So i dont consider myself new to the hobby by any means. I am looking at possibly adding a blue moon light to my tank. I was wondering other then it looking great from tanks that ive seen are there any additional benefits when adding to tank? It is quite pricey to the best of my knowledge. I have a 120 Gallon tank, Currently stocked with Assorted African Cichlids Mostly Mbuna. The tank is 72" long. What kind of light am i looking for, how much money should i expect to put down on this investment and any other information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

As far as I know people have them so that they can see the fish at night without disturbing them too much or having to have the main lights on.

my planted 20 gallon has a very bright natural daylight bulb. so when im done feeding the plants, i use the small flourescent hood from my shrimp tank and lay it on top of the hood and filter. just enough light gets through to make the tank look beautiful. i think it take your underwater world to a next level by giving your fish moonlight. my bichir loves the "moon" light and thats when i see him most.

also to note if left on over night it makes any tank amazing to wake up to

Some people claim it will elicit natural spawning behavior in fish. However this isn't proven at all.

Most people get them so that they can view their fish at night if they have nocturnal fish. Also it looks nicer than a big dark tank at night, especially if your tank is in a high traffic area of the house. No one wants to work at long day at the office and come home at 10PM to a dark tank!

If you want a moonlight LED is your best bet. One led per 2 feet of surface is a good amount. Current USA sells Lunar Link Moonlights for about $20 each. it comes with 2 bulbs which will illuminate about a 10G. Other manufacturers also sell blue led moonlights. I've seen bendable adjustable ones by Marineland before as well. Some nicer light fixtures will also come with them built in. Ebay is another possibility. Or if you're good with basic wiring you can make your own.

Sounds good, i will do my research and when the wallet tells me he's ready then im ready. Thanks again!

Go on Ebay and find Blue Cold Cathodes. They usually are made for computers and my come with some extra stuff you don't need. I run the cathodes all day at 12v and it brings out the color in my gravel so when the tank lights go off the Blue cathodes are still on. it is bright running at 12v but I get home late and can still feed and see my fish without turning the main lights back on. When done feeding, I flip a switch that runs the Cathodes at 6V and is bright enough to see the fish and they can relax since the tubes are only half lit.

So buy the kit. should come with 2 tubes, a power inverter and maybe a switch attached to a PC slot cover... ditch the slot cover and switch. get a 12v power supply and a 6v power supply and a SPDT (single post Dual Throw) switch, has one lever but 3 terminals to attach to.

power inverter has a ground and positive wire. attach the positive wire to the middle post of the switch, attach your 12v positive on the top or bottom post, and the 6v power supply to the opposite post. attach all 3 ground wires together and your all set.

Cost is a total of 20bux tops if you have a spare power supply around from something you don't use anymore.

I've got blue xmas lights betwwen the glass and backing on my tank,,far cheaper and i can still see them when all around was dark. But also with them you can put more in one bit than another so that they have darker corners for going to sleep in.

I second the cold cathode option. I love those lights, I can never stop playing with them. IDK why but they really amuse me . Anyway I bought from here. The only thing the kit is missing is a AC/DC converter which you will most likely find lying around you house. Something like an old cell phone or electronic charger. It lights up my 55gal wonderfully, mabey even a little too bright. I just attached them to my exsisting hood.

Heres a thread on DIY cold cathode lighting.
Also I found this article helpful, mainly the section on power supply.

hi we have moonlights on both our tanks - they come on 1/2 before main lights go off & then stay on for about 1 & a half hours. i love the different look of the tank with the moonlight effect and ive noticed that our tiger barbs in particular seem to like the moonlights for their nose to nose dominance fights.
i bought mine from ebay, the big tank has 2 ,12 inch strip moonlights & the small tank the little individual lights - about 6 of them positioned at the back of the tank between the glass and the background.

Thanks everyone for these ideas! And relatively inexpensive ideas at that. I will take some pictures of my current lighting set up when i get home from work today but in the mean time i will do my best to describe. I have a 120 gallon tank 72" long. Its all AGA with i believe an AGA hood. I have 2 36inch light strips on the top which came with the tank, They are sitting on 3 plastic hood pieces? Anyways so if i got for the blue light cathode 12" strips, where do you recommend i put them, is there a way to fashion the hood to allow the blue light in from the top? Sorry for the very poor description again i will take pictures of it tonight, if anyone understands what im trying to say then by all means shoot.

THANKS THANKS THANKS!!!

I heard moonlighting of the right spectrum can aid plant growth. Not sure if there is any truth in it....

maybe my fish are weird, but they are very skittish when I put the moonlights on, so I don't do it anymore

Here are some pic of my 55 setup.

normal strip light i altered a bit to attach the cathodes.


where they're attached


on 12v


on 6v


tank 12v (bright but the picture make it brighter)


6v