Night Light

[bksmith]

I believe I've read that you can put a red light over the tank for night viewing and the locals (fish & inverts) will behave as if it was dark.

Does anybody do this? And how so (where to get info on this type of lighting). Thanks

(PS - I must say, my least favorite school work was physics E&M and all this confusing lighting stuff just reminds me too much of that - I'll be sooo happy when i finally have lights and can stop thinkin about this crap )

 

[jandree22]

IME, any shade of red lighting looks ugly as butt over a reef tank :|

I went to Lowes and picked up 6' of BLUE rope lighting and hung it over my tank, looks bangin. It'll only cost you about $6 and in this hobby you can't get cheaper than that!

 

[Anonymous]

Me too!
Do a search for rope lights. I posted some picts a few months ago. There have been a few good threads about these lights.

 

[DaGoldenChild]

how exactly did you set up the rope lights over your tank?

 

[jandree22]

My tank is built into a cabinet system so I'm hanging them above the tank. Basically just find some way to hang them about 6-12" above the tank. If it's too bright for your taste then just block some out with some duct tape. Self explanitory setup process, trial and error to your own personal taste

 

[paige]

How long do you leave the night light on? All night or just a few hours before and after the daytime lights?

 

[jandree22]

I just leave my rope on 24/7 :lol:

 

[Aquadude]

I used Jandree22's idea of the rope lights. Works like a charm and you can put them on a dimmer if you think they are too bright. I leave mine on 24/7 as well. I used the clips that came with them to screw them into the wood in my canopy around the outside edge so my MH lamps don't melt them. I had to cut a chunk off the end cause they were too long. The light is just the right shade of blue and just bright enough to see things. Truly looks like moonlight.

 

[Anonymous]

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t ... light=rope

I leave mine on for 3 hours at night, after my lights go out, before I go to sleep.

I used the clips that came with the lights, but two have already broken (after a few weeks). You may want to upgrade.

 

[Ghosty]

I haven't used rope lighting to create a moonlight effect (yet) but I used rope lighting under my tank in my stand. When I had it set up previously it was pretty dark in the stand and when I tried to do maintenance on the sump -- my noggin would get in the way and block all the light. With simple rope lighting my problem was solved!

Plus it just makes me laugh.....all 70's ish and all.....

 

[J.Howard]

Rope lights! Thats friggin brilliant! I'm on my way to get some right now HEHEHE.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with the notion of Blue Ropelights available at Lowes..i have a 6' set and i like them for night light/moon light...it stays on all night..Im actually thinking of building my own moonlights via LED's...

 

[insearch]

What about black lights. Are the detrimental to the locals?

 

[jandree22]

I have no clue what effect they'll have on your fish, but I can tell you I've tried a 2' flourescent black light over a 10gal. nano before and hardly got any light through the water. I was disappointed as I thought it would fluoresce everything in the tank, and came up empty. Maybe a incadescent spot black light would do better in that situation, but then you run into crazy wattage use and heat generation.

 

[Anonymous]

Had the same experiance with flourescent blacklights over a FW tank. It just doesn't want to work.

 

[Anonymous]

yeah the ropelights for 6ft are under 10bucks..

 

[djbarnes88]

Does anyone have a picture of what the tank looks like at night with the rope lights on? Also, I have 4 4ft VHOs will the heat from them melt the case of the rope light if it is too close to them?

 

[jandree22]

i tried to take a pic of my tank with them on, but my Fiji diji cam isn't sensitive enough to pic any light up

 

[Aquadude]

I will try getting a pic tonight for you. I've got a tripod too. That will help get a sharp picture.

 

[Anonymous]

I have 4 4ft VHOs will the heat from them melt the case of the rope light if it is too close to them?

I have VHO too. I would try not to let the ropes rest on the tubes directly, but the PVC that the rope is made of is fairly resistent to heat. If you want, where the rope lights come close to the VHOs, you can buy the split tube wire casings to protect the rope lights (also at the local hardware store for like $3).