cold cathode moon lighting

rexpepper651

so im going to put together a moonlight and i was wondering if anyone has used cold cathode dual 12in lights for moonlighting? im curious to how bright they actually are and if they would work well on a 55 gallon.

Mikaila31

yes 2 12" CC tubes on a 55 will work pretty well. Best running is around 9vDC or use a universal AC/DC converter. 12VDC looks cool but I would not call it legit moonlighting as it is too bight for the fish and not all will properly sleep.

rexpepper651

hmmm. so i gotta choose now lol do i want it bright so i can see them when its time to turn my plant lights off or have it be more natural........ lloll thaNKS for the info tho! i cant seem to find a 4 pin molex 9v ac adapter tho.

Mikaila31

you cut that part off. The two wires coming out of the inverter you splice to the AC/DC adapter. If you google "DIY cold cathode aquarium moonlighting" and click on the hit with the exact same name. It should be at the top or very close.

This is mine but cameras are not good a picking up the blue light.

Reefing Madness

Not for nothing here but this is easier and much cheaper:
Aquarium 440 Actinic Blue Moon Light LED Strip 100 Lumens ft Salt Water Reef | eBay
Pure White 5M 60leds M 3528 SMD LED Strip Lights 300LED 12V 24W Non Waterproof | eBay

Mikaila31

LEDs are a bit cheaper, but not much. You still need the same ac/dc converter you would with cold cathods. LEDs are a good option for shallow tanks but I've found a lot of the cheap ones are lacking on deeper tanks like a 55 gallon.

Reefing Madness

For just Moon lighting??? I use em on my 24" deep tank, work pretty darn good if you ask me.

Mikaila31

I've wired 5mm moonlight LEDs for a few tanks and while the ones I used did light a 12" tank nicely with only 4 LEDs they didn't really appear to give the penetration the CC tubes did unless you really piled them up. .

Reefing Madness

Ah, but the lights I linked do. You have to have used them to know.

Mikaila31

I used LEDs from superbrightled.com and they are very bright. I personally would not buy LEDs without knowing there exact output, lumens, color temp, viewing angle, ect. The only Moonlights I still have running are my CC lights, the few LEDs ones I built were dismantled for one reason or another, usually brightness, color, or simply were rarely ever used.