Diy Moonlighting?

[jclark]

I have a 55gal with a florecent hood, I have seen the lights that are supposed to simulate a moonlight effect and I think that would be awsome to be able to watch my fish after the lights are out. I work weird hours and a lot of times I come home and my wife has turned off the hood before she went to bed and I have scared the crap out of them when I turn on the light to check in on them and relax before I go to bed.

Best I can tell they are just made of small led lights, anyone ever made their own, or have any ideas how you could make your own for cheap? I'm sure there is something out there that could be used like a nightlight or something.

 

[TwistedGA]

I used two underdash automotive neon tubes, you can get several different colors, and they are very simple to wire up. Cost will vary from place to place, I think walmart has them in the stereo department for pretty cheap IIRC. If you can't find any there, hit up the local Autozone or the like.

 

[brian1973]

You can also use red or blue incandescents these are pretty cheap at walmart...may have to experiment in which one works best for you and your fish. But I dont now how you would attach them to a normal aquarium hood.

 

[brian1973]

I used two underdash automotive neon tubes, you can get several different colors, and they are very simple to wire up. Cost will vary from place to place, I think walmart has them in the stereo department for pretty cheap IIRC. If you can't find any there, hit up the local Autozone or the like.

This idea is probably your best bet.

 

[Lotus]

There are several threads on here about moonlights. There are several options: LED, cold cathode, ropelights. Try a search for "moonlights" and you should see quite a few ideas.

Of the ones we've tried, the cold cathode give the most light without bothering the fish too much. LEDs work well, but you need to use 1 watt bulbs for any kind of decent lighting.