Moon lights - LED vs Cathode

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Richies^Ghost

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 15, 2010
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Sydney
So my next step on my ever ambitious DIY project is to install moonlighting - given a third of my fish are nocturnal, this seems like a smart move.

The options I'm aware of are LED and cathode - I can get both kits off ebay, though I'd prefer to get the strips/lights and then go to my local electronics store for quality adapters etc. relative to the Hong Kong stuff. At this store (JayCar) I can actually get the cathode kits cheaper than on ebay, though ebay wins out on the LED.

1) I've read that cathode lights provide more natural lighting and more even light distribution. Can anyone confirm this?

2) The cathode kits are limited to 30cm - for 150cm tank I could use three kits, assuming I can hook them up to the one power point. Are longer kits available? LED seems to win it for convenience in this area.

3) What are the differences in power consumption? I will not be running the moonlights for extended periods - I've already got pond lights that I can put in my tank, but at "3 x 20w" as well as their obtrusiveness, I'm hesitant to use them.

4) Are there moon light globes available for direct installation into a hood, like normal aquarium lights?

5) Blue cellophane over regular bulbs - cheapest option of all?

Thanks for your consideration :grinno:
 
I went for cathode tubes - I got two kits. The plan is to splice the positive wires of each, and the negative wires of each, into a single positive and negative wire. This will then be spliced into a 9volt 3amp adapter.

At 9v and 1a, two tubes come out with a soft blue light. I'm hoping that the four tubes will each get what they need from what I'm doing, without being too bright.
 
Richies^Ghost;4180184; said:
So my next step on my ever ambitious DIY project is to install moonlighting - given a third of my fish are nocturnal, this seems like a smart move.

The options I'm aware of are LED and cathode - I can get both kits off ebay, though I'd prefer to get the strips/lights and then go to my local electronics store for quality adapters etc. relative to the Hong Kong stuff. At this store (JayCar) I can actually get the cathode kits cheaper than on ebay, though ebay wins out on the LED.

1) I've read that cathode lights provide more natural lighting and more even light distribution. Can anyone confirm this?

2) The cathode kits are limited to 30cm - for 150cm tank I could use three kits, assuming I can hook them up to the one power point. Are longer kits available? LED seems to win it for convenience in this area.

3) What are the differences in power consumption? I will not be running the moonlights for extended periods - I've already got pond lights that I can put in my tank, but at "3 x 20w" as well as their obtrusiveness, I'm hesitant to use them.

4) Are there moon light globes available for direct installation into a hood, like normal aquarium lights?

5) Blue cellophane over regular bulbs - cheapest option of all?

Thanks for your consideration :grinno:
Click to expand...

You used to be able to get fluroscent tubes for use in marine tanks over here called 'blue moon' but i cant remember who made them, they were great though for nocturnal marine fish.
 
I use 1 blue cc over my 220 and it looks sweet, super cheap and super easy. I like the dark shadows so I only use one of the tubes, but if you didn't want the shadows use both tubes it looks really good. Also if you buy a voltage adapter that has adjustable output voltage you can control the output intensity.
 
mike huntley;4184837; said:
your tank?
Click to expand...

No pics of my tank - no camera, and the work is still in progress! Once I've finished blowing my money on DIY, I will get a camera to document the results :naughty:
 
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