DIY Moon lights and/or actinic supplement on the CHEAP

[TJL]

So thought I'd share a little DIY project in creating Moon lighting or supplemental actinics to T5 lamps. First off when at a Auto-Zone store this Fall they had these 12v 8pc LED kits for lighting up a cars under carriage or ??? on sale for $14 so bought the Blue set to see what I could come up with Reeftank wise. Originally I just wire nutted them to a 12v 500ma wall-wart to see how they looked.... pretty bright and most likely 1/2 to 1w emitters and already in a moisture resistant housing/lense, they come in two strings of 4 with about a foot of separation and as is would be ideal for Moonlighting on a 48" - 72" tank. For my project needs (supplementing T5's) I had to cut/solder/shrink wrap the LED's a little closer 2 1/2" and also found use for some salvaged parts & pieces like an old hood reflector, Braun shaver cord and some odd plastic edge protectors to clip onto TEK fixture.

I clipped leads to length then tinned them so I could solder connect then shrink wrap

testing my new connections

attached to reflectors

final test

on my 20g QT/Frag Tank

Dusk lighting

Supplemental lighting

All in all a fast easy and cheap project for under $20

Cheers, Todd

 

[TJL]

Sorry for crappy pics ^above^ and also without dirty glass cover it looks much nicer, especially in supplemental role. With the peel-n-stick adhesive on these as well as wire clips provided would be very cost effective way to add Moonlighting to existing fixures/hoods.

Cheers, Todd

 

[kpiotrowski]

great idea! how do the look in person?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Nice workmanship
Was going to just say "nice" but the software that runs RF requires a minimum of characters so I added more and once did that am now rambling on and on and on and on, Somebody stop me, please!!!!!

 

[TJL]

Thanks Guys, they look very good in person and even had them temporarily strung over my 125g to see how they would do as Moonlighting. They lit it up nicely and better than my much more expen$ive Moonlights do. I have not tried them on a POT yet to see if they are dimmable ie: would be compatible with Lunar Modules or not. If they are dimmable they could/would be awesome lighting mixed with Whites for a Pico or Nano system especially a zoa/lps one.

Cheers, Todd

 

[Peppie]

Its good to see you able to have some time to play!!
Your sweet honey-do list must be pretty small.
Nice little project. Looks like a possible candidate for a workshop project!
Thanks for sharing.
Pep

 

[don2048]

I like this DIY project, I will try it also.

 

[sedrostyle]

Its good to see you able to have some time to play!!
Your sweet honey-do list must be pretty small.
Nice little project. Looks like a possible candidate for a workshop project!
Thanks for sharing.
Pep

+1 haha I was going to say the same thing. And me and you need to start hanging out hah I have t5s I need to supplement

I remember you telling me about this last week.
Can't wait to see this in person tomorrow.

Nice job by the way.

 

[TJL]

Well after Steven's visit and BS-ing about possible uses I'm seriously contemplating building a lil Pico tank just for colorful Zoanthids and a non-photo Gorgonian plumbed to my DT that I could light with just these type of LED's. Maybe eight or nine total with a 6/7 Blue to 2 white ratio. Going to have some down time in a few weeks with Carpal Tunnel surgery, so plenty of time to think this all out hmmmm.... And yes Dave, this would make a great inexpensive Workshop project.

Cheers, Todd

 

[pandora32]

Great idea! I used to have a car full of leds...hahaha, until the cops started noticing!