Blue led Moonlighting

Robert04

Robert04

Aspiring Self Proclaimed Expert
Dec 31, 2008
492
0
16
My father and I have been looking into the best way to get the moonlighting I want so we looked into some DIY moon lighting systems and figured out what was needed and started our search for leds and resisters.. So we went on paypal and got 30 Resisters and 30 Leds for 7$ free shipping to canada aswell so now I have the materials I will be putting the lights together tonight for the first trial run with 12-14 Leds accross the tank in two groups Leaving me a set of spares. :grinyes:

My Information On the LED's
3mm Blue Water Clear If=20mA Imax=30mA
Vf 3.2-3.6 Wave length 465-470nm
View Angle 25deg LI 10,000mcd

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I will try to get my sister to let me use her camera to take pictures of the finished product and also of it on the tank if we get that far tonight :)
 
Little bit of a progress update. Colour and appearance wasn't a big issue it was all about functionality because it will be hidden. I took the wire cleanup strip and drilled all the holes in the pattern I wanted.. Notice all long wires in 1 direction making the wiring part much easier, Also I make sure it was a "snug" fit for the led to reduce anysplashup leaking. I tacked the LED's down with hot glue to ensure they dont pop back in and I tried to use a minimal amount so that it is not difficult to remove when changing bulbs.. We will be wiring the leds in 2 groups so if 1 group goes out we still have the other. anyways I have spent 7$ so far and everythign else was recycled from other things. Wire cleanup strip, Wire, transformer came from an old joystick.

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correct me if im wrong, but dont you need DC current to run LEDs?
 
great job building and taking pictures. Unfortunately it shows why one shouldn't use narrow angled LEDs for moonlights, very bright and major spot light effects. Imagine what it would look like if they were 120degree bulbs. It would look more "moonlightish".
 
Abunch of velcro some hot glue, wire.. and solder/iron good to go! I will get a pic of how much nightlighting it does shortly when the timer switches to the night shift.. I also put a switch on it anyways even though its on a timer. We ended up with 16leds, we could add another series of 8 if needed.
 
Yea, They are bright.. I've made them so they can be adjusted.. hence why they are so close together.. So we will see how it works out :)

Also this is my first prototype, we can always switch LED's in a breeze for another 7$

We came up with this original plan for the height of my tank and the other LED's didn't penetrate the tank for crap.. You could hardly tell there was a moonlight at all.
 
First few I made didn't come out as planned for me.. all part of the learning experience. Next time it will take 1/10th the time to build if you decide to try different LEDs. Still, got to at least play with the one you built for a few days to see if it will work out for you. I just like seeing people take the effort to DIY like you did so I commend you on that. :cheers:
 
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