moon lights?

[CHINABOY1021]

do they have big impact on fish? ive heard red is the best color for night viewing, but i like the blue of the moon light which definitly looks more natural. any inputs?

plus does the baby blue coloring have anything effect on plant's daylight cycle.

THANKS! :)

[carpguy]

Some fish don't see red light very well -- to them, red light and no light are pretty much the same. If they happen to be shy nocturnal fish, red light is a good way to get to watch them at their most active. That's what its mostly used for.

Other fish see red just fine. Mine slow down a bit, but remain active under their red moonlight. When the tank is completely dark they just seem to hang in the water, maybe adjusting position occasionally. Each lighting scenario has a very different activity level.

I haven't tried blue yet, although I've been meaning to. (I tried a shop called Just Bulbs earlier this evening on my way home (any Letterman fans?) -- struck out again.) The point of the blue is to more closely mimic moonlight in a naturalistic way, but the red isn't darkroom red -- its a warm dim light that I actually like.

I have a red 13w CF on my 30g (compared to a modest 72w daytime lights). I think the 13, in my case, is a little too much. I'd aim for less and maybe a more even spread if (when) I do it again. At such very low light levels I don't think there will be much photosynthesizing going on.

[CHINABOY1021]

the time when i actually get to see my fish is from 5pm til next morning at 8am when i leave for school.

so a "nightlight is a must for me", but i want to make sure my fish sleep a lot.

where exactly do i GET these moonlights? anyone got pics?

thanks

[cdawson]

they're just your standard actinic flourescent bulbs. They're really only beneficial in reef tanks, but you can use them in a FW setup to view at night.

[cpr4cpu]

I saw a post on a DIY forum and now use small high-intensity LED lamps from Radio Shack.
I have a red set and a blue set (spaced every 6 inches), so I can turn on the red or the blue, or both with a simple on/off switch.
I have found that the actinic blue bulbs seem to really enhance the algae growth if I run them after hours.

[mrkeeg]

I would be interested to hear more about the LED setup

Thanks!
Keegan

[CHINABOY1021]

i havent got mine setup yet as i dont want to spend so much money and have a lot of wiring to do.

but ive came across something interesting at walmart. its christmas decor, they're "light wire". more like light tubes. they are used to line your house with colorful lights. they come in lots of colors including red and blue.green purple. etc. etc

[125gJoe]

These are the 'only' lights that I have ever seen that have simulated the full moon.

Here's a picture of the product:
http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL59/715239/1510346/31056963.jpg

No - you can't buy them from Radio Shack. And, they are definetly not Actinic bulbs. Well stocked LFS might have them. One near me did and I bought 3 of them. I tried one, and knew I had to have more for the other tanks too! They are not regular, common LED's.

Custom SeaLife is the company that came out with this product.
As I mentioned in Freshwater Products and DIY Forum, They are now selling them already installed in their light hoods/canopys... :)

I'm not at all sure it "puts fish in the mood", but it sure looks good at night when the regular lights are off. One of these high intensity LED's use only one watt. Custom SeaLife reccommends using one Moon-Lite for every 2 feet in legnth of aquarium. I agree.. HTH