Moonlight

[mlf5135]

i have been thinking about getting some moonlight led lights in my tank for a while now and I think it finially time. I have a couple questions I need hel with though. Right now I have a fixture with 2 36" bulbs in them. Do I need a separate fixtue for the moonlights? Do I leave the moonlights on the whole time even with the regular lights? Do I leave them on all night? Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

[mjb1]

I just took the plunge for the moonlights and really like them. I bought the 2 pack of 2" moonlights that come with 1 plug and a switch. I have a retro fit system in my canopy so they ended up fitting the best for me. You can also buy a strip of moonlight LED's in different lengths that have sticky tape that you can stick anywhere. I run mine on a timer and it turns on right before my actinics turn off and run them all night till about 8am. Hope this helps.

 

[1guydude]

+1 mjb i also turn em on before lights out and also turn off one of my ballast giving a dusk type effect....
except i turn mine off around 5am when i wake up to go to work. Give the tank some dark time idk why but it seems or feels right lol....
moonlights really arent that expensive. Look into them online!

 

[meowzer]

I have moonlights on all my tanks...LOVE THEM.....I have them come on before actinics turn off.....and go off after actinics come on in the a.m.
There are many different types out there, and as MBJ mentioned they now have led strips that can attach to your fixture......Just shop around, and see which ones will fit your tank

 

[cubnb79]

here's a question does the led's have to be certain volt level or bulb wattage or can it just be a plan old led bulb?

 

[saxman]

First off, a LED isn't a "bulb", it's a discrete semidonductor device (LED = Light Emitting Diode). In simple terms, they are a "microchip". When the LED is biased, it causes the P-N junction in the chip to emit light of a given wavelength, depending on how the junction is doped and the material used for the chip itself.
Just for fun, here's an SEM photo of an actual LED chip under bias using a technique known as EBIC (Electron Beam Induced Current). The white line shows the operating junction:

That being said, like other types of lighting they're rated in Watts. Most of the small LED's are 500 mW, but there are brighter devices that are rated at 1W and 3W (there are even higher rated LED's, but they have a pretty short life). A typical 500 mW LED can be expected to run a good 50,000 hrs.
If you buy pre-made moonlights, they will come with the proper power supply.
Most moonlights use 500 mW LED's and that's plenty bright. I prefer blue LED's (about 470 nm) personally. For instance, my DIY moonlights on our 60 gal uses 4 blue 500 mW LED's evenly spaced across the tank and that's plenty bright. I leave them on 24/7 because they draw little power, altho I do run a dawn/dusk setup using actinics and 10k as the main lighting.
HTH