DIY LED Moonlight Guide

I read most of your guide, so forgive me if you covered this.... But you wired in series. You can also wire the LEDs in parallel.

1. You'd have to use a smaller output brick... I have several. THe voltage would remain constant. No worries about voltage drop and having the first LED in the chain be brighter than the rest.

2. The plus is that you wouldn't lose all the moonlights should one led fail. In a parallel circuit implementation, one LED can fail and the others will stay lit.

Either way works, and in some cases, a series circuit is ideal given space and wire routing issues.

Excellent article, and thank-you for supporting AC and it's members... You've set the bar high for any new DIY guides!
 
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AcydFlames said:
Thanks!



I thought about the waterproof thing, but given where I mounted them, and the fact that the entire hood sits on top of a piece of glass (that's sealed), and that the fluorescent isn't waterproof at all, I figured in this case it wasn't necessary.

But just out of curiosity, what did you do to make it waterproof? I was thinking a dab of silicone around the exposed part of the LED, along with a circle around the LED holder on the inside, and a quick shot to hold the LED in the holder, and it would be pretty much bullet proof
Click to expand...
sorry about the late response.... I used acrylic resin... just mix n' pour only problem is if it sticks onto your mold which is always does, so I tried some glad...


IMG_0294-1.jpg


sorry for the comments... hehe
 
Thanks for the guide!!! I used this as a base and wired my LED's tonight, four of them for a 40 gal breeder tank. I placed the LED's in blue/white pairs (I wanted to mimic the color temperature of moonlight , blue LED's just seemed too blue and white LED's just seemed too white, a matter of personal preference I guess). Before mounting I wanted to check the light output by placing the lit LED's on the tanks glass cover and it seems too bright for my tastes (and apparently for the fish as well), so I plan on playing around with modifications over the weekend before I permanently mount the LED's in my kit hood, I will definitely use a variable resistor as part of the circuit.

Just wanted to thank you and I'll post pictures once everything is permanent.
 
Ok so from reading the last few posts im going to guess that it is ok, but I wanna ask anyway. I have some white strip LED's designed for automotive use and im wanting to use them to light my 40b. Are they ok to use, if the are im planing on using white for day and blue for moonlight. I am just setting the tank up and am going to be building a stand and a hood for it, and im just trying to get all of the needed equipment lined up before I start. thanks for any input.
 
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