DIY MoonLights

[Liquid_Pyro]

Alright, so I would really like to make up a simple circuit with 6 or 7 blue LED's that is able to plug into the wall and thus have it on a timer.

I know there are other posts regaurding this, but I wanted to start a new fresh one and then post up a nice step by step process...

I have a general idea of how to go about this, but I was just curious to know if anyone has done this before, I know you can buy kits from most pet stores, but I would like to be able to position the LED's on the underside of my custom tank hood, so I can aim all the LED's where I want to accent certain parts of the tank.

So, how have others gone about it? series or parrallel circuits, what types of resistors and transformer to convert the AC power to DC for the LED's?

Anything would be greatly appreciated, I tried an electronics store, but the lady behind the deck knew less than I did...I couldn't belive it...

 

[WhiteDevil]

Id get the parts somewhere other then a petstore, their mark-up will be rediculous.

You can get all the parts from somewhere like radio shack or online.

I got the same idea in my head that you do.

LED's are available in 12v and 110 volt, get the 110 and you wont need invertors or capacitors, its a light emitting diode, all you need is a current and a current breaker( switch).

I got one that I use for night fishing from a lantern works off 12v ( fully submersible) Im thinking about getting another lantern from work and stripped it to use the LED strips (4 of em 12 leds per strip) for moonlights( mine are blue,white,green and red LEDS' jsut gotta figure out which color will be best, Im thinking red since its less invasive of the color spectrums.

 

[Liquid_Pyro]

Alright so I have done a little more research, and I think I could just use an old cell phone charger as my power source...just have to figure out the math part now...

 

[asudavew]

Alright so I have done a little more research, and I think I could just use an old cell phone charger as my power source...just have to figure out the math part now...

Keep us updated... this could be really interesting!

 

[Jagwa]

i think it is better to use leds in series as not all of them draw the same current and if you make them parallel then they will burn with different brightness. If you cant fit all your leds in one series connection, use more than one string of them and put the strings in parrellel. you can make sure that your strings draw the same current by adding series resistors to them.you also get 5v leds.

 

[thincat]

I just got undercabinet led lghts from homedepot and used them for night lights, just be sure they don't fall into the water.

 

[smallboss2]

led look up site

Try this web site www.ledcalc.com for Led calculations

 

[underdog5004]

Id get the parts somewhere other then a petstore, their mark-up will be rediculous.

You can get all the parts from somewhere like radio shack or online.

I got the same idea in my head that you do.

LED's are available in 12v and 110 volt, get the 110 and you wont need invertors or capacitors, its a light emitting diode, all you need is a current and a current breaker( switch).

How could you possibly have a 110VAC LED? alternating current won't work because it can't alternate. The LED is like a one-way valve for electricity. LEDs are DC.

 

[jim692]

led light

I made 4 led moonlight strips for my son's tank and my own.
With the correct type of transformer you can set the voltage for different light levels.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f60/kids-nite-light-111629.html

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/members/20442-albums419.html
Pictures are with the cover off.

Hope this helps.

 

[Liquid_Pyro]

Thanks jim, mine will be very similar, just waiting on the LED's at the moment

 

[SparKy697]

Some pics of a similar installation to an existing fixture:

LED pictures by sparky697_photo - Photobucket

 

[yetee]

not sure if you have looked yet but you can buy DIY moon light kits on ebay for around 5 bucks. that includes everything but solder and a 12v dc power supply.

 

[Liquid_Pyro]

no i hadn't, I just ordered like 100 LED's and all colors of the rainbow for like $6, so when they come in I will get started on putting it all together

just working on the stand right now and hood to put all the lights in