Rope light for Moonlight

[HawkEye_Pierce]

Thx to ecotank I now have a wonderful moonlit tank...he told me about rope lighting from Home Depot and its GREAT!! $10...However I happened to go to WalMart right after and they have Halloween rope lighting for $6...but it only comes in purple, orange, black (I know I thought the same thing...BLACK?) and white...I got blue from home depot

 

[ecotank]

Glad it's working out good for you

Black rope light? I wonder how that looks lit up? And for only $6? Oh well, I think blue makes a better moonlight in the tank though

 

[benlink3]

I keep hearing about moonlight tanks.
What exactly is a moonlight?
Is there a certain type of light you have to use?
Can you use a straight blacklight fixture?
Just trying to know all I can about fish tanks.
Thanks, Ben

 

[HawkEye_Pierce]

don't use black light...it may stress the fish and look weird...blue is the most natural but purple or red would look nice as well...moonlit tank is just recreating what would happen in nature...on a clear night the moon shines through the water...

 

[benlink3]

So it is just light you put near the fish tank to make it look cool? I mean, it does not have to be placed in a significant position? Just whereever, so the fish have a little nightlite...lol. Cool! Ben

 

[HawkEye_Pierce]

well I attached the rope lights to my canopy...its not manditory that you put the light above the water but remember the moon is above us...just a thought

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Pics?

Sounds cool.

 

[HawkEye_Pierce]

I'll see about pics...its very dim light....not the best for photography...Ican take a pic of the setup itself...

 

[Cichlid-Man]

When you have time plz do........sounds intresting.

 

[HawkEye_Pierce]

Here's a pic...

Here's a pic of the rope light as a moonlight...kind of blury but you get the idea

 

[Cichlid-Man]

That looks really cool.

.....that would be awsome in a planted tank. Maybe when i get a planted tank i can do that.

 

[mamba]

around here we can only get like a 6 foot section of rope light. i was thinking about doing this but im gunna have to rewire the rope light ... the question i have . do the fish seem to act different when the light is turned on.

 

[trout]

where I live they only have 18' sections so I thought best to ask, is it hard to shorten this length? Ya know is it in series etc.?

 

[HawkEye_Pierce]

trout I didn't shorten the rope...I just left it as a clump in back of my tank for now...I too have an 18 foot section and wrapped it around the inside of the canopy 1 time...there's about 10 feet left...I will find some way to hide it..

mamba, the fish are fine its what would happen in nature...I have been leaving the moonlight on all night but I think I will have the timer also turn it back off at midnight and back on at 5 or 6AM....

 

[Balance]

thats a totally cool idea

i think i'll be going to home depot or walmart this weekend!

 

[Balance]

i bought a blue rope light at target this weekend for $7!

im gonna attach it to the inside of my hood.
the fish not only looked cool, but they really seemed to like the moonlight effect!

Thanks to both Ecotank and Hawkeye for posting this cool idea!

 

[HawkEye_Pierce]

That's great Balance...I knew you would like it...I am thinking about buying a few more of those lights so when I get my other tanks going in a few weeks I will be ready...they are so cheap around Xmas time at WalMart and of course Target.....

 

[Balance]

has anybody tried to cut these lights yet?

looks like it should be possible...... not sure if I want to ruin a light just yet

the blue rope light was the hardest to find...... clear with glitter and spongebob, no problem, blue was just asking for too much!

 

[Lotus]

We found blue ropelight in the lighbulb section of Walmart for $7. You can usually also find it in Home Depot/Lowes.

What you could think of doing (if you have room in your hood) is to swirl the excess around in a circle in the middle to form a "moon."

 

[mamba]

i cut my light . i should have waited though a bigger section would fit nice in my new hood .. i got a little section of rope light now . about 3 or 4 foot i think ... it was just enough to fit in my old hood all i did was give it a good snip and it worked for me ... im gunna try and reattach the rest of the sections to it tonight though i want more