably get 6000 or 8000mcd if i were to bump the amperage to 30mA, but 20mA is the recommended voltage for blue LED's. From what i have heard, anything more than 20 is overdriving the LED and may lead to a shorter lifespan..(although since the lifespan of LED's is already so long i dont really think it would matter to much)

[rutledgek]

Does anyone have 3 extra 470-480 LEDs used in the DIY project that they could sell me. I Cant bring myself to purchase 15 when all I need i need is a few. IF so please let me know how much you would like for them.
Thanks,