ok folks - just thought I'd do a guide to a cheap moonlight.

Some bulbs are available to replace one already in the tank - however, my tank cant turn the bulbs on seperatly... and they need all the light they can get. So i decided on an add on.

Have a look on eBay for 'Cold cathode' they are popular for PC case lighting and are ideal for the moonlight application.

Here is what I got...


all you then need is a mains voltage adapter


The tank I've just fitted these to actually have a clear waterproof panel between the bulbs and the water


I've taken this off and fitted the neon tubes onto it.



having drilled a hole through to the gap in the back of the lid, the wires are parred through...


The screen was then placed back in the lid and the wires threaded to the power supply...



Here's the bit that should convince you...

Low



Medium


High


This post has been edited by smithrc: Jun 13 2005, 04:58 PM

Some links for those in the US...

Blue Cold Cathode Neons on eBay

and a multi voltage adapter from radioshack

Regulated AC-to-DC Adapter

wire the adapter to the neon power supply at 12v and you got a moon light
(yellow is +12v, black is 0v)

total cost around $25

How good am I - I'm not even american

Some links for those in the UK...

Blue Cold Cathode Neon on eBay

I've used that guy twice with no problems

Mains DC adapter - from Maplin

so thats about £16

Thats AWESOME. Once I get my cichlid tank I might do that. BTW do you think that a moonlight on a cichlid tank would stress them out?

If the brightness is not too high they will sleep like normal.

I've got them as we're into our ples and want to see them at night.

we must make sure the rest still sleep though.

It could be the picture, but that looks pretty bright to be a moonlight. Mabey you should try using just one tube?

I made one on my 10g using LEDs that I wired, and used 3. It doesn't light the entire tank so fish still have places to hide where its dark (under plants) But it gives off enough light you can see the fish swimming.

Overall, you did a really nice job. I like the way you installed it too. Very clean looking. I had actually thought about using cold cathods as well.

This post has been edited by jiffy: Jul 15 2004, 12:50 AM

I just got that same "kit" as you, i can sorta see how you wired the lights in your pictures, but was it hard? Any other wires or things I need to do this? I still need to go to Radio Shack and get the converter, but otherwise, I'm going to wire this to the back of my DIY lighting for a 45 gallon planted tank.

Good Job with yours, looks nice!

yep - it is bright - its bright with just one tube too

I'm going to insert grease proof paper into the plastic tubes round the neons to dim them a lot.

the only other thing you need to do it wire the 12v converter to the yellow and black wires... you might want to get a connector to put on the neon kit so you can plug the converter into it.

Ok, this is a dumb question, but what kind of connector??

any that will connect to the mains adapter. it will probubly have a multi connector on it (as the one in the piccy has) - just ask in RadioShack for one that will fit.

has any one tried using UV cold cathodes, I have them in my PC and they give off quite a nice glow, I would give it a try my self but it's a bit of an ass to take it out my PC.

You might also try buying a dimmer switch and wiring that into the circuit to have adjustable brightness.

hmmm... i might go and try running them at 9v or something

as for thr UV - i was wondering about using them for UV filtering...

just dropped it to 6v and the light level is a lot better - i'll post a pic when my camera battery is charged.

Just out of curiosity...what length are those tubes? I have been wanting to install some into my truck beneath the dash in the footwell areas but I don't want it blindingly bright. I was thinking of using a single 6 inch tube on each side.

There 12" ones, my brother has them in his mini and put them under the seats to light the footwells, looks great.

yep 12".. I've got 5 in the boot of my car to show off the stereo at shows etc

I think you can get 4" ones too.

not to hijack the thread, but how bright are the 12's in the footwells? I want it to be dim enough that I can have them on and drive without being blinded, but not so dim that you don't notice them enough (and also dim enough that I won't get pulled over if I had them on since its probabyl illegal)

I know they make 4 inch tubes, so I am thinking about using those and using a dual inverter to power them, so if I crave more light I can either add another tube which could give me better surface coverage, or even just buy a single longer bulb.

These would look great showing off a stereo. I have seen pics but never in real life but it still looks awsome.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...&subcat_uid=558

Cold Cathode Kit and cheaper than ebay

In my bros' mini he just gets a nice blue glow, I'm not aware if he has altered the current or not though.