"Miricale Beam" Underwater lights are cool
Mr. Noah Body
All of my noc-turnal fish just sort of think that it's now nightime and all
come out to play. I have had this aquarium for over a year, so I'm quite
used to when and where my fish play, but installing those lights have
brought a whole new "fun" to fishkeeping. The Black Ghost Knife's are out,
the Clown Loaches, weather loaches, regular loaches are all out now, my two
featherfin catfish swim around upside down close to the surface, both of
them. I just introduced two Pleco's to the tank that did nothing all day,
now they can be seen moving about.
PS: It's totally up to you but if you are interested in getting these
lights, don't get the actual laser beam types, get the LED ones. I've had
all lasers here and took them all back for the led's, the lasers aren't as
bright, only light up directly where they are pointed. If anybody would
care to see a pic of the tank, let me know. :)
Lorien
me...LadyLorien777@cs.com...thanx:)
The Lord holds me up and makes me strong...carries me through my troubles all
day long:)
LeighMo
lights, don't get the actual laser beam types, get the LED ones. I've had
all lasers here and took them all back for the led's, the lasers aren't as
bright, only light up directly where they are pointed. If anybody would
care to see a pic of the tank, let me know. :) <<
I'd like to see a picture, if you can take one in the dark.
What color LEDs did you get? I'd love to put a "nightlight" in my tank, but
I'm not handy enough to build my own, as many others do.
Richard A. Pereira
"Mr. Noah Body" <charli...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:6Xnq8.10260$je5....@nnrp1.uunet.ca...
nut
As i've said in another reply, check this stuff out...
I know it's weather & waterproof, but you'd need to drop them an email
asking if the coating will react with the water just to be sure.
I have some (on another project, not the tank) and it's very bright.
They ship internationally and are very fast & courteous.... highly
recommended.
LeighMo
I know it's weather & waterproof, but you'd need to drop them an email
asking if the coating will react with the water just to be sure.
I have some (on another project, not the tank) and it's very bright. <<
Are they expensive? And how bright are they? If it's too bright, the fish
won't think it's night time.
nut
"LeighMo" <lei...@aol.comNoSpam> wrote in message
news:20020403062628...@mb-fi.aol.com...
The problem with LEDs is that they, especially the blues, have a limited
viewing angle and are very bright - this can be improved using diffusers,
but you'll still end up with a non-uniform level of brightness along the
tank. Whereas this is ok for "spotlights", it's not ideal for uniform
ambient lighting.
The wire is almost as bright as a conventional neon tube - again, although i
haven't tried it, i'd say it would be ideal for ambient lighting (especially
outside ponds) and will be gentler on the fishes eyes than a couple of
1000MCD blue LEDs!
I'd say the wire works out perhaps a little more expensive than LEDs,
depending on how many you intend to install, but is more manageable, easier
to set up, and should produce better results.
NOS...@rigney.org
>
> "LeighMo" <lei...@aol.comNoSpam> wrote in message
> news:20020403062628...@mb-fi.aol.com...
>> >> http://www.beingseen.com/
>>
>> I know it's weather & waterproof, but you'd need to drop them an email
>> asking if the coating will react with the water just to be sure.
>>
>> I have some (on another project, not the tank) and it's very bright. <<
>>
>> Are they expensive? And how bright are they? If it's too bright, the
> fish
>> won't think it's night time.
>
> The problem with LEDs is that they, especially the blues, have a limited
> viewing angle and are very bright - this can be improved using diffusers,
> but you'll still end up with a non-uniform level of brightness along the
> tank. Whereas this is ok for "spotlights", it's not ideal for uniform
> ambient lighting.
Bounce the "beam" off a reflective surface and place a diffusing white
reflector behind the LED and you'll get a nice amount of divergence, as
well as calming down the horribly bright light.
-parc
nut
<NOS...@rigney.org> wrote in message
news:5l4f8a....@fileserver.rigney.org...
Agreed... but you'll have a "spot" effect, not a uniform brightness across
the tank.
LeighMo
Hmm. That sounds awfully bright.
>> - again, although i
haven't tried it, i'd say it would be ideal for ambient lighting (especially
outside ponds) and will be gentler on the fishes eyes than a cou ple of
1000MCD blue LEDs! <<
I was thinking red. I know, red's not as attractive, but I've heard red light
is invisible to fish.
>> I'd say the wire works out perhaps a little more expensive than LEDs,
depending on how many you intend to install, but is more manageable, easier
to set up, and should produce better results. <<
If it's as bright a neon tube, I could just lay it on top my glass top. Though
I suppose that might not be the most aesthetic way to do it.
If someone does use this stuff in or on a fishtank, post a pic! I want to see
what it looks like.
NOS...@rigney.org
>>> The wire is almost as bright as a conventional neon tube <<
>
> Hmm. That sounds awfully bright.
>
>>> - again, although i
> haven't tried it, i'd say it would be ideal for ambient lighting (especially
> outside ponds) and will be gentler on the fishes eyes than a cou ple of
> 1000MCD blue LEDs! <<
>
> I was thinking red. I know, red's not as attractive, but I've heard red light
> is invisible to fish.
And it's next to invisible to people as well. Try reading by red light
sometime or try to judge distances by it. You lose a lot of depth
perception under red lights, so the tank won't look nice.
FWIW, you can get blue LEDs pretty darn cheep, and they might be close
enough to "moonlight" to adequately simulate night lighting.
-parc
[snip]
LeighMo
sometime or try to judge distances by it. <<
But I'm not planning to read or judge distances by it. I just want to see what
the fish are up to when it's dark!
>> FWIW, you can get blue LEDs pretty darn cheep, and they might be close
enough to "moonlight" to adequately simulate night lighting. <<
Chuck Gadd used a mix of blue and red LEDs. Have you seen his "night light"
plans?
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_nightlight.htm
I'm not handy enough to make something like that, but PetCo sells submersible
LEDs in all colors of the rainbow. I was thinking out getting one or two of
those.
NOS...@rigney.org
>>> And it's next to invisible to people as well. Try reading by red light
> sometime or try to judge distances by it. <<
>
> But I'm not planning to read or judge distances by it. I just want to see what
> the fish are up to when it's dark!
>
>>> FWIW, you can get blue LEDs pretty darn cheep, and they might be close
> enough to "moonlight" to adequately simulate night lighting. <<
>
> Chuck Gadd used a mix of blue and red LEDs. Have you seen his "night light"
> plans?
Yep. I'm planning on building a set when circumstances permit. You really
do need more than just red, though.
>
> http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_nightlight.htm
>
> I'm not handy enough to make something like that, but PetCo sells submersible
> LEDs in all colors of the rainbow. I was thinking out getting one or two of
> those.
>
>
Sorry, I should have thought more before posting. You also lose the ability
to judge edges. Essentially, everything gets washed out.
Then again, I don't have LEDs above/in my tank, so I'm just spouting off
theory. Try it. Maybe I'm completely wrong.
-parc
LeighMo
lights, don't get the actual laser beam types, get the LED ones. I've had
all lasers here and took them all back for the led's, the lasers aren't as
bright, only light up directly where they are pointed. <<
Thanks for the tip. I saw these at PetCo, but didn't even think about buying
them. I figured they'd be tacky. I like my tanks to look natural.
But I've been wanting some kind of night light. After reading your post, I
bought the Miracle Beam LED set, and I'm quite pleased. I wanted all purple
lights, but the kit only came with one green and one blue, and it looks very
nice. The blue looks like moonlight, the green blends in nicely with the
plants.
I put them on either end of my 75 gallon tank, up in the top rear corners.
They aren't visible during the day (blocked from view by the trim at top of the
tank. Once the lights go off, though, they shine down and across the tank.
Makes the tank look very surreal and spooky. And definitely dark enough that
the fish still know it's night time.
Last night, I watched my bristlenose pl*co go mano a mano with an apple snail,
over a pea I dropped in the tank. (The apple snail eventually won, folding its
foot around the pea until the pl*co was shut out. The pl*co did get a good
bite out of the pea, though. :-)
Michael Towers
night illumination.
"LeighMo" <lei...@aol.comNoSpam> wrote in message
news:20020411201211...@mb-ba.aol.com...
> >> PS: It's totally up to you but if you are interested in getting these
> lights, don't get the actual laser beam types, get the LED ones. I've had
> all lasers here and took them all back for the led's, the lasers aren't as
> bright, only light up directly where they are pointed. <<
My set came with two lazers and I did not like them for the same reasons you
give; so I got two quartz stones, one clear, the other rose colored; they
two beam now are split many beams and go everywhere.
>
> Thanks for the tip. I saw these at PetCo, but didn't even think about
buying
> them. I figured they'd be tacky. I like my tanks to look natural.
>
> But I've been wanting some kind of night light. After reading your post,
I
> bought the Miracle Beam LED set, and I'm quite pleased. I wanted all
purple
> lights, but the kit only came with one green and one blue, and it looks
very
> nice. The blue looks like moonlight, the green blends in nicely with the
> plants.
I also bought three led lamps, Red, Green, and Blue; and buried them in the
gravel and covered them with flat river rocks, and used them to highlight
features of my tank, such as the larger centre rock, and at either end I
have smaller rock outcrops that also get highlighted.
At night the whole tank looks pretty cool; and as the laser flash off the
fish as the move through the beam, is just great.
Regards
Michael Towers