Cold Cathode Moon Light

[NoRp]

ok so im thinking of using 6 total 12" cathodes 2 for my 2 tanks and 2 for the cupboard . what i was thinking of is getting an old pc power supply but maybe thats to powerfull
the problem with sticking them all to an adapter would be not being able to fit them? what do u think?
also if i did put them all on say one 12v adapter would it be 4v each or would each get the full 12 vs? any ideas and answers would be great.

is there some way to maybe wire the 4 for the tank togeather
if i got an adapter with the 4 differant ends maybe i could link the 4 up to one end and the 2 up to another?

how safe is the insulation tape way as this would all be totaly out the way but would be touching wood or carpet ( basicly does it get hot and burn your house down?)


also if i attache the cold cathods directly to my wooden hood with silicone could there be a problem with heat there?

cheers

NoRp

 

[NoRp]

seeing as i have left over silicone i was thinking of silconing the wires to the adapter could this cause any problem??

guys please reply as i know nothing about electrics =[

 

[DarkShadow435]

I just made/installed one of these DIY Cold Cathodes. Came out great. It's in my 50 gal tank. I'll post a good pic when i can get one (camera's crappy).

 

[Bazza696]

Hi everyone, I have wanted to modify my juwel lightbar so I can switch off the tubes individually, so I can have the moonlight on, but this thread has shown me a different spin, thanks everyone, yesterday I ordered 2 x 12" cold cathodes, just wait for them to come and I will post some pictures... again thanks everyone

 

[DeepSeaFishin]

I dont understand the whole wiring part, how is that thing wired up? How is it connected and the brightness changed and such?

 

[Colonel Mustard]

how do you change the light to high low and mediam

 

[Chunkmuffin85]

ok so im thinking of using 6 total 12" cathodes 2 for my 2 tanks and 2 for the cupboard . what i was thinking of is getting an old pc power supply but maybe thats to powerfull
the problem with sticking them all to an adapter would be not being able to fit them? what do u think?
also if i did put them all on say one 12v adapter would it be 4v each or would each get the full 12 vs? any ideas and answers would be great.

is there some way to maybe wire the 4 for the tank togeather
if i got an adapter with the 4 differant ends maybe i could link the 4 up to one end and the 2 up to another?

how safe is the insulation tape way as this would all be totaly out the way but would be touching wood or carpet ( basicly does it get hot and burn your house down?)


also if i attache the cold cathods directly to my wooden hood with silicone could there be a problem with heat there?

cheersd

NoRp

Voltage is like pressure in a pipe. The higher the pressure the faster the water flows. The higher the Voltage the more electricity will be sent through. I'm not an expert, but I think you can wire it up and the lights would be like they are running at 4V. Although it may not be like 4V it may be brighter or not as bright. There is no harm in trying to do it. As for the insulation, I dont think it will bet to hot, but it's better safe than sorry. Take whatever precautions you can, like not leaving it on the carpet, leaving it on wood should be okay. Also, the old PC powersupply may be okay because the lights are made for a computer so it may be okay. However, I dont know how safe it maybe. Remember 1 Ampere or amp is more than enough to kill you. 1 amp techniqully contains 1 Coloumb or 1.602 x 10^-19 electrons, better known as 100 million billion electrons!!!!!!!!!! That being said I would just stick with an old plug. Good Luck, hopefully it works out the way you want it to.

 

[Chunkmuffin85]

how do you change the light to high low and mediam

What I did to change it from being low to medium and high was I can a selectable DC plug. Basically it is a universal plug for phone chargers or whatever electronics you have. I got it from walmart for like 9 bucks. That way I can select between 2-12V. I really liked this because I could make it bright if I wanted to see the fish, or I could dim it so the fish did not freak out and some only come out at night. Also, some people are into the lunar cycle. If it is a full moon there is more light or the moon is only quater full you use less moonlight. This is not something I am into, but you could attempt to do something like that. Like I just mentioned above, Voltage is like pressure in a water pipe, if you dont want the electricity to come out to fast, you need to lower the Voltage.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

okay thanks the only problem now is how to fit the lights into my hood i think a i can do it just, still keeping the light even

 

[Bozza]

This is probably a really stupid question, but using a Cold Cathode Kit for night viewing of a nocturnal fish what colour should i use? Red, Blue, Black? Im having trouble finding anything for the AC Adapter here in aus. The site im using is http/www.dicksmith.com.au/

Thanks in advance, Torrens

 

[Chunkmuffin85]

This is probably a really stupid question, but using a Cold Cathode Kit for night viewing of a nocturnal fish what colour should i use? Red, Blue, Black? Im having trouble finding anything for the AC Adapter here in aus. The site im using is http/www.dicksmith.com.au/

Thanks in advance, Torrens

Not a stupid question at all. U could probably use any color you want, most people go with blue because it looks nice and it resembles the moonlight underwater. The only thing is for nocturnal fish, if the light is too bright they may not come out. So I would go with the Regulated Multi Voltage Power Adaptor for your website or click http/www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefro...duct/View/M9926 This allows you to select 5V as an option and shouldnt be too bright, but it is rather expensive, and its 1000 mA which is a lot, like kill you a lot haha. So i would look for something similar that may be cheaper and maybe only like 500 mA. Good luck

 

[Bozza]

Yeh I know if the lighting is to bright the nocturnal fish wont come out. Was thinking red. Anyway, i have another question, how to do connect the light to the adapter? The adapter only has those pointy connects. Do you rap the wire around it and use duct tape around if or something? Thanks in advance

 

[Tigermoth]

Not all cold cathode kits are made with molex type connectors for PCs. Some have connectors ready to fit straight on to an AC adapter. The ones I use aren't as cheap as the ebuyer ones though. Mine were £6 + £3 P+P off ebay.

You could cut the molex plug off the end, then cut the connector off the end of the AC adapter lead and join them together with one of these.
http/autolumination.com/images/auto_bulbs/conn1.jpg
Then bind the whole thing up with electrical tape. This would be a lot more water-resistant than a molex plug connection, but still safer left outside the hood. Also a lot more secure than just taping the bare ends of wire on to an AC adaptor's connector.

Another option would be to take a female molex connector out of an old PC with a short length of cable still attached, then join that to your AC adapter. This would make the junction easier to disconnect, but dangerous around water.

edit:
If the positive and negative wires are joined the wrong way round, the cathode unit won't work, it shouldn't damage the unit though. So if you wire it up and it doesn't work, try swapping the wires over.

 

[promithius]

i have just done mine, very easy to wire up.

Little guide:

The inverter (metal or plastic box which the pc connector come out of) should have a red and black (or yellow and black) cable running to the molex connector (the pc connector)

Cut these wires just before the molex connector. descard the molex connector. strip the plastic off the wires to about 1/2 inch.

Get your dc adapter. look at the cable. it should be 2 cables merged together. cut the multiway adapter off the end, and seperate the cables to about 1 1/2 inches. Strip 1/2 inch of plastic off the end of each.

Now, look at the dc adapters cables. see that one has a white strip running up the side? thats the 'live' part. That must be attached to the RED cable on your cathodes. either twist the cables together or use ones of the connectors mentioned in the above post.

The other dc cable will be just black. that must be connected to the black cable from the inverter.

All done!

Ill post some pic's of mine up as soon as the silicone dries and i can move em about

 

[FoamLess]

I havent actually done this yet, but when I was looking at my existing 12" dual white cathodes for my pc, (took them out not long ago from my pc, wanted my pc to be as simple as possible without cathodes/card readers/fan controllers/etc), I was wondering how I was going to turn my white cathodes blue. Then I saw the blue straw on my bubble tea, and then it hit me. The straw fits perfectly on the cathode tubes, but I guess you'll need to run it at 12v now or else it would be too dim.

Just an idea


-Foameh