[GSAS-Member] Moonlights tip

[Matt Staroscik <matt@wrongcrowd.com>]

I like to have a dim light on in the tank after hours, as I am often up past
fishie bedtime and I'd rather see a dim red blur in that corner than nothing
at all.

I used to use a cold cathode
lamp<http://www.crazypc.com/products/casemods/lighting.htm>,
the same kind that you can put inside your computer case as a decoration.
You just stick it inside the reflector, and there you go. They are pretty
cheap, but have some problems.

1. Heat from the fixture invariably kills the adhesive on the lamp's sticky
feet.
2. Heat also makes the lamp itself brittle.
3. Little ability to control output, as the lamp requires a certain voltage
to strike.
4. Need to keep the leads from the ballast to the lamp short. (Like any
other fluorescent bulb, there is a ballast, a little plastic box in this
case.)

LEDs are a lot better in some ways and I found a really cheap part that
makes a great moonlight.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13179

This is a rigid strip with tiny LEDs embedded in it. Just provide 12V (or
less) and it produces a nice wash of light. Mount it to the included
aluminum heat sink, lay it under a strip light pointing up into the
reflector, drive it with 6-12V depending on the brightness you want, and you
have a nice, dim moonlight.

Where does the juice come from? At Fry's you can get an inexpensive, adjustable
voltage wall 
wart<http://www.mtphsoftware.com/accessories-adapters-c-1_23/coby-300ma-universal-ac-dc-power-adapter-p-7298>supplying
300 mA or greater... Just use the voltage switch on the front to
choose the brightness you want. 300mA is easily enough for one strip, but if
there is little price difference, get one that can supply more current.

Those with better DIY skills can surely find a more elegant mounting
solution, but this works for me.

I find 1 unit to be OK on a 48" 90 gal tank, but you can connect them in
series if you don't like the falloff at the ends of the tank.

Heat from the fixture may shorten this thing's lifespan, but it gets kind of
warm at its intended 12V usage anyway... so hopefully undervolting it will
make it less hot overall even though it is under a PC fixture.
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