Moonlight Led's, Ebay Style

[jaylam]

They are the exact ones i bought off eBay and they work great, check out my journal for some pics.

However I only bought the ones with 3 strips of leds which does the job but for my tank size I think when it comes to replacing them i will go for the 4 strip.

 

[moochy13]

Try getting These LEDs, I have and they seem quite effective.

indeed they are the ones i linked to further up and that i purchased. pretty good for the money, i just wish they were a smidge brighter.

I havnt actualy installed them in my tank yet, thats a job for this weekend. They looked quite bright when I bench tested them. They are supposed to mimic moonlight so they are not going to be anywhere near as bright as your normal tank lights.

they are very bright out of the tank, painfully so almost !. but in my tank, a lot of light is lost. its enough that im hapy with the lights, but in an ideal world i'd have liked just a little bit more. or cleaner water. or less tannin

 

[raptorrex]

Try getting These LEDs, I have and they seem quite effective.

are they as bright as they look, in the tank?

 

[moochy13]

the picture in the ebay ad ? haha no not even close. id say the pictures posted further up are very close, but i'd say they're just a bit duller.

 

[the biffster]

I got some eBay ones that were pre-wired to an adjustable output plug, allowing the brightness to be set. They simply stick on the underside of the hood with what appears to be double-sided tape (came with the kit).

I'm very pleased with them.

i bought a set of those and they
have been in use for a month not all the
time and half of them have gone
its the ones in the middle as well
I'll be careful next time were i get them
from the ones i got came from the UK
were i live

 

[Carlovel1]

Those lights look nice but the ones on ebay are a bit over priced. You can find them cheaper

 

[raptorrex]

Those lights look nice but the ones on ebay are a bit over priced. You can find them cheaper

you can definitely make them for a lot less. i made a set some years ago (they are still working) that cost around £1.50 - transformer. i think i posted a link, to them, in a thread recently.

lol, found it. £1.50 moonlites

 

[Carlovel1]

DIY moonlights are def cheaper, but too time consuming imo

 

[raptorrex]

DIY moonlights are def cheaper, but too time consuming imo

15 minutes? honestly, you connect all the wires, to their counterpart, and plug in. if the thing is too bright, just take an led out!
you wont believe how easy it is.

 

[Mikaila31]

As far as finding ac/dc converter, they are all around you. You can buy them from electronics stores. The universal ones are actually kinda expensive IMO. If you are familiar with electronics you probably have a usable one in your house somewhere. Phone chargers and basically any powercord/supply that has a big blocky plug end is usually a AC/DC converter. Not all will work, but they give their output on them. Some may to too week to even light the LEDs, while other will fry the LEDs in a millisecond.

Thanks for the info. I didn't mention however that i need an adapter with a socket in it to receive the plug from the light itself. This picture might clarify what i mean.

http/www.petland.com.au/images/dsc00143.jpg

I went into a Maplin with the LED unit and they didn't have a clue They had loads of units that have a wire coming FROM them, but none that will RECEIVE a wire.

In the picture it looks like it has two wires. Usually they are molded into ONE cord. IDK about the plug on the end, I don't use plugs. If it was me I would find a charger with the right specs cut off the plug, then cut off the plug on LED cord. Strip the ends of everything which should leave you with 4 wires. Splice 2 and 2 together, if noting happens flip the wire connections around.

I make my own moonlights, either LED or Cold Cathodes(for larger tanks). If you know what you are doing they are cheap to make using component LEDs. The ropes are silly IMO. Like the one above with 72 LEDs, either you have one big tank to light, your fish are going to be awake at night, or they are crappy LEDs. I used 4 LEDs to light my standard 15 gallon. They were actually suppose to go in my car, but it never happened. They work just fine for the aquarium, but the have a 45 degree "viewing angle" in which they emit light. Ideally they should be have a 120 degree angle so they spread the light out better. Also they did light the tank, just right, not enough to keep the fish awake. I had 8 available to use if I wanted that many. 4 provided enough light for me. I bought 10 of them, but was my first time wiring component LEDs and I killed 2 of them . My LEDs are kinda expensive actually (for LEDs at least), 60 cents each not counting shipping. You can get them alot cheaper if you get them from china, they probably won't live up to their specs though.

These be my LEDs

Easy cold cathodes on a 55 gallon- running at 12V in pic. Need to be 9V or lower to let the fish sleep. Old picture, but the lights look the same.

 

[Aqua Tom]

I am planning on making a complete LED lighting hood for my tank to replace the lightbar I have but that is a project for when I have my fish settled into their new home.

A work collegue made one with timers & stuff to mimic sunrise-sunset-moonlight & even phases of the moon. I would love something like that so when I am happy the fish are fine I will start designing.

I may even post a guide.

 

[madjoker14]

i dont like those at all, id rather just make own moon light, its just a led> 220 resister> and a power source (old cell phone charge or suttin) send me a privet mesg if u guys need help, i'll post a pic of my moon light.

 

[flix_cw]

In the picture it looks like it has two wires. Usually they are molded into ONE cord. IDK about the plug on the end, I don't use plugs. If it was me I would find a charger with the right specs cut off the plug, then cut off the plug on LED cord. Strip the ends of everything which should leave you with 4 wires. Splice 2 and 2 together, if noting happens flip the wire connections around.

Thanks! I've never done anything remotely electrical really, but i'll give it a go. Maybe with a little help from a more clued up mate!

Cheers.

 

[JasonandJill]

I don't know much about electricity except that years ago when I had hair it would make it stick up.
Would attaching the wires from an LED strip to a "Hornby train set controller" work? In addittion, would turning the train speed control dial alter the brightness of the led's?

 

[moochy13]

dont know whether it would work, but i'd imagine the speed control is just a resistor, so probably would adjust the lights brightness by adjusting the current getting to it.

i gotta be honest, its alright saying "i could do that cheaper" but its 15 quid. i could have done it cheaper, but im rapidly finding that 15 quid in the world of fishkeeping is sweet FA. ive just paid 20 quid for a test kit that i'll probably only need to use once a month. yet 15 quid for a set of lights that are on 5 hours a day every day is a rip off ?? and not everybody is much cop with a soldering iron. im not too bad, but where electricity and water is concerned, im not taking any chances. the led strips ive fitted are intended for use on 'boyracer' cars, so are very waterproof and durable.