Moonlight effects using LEDs

[NikkiY]

makes me soo envious, i want i want i want, so u just like drill holes in the hood, and then fasten them together with the wires, im super confused on how to do it
i would REALLY like to do it on my 55g tho

Hi fufanu360

I did not drill any hole at all. I simply use the electrical tape to tape them into the hood. For the wires, I did the same thing but give them enough slack in case of any accidental pull. Of course, it would be a lot cleaner if I were to drill holes into the hood. But that would void my warranty

Nikki

 

[Jen]

That is gorgeous. And for $10... methinks I'll be making a detour on my way home from work today. I looked for it on the american site, but they dont have an automotive section on the site (and the canadian walmart site doesn't let you look up products) Woo Hoo! I've been wanting moonlight for a while.

 

[isu_guy]

Just today I did a similar thing.

I went on ebay and bought 50 LEDs for $8. Shipped from Hong Kong, and it took way too long to get here. But it got here just fine.

I then went to radio shak and spent $2 on resistors.

I then took an old phone charger and snipped the wires.

Then I found some more wire and started cutting it. I used a hot glue gun to waterproof the wires and took some tape to hold them onto my canopy. I used 3 LEDs for my 20 gallon. I can't wait for dark so I can see if it looks good.

But all in all, I have a little less clutter from extra wires and phone charger, I've spent $10, I have a moonlight for my 20g, and 47 LEDs left for me to use to make a moonlight for my 75 gallon.

Since I'm not going to need 47 LEDs for my 75 gallon, can anyone give me any ideas as to what I should do with the rest of the LEDs?

 

[gmang]

canadian tire sells a string of five they are whete for pictures but just plug in look awsome

 

[grayshark]

white ones will look good Im going to look on ebay and see if I can get some.

someone said about getting more if it was them yeh like a disco red ones blue , white , green ect lol the fish will be jumping like its there birthday party. lol

thanks Grayshark

 

[grayshark]

there the colours that are avlerlble on ebay.

 

[Lust]

i have about 20-30 GREEN bright leds could i use them as a moon light ??

 

[steelhealr]

Hi...I am in the process of building a moonlight. There is a nice DIY manual for $4.95 at thelebos.com. LEDS are cheap on EBay as are the resistors. The plans also have instructions on how to insert a potentiometer (dimmer). This is great for me because I bought a deluxe hood with my 46 bowfront. It is all plastic except for a strip of glass for the light canopy. No moonlights were available to fit this hood short of having to buy a brand new glass hood. SH

 

[Discomafia]

So once I buy the LEDs and the resistor, then how do I wire everything?

Would something like this be OK?

http/cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...7952967573&rd=1

 

[NikkiY]

So once I buy the LEDs and the resistor, then how do I wire everything?

Would something like this be OK?

http/cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...7952967573&rd=1

This site gives you the calculation and the current requirement for your DC adaptor: http/www.ledsupply.com/ledsupply/reca.html

All you need to do is solder the resistor to one of the LED lead and wire them in parallel and then plug in the proper power supply.

For more info on LED, this is a good reference site: http/www.gizmology.net/LEDs.htm


Nikki

 

[Discomafia]

What kind of wires should I use, and using the numbers I think that are correct, from the ebay link, I calculated my needed resistance to be 435 Ohms. So the resistor provided would be just nice, as it is 470 Ohm.

I read part of the second link, but got too technical for me. Will go through it again after I've got more sleep. And what is that data sheet the seller is including for free? Is that price worth it for the whole thing?

I read the link called Get Technical Info on LEDs at the bottom of the calculator site, managed to learn some stuff there. However the website uses the resistor in series, not parallel. Why?

 

[NikkiY]

What kind of wires should I use, and how do I know what numbers to input for that calculator? I read part of the second link, but got too technical for me. Will go through it again after I've got more sleep.

I bought the 22 gauge wire from Radio Shack. IF you are using a 12V adaptor, you will enter that as your source voltage. The LED voltage drop and current are the specifications of the LED. You should able to obtain that from the LED seller. The calculator simply gives you the resistor you need to get for each of your LED.

Nikki

 

[Discomafia]

So is that what it's called, 22 gauge wire? And you need a soldering iron for this, don't you? My Walmart doesn't carry LEDs, so I can't do them like you did... What will happen if I arrange the LEDs in parallel instead of series? smithrc said that they were in series you'd get a current drop across each of them and the last one would be dimmest.

So arranging them in parallel would be a better idea, right? And I did use 12V as my source voltage, when calculating the resistor I needed, and the ebay seller provides sufficent 470 Ohm resistors, which work for 12V adaptors.

Thanks for all your help NikkiY!

 

[NikkiY]

So is that what it's called, 22 gauge wire? And you need a soldering iron for this, don't you? My Walmart doesn't carry LEDs, so I can't do them like you did... What will happen if I arrange the LEDs in parallel instead of series? smithrc said that they were in series you'd get a current drop across each of them and the last one would be dimmest.

So arranging them in parallel would be a better idea, right? And I did use 12V as my source voltage, when calculating the resistor I needed, and the ebay seller provides sufficent 470 Ohm resistors, which work for 12V adaptors.

Thanks for all your help NikkiY!

Well, I just checked the Radio Shack website. They don't have the wire I bought before. I found this 2-conductor wire that should work for you just as well.

I would suggest that you arrange the LEDs in parallel. This will ensure the same voltage drop across them. As long as your power suplly can provide enough current, all of the LEDs will shine just as bright. Additionally, if you arrange the LEDs in series and should any one of the LED fails all of them will stop working. With a parallel arrangement, if one fails, the other will continue to work.

Good luck!

Nikki

 

[steelhealr]

Discomafia...make life easy..try what I am doing. Go to http/www.thelebos.com. Go to the DIY (do it yourself) area and download the manual to make your own lunar lights. It's only $4.95. They have all the instructions and pictures. You need a soldering iron, 4000mcd LEDs and 56 0r 120 ohm 1/4 watt resistors, etc. Good luck. SH