# DIY cheap moonlight



## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

Anyone wanting a moon light and not wanting to do any work will love this. I bought a blue LED night light with a photo cell, and an 6' extention cord. I removed the clear reflector from the night light and turned it upside down so that it shines down into the tank. I works great for the price. Does have a little bit of the spot light effect, but for the money I am not dissapointed. Plus it turns itself off when the main light comes on. If anyone chimes in wanting a night picture I can get one.


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## cichlids&amp;baseball (Dec 28, 2007)

yeah lets see it


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

am looking for a moonlight to go on the kid's 20g, was considering the square nightlights, but don't know how bright they are. Like to see a pic, maybe I'll try the led


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## FTLOSM (Mar 20, 2007)

Where did you get this blue led nightlight?

Curious myself to see some pics....


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

I got the night light at walmart for a little over $2 and a 6' extension cord for $1.75. I have to wait for night for pictures.


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

It's been dark for an hour :zz: 
:lol: Just kidding.
I like the spotlight effect for moonlights, gives you ripples if placed right. 
Wondering, do these have screws where ya can disassemble and solder the cord internally?
To make it a lower profile?

Or. . .I've used an led from a flashlight before, but had to use an inverter on it. Wanted to brighten it one day, used a bigger inverter, worked great for about 5 seconds. Already have a light strip housing with holes I could use for wiring and mounting. . . All I gotta do is bust it up, heck $2.00 ya cant beat that.


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)




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## prowler09 (Nov 29, 2007)

looks cool! i was thinking about doing this myself


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

You can see the night light siting on the top, the circle in it is the photo sensor.


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## demonsoni (Feb 10, 2006)

lol GOOD WORK!!
next time im at wally world i have to remember to get some of these.


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## MaineGuy (Jan 9, 2008)

brycerb i took your idea and added to it.
Since my light doesnt extended to the ends of the hood. i drilled a 1/4 hole at either end and hot glued the night lights over the hole so just the LED was sticking out. than i glued some tin foil to the under side of the hood to help reflect the light downward. I picked up a few plug ends and lamp cord from HD and made my own cord. 
the glass under the hood protects the LED from water damage and the hot glue can be removed easily if one goes out.
Now i have some fantasic moon lighting and can enjoy seeing my Striped Raphael swimming about and eating. if anyone would like to see pictures of it let me know and i will try and take some.


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## prowler09 (Nov 29, 2007)

^^ yes, def take some pics!


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## jputt (May 1, 2007)

:thumb:


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## demonsoni (Feb 10, 2006)

of course we want a picture...


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## MaineGuy (Jan 9, 2008)

i will try to take one tongiht. my camera is not the greatest so dont know how it will come out.
but will definately take a pic of the back of the hood


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## MaineGuy (Jan 9, 2008)

please excuse the poor quality pictures
when i get a hold of a better camera i will take a couple again


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

If you had it pointed strait down, it would light all the way to the bottom. The tank mine is sitting on is a 55 gallon, about a foot tall and the light easily makes it to the bottom. I am thinking of trying to take the light apart and see if I cant get it to sit inside my day light, maybe even hard wire it into it. Not sure how well it will come apart, but I will keep you guys posted.


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## MaineGuy (Jan 9, 2008)

The water is also little cloudy been trying hard to get it cleared up.
the light does make it all the way to the bottom on both sides but the picture quality sucks for night pics


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## sublimerjm (Nov 26, 2007)

having trouble finding them on walmart's website, or anywhere else for that matter, can someone post a link directly to one?


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## MaineGuy (Jan 9, 2008)

I had to go to the store itself to find them. and wasnt easy in the store either. in the section with all the other nightlights look for the ones that say LED in top right corner on package. down lower you will see it says blue. it has a white base and a clear cover that is about 3 inches long. make sure you find the blue ones they have it in white and red also. or look for the price. i believe they were $2.68 or $2.88 for a single nightlight


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## MaineGuy (Jan 9, 2008)

this is the closest picture i could find of it online
http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=6708&section=11773

i checked the retail locations and it looks like HD carries them.


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## prowler09 (Nov 29, 2007)

that one looks pretty good


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

Do these come in white also? I've been to walmart, here they only sell one of these types. It doesn't specify color. Will it say blue on the pack if it is blue?
Only $1.47a piece. I didn't get one yet, kinda eyeing out those flat ones, no blue in stock (out). Are they pretty bright also?
I may try Lowes this weekend see if they have some blue.


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## mepeterser2451 (Mar 23, 2007)

that looks really cool! i kinda like the spotlight effect and how its not too bright. Blue cold cathode tube lights from radioshack for $20 will light up the entire tank but on mine its a bit too bright although i could lower it with a weaker ac/dc adapter. good work and keep experimenting!


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

mepeterser2451 said:


> but on mine its a bit too bright although i could lower it with a weaker ac/dc adapter.


I've got cold cathodes on my 55, Walmart sells an adjustable 1.5amp inverter for about $15 that goes from 1.5-12 volts. I keep mine on 6, but if I want to watch the fish at night I just crank it up.


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## prowler09 (Nov 29, 2007)

^^ post pics!


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## sublimerjm (Nov 26, 2007)

Found the cold cathode lights at radio shacks site:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... age=search

not an electrician just yet, or possibly ever, but what do I need to buy so I can plug that in to a standard outlet. I know some sort of inverter just not sure what it is, links would be appreciated.


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

Had to "crank it up" just to get pics to look like the 6v (50%) setting. 








old pic


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## prowler09 (Nov 29, 2007)

i like the way that looks


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## mepeterser2451 (Mar 23, 2007)

sublimerjm said:


> Found the cold cathode lights at radio shacks site:
> http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... age=search
> 
> not an electrician just yet, or possibly ever, but what do I need to buy so I can plug that in to a standard outlet. I know some sort of inverter just not sure what it is, links would be appreciated.


its not hard at all. i am clueless when it comes to wiring stuff up but somebody posted how to do it recently and it was easy to follow. i'll try to find the link and post it. the inverter is included. You only need to find yourself the right ac/dc adapter which im sure you've got lying around somewhere, some electrical tape, and I also recommend using some better double sided tape than the stuff they provide in the package. You could also use hot glue.


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## Exodus1500 (Nov 16, 2007)

LED's are usually rated for 3.7v or 5.0v +/- ~0.3v Running them over the alloted voltage will kill them. I made my own using one single 2600mcd blue LED which runs on 3.7v and ran it on 5v to see how long it would last. It made it a few hours....


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## mepeterser2451 (Mar 23, 2007)

heres one of the articles i followed

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_moonlight.php


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

where do you get cold cathode lights?


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## mepeterser2451 (Mar 23, 2007)

fishwolfe said:


> where do you get cold cathode lights?


radioshack

http://www.radioshack.com/search/index. ... thode&sr=1


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

:roll: should have known


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## Stickzula (Sep 14, 2007)

Radioshack or as I like to call it "Rape-I-O shack" is waaaay overpriced. Google cold cathode and look for computer geek websites. Radio shack sells a dual 12" cold cathode kit for $19.99. I got my dual 12" cold cathode kit for $3.99 + S&H. less than $10 total.

Moral of the story .......

Although convenient, radioshack is a HUGE waste of money. If you don't mind waiting a few days, you can get anything that radioshack carries for way less online.


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## mittzgame (Oct 3, 2006)

bulldogg7 said:


> kinda eyeing out those flat ones, no blue in stock (out). Are they pretty bright also?


No, they're not bright enough. We tried them after reading this thread and they didn't work at all. Barely down a few inches into the tank...

Stick with the bigger badder version that these guys found!


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## mittzgame (Oct 3, 2006)

Guess I should've read the rest of the post bulldog, you already did your thing, lol...

But just in case anyone else was wondering about them, now they know :thumb:


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

No, I'm still deciding on the 20gal. Just can't find the blue leds here. Unless they only come in blue. The package doesn't say. Will go back tonight, maybe they were just out of stock.


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

They didn't carry the Leviton ones. They got some Meridian #PHRB01 in. Googled but couldn't find a link, may be the same company?








Did it a little differently, just put them on the ends of the 18 tube light. Works great. Got them wired to stay on when the fluorescent is turned off. Don't have a timer on this tank. I just drilled 2 holes for each, one for the wires and one for a ziptie.


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## myselfdotcom (Sep 19, 2006)

Back a month ago, IKEA has those blue /purple LED light strips for sale for like $0.25 cents each. They runs on double AA batteries.


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

It's dark now, I'm glad I put the led's on the ends of the light. There's some darkness in the middle and the rocks are shaded. I moved the top around to see what it would look like with one led on the tank, it lit the entire tank with one. 
The color is pretty awesome compared to my cold cathodes. I'm thinking about putting a couple on the ends of my 55g now, just as accents. But I may wire a dimmer to them if I do.


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## Turtlemaxxx (Jul 13, 2007)

If you cant tell what color they are from reading the box, take it over by the lamps and plug the sucker in. That is, of course, assuming you dont have to destroy the box too much :lol:

-matt


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

This is what you should be looking for. 








I ripped them apart, did some soldering and put two of them in my Walmart shop light. I love Walmart. This is the gutts of the night night.








This is one of them. Just drilled some holes and taped them too the inside.


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

that's the one I ended up getting, they were just out of stock the other dozen times that I looked.


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## demonsoni (Feb 10, 2006)

i had trouble finding it but eventually my wife said "that one says blue" lol what would i do without her. but yeah im very happy with my $2.86 moonlight. It does a grrreat job.


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## bibbs68 (Dec 1, 2006)

Just a heads up...my local Home Depot still had a bunch of Christmas indoor extension cords on clearance. They had a pack of three which included a 6, 9, and 15' cord and a 15' cord with 9 inline plugs and a floor foot activated on/off switch. Prices were $1.47 and $.74 respectively.

Would be great for this project but also if you are like me you are always in need of an extension cord for something.


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## demonsoni (Feb 10, 2006)

dude you could ebay those suckers lol


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## MaineGuy (Jan 9, 2008)

gee i guess we should have kept this one a secret every one is buying up the nightlights soon the price will go up.. lol

when i get my new tank setup im thinkin about putting in 3. one every 12 inches.

this time i think i will rip them apart and make it as small as possible


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## bibbs68 (Dec 1, 2006)

demonsoni said:


> dude you could ebay those suckers lol


If I only had the time.


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## Exodus1500 (Nov 16, 2007)

What spot light effect?

I just made a night light. Took about 10 minutes. I used 6 LED's at lower intensity instead of 1-2 at high intensity. The only reason you see the blue at the top of the tank is because I was taking the picture too low. Completely dimmable via potentiometer.

Total cost... 17.00 for the LED's and like 1.50 for the potentiometer... oh wait... I still have 46 LED's left over! hahaha so actually it cost me about $3.00 and mine is can be dimmed


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## prowler09 (Nov 29, 2007)

^^ very cool! where did you get your supplies??


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## Exodus1500 (Nov 16, 2007)

I bought the LED's on ebay. The potentiometer I had laying around. Jameco.com is where I have bought alot of electrical components for my little projects.


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## bibbs68 (Dec 1, 2006)

Nice job Exodus!


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

> What spot light effect?


ripples on the bottom.


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## PLASTIC (Jan 26, 2008)

i thought of this before but not sure on what effect it will have on the tank and fish.

would an under car neon light be to much for the fish, or will it be alright.

relatively cheaps down under :thumb:


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

basically the same as the cold cathode, You can use a variable power supply, to adjust the voltage. 
http://www.xoxide.com this place has some cheap but with shipping it may be cheaper doing the car thing? These led's seem to give a blue-er color. 
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd84 ... 7/cat2.jpg
as compared to Exodus1500's pic above.
I can crank my cathodes but it's still not as blue as the nitelite on my kids tank. With the cathodes you can get different colors, same with leds. The cathodes are basically like a fluorescent tube, they just illuminate everything. The led's can give you spots of light, maybe some rippling. Just depends on how you place them. The car lights should work, I love my cathodes, but full on is a bit much. I plan to add a nightlights just to simulate the moon, just a beam in the middle front away from the sleeping areas.


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## Exodus1500 (Nov 16, 2007)

bulldogg7 said:


> > What spot light effect?
> 
> 
> ripples on the bottom.


you want there to be rippling effects on the bottom, or you are bothered because there are some.... sorry, just got home... slightly intoxicated and dont necessarily understand what you mean.... There aren't any rippling effects


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## Exodus1500 (Nov 16, 2007)

bulldogg7 said:


> These led's seem to give a blue-er color.
> http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd84 ... 7/cat2.jpg
> as compared to Exodus1500's pic above.


I would say those give it more of a turquoise effect than blue effect.... mine are pretty darn blue.... If I give them more current than they should have/are rated at they turn that color.


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

I like the ripples, but my cathodes don't show it as much. There is such a thing as to much though. My kid's tank looks nice with the led's. My cathodes are basically a low power fluorescent, not much ripple, I prefer the cathodes on my show tank, in the dining room. But If I had a tank in my bedroom I'd go LED in a second. It's an awesome effect.



> These led's seem to give a blue-er color.
> http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd84 ... 7/cat2.jpg
> as compared to Exodus1500's pic above.


sorry, that was worded a little screwy.

I meant the LED's give a bluer color:








cathodes


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## billr (Jan 23, 2008)

just seen this post,just got back from walmart,just drilled my holes and glued lights to hood,cheapest addition to my tanks. :thumb:


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

*Thanks again brycerb* :thumb: 
I just added these to my fry tank. Been so long... I hooked them all up after soldering the contacts and all, hehe, got kinda high tech this go-round. $5 led's, $1.24 extension cord on sale 8) Got everything hooked up in the computer room and plugged it in to test and they didn't work! I forgot about the photocell :x Took it all back apart and thought "well I must've overheated something... Got flustered and put the canopy back on the tank, and GUESS WHAT???
DUHR!


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## armenhamer (Feb 21, 2008)

I really like the idea with the nightlites. I hope you dont mind but I put my own slant on it. First of all let me tell you, everyone and their mother must be readind this thread because it took me two weeks and multiple visits to multiple wallmarts to finally find a store who had the blue lights in stock! I installed 5 lites on my 92gal corner bow tank. I have to say the results are are terrific. To start I removed the crystal reflector on top. most of them came right off with a good twist, some of them needed a little more persuaison. next I took the single screw out and removed the top caseing. I spread the prongs on the other case and kinda wiggled them until I was able to remove the entire circuit board. Dont bang on the prongs or you might damage the unit. (I learned from experiance!) Next I cut the prongs down to about 1/4 of an inch. I then drilled a hole in the case between the 2 slots where the prongs came thru. I used aprox. a 1/4 inch drill bit. I then measured the distance I wanted the lites to be from each other and cut each pair of wires accordingly. These lites are wired in parallel to each other. I inserted the wires thru the casing of the 1st light and soldered them to the prongs. I reassembled the 1st lite and moved on down to the next one. I did each one the same way untill the I came to the last light where one set of the wires was the line cord used to plug in. I then used 5 min epoxy glue to secure the individual lite fixtures in between the two floresant tubes in my hood making sure the wires were pulled till strait. The finish involved making the individual reflectors foe each lite. I simply traced the base of the original reflector on to the concave bottem of a 12 oz. soda can and cut out with sheet metal snips. I then drilled a 1/4 in whole in the center and proceeded to adhere to each lite with my trustee 5 min. epoxy. Again I say the results are terrific. As soon as I can get my kids to upload the pictures I would be glad to share with those who are interested. Kudos go out to the guy with the original idea! :dancing:


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

I love that so many people are able to benifit from this idea. Long live the Walmart moonlight.


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## demonsoni (Feb 10, 2006)

Here's a big :thumb: to you brycerb.


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## ashilli48 (May 14, 2006)

Has anyone experienced any longevity problems with these units from Wal-mart?


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

ashilli48 said:


> Has anyone experienced any longevity problems with these units from Wal-mart?


Mine has been running since this thread started.


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## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

Would it be possible to spilt a 3 in PVC pipe in half the length of your tank, cover the inside with foil or white paint, and then put a few of the nightlights along the inside of the pipe?


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

I'm sure, Anything is possible. Hook something up and take some pictures.


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## juissed (Mar 10, 2008)

used a meridian blue led night light on my tank.. Turned out pretty good. I haven't drilled/glued it in yet, but mocked up via ziptie it's working great. :lol: The light sensor works well for turning on when the hood lights are out. (which are on a timer..)

Flourescent Lights:









Lights out:









gives it the subtle blue I was looking for. Best $2.00 I've put into this tank yet. :thumb:


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## captevo (Feb 4, 2008)

I went to a local Wal-mart and couldn't find the LED night light.
:-?


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## houstonhimself (Oct 20, 2006)

I tried your idea on my 33 gal juve tank... I love it, for ten bucks and about an hour I have two moon(spot)lights.

There was room inside the hood next to my light on either side so I drilled holes in both sides, pulled apart the ends of two extension cords, and glued the lights in. I tried to take some pictures but my camera sucks for night shots... :?

Thanks for the idea. :thumb:


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## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

I just got two of the led's from walmart and I have room next to the bulb on my light. Should i point the lights down? I was thinking of painting the inside of the light housing gloss white and pointing the leds parallel to the tank and getting more reflection across the tank. What do you guys think?


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

try it both ways.mine are pointed across the top of the water not down and i left the diffuser housing on them so they dont do the spot light thing.


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## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

Does it make it to the bottom of your tank fishwolfe?


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## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

*WOW, WOW, WOW, and WOW * I just fabricated one on to my light strip and it looks AMAZING! I got an extension cord and ran it through the light strip and took a dremel to cut through for the socket. I have a light on each end that points across the tank. And the whole set up doesnt look barbaric with cords everywhere. It is all in the strip. Almost looks professional :roll:

But the end results are sweet. It isnt bright but it is just bright enough to see which I like alot. And absolutely not spotlight at all. Plus, it has really cool ripples on the bottom. I am just amazed.

*Brycerb, thank you so much for this amazing and cheap idea*. I cannot show my gratitude to you. I could have gone out and spent $60+ but thanks to you I got away with a $5 set up that looks better. Thanks again. I AM SO EXCITED


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## D-007 (Jan 3, 2008)

armenhamer said:


> ........... As soon as I can get my kids to upload the pictures I would be glad to share with those who are interested. Kudos go out to the guy with the original idea! :dancing:


Yes, pictures would be very welcome :thumb:


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

> Does it make it to the bottom of your tank fishwolfe?


yes it does and i also get the ripple effect on the bottom.i tried taking pics with both cameras but you really couldn't see anything in them.if i can figure out how to keep the lens open longer i may be able to get a pic.


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## Landlover (May 4, 2008)

great tip. I found this post today and went straight to Wally World and bought my light. Looks awsome in the tank. I have one question for those that have been running moonlighting in your tanks for a while. It doesn't seem overwhelming, but will it bother the fish? I'm not sure if my guppies sleep anyways because they are up at 5a.m. when I get up and it is total darkness, but there they are just swimming around. The tetras do sleep but of course wake when the light comes on. In contrast, by betta just goes to sleep when he's good and ready whether lights are on or not.


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## steinfire (Aug 7, 2006)

I did this also with a pair of cold cathodes from oznium.com. I think they were around 10 bucks for 2 12" tubes. I tried a blue one and a white one and ended up going with both. One white and one blue behind the bulb. I found a old ac adapter with a voltage switch on it and connected the cables to it and used 2 sided tape for the cathodes, drilled a hole for the wire and thats it. These are some old pictures but I can get some updated ones later.

here is the tank with the voltage cranked all the way up for the picture. I ended up putting both of the cathodes on one side and leaving the other side dark. 









just testing with a battery



























this is where I found mine
http://www.oznium.com/cathode-kit


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## lamster (Mar 21, 2008)

Bump for more pictures of the Walmart LED nightlight setup.


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

lamster said:


> Bump for more pictures of the Walmart LED nightlight setup.


Give it a bump up to the top, so people who haven't read it can.


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## ashilli48 (May 14, 2006)

bump


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## demonsoni (Feb 10, 2006)

2 things, mine burned out one day so i bought a new one and returned the broken one for the money, it says you can ship it to the company for free replacement but that costs money to ship...
2nd I have mine under one of my light hoods so it is not visible. Recently I filled my water to the tip top and now when i walk by in the morning i see the shadow of fish swimming on my floor, the funny part is depending on where they are in the tank their shadow gets up to 2 ft long on my floor. :lol:


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## RichGSR (Sep 15, 2008)

Thanks for this tip! I got this from walmart and it works great. I just need to find a way to mount it to my light fixture so it points down, but thanks!


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