moonlight ideas

jimpierce7 · 01/12/2009, 01:09 AM

Hey folks, I am looking for ideas for moon lights. I love my new NEP but it doesn't have the night lights.
Either decent fixtures or I may even be up to a DIY light. Seems to be a lot of places to get LEDs.

46FiatYamaha · 01/12/2009, 04:48 AM

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquari...rrent_usa.html I'm looking into these for my tank, seems like a good deal to me

jimpierce7 · 01/12/2009, 09:02 AM

those looked good too. http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...~FILTFIML.html caught my eye first.

I swore I saw a DIY thread for moon lights. I sure don't seem to be able to find it though. lol

J.russell · 01/12/2009, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 46FiatYamaha
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquari...rrent_usa.html I'm looking into these for my tank, seems like a good deal to me

I have been looking at those too. I only have two 250MH with no supplementals and would really like some lunar lights.

ernordstrom · 01/13/2009, 09:18 PM

Don't waste your money on those. I bought thses and my tank is lit up real nice. http://cgi.ebay.com/Moonlight-Aquari...742.m153.l1262

jimpierce7 · 01/13/2009, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ernordstrom
Don't waste your money on those. I bought thses and my tank is lit up real nice. http://cgi.ebay.com/Moonlight-Aquari...742.m153.l1262

did you get the 6 LED fixture? I have a 40g breeder and that 6 LED really lights up that 110g tank. I think the 4 LED would be enough for me?

ronin_man · 01/13/2009, 11:33 PM

i have known alot of people who have just used a small string(3feet or 6feet) of blue LED chistmas lights, and they actually have looked pretty good.
just some food for thought

i just put a 3 foot (red)ropelight ontop of my 65gal
and it looks half decent,
there are DIY options

though i do have to say i have the current usa moonlights on my 150 and it looks pretty darn good( i bought 1 moonlight and 2 links) so 3 over all, and its good enough for me

kev24k · 01/13/2009, 11:55 PM

If you have an Ikea nearby they have a fairly decent amount of LED lighting options.

jimpierce7 · 01/14/2009, 12:18 AM

lol I called all the local stores yesterday to see if any of them still had Christmas lights. Yeah, so, they all thought I was nuts.
Thanks folks!!

ernordstrom · 01/14/2009, 04:42 AM

Yeah i got 6 lights on my 55g. I had 2 of the Current USA Lunar Light/Link and although they looked okay they never did light the entirety of my aquarium now with the 6 bulbs from ebay my entire aquarium is lit. It is not as bright as the picture on the website though but pretty close. I can see everything with a nice blueish glow. The guy that makes them even sends a cd with pictures for installatiion and hardware for different installation options. These are the best DIY bulbs I have found and for less than $20 for a set its a pretty good deal. I think the 4 bulb will be plenty for a 40 breeder.

Quote:

Originally posted by jimpierce7
did you get the 6 LED fixture? I have a 40g breeder and that 6 LED really lights up that 110g tank. I think the 4 LED would be enough for me?

jimpierce7 · 01/14/2009, 09:40 AM

for the price I can experiment a little I think. Being as I don't have an actual hood to mount to I might have to get creative.

ernordstrom · 01/14/2009, 03:08 PM

Here is a pic I took of the lights last night. As you can see they are pretty bright. he dark spot in the center is where the tank brace is, I am going to remove it and replace it with a piece of acrylic and nylon screws.

saltwater4life1 · 01/14/2009, 03:53 PM

don't mean to hijack but ernordstrom,
How long have you had those eBay ones? I always heard the ebay ones quit working after a few months... But i figured a led is a led...

ernordstrom · 01/14/2009, 03:58 PM

I just got them so we will see how long they last...

smatter · 01/14/2009, 04:01 PM

Check out Champion's Deepwater Moonlight. It's a 4w LED and very bright. It's like a mini halide on my little tank. This is an old picture with nothing in the tank yet, I try to snap a new one. It really makes the corals glow.

smatter · 01/14/2009, 04:03 PM

ernordstrom · 01/14/2009, 04:53 PM

that looks nice how much is it?

ernordstrom · 01/14/2009, 05:00 PM

they look real nice but for $150 I will stick with my ebay lights and buy some nice frags with the money I saved. Now I can justify it...

syntax357 · 01/14/2009, 05:24 PM

I just bought 10 blue leds with resistors for like $1.50 got some plastic trim drilled a few holes and did a little soldering sealed up all the connections and used a plugin from my computer supply and I got some easy cheap moonlights, I also took some fine sandpaper and frosted the leds for a more diffused light. It took maybe and hour and got great looking moonlights

Jim Lepage · 01/14/2009, 08:33 PM

I fitted those in my Giesemann 24'' Spectra. It took a little but the result looks OEM.

jimpierce7 · 01/14/2009, 09:17 PM

those pics look great!!!

I'll be mounting to my nova extreme pro. I have a couple of ideas with each option. Now I guess I need to make a decision!!

smatter · 01/15/2009, 06:25 AM

It is a bit pricey, I think I paid around $100. I don't have any supplemental blues so I guess that's how I justified the price. Like I need to justify buying something cool for my tank though! The way I see it it's about the same cost as a quality halide bulb, except it lasts much much longer.

tank o tang · 01/15/2009, 09:12 AM

I had the ones Jim has pictured ( 5 over my 125) and after seeing how a set of blue christmas led rope looked over my 180 I ripped them out and went with the christmas lights. Looks great with nice even light instead of that spotlight look.

Garage1217 · 01/15/2009, 11:55 AM

I went to home depot and purchased a brushed aluminum 12 led under cabinet light. The unit has 8 leds in a circle and then 4 in the middle. I changed out the outer 8 leds for 5mm blue leds & I changed the center 4 leds out of cool white 5mm leds.

The effect is amazing & looks like actual moon rays. It is focused in the middle of the tank and gives the fish that want to hide, dark places on each side. My yellow tang loves it and always swims under the moon light. It is piercing bright & easily lights up about a 20" area at the bottom of the 25" tall tank.

RedTC · 01/15/2009, 01:18 PM

I have had LED strips from these guys(oznium.com) for over a year and they are awesome. For deep tanks they have some higher wattage LEDs that have a great output and different beam angles.

01/12/2009, 01:09 AM	#1
jimpierce7 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Marina Ca. Posts: 73	moonlight ideas Hey folks, I am looking for ideas for moon lights. I love my new NEP but it doesn't have the night lights. Either decent fixtures or I may even be up to a DIY light. Seems to be a lot of places to get LEDs.

01/13/2009, 11:33 PM	#7
ronin_man Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Burlington, Ontario, Canada Posts: 181	i have known alot of people who have just used a small string(3feet or 6feet) of blue LED chistmas lights, and they actually have looked pretty good. just some food for thought i just put a 3 foot (red)ropelight ontop of my 65gal and it looks half decent, there are DIY options though i do have to say i have the current usa moonlights on my 150 and it looks pretty darn good( i bought 1 moonlight and 2 links) so 3 over all, and its good enough for me __________________ i used to think a 33gal tank was big... now my 150 seems kinda small... Current Tank Info: freshwater ray tank 180gal system, community/show pleco tank 65gal FW, community tank 33gal FW, 29gal SW biocube

01/14/2009, 03:53 PM	#13
saltwater4life1 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Fort Dix, New Jersey Posts: 933	don't mean to hijack but ernordstrom, How long have you had those eBay ones? I always heard the ebay ones quit working after a few months... But i figured a led is a led... __________________ ~Nick Avatar is my 1969 Roadrunner, 512ci stroker in the works. 55gal Mixed reef but mostly sps :) 5.5gal Mantis shrimp reef tank Current Tank Info: 55gal mixed reef, Lights: 4x54w T5, Filter: Octopus BH2000 skimmer, Flow: Over 3,000gph

01/15/2009, 09:12 AM	#23
tank o tang Thread Lurker Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: CT Posts: 1,527	I had the ones Jim has pictured ( 5 over my 125) and after seeing how a set of blue christmas led rope looked over my 180 I ripped them out and went with the christmas lights. Looks great with nice even light instead of that spotlight look. __________________ A 5 gallon bucket of water dosen't look like much till it's on your living room floor Current Tank Info: 180gal

01/15/2009, 11:55 AM	#24
Garage1217 GET OFF MY LAWN Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Globally Posts: 5,863	I went to home depot and purchased a brushed aluminum 12 led under cabinet light. The unit has 8 leds in a circle and then 4 in the middle. I changed out the outer 8 leds for 5mm blue leds & I changed the center 4 leds out of cool white 5mm leds. The effect is amazing & looks like actual moon rays. It is focused in the middle of the tank and gives the fish that want to hide, dark places on each side. My yellow tang loves it and always swims under the moon light. It is piercing bright & easily lights up about a 20" area at the bottom of the 25" tall tank. __________________ No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness ~ Aristotle If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? ~ Albert Einstein I'm just as bent as ever. Hellishly so ~ Captain Jack Sparrow Current Tank Info: Systems and goodies by Lee-Mar / Coralvue / Neptune Systems / Jager / Spectrapure / Cree / Meanwell + more!

01/12/2009, 04:48 AM	#2
46FiatYamaha Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Matthews NC Posts: 990	http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_Aquari...rrent_usa.html I'm looking into these for my tank, seems like a good deal to me

01/12/2009, 09:02 AM	#3
jimpierce7 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Marina Ca. Posts: 73	those looked good too. http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...~FILTFIML.html caught my eye first. I swore I saw a DIY thread for moon lights. I sure don't seem to be able to find it though. lol

01/13/2009, 09:18 PM	#5
ernordstrom Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: JAX,FL Posts: 266	Don't waste your money on those. I bought thses and my tank is lit up real nice. http://cgi.ebay.com/Moonlight-Aquari...742.m153.l1262

01/13/2009, 11:55 PM	#8
kev24k Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: miami Posts: 120	If you have an Ikea nearby they have a fairly decent amount of LED lighting options.

01/14/2009, 12:18 AM	#9
jimpierce7 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Marina Ca. Posts: 73	lol I called all the local stores yesterday to see if any of them still had Christmas lights. Yeah, so, they all thought I was nuts. Thanks folks!!

01/14/2009, 09:40 AM	#11
jimpierce7 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Marina Ca. Posts: 73	for the price I can experiment a little I think. Being as I don't have an actual hood to mount to I might have to get creative.

01/14/2009, 03:08 PM	#12
ernordstrom Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: JAX,FL Posts: 266	Here is a pic I took of the lights last night. As you can see they are pretty bright. he dark spot in the center is where the tank brace is, I am going to remove it and replace it with a piece of acrylic and nylon screws.

01/14/2009, 03:58 PM	#14
ernordstrom Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: JAX,FL Posts: 266	I just got them so we will see how long they last...

01/14/2009, 04:01 PM	#15
smatter Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 2,055	Check out Champion's Deepwater Moonlight. It's a 4w LED and very bright. It's like a mini halide on my little tank. This is an old picture with nothing in the tank yet, I try to snap a new one. It really makes the corals glow.

01/14/2009, 04:03 PM	#16
smatter Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 2,055

01/14/2009, 04:53 PM	#17
ernordstrom Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: JAX,FL Posts: 266	that looks nice how much is it?

01/14/2009, 05:00 PM	#18
ernordstrom Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: JAX,FL Posts: 266	they look real nice but for $150 I will stick with my ebay lights and buy some nice frags with the money I saved. Now I can justify it...

01/14/2009, 05:24 PM	#19
syntax357 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Indiana Posts: 312	I just bought 10 blue leds with resistors for like $1.50 got some plastic trim drilled a few holes and did a little soldering sealed up all the connections and used a plugin from my computer supply and I got some easy cheap moonlights, I also took some fine sandpaper and frosted the leds for a more diffused light. It took maybe and hour and got great looking moonlights

01/14/2009, 08:33 PM	#20
Jim Lepage Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Quebec City, Canada Posts: 76	I fitted those in my Giesemann 24'' Spectra. It took a little but the result looks OEM.

01/14/2009, 09:17 PM	#21
jimpierce7 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Marina Ca. Posts: 73	those pics look great!!! I'll be mounting to my nova extreme pro. I have a couple of ideas with each option. Now I guess I need to make a decision!!

01/15/2009, 06:25 AM	#22
smatter Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 2,055	It is a bit pricey, I think I paid around $100. I don't have any supplemental blues so I guess that's how I justified the price. Like I need to justify buying something cool for my tank though! The way I see it it's about the same cost as a quality halide bulb, except it lasts much much longer.

01/15/2009, 01:18 PM	#25
RedTC Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Chicago/Forest Park Posts: 224	I have had LED strips from these guys(oznium.com) for over a year and they are awesome. For deep tanks they have some higher wattage LEDs that have a great output and different beam angles.