Richard Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Hey guys; I've been reading up about this on the American cichlid sites yet the products which they use i don't think are avaliable in Australia. I was just wondering has anyone got one of these? Did you just use a normal LED which you can get from a car parts shop or did you go to a reptile shop to purchuse special LED lights for them. cheers; Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzFish Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 i think someone on RTAW did this not long ago, from memory they used just normal LED lights from a wholesaler....head on over to reefing the australian way and search it, im sure its in there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted January 10, 2006 Author Share Posted January 10, 2006 Thanks MB found there links ! http://ozreef.org/component/option,com_sea...earch&Itemid=27 theres the link for everyone who hasnt already seen it. cheers; Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wui39 Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 My night light is a bit more expensive than if you built you own with cheaper alternatives but I use surface mount HI LED's. Gives great light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaZ Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Are you guys using these on reef tanks or cichlid tanks? Is there any purpose other than it looking pretty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wui39 Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 I use it as a kind of lead in and lead out to the main lighting. I think its better than having the tank lights turn off and then scaring the fish everytime I turn the room lights on. Then again I keep really jumpy fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steatocranus sp red eyes Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Helle, we build that Moon lights on our own. We use blue LED 5mm and restistors 1KOhm. With an 12V powersupply it take jus minutes to build one. Will look if I got some pictures of the construction we made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzFish Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Are you guys using these on reef tanks or cichlid tanks? Is there any purpose other than it looking pretty? ← Not really, ever noticed your fish go mental when the lights turn on?? Dawn/Dusk lighting helps alleviate the stress a wee bit.... They are mainly used on reefs to simulate dawn/dusk for corals.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucifersJester Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Some plans ir diagrams would be awesome... This sounds like it could be good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mianos Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I use 4 blue LEDs in serial with an old phone power supply on a timer that turns the blue lights on about the same time as the main lights go out. My fish don't go crazy when the lights get turned on, probably because it's already very light in the room. What I like about the night lights is watching the nocturnal fish come out. My larger catfish and Botia modesta come out soon after the main lights go out. If I sit in front of the tank my eyes soon adapt to the lower light. My main tank really comes to life in a different manner to the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[RK] Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Just a quick question mianos. Do you have a separate timer to turn on the moonlight? I was wondering if there was electrical device that turned the device connected to it OFF, if the device was powered ON. but when the device was powered OFF, it turned the connected device ON. That way you need one timer. And as soon as that goes off, the other device goes on. Get what i mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wui39 Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I suppose you want a Automatic transfer switch........cheaper just to use timers, a simple ATS will already set you back $200. You could also do it with relays I suppose. I've set mine so that the 2 overlap by about 30-40 minutes, that way even with the inaccuracy of the cheap timers I have a smooth transition from one to the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[RK] Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Ah okay. Yeah probably a waste of money. I'll just stick to the 2 timers i use now. I'm using one to turn off co2 and lights, and the other to turn on airstone for oxygen at nights. I'll add a moonlight to that one day. going to use the 15cm neon tubes you get from dick smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mianos Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Just a quick question mianos. Do you have a separate timer to turn on the moonlight?← No, just a seperate 10 buck mechanical timer. I used to have those fancy electronic ones everywhere but over the years they all died and have been replaced by the cheap ones that have never failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steatocranus sp red eyes Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Hello, I found a good side of a user of our side. Even when it is in german, the pictures shloud explain how to set it up. If you need further informations just ask. Moon light how to set it up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzFish Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 looking at that link, I cant see the benefit in using LED's. A simple 1 or 2 foot Actinic fluro will do the same job..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 looking at that link, I cant see the benefit in using LED's. A simple 1 or 2 foot Actinic fluro will do the same job..... ← That photo won’t give you a true representation of the light that the LEDs are producing as it has been taken with a timer, and with the camera open for longer it has gathered more light than is actually present in any given instant. The LEDs will produce “shafts” of blue light surrounded by blackness (which looks absolutely incredible by the way), where as an actinic 4’ light will create an over all blue light that illuminates the entire tank. I don’t know if either of these have any benefits or detriments over each other. The LEDs make it harder to see the fish the further they are from the “shafts” of light (depending on how far appart the LEDs are situated), but at the same time it gives the fish a choice how much light they want to be affected by. Where as the actinic will allow you to see the fish anywhere that an ordinary coloured light will allow you to see it, but will still be easier on the fish’s eyes. I think moonlight is not the right term for this post. What is being discussed here is what I term dawn/dusk or sunrise/sunset lighting. On my 1800 litre tank I do this with 6 blue LED set to timers to come on and off just before the main light comes on. The first light after this is a metal halide which warms up over a minute or so, so this light also is not a sudden bust of illumination. My new replacement Tropheus tank just has a standard actinic blue 4’ tube over it to do the same job as the blue LEDs. In regards to what I would call moonlight, just go to BigW and they have for approximately $17.00 a night light consisting of a small ball fitting LED (Bunnnings have them also for a bit over $20). This plugs directly into a power point, and has directional control so you can move the light output to where best suits you. To give you an idea of its strength; with the tank lights on, or indeed off in daylight conditions, they provide no visible light. However at night they come into their own. I have situated mine on the two tanks mentioned above, fitted via a timer over one end of each tank, they put out only enough light to create silhouetted lighting for a fraction of that end of the tank, and the rest remains black, which I think is more appropriate than having the same light levels over the entire tank because it will allow the fish to choose how much the want to be impacted by the light. I have been surprised by how much activity this “moon light” promotes, the fish seem to be still definitely aware when I pass the tank, but much more …docile. With the Tropheus they are more active but the Tangs in the 1800 litre tank (Kitumba, calvus, foai etc.) though they are more active than when the tank is fully dark, they still seem to be asleep but more aware of their surrounds. I have rationalised to myself that this is a good thing as the moon itself in the tropics is almost enough to read by, so in the wild, they may not experience the kind of darkness that is provide when encased inside their artificially illuminated aquarium situated inside a house. In regards to the sunrise/sunset lighting this is a positively beneficial advancement for the fish. Don’t you hate being plunged into light when someone has turned your room light on? Fish not only don’t have eyelids to close, but nor hands to cover their eyes with, which is why they go tearing around the tank. So to introduce them to a brighter lighting coming up (or indeed to their day coming to an end) by using a sunrise/sunset light is only a good advancement. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 Thanks for that useful information Craig. About the LED lights in bigW and Bunnings, buying these would save me from making one from resistors and a LED globe and other things right? cheers; Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 I’m not an electrician, but if you make a light, I can’t see how it will be any differnt from what I have recently purchased (from Bunnings unfortunately as BigW was cheaper) and installed on my tank. But remember the distinction I have made about a moonlight light and a sunrise/sunset lighting period. The little ball LEDs available from BigW is something that you could leave on all night, which is not what you are trying to achieve with a sunrise/sunset scenario. I would think that depending on how big the tank is you are trying to illuminate, these little ball lights would have a bigger impact, and on say a three foot tank would be more a sunset/sunrise than moonlight as most of the tank would be affected by the light, there be it, a VERY weak light. Just go to BigW and have a look, I’m sure once you’ve seen them you will understand their potential. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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