DIY / Conversion Moon Lights

[J-P]

Woo hoo another successful DIY done today it it was a quickie!

History:
I wanted to take Puffer Punk's advide on putting some moon lights into the tank. I searched and searched for aquatic moonlights but they were no cheap.LED lights were a little better than adjustable halogen but I wasn't happy with what I found. That's when I sarted searching for neons that go under the car. Why? Because they are water resistant! That is when I found some car LEDs on e-bay for under a 1$ with free shipping!

A month later (today) they arrived.

The build:
I took EagerNewbie's advice and cut open an old cell phone charger. Spliced the lines on both the LEDs and the charger .. matched the red with red and black with black.

After testing it in a normal wall socket and found that it WORKED! I wrapped the exposed wires in electrical tape (a little trickier than expected for the wires are so small) and re-tested it and took the photos.

Next:
I'm going to get more lights and daisy chain them together and silicone them so that they are recessed all along the front section of the tank.

Total build / conversion time: under 15 mins
Total cost: under $5

Hope you enjoyed this!
J-P

[DarkStorm]

ahh fun with led's i do alot of neon underbody lighting for work is a great idea to apply it to aquarium.

[J-P]

ohhh the pictures don't do it justice! When I checked the strip against the tank it was awesome!

[Eager Newbie]

Hey that's really neat!!! Would love to see them over the tank. MOAR PICS PLZ

I'm glad that my advice could help, but I was specifically referring to computer fans when I suggested that. You might be over driving those LEDs and they might not last long. What are the specs on the LEDs and the adapter?

Anywho they look really neat good job!

[J-P]

adaptor:
input:
AC 100-240V / 50-60Hz / 65mA / 6.5VA
output:
DC 5V / 350mA
made in china haha

the LEDs I only know are 12v

[ATG]

Wow those look nice!

I think you don't have to worry about electrical problems...

The key is you don't want to send too much power into the LED, and you don't want to suck up too much energy from the adapter. Since you don't really have the specs it's hard to tell but since they didn't blow up in your face when you plugged it in, looks okay...

[Eager Newbie]

but since they didn't blow up in your face when you plugged it in, looks okay...

Lul. Looks fine.

[J-P]

haha at first I hooked them up to my car battery charger and turned it on with my face away from them ... it didn't work. They only flashed on then went off.

[J-P]

Hey that's really neat!!! Would love to see them over the tank. MOAR PICS PLZ

I'm glad that my advice could help, but I was specifically referring to computer fans when I suggested that. You might be over driving those LEDs and they might not last long. What are the specs on the LEDs and the adapter?

Anywho they look really neat good job!

I ordered more lights .. once they have been set in, I'll update the photos in my main thread. Because of the shipping delay, don't expect any new pics 'till next month.

[Pufferpunk]

Very cool! LEDs are pretty cheap though. I did get mine used from a fellow reefer.

[DarkStorm]

can get led rope lights 100 feet for 10$ at walmart blue an white they have waterproof as well.

[J-P]

yep yep ... just you need to be near a walmart For those of us who aren't ..

[SammyDee]

Can we see pics of it now on the tank?

[J-P]

I'll try tonight.

My former camera didn't take night shots that well. Not sure how well this one will work out.

[J-P]

ok ... new pics

Sorry, I should have used a tripod.. didn't know that the shutter would be open that long. oh well