Too much blue LED moonlighting?

[randumbwit]

I happened to have some extremely inexpensive LED strip lighting and decided to try a DIY LED moonlight bar. It works, maybe too well? Can too much blue light at night be bad? Aesthetically, its amazing! This pic was taken in the dark, and the colors are accurate:

If it isn't good for tank inhabitants, I can easily remove lighting strips. This was done with about $10 worth of LED strips and a 1 amp 12vDC wall wart.

[randumbwit]

Couple more pics:

 

 

 

And I've turned them off until I hear some feedback. A few Google searches didn't turn up much of an answer

[jason the filter freak]

Well I would use it only when you're looking at the tank and have it off otherwise or only during the day.

 

The blue light put off by the leds you have is not invisible to the fish so it could stress them out. I haven't done the research in a long time but somewhere along the time I was researching dimmable ballasts came across a few articles about how having your actinics come on prior to day bulbs is bunk in terms of simulating a dawn dusk cycle in terms of visible light, although there is still a transition from not so bright to brighter when you go from actinics to both.

 

I tried my own hand in the over kill DIY led moon light arena and was very pleased with the initial results color and temp wise but ultimately the cheap leds tend to be just that and at this point at least 50% of them are burned out.

[randumbwit]

These LEDs themselves will definitely last. Their actual purpose is lighting channel letters for building signage. I think tomorrow I will try cutting it down to about 20% of the number I was using tonight and see how it goes. They're just much brighter than I'd anticipated. I think I'm going to run a switch so that I can turn the rest on for viewing, it really does an amazing job of lighting the tank for viewing, and didn't seem to bother the nocturnal creatures in the slightest.

[zygote2k]

your tank and the inhabitants need darkness to grow and thrive. the blue led 'moonlights' are just another gimmick to sell you more lights to put on your tank. the moon doesn't put off anywhere near the amount of light as most 'moonlights'. at the very most, they should barely light the tank, and if you really are trying to do the moonlight effect, then it should wax and wane like the real thing.

[Der ABT]

so where did you get the lights? and what brand are they

im guessing if they are for a sign they would have more colors avail (red white etc) I am looking for some moonlights and may try these if i can find em for cheap.

 

that is alot o light thuogh, how many bulbs you running in those pics? and can you take pics of the lights themselves

 

your tank and the inhabitants need darkness to grow and thrive. the blue led 'moonlights' are just another gimmick to sell you more lights to put on your tank. the moon doesn't put off anywhere near the amount of light as most 'moonlights'. at the very most, they should barely light the tank, and if you really are trying to do the moonlight effect, then it should wax and wane like the real thing.

[jason the filter freak]

people looking for realtively cheap and waterproof and long lasting leds can look at pre built led strips for lighting the under/out side of "street cars", show cars, rice rockets, what ever youd like to call them they're typically water proof, 12 volts dc, and usually have very long wire leads

[Der ABT]

people looking for realtively cheap and waterproof and long lasting leds can look at pre built led strips for lighting the under/out side of "street cars", show cars, rice rockets, what ever youd like to call them they're typically water proof, 12 volts dc, and usually have very long wire leads

 

the ones of those i tried on an old tank just didnt have the pop that say the coralife aqualight pro 1watt blue leds have, i mean those have great spread and color to them but they werent the strip ones, ill have to try em out again,

I was goign to try the current LED strips but for 60-100 bucks its a bit steep for the relatively little time ill be lookat at em

[lokinglass]

I thought you were using those to help make the corals

pop more during the daylight hours.