o0ric0o
Fish Fanatic
do you think its worth getting a moonlight kit ? for my tank will it give the fish a more natual life rither than being sat in the dark over night ?
Moonlight Kit ?
- Thread starter o0ric0o
- Start date
o0ric0o
Fish Fanatic
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o0ric0o
Fish Fanatic
ordered 2 blue cold cathodes from ebuyer see how it goes 
Ace Of Spades
Fish Gatherer
ordered 2 blue cold cathodes from ebuyer see how it goes
Hi mate would you PM when you recieve them, and tell me what they are like or just post here, Id really like to know as im thinking of getting two for my 60 litre...
Many Thanks
Ace OfSpades
fishyfreak
Fish Fanatic
Check out this link: [post="0"]http
/www.kaotica.com/frag/diy/moonlight/[/post]
/www.kaotica.com/frag/diy/moonlight/[/post]o0ric0o
Fish Fanatic
ordered 2 blue cold cathodes from ebuyer see how it goes
Hi mate would you PM when you recieve them, and tell me what they are like or just post here, Id really like to know as im thinking of getting two for my 60 litre...
Many Thanks
Ace OfSpades
i sure can mate theres a thread on here that has info thats where i got my idea from.
once done i'll post up some pics
i should get them on friday.
o0ric0o
Fish Fanatic
I have recived my cathodes this morning and fitted them into my light hood, just waiting till tonight to test these babys out
Will post up pics later.
Will post up pics later.
o0ric0o
Fish Fanatic
As promised pic's not very good tho took with mobile
Ace Of Spades
Fish Gatherer
As promised pic's not very good tho took with mobile
wow mate they look nice i might have to buy some
thanks for PMingMany Thanks
Ace Of Spades
o0ric0o
Fish Fanatic
wow mate they look nice i might have to buy some
Many Thanks
Ace Of Spades
No problem simple to fit and thats on the highest setting
If anyone is interested it can be cheaper to build yourself !!! ive built about 15+ for my 4 tanks friends nd family below is a little step by step guide, i havent yet got round to the pics but you can easily read through the guide ive wrote.
Rough costs,
£10 for dual cold cathode with inverter (Maplin) have got the same for £5 on ebay)
£3 for multivolt adapter from comet / £ stretcher / wilkinsons)
99p for clack electrical tape / pvc heatshrink / bullet connectors.
Build your own Moonlighting kit
What you will need
1) 2x cold cathode tubes (Blue) with Inverter and optional on off switch Can be bought on eBay for £6 (I personally don’t use the on off switch as mine are on time switch)
2) Velcro or double sided sticky back pad (often comes with the cold cathode kit)
3) 1x 12v or 3-12v Multi adapter / Plug (Multi volt would be better to enable you to change the brightness of the moonlight effect)
4) Clear silicone aquarium sealant (optional)
5) Pvc heat shrink tubing ……… Steps 1-9 Or bullet / spade connectors with silicone covering. Steps 10-
6) Soldering iron & solder (optional) / Hairdryer
7) Wire crimpers / pliers (optional)
8) Wire stripers or Teeth
The preparation
1* gather all the parts required.
2* Cut the top of the connection from the 12v / Multi volt adapter (Fig 1)
3* Separate a small amount of the 2 core cable from the adapter and remove some the sheathing to expose the copper core. Using wire stripers or your teeth, I use my teeth as they make great wire strippers but cant say that for your own, pls use this option at your own risk. (Fig 2)
4* cut the Red and the Black cables attached to the 2 pin female connector from the larger male 4pin pc connectors (Fig 3)
5* cut back some sheathing to expose the 2 cores of the cables.
6* for added safety run a small amount of clear silicone sealant at the ends of the cold cathodes to make water tight (Fig 4) this is optional and may not be needed if your able to house the tubes behind the clear plastic cover on lighting housing (Fig 5 & 5.1)
Now everything is prepared here comes the fun part of putting it all together.
Option 1 using pvc strait joints
1* take the 2 cores Red & black of the 2 pin connector and slide a piece of heat shrink over the 2 cores leaving the core exposed (Fig 6)
2* take the 2 parted cores of the plug and slide a piece of pvc heat shrink down each one of the cores leaving the cores exposed (Fig 7)
3* take the red cable and the black with white stripe cable from plug, line them up along side each other and twist the 2 cores together so they’re bound tight.
4* if you wish you can but don’t have to solder the 2 cores together once bound (Fig 8) this doesn’t need to be done so long as you can be sure no one will be tugging hard on the cables in the future that could cause them to come apart.
5* once you have bound and if you wish soldered the cores together bend the exposed core back so it is lined up against the sheathed cable, then slide the pvc heat shrink over the exposed core so that cores of the cable are no longer exposed (Fig 9 & 9.1)
6* Now either using a soldering iron or hairdryer heat the pvc heat shrink till it contracts seals the cores. (Fig 10)
7* Repeat steps 3 – 6 with the 2 black cables.
8* Now your set up should look like this (Fig 11)
9 * Now take the piece of pvc heat shrink that you slid over the 2 cores connected to the 2 pin connector and slide this over the 2 joins covered in pvc wrap you have just made, then using the hairdryer / soldering iron heat the pvc heat shrink so it contracts over the 2 joins. This is just an added safety precaution and to tidy up the look of the kit. Once done it should look like this (Fig 12)
Option 2 using bullet / Spade connections
1* take the red and black cables connected to the 2 pin connector and slide a piece of pvc heat shrink over the 2 cables leaving the cores exposed. (Fig 13)
2* do the same for 2 cables connected to the plug (Fig 14)
(the 2 above steps are only if you want to make the connection cosmetically looking better and serves no other reason; please see (Fig 18)
3* take the red cable twist the exposed core so it is wound tight, then fold the exposed core over itself to double its thickness and twist together again, if you are able to do this once more and still have just under 1cm of exposed core remaining do so. Once doe should look like this (Fig 15)
4* insert the exposed core far enough into the male bullet or spade connection opening then using either crimpers or pliers crimp the connection onto the cable. (Fig 16)
5* do the same for the black cable and the 2 cables connected to the plug (for the 2 cables attached to the plug use the female connectors.)
6* once all done you should have something looking like this. (Fig17)
7* if you so wish you can then slide the pcv heat shrink up towards the connectors and using a hairdryer / soldering iron shrink the pvc wrap around the cable, this is only for a cosmetic purpose and doesn’t have to be done. (Fig 18)
8* for extra safety if you wish you can place a small amount of clear silicone around the small gap left where the bullet / spade connection is crimped.
9* connect the red male cable connected to the black with white strip cable connected attached to the plug together and connection is made.
Fixing to your hood and turning on
Now all the hard bits have been done you need to look at where to mount the moonlighting kit , both my setups have a plastic pvc cover over the lighting unit and I have used small squares of Velcro to hold the cold cathodes and inverter in place (you can use the double sided sticky pad that comes with most cold cathode kits, I just prefer to use Velcro in case I need to replace a cathode tube.)
I’m sorry to say that I cant do a guide on how to connect to your hood as there are so many variances out there, but if you look at Fig 19 & 19.1 this is how I have attached to my hoods, the cathodes are directly below the main lighting tubes in (Fig 19.1) this consists of 3x 25w bulbs and I have had no problems with heat generated causing problems with the cathodes. It is best to place the inverter for the cathodes in a location that the will not get wet, again see (Fig 19 & 19.1)
Once you have placed al the components in place u then just need to push all the connections together then plug in, I shant post pics of what plugs into what as it’s the same as a mini jigsaw puzzle with 5 bits.!!! If it doesn’t fit don’t be a man and force it!!! (I know all us guys have done or said that at one time). If it fits that’s where it goes!!!!!
I hope this little guide is a help to all those who are interested in making a moonlighting kit.
Rough costs,
£10 for dual cold cathode with inverter (Maplin) have got the same for £5 on ebay)
£3 for multivolt adapter from comet / £ stretcher / wilkinsons)
99p for clack electrical tape / pvc heatshrink / bullet connectors.
Build your own Moonlighting kit
What you will need
1) 2x cold cathode tubes (Blue) with Inverter and optional on off switch Can be bought on eBay for £6 (I personally don’t use the on off switch as mine are on time switch)
2) Velcro or double sided sticky back pad (often comes with the cold cathode kit)
3) 1x 12v or 3-12v Multi adapter / Plug (Multi volt would be better to enable you to change the brightness of the moonlight effect)
4) Clear silicone aquarium sealant (optional)
5) Pvc heat shrink tubing ……… Steps 1-9 Or bullet / spade connectors with silicone covering. Steps 10-
6) Soldering iron & solder (optional) / Hairdryer
7) Wire crimpers / pliers (optional)
8) Wire stripers or Teeth
The preparation
1* gather all the parts required.
2* Cut the top of the connection from the 12v / Multi volt adapter (Fig 1)
3* Separate a small amount of the 2 core cable from the adapter and remove some the sheathing to expose the copper core. Using wire stripers or your teeth, I use my teeth as they make great wire strippers but cant say that for your own, pls use this option at your own risk. (Fig 2)
4* cut the Red and the Black cables attached to the 2 pin female connector from the larger male 4pin pc connectors (Fig 3)
5* cut back some sheathing to expose the 2 cores of the cables.
6* for added safety run a small amount of clear silicone sealant at the ends of the cold cathodes to make water tight (Fig 4) this is optional and may not be needed if your able to house the tubes behind the clear plastic cover on lighting housing (Fig 5 & 5.1)
Now everything is prepared here comes the fun part of putting it all together.
Option 1 using pvc strait joints
1* take the 2 cores Red & black of the 2 pin connector and slide a piece of heat shrink over the 2 cores leaving the core exposed (Fig 6)
2* take the 2 parted cores of the plug and slide a piece of pvc heat shrink down each one of the cores leaving the cores exposed (Fig 7)
3* take the red cable and the black with white stripe cable from plug, line them up along side each other and twist the 2 cores together so they’re bound tight.
4* if you wish you can but don’t have to solder the 2 cores together once bound (Fig 8) this doesn’t need to be done so long as you can be sure no one will be tugging hard on the cables in the future that could cause them to come apart.
5* once you have bound and if you wish soldered the cores together bend the exposed core back so it is lined up against the sheathed cable, then slide the pvc heat shrink over the exposed core so that cores of the cable are no longer exposed (Fig 9 & 9.1)
6* Now either using a soldering iron or hairdryer heat the pvc heat shrink till it contracts seals the cores. (Fig 10)
7* Repeat steps 3 – 6 with the 2 black cables.
8* Now your set up should look like this (Fig 11)
9 * Now take the piece of pvc heat shrink that you slid over the 2 cores connected to the 2 pin connector and slide this over the 2 joins covered in pvc wrap you have just made, then using the hairdryer / soldering iron heat the pvc heat shrink so it contracts over the 2 joins. This is just an added safety precaution and to tidy up the look of the kit. Once done it should look like this (Fig 12)
Option 2 using bullet / Spade connections
1* take the red and black cables connected to the 2 pin connector and slide a piece of pvc heat shrink over the 2 cables leaving the cores exposed. (Fig 13)
2* do the same for 2 cables connected to the plug (Fig 14)
(the 2 above steps are only if you want to make the connection cosmetically looking better and serves no other reason; please see (Fig 18)
3* take the red cable twist the exposed core so it is wound tight, then fold the exposed core over itself to double its thickness and twist together again, if you are able to do this once more and still have just under 1cm of exposed core remaining do so. Once doe should look like this (Fig 15)
4* insert the exposed core far enough into the male bullet or spade connection opening then using either crimpers or pliers crimp the connection onto the cable. (Fig 16)
5* do the same for the black cable and the 2 cables connected to the plug (for the 2 cables attached to the plug use the female connectors.)
6* once all done you should have something looking like this. (Fig17)
7* if you so wish you can then slide the pcv heat shrink up towards the connectors and using a hairdryer / soldering iron shrink the pvc wrap around the cable, this is only for a cosmetic purpose and doesn’t have to be done. (Fig 18)
8* for extra safety if you wish you can place a small amount of clear silicone around the small gap left where the bullet / spade connection is crimped.
9* connect the red male cable connected to the black with white strip cable connected attached to the plug together and connection is made.
Fixing to your hood and turning on
Now all the hard bits have been done you need to look at where to mount the moonlighting kit , both my setups have a plastic pvc cover over the lighting unit and I have used small squares of Velcro to hold the cold cathodes and inverter in place (you can use the double sided sticky pad that comes with most cold cathode kits, I just prefer to use Velcro in case I need to replace a cathode tube.)
I’m sorry to say that I cant do a guide on how to connect to your hood as there are so many variances out there, but if you look at Fig 19 & 19.1 this is how I have attached to my hoods, the cathodes are directly below the main lighting tubes in (Fig 19.1) this consists of 3x 25w bulbs and I have had no problems with heat generated causing problems with the cathodes. It is best to place the inverter for the cathodes in a location that the will not get wet, again see (Fig 19 & 19.1)
Once you have placed al the components in place u then just need to push all the connections together then plug in, I shant post pics of what plugs into what as it’s the same as a mini jigsaw puzzle with 5 bits.!!! If it doesn’t fit don’t be a man and force it!!! (I know all us guys have done or said that at one time). If it fits that’s where it goes!!!!!
I hope this little guide is a help to all those who are interested in making a moonlighting kit.
o0ric0o
Fish Fanatic
exelent guide there scotty
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