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Been looking into this lunar/moon lighting thing for a while. the ones im looking at are on big al's here.

does anyone actually do this? if so, how have you gone about doing it?

From my understanding of lunar lighting it's just a way to be able to view your tank with the main lights turned off. Is it beneficial to an aquarium? No, not in my opinion. It's more or less a personal preferences. Some others may disagree but that's my feelings on the issue.

There are multiple types of lunar lighting. Some are built into a pre-manufactured fixture/hood and the LED will turn on when the main lights go out. Others are on all the time and you just don't notice them during the days. There are also lunar lights you can add to your light fixture

-Josh

My biggest concern is when they are turned on when the main lights are off. This means the fish are in a constant light 24/7 and i believe this is not the best as they do require a total rest period. Just my opinion.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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I agree with Keith on his point as well. I never thought of that because all the tanks I've seen them in are heavily planted! Good idea!

-Josh

i see what you're saying, but everything i see says that it promotes spawning in fish in a way similar to the light of the moon. if spawning cycles are affected by the moon (not saying they are, because i have absolutely no idea), i guess i'm thinking the lunar light fixtures aren't going to bother sleeping fish. i mean, night time isn't pitch black for fish in the wild, right?

again, this is all just my own logic, i have no grounds for any of this.

It depends on the fish honestly. The deeper the fish swims the less light that penetrates. So, essentially, is the fish (in the wild) is deep enough in the water, it would have no light.

I would say, if you want the light, go for it! I don't think anyone is going to fight you over it

-Josh

got the lights... they're awesome. they look beautiful at night. everyone should have them.

Good to hear that you are enjoying your new toy! That's the most important part about fish-keeping in my opinion, enjoying what you do.

-Josh

Glad you like them Joe,

They look really nifty actually...I've found various types of light do give some rather dramatic effects. For instance I have recessed lighting in my house, and if I leave the tank lid up or off and have the lights on they shine down into the tank but in a way that you really get the lighting patterns rather than overall lighting of the tank. Makes it really seem like your diving with the fishies .

Any chance you could snag us a pic of the nightlights?


^_^

i have something like this in my tanks. and what i do is set them up to come on for an hour before and after the normal lights are on. only so it more simulates a day light cycle

Fish tanks are an expensive addiction

Lunar lights do stimulate spawning and nocturnal activity in fish like plecos, eels, and a BUNCH of reef fish. Other than that it allows you to see (possibly) bad night time activity in you tank such as snails and unwanted shrimp and worms. This will not disrupt sleeping cycles in fish although if the fish is not naturally meant to live in 24 hour light (12 day and 12 night) it may cause stress (this is one reason that plecos hide durring the day).

The above is all from research and not personal experience although, I do happen to believe it.

My question is since the moon's color temp is close to yellow-white about 4000K. Why would anyone use these crazy blue or red or aqua lights? I know all about the light spectrum failing as the water gets deeper and blue is the last color to be visible. But in most Reef cases the coral needs ALOT of light to photosynthesize so I would assume that they would grow close to the surface. I have observed this on snokeling trips where the water depth is probable 35 feet at the deepest in most cases. For fresh water I would assume that it's so dirty that any light at any depth would be nearly nonexistent rather than a blueish color. So, why use blue and definately why use red.

I'm thinking that a white or yellow christmas tree light might be the best option here. Not too bright and it's close to the right temperature.

Thoughts?

"A fish swims through the sea, while the sea is in a certain sense contained within the fish."
-mewithoutYou

Thoughts? Someday I might like to have one of these moon lights. In fact I think I do have one. I still have the moon light (in a round fixture) that I had for my iguana. Somehow maybe I could set it where it shone into the tank a little.

In the Amazon & maybe other places I'm thinking since the sunlight doesn't reach into some of the places, then moonlight wouldn't either. But weather it does or not, I don't think a little fake moonlight would hurt or bother the fish, even it was red. Opps, I'm thinking of FW fish here. Well, I would think the same, even if I had a SW tank.

You ask, why use blue or red? For our own viewing pleasure, that's why. Personally, if I had a colored light in my tank, I would only let it shine a little while in the am. & at night till I went to bed. Then I would let the fish sleep without any light. This would be my personal preference anyway. Why would someone want any light on at all during the whole night anyway, while they were sleeping?

If the fish don't act abnormal with a little odd colored light at night before bedtime, I see no harm in it. And if adds to our enjoyment of viewing the tank, then I say why not? These are my thoughts.

my opinion? blue looks alot more natural in a tank compared to red.

These are what I'm using in my tank. I have two 32in strips and I did get mine off ebay also

http://cgi.ebay.com/Aquarium-Blue-Jebo-Odyssea-Moon-Light-Reef-Moonlight_W0QQitemZ230070772539QQihZ013QQcategoryZ46314QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Fish tanks are an expensive addiction