Moon Light - Night time viewing

smithrc · Post by **smithrc** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 5:03 pm

OK folks -

After somone posted about watching their fish after lights out I thought I'd share a guide to fitting a moonlight system to your tank.

The light is a dim blue (when setup right) that dosnt disturm the fish's normal sleep patterns and allows us to watch what they are upto at night

Some bulbs are available to replace one already in the tank - however, my tank cant turn the bulbs on seperatly... and my plants in some tanks need all the light they can get. So I decided on an add on.

Have a look on eBay for 'Cold cathode' they are popular for PC case lighting and are ideal for the moonlight application.

Here is what I got...

all you then need is a mains voltage adapter

The tank I've just fitted these to actually have a clear waterproof panel between the bulbs and the water, so I've fitted them to that. It would be just as easy to fit them to the inside of a hood

I've taken this off and fitted the neon tubes onto it.

having drilled a hole through to the gap in the back of the lid, the wires are parred through...

The screen was then placed back in the lid and the wires threaded to the power supply...

The voltage can be adjusted using the mains adapter to a suitable level.

I have mine setup on a mains timer to come on 2 hours before the lights and 2 hours after the lights of out.

I'll take a few piccys of one of mine tonight and add the pictures tomorrow.

If any one is interested, I've just put a couple of kits together that have a brightness control on them and come with the power supply ready to go.
£25 including instructions, fittings and P&P.

Markymole · Post by **Markymole** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 5:05 pm

I`ve got two sets of these(twin 12" and twin 4") on my main and small tank and have to say that there a good bit of kit

but Smithrc don`t you think your charging a little bit much for the kits your making when you can get them off ebay for under 20quid including p+p and even cheaper if you go for the twin 4" set instead of the 12" ones

NeoCult · Post by **NeoCult** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 5:07 pm

hi, i'll have one of those kits off you in a few weeks when i get my new tank set up, thats if you still have one, excellant idea and perfect for watching the zebs

cheers for the step through also, looks great

smithrc · Post by **smithrc** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 8:47 pm

Markymole wrote:don`t you think your charging a little bit much for the kits your making

No.

I actually think its a bit rude of you to post something like that. do you walk into a shop and point out there prices or do you just shop around a bit.

I'll justify myself still though.

The parts cost me £16. It takes me 30 mins to put it together, I then have to buy a large juffy bag and pay for postage. not bad for £25 if you ask me.

If someone wanted to DIY it then it will be cheaper. And Ive posted the guide so that people can!

Neo - I've got the bits for 2 more - I'll put your name on one set

NeoCult · Post by **NeoCult** » Sun Jun 12, 2005 9:59 pm

i thinks its a fine price

cheers m8 i'll give you a shout in a few weeks

smithrc · Post by **smithrc** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 1:28 am

Here are a few pics showing the possibilities of the 2x12" tubes we use.

The brightness depends on the water clarity and scum on the tubes etc but the are fully adjustable

They need to be run via a mains timer as they dont have an on/off switch.

Adam · Post by **Adam** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 12:42 pm

Hey smithrc,

That's a great effect you have going there, I'm seriously tempted to rip out the blue cathodes in my PC and put them on my tank instead. Personally I think that your kit represents good value for money. I was quoted £60 for an Aqua Medics moonlight kit the other day which I thought was way too expensive for what it was. I noticed that you can also dim your lights, the kit that I saw didn't have that facility and was about the size of a brick.

You can also get small LED lights that produce the same sort of lighting as the larger cold cathode tubes. Would these be any good to use?

Great idea mate.

Lied · Post by **Lied** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 1:46 pm

Looks nice!

Markymole · Post by **Markymole** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:34 pm

Yes smithrc i do make a note of prices and shop around

,why should i pay 50quid for something when i could the same thing for 40 somewhere else

i think its my basic right as a consumer to do that

I cant really understand why your offering to make these kits when you must know you can get them cheaper as you are an ebay user after all

and why didn`t you go for the complete kit with the transformer

ie;
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 87176&rd=1
or
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 04502&rd=1
Ok your fitting guide is good if you`ve got the same hood as yourself but from my experience it`s really not that hard to put them together,it`s just a case of putting the tubes where they wont get wet and plug and play and your post doesn`t cover DIYing the kit as you state

I guess my point is that if you could of made them cheaper than what there going for on ebay to save everyone a few quid then fair play, but you cant, so i think people should have the choice between yours and the ebay ones

Sorry rant over

smithrc · Post by **smithrc** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 10:11 pm

I havent said people cant buy them else where. I didnt know that there were on ebay for about £20 either.

I'm sure the guide will give people the idea - we have them fitted under the flaps on other hoods and next to the tubes on others.

I could make them for cheaper if I was to bulk buy all the parts. But that would mean a huge outlay for me and after all, I'm not making them for profit... they are just to save people having to make them themselves.

Do you think i would have put a guide up if I wanted to sell the kits??

smithrc · Post by **smithrc** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 9:38 pm

Still got bits for 2 more of these kits left...

Neo - Still interested?

NeoCult · Post by **NeoCult** » Fri Jul 08, 2005 12:08 am

i am and ive paid lol cheers

NeoCult · Post by **NeoCult** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 8:21 am

Got the set today m8 cheers, Nice n dim which is great looking forward to seeing it tonight in action

smithrc · Post by **smithrc** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:39 am

Excelent

I set up another kit on the new L236 tank last night
They are skitty buggers... 0-60 in 0.1s - zooming about all over the place after lights out

NetsuaiAngel · Post by **NetsuaiAngel** » Fri Jun 30, 2006 11:17 pm

Just wanted to revive this post.

Moonlighting is really great for zebras because they're so active when the lights go out.

I purchased this:

http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?Pa ... ProdID=121

And place it in the front area of my tank and shined it down towards the back.

My zebras come out when the room's light is out and they zip around playing with each other

It's also a great way to make sure your zebras are eating and are healthy - you can watch their 'normal' behavior since they think it's night time and you're not there.

I'll try and post a pic of my tank at night as an example.

- Angela