Are Blue Led "moonlights" Good For Fish

[SlyPolak]

I was wondering if the "moonlight" LED lights are ok for a freshwater tank? I was reading and heard you could install one of these and it mimics nightime better acting like actual "moonlight"... If so I will definately get one so I could see my catfish doing their thing at night.



what do yall think??

 

[VaegaVic]

Perfectly fine in freshwater tanks, and you will be able to see your nocturnal catfish better, just don't leave them on all night as they are one of the perfect spectrums to help algal growth.

 

[SlyPolak]

So will they think its night??

Nevermind algea ,is the light bad for the fish if i do end up leabing it on all night???

 

[VaegaVic]

To a certain extent, I used to use it with my cories, which I could only see at night. They can still see out of the tank, but not as well as they can with bright white.
If you end up falling asleep watching the tank (like I used to), leaving the blue light on all night should be no problem at all.

 

[SlyPolak]

cool, thanks for the insight.... now i just have to start a hunt for thr LED's

 

[VaegaVic]

Ebay is a good place to start

 

[SlyPolak]

I actually JUST bought some from Ebay, saw some for like $5 but I opted for the $22.00 ones with free shipping from "LED MOONLIGHTS 4 LESS".... should get them in a few days so I will post back if they're any good and some pics !!!!!!!
VaegaVic

 

[mattlee]

use them with a timer for a few hours after normal lights out there is no need to keep them on all night as once you have gone to bed they are of no use.

 

[james_fish]

Like a lot of Catfish, my Snowball does not come out at all in the day as it is nocturnal.
But when the blue LED light is on at night and I pop a couple of algae tablets in, he's straight out!

James.

 

[hamfist]

Cool. I've often been tempted to try some blue LED's out, but just haven't got round to taking the plunge.

Any pics of members blue LED's in action in their tanks would be great !!!

 

[ChilliPepper]

Ohh they sound good... I may be tempted

 

[Ryan12]

Anyone that wants to do a more DIY appraoch i have a couple of links. Tehy require basic soldering/circuitry ability. I didnt have any of that prior to starting though. Just kinda learned as i went.

This link: http/www.instructables.com/id/Aquarium-Moonlight/

I followed this one very closely. i only made a slight modification of adding more resistors because the lights were too bright for my 10g (i think the guy had a larger 30+ or something). This guide is more of a "do what i say, dont ask questions". Only a little bit of theory was given for why somethign was done. But if you jsut wanna get it done, and live in the US (so you can buy exactly what he did), It works.

Next Link: http/www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169831

This one is ALOT longer. It explains alot more theory behind whats going, i.e. why you need XYZ resistor, etc. a little bit more complicated in that it really isnt a step by step instruction guide like the instructables link. but still really good.

If you were interested in doing a DIY moonlight LED, i would say read the second link. then read the first, and go from there.

Hope these were at least somewhat helpful to someone lol.

 

[LondonguyJ]

Due to one filter not being up to scratch and a mix up with the replacement, I was left for just over a month without being able to start my fishless cycle. During this month I took the opportunity to experiment with different light cycles and found that in the 9 days where I had led moonlights on (6-8 hours a day) as my only source of artificial light, I had no algae growth whatsoever.

 

[Jonty]

Due to one filter not being up to scratch and a mix up with the replacement, I was left for just over a month without being able to start my fishless cycle. During this month I took the opportunity to experiment with different light cycles and found that in the 9 days where I had led moonlights on (6-8 hours a day) as my only source of artificial light, I had no algae growth whatsoever.

That's because algae is caused by ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, as well as other nutrients. All you had in your tank was water, so no plants (like algae) could grow.

 

[CrystalClear16]

I have a blue moonlight on instead of a normal light. I was experimenting since I know clown loaches don't like bright lights.

They don't seem too appreciative of my efforts, I will just get a dimmer normal light now >.<