My Moonlight Setup (lots of pics)
- Thread starter AVReefer
- Start date
hwynboy
Active member
PC mods is the worst....I hav had problems with my order from Jump street. I have called them NUMEROUS times, they never return my calls it takes me MANY MANY attempts to get the guy on the horn. I got sent the wrong lights. It was like 4 inches long not 12. It took me 2 weeks to get an RMA to send em back and now I still dont have any lights just the power supply. I finally got a hold of the guy tonight and he says they will ship tomorrow...I'll believe it when I see it. Thought I'd share my crappy experience.
Six
New member
I really like the idea and already thought of doin that since my 30gal reef is in my computer room where I have 2 in my computer with an open window so the whole room lights up. But I saw someone mention that all you would need is the lightup fans and you would be set. Since I think direct cathlods are to bright for moon lighting why not try 2 4led 80mm fans. That would give them multipurpose of venting the lighting system and making a moon lighting on the tank. Think thats what Ima do 
singularity
New member
BlitzM4 said:
I do not think you would be able to very easily. Cold Cathode tubes work at about 1000volts at a very low amperage. The transformer included in the cold cathode light set steps the voltage up from 12volts to the much higher voltage the lamp requires.
If you were to dim it, my guess is that you would have to do it after that transformer.
hwynboy
Active member
Ok I got my lights finally...well one of em anyway but that is a different story read about it on Vendor Experiences about pcmods...what a joke they are. Anyhow I want to put them in my light fixture but Im worried it will be TOO hot for the wires and the plastic ballast. If I velcro them to the outside of the light fixture it is still hot to the touch will it not be ok there? Im just unsure where I can mount this....any help is appreciated. thanks
bachtor
New member
hwynboy- I have mine in the canopy next to my vho bulbs. No problem with heat, they seem to be built pretty tough. I don't think I'd put them next to a mh though. I also used a cable tie and secured to my reflector to make sure it doesn't fall into the tank.
shaw- you should have two leads that come off the inverter that goes to a 4 prong plug (to connect to the computer power supply). Cut this off, and hook the two wires to your 12v supply (the red or white being positive). this is also where you want to place your switch.
Hope this helps.
shaw- you should have two leads that come off the inverter that goes to a 4 prong plug (to connect to the computer power supply). Cut this off, and hook the two wires to your 12v supply (the red or white being positive). this is also where you want to place your switch.
Hope this helps.
I used a Sunbeam 12 inch blue CCFL over my 120 gal tank and found it too bright at 12 volts. So I dimmed it by using a variable power-supply from RadioShack. p/n 273-1667
the Universal Power Adapter 3volts-12volts at 800ma and about 30$cdn.
I found the 12 inch CCFL fully illuminated at 6 volts and went to max brightness at 12 volts. I found running it at 7.5 volts to be about right.
Using this method you do have to cut the end off the wire from the power supply and attach a normal PC power connector to it.
(polarity matters ) After that it is plug&play again.
the Universal Power Adapter 3volts-12volts at 800ma and about 30$cdn.
I found the 12 inch CCFL fully illuminated at 6 volts and went to max brightness at 12 volts. I found running it at 7.5 volts to be about right.
Using this method you do have to cut the end off the wire from the power supply and attach a normal PC power connector to it.
(polarity matters
) After that it is plug&play again.
JB NY
Active member
hmm. looks like a lot of the questions were not answered. Here is my take.
I ran the Cold Cathode lighting for a little while, it's too much light and I was not able to dim it. I'm back to using 25 watt blue bulbs. The dimmer would eventually blow out the 12V transformer. CCL can be dimmed but you need specialized ballasts made for the lighting that allow dimming, I could not find anything other than very expensive commercial products. The tubes are pretty cool to the touch, I would not worry about the heat it generates as it seem to be very little. The 12V is a transformer, as someone pointed out earlier in the thread, the CCL requires much higher voltage, so there is a little box included that steps up the voltage to make it usable with 12V.
Also the dim mod done by DJ88 was for LED. It would not work for Cold cathodes.
HTH
I ran the Cold Cathode lighting for a little while, it's too much light and I was not able to dim it. I'm back to using 25 watt blue bulbs. The dimmer would eventually blow out the 12V transformer. CCL can be dimmed but you need specialized ballasts made for the lighting that allow dimming, I could not find anything other than very expensive commercial products. The tubes are pretty cool to the touch, I would not worry about the heat it generates as it seem to be very little. The 12V is a transformer, as someone pointed out earlier in the thread, the CCL requires much higher voltage, so there is a little box included that steps up the voltage to make it usable with 12V.
Also the dim mod done by DJ88 was for LED. It would not work for Cold cathodes.
HTH
I found this dimmer on the web, but I don't know how hard it would be to build. Any one have any ideas if this would work with an X10????
Thanks,
Lee
http://focus.ti.com/lit/an/slua088/slua088.pdf
Thanks,
Lee
http://focus.ti.com/lit/an/slua088/slua088.pdf
