bexleyfish
Member
I like the moon lights I have seen but dont wanna put up the money. Could I get a black light from the hardware store or would that be harmful to fish, anemone, ect.?
Black Light?
- Thread starter bexleyfish
- Start date
adroitmind
Member
You can make a cheap moon light by retro fitting a cheap blue LED night light from Wal-Mart into your canopy. Get like three or four, they are only like 1.99.
bexleyfish
Member
Really cool!
harris28
Member
Or you can buy individual LED's and 380 ohm resistors and make them your self. You can get the resistors online for about $.05 and LED for around a dollar and any color you want. Find you some wire (20 or 22 gauge) and a soldering iron and you can make as many as you want and in any configuration. And you get the satisfaction of doing it yourself. Oh yeah I forgot you will also need a 12 volt power supply. I had one lying around from an old wireless phone, or maybe you can get one from a friend that has some around. But either way you will do it and have personal satisfaction
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bexleyfish
Member
I very well may put together one of these LED systems but, would it be ok to use the black light?
lion_crazz
Active Member
As to your original question, Bang Guy did a great experiment on that very topic. Below is the thread and what he had to say about it:
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
In summary, I placed 120 watts of Black light over a 10 gallon tank. In the tank were a pair of Clownfish and a variety of corals.
My conclusion was that the light wasn't harmful but, as stated above, made the water look cloudy. Corals that glowed green were actually able to use the light and grew. Other corals were not able to use the light and stopped growing just as if they were kept in the dark.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/135370/bang-guys-latest-experiment
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
In summary, I placed 120 watts of Black light over a 10 gallon tank. In the tank were a pair of Clownfish and a variety of corals.
My conclusion was that the light wasn't harmful but, as stated above, made the water look cloudy. Corals that glowed green were actually able to use the light and grew. Other corals were not able to use the light and stopped growing just as if they were kept in the dark.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/135370/bang-guys-latest-experiment
adroitmind
Member
Originally Posted by newbieABC
Adriotmind - could you explain a bit more. I'd like more moon lighting ,too. I'm not looking to spend much either. how do you do what you are talking about?
Thanks
You basically do just what Harris28 said except the night light already have the resistors and everything put together in a nice white plastic housing for you. I just popped open the white plastic housing, daisy chained them together with a bit of wire and a soldering gun, put the housings back together, and stuck a plug on the end of the daisy chain. Then i glued the three lights on the front inside of my canopy and plugged it into a timer.
Adriotmind - could you explain a bit more. I'd like more moon lighting ,too. I'm not looking to spend much either. how do you do what you are talking about?
Thanks
You basically do just what Harris28 said except the night light already have the resistors and everything put together in a nice white plastic housing for you. I just popped open the white plastic housing, daisy chained them together with a bit of wire and a soldering gun, put the housings back together, and stuck a plug on the end of the daisy chain. Then i glued the three lights on the front inside of my canopy and plugged it into a timer.
bexleyfish
Member
Cool, sounds good. I think im going to not do the black light for now but, later i would like to do it for short amounts or time to see how the GBTA looks under a BL
harris28
Member
Remeber when you hook up your LED's do it in Paralell. This way when a light goes out (not that LED's fail) it does not stop the others from staying on. You would need one resistor for one LED. It does not matter which leg but be consistant just for uniformity. Actually I put mine on the negative end but it doesnt matter. But when you put your Power supply on it will matter. Hook it up one way and if it don't light reverse it and your good to go. Make sure you get good solder joints because most of the light failures are actually cold solder joints. Good luck!!