evilknieval69 Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 hello!! i am planning to wire up a moonlight for my 100L tank. ok so the plan: i will get an old cellphone charger, wire the positive wire to the first resisitor, then the other side of that resistor to the short side of the first led. then the long end to another resistor connected also to another short end(dont go 2 sleep!!!)then carry on that process until i have enough. the last led will thn be wired into the other wire from the plug. if this is correct i will then go and buy the leds and find a charger and then figure out what size resistors i will need by using this http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz calculator. then i will cover it with heat shrink etc to make it safe if everybody is still confused i will try drawing a picture of it and post it. thanks **EVIL** :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 So your planning to connect them all in series? Series is probably no good as the supply voltage will get divided everything in the circuit proportionally to their resistance (V=I x R). And I take it your resistors are for current limiting or dropping the voltage down? Series would work provided you had the right combination of resistors and leds.. If you have too many the voltage wont be enough for them to work if too little the voltage may be too much and fry them.. What LED's are you planning to use? Have a look here and see what you want.. http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.filere ... CTG0000505 I would be more inclined to connect them in parallel using a voltage divider to get the required voltage to run my leds. In doing this the voltages are all the same and you pretty much only need to worry about current, and then its just a case of deciding how many LEDS you want to use and making sure they dont draw more current than what your supply can put out. What output voltage/current is the charger you plan to use? You really need to decide what LED's (and how many) and what power supply you want to use so you can design a good circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 Also this site for voltages and currents etc http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.storef ... SUP1000057 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 hey i would either use this led http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/43eec80e0374e3322741c0a87f990711/Product/View/Z3820 or this led http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/43eec80e0374e3322741c0a87f990711/Product/View/Z4230 if i used the first kind how many would i need for a 76x 36 x 36 aprox tank?? and f i used the second how many would i need again. what would be the best size wall plug to use for these and also what size resistors or anything i may need??? as you can tell i dont know alot about power :oops: :oops: thanks **EVIL** :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 hey ryanjury. maybe you could wire one up for me and i will pay for all parts, courior and labour. that would be cool 8) 8) or i could try thanks again **EVIL** :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 I have no idea how many LED's would be required of either type.. I know about circuit design etc but you would have to buy one of each hook it up turn off the lights and see how bright it is. You could do this easily with the 3mm one using a 9V battery and about a 275ohm R. You will have to go either side to get a resistor value 270 should be easy to find. I would probably go for the 3mm one as the 20mm one needs 10.5, and I dont know what voltages other cellphone chargers are at but the ones I have here are at 5 to 6V. However I think the 20mm LED may do a better job as it has a larger viewing angle and is larger. I dont think a 12V adapter would be hard to find just look through the box of adapters at your local cash converters or second hand shop. You would have to see them in comparison to make the decision. I can make it for you but its very easy you just need to decide what one you want to use and how many and let me know ill do the calculations and tell you what to do if you want.. Another option is to go into dick smith and tell them what you want to do and they may have a power supply and show you some LED's so you can decide what ones you like and how many in store.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 DSE are really expensive for LEDs, have a look on trademe for some that are a hell of a lot cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 yea i think i will go into dse and tell them wot i want and gt them to sort me out. if that doesnt work i will get back to ya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 12, 2006 Report Share Posted February 12, 2006 www.dpt.co.nz is pretty good for LED prices. I made a moonlight with 20 of the blue LEDs from him. Worked great except for the parts of it I screwed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 hey how many of these http://www.dpt.co.nz/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_23&products_id=62 do you think i would need for a 75 cm wide tank?? they seam a good price but dont know how strong etc. jst buy the numbers i wouldnt have a clue thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 id put like 4 every cm to make enough light thats 300 thats $300 my aswell just but a fluro moontube Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 hmmmmm ok :-? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 Rig up a lamp on one end with a blue coloured 40w bulb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 i have found these leds on trademe for 5 buks http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=47820748 seem good to me. i might buy some. come with resistors for 12v and sample circuits which may help. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 I had 20, that was more than bright enough, I had to turn it down a bit(Variable power supply) to about half the voltage to get it where I think it was about right for a moonlight. How bright do you think you want a moonlight to be, Anthony? 300 of them is going be be blinding bright. Moonlights are just supposed to be...You know...like moonlight. Just a dim blue light, not bright enough to keep everything awake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 ok i think i will buy ten leds for the moment and see how bright it is and can add from there but i think it should be cool. this is how i think i should rig it up the squigles are resistors and you can get the rest. would this be adequate if i used it on a 12v power supply with the appropriate resistors??the resistors are on the positive side of the leds (longest wire i think) the values and the question are nothing dont worry. just the drawing is important here. i have done alot of researching but everything is different or doesnt hav pics. this is good thanks **EVIL** :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 just makie sure you wire in in parallel circuit NOT SERIES!!!!! REMEMBER THAT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 if i stick to that diagram above then i will be rite as it is in parralel.....i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 The way you have layed out would work fine, make sure you calculate the values of the resistors (supply V - voltage drop of led all divided by the led current). I would try and do it with a voltage divider, basically you put 2 resisitors in series making one have the voltage drop you require and just tap your leds straight off the resistor in parallel therefore they would have the right voltage over them.. You would then have less components and therefore less power usage from your small supply.. If you used a 9V supply and made a series circuit and used roughly these values R1 170 R2 380 You will have about 3.3V dropped across R1 and can connect your LED's in parallel to it. You can calculate the voltage drop over the resistors using V = R1 X Vs (supply voltage) R1 + R2 Either way will work but the voltage divider is the way id go for.. Those sites provided have better prices, the main reason I suggested dick smith is its easy and you could possibly ask them to show you how bright the leds are before you decide, I guess you could still do this and buy them off dpt in the end.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 13, 2006 Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 That's exactly how I had mine wired up, Evil. Worked well until wires somewhere corroded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 hey guys. i am most probably going to buy these off TM. they come with resistors for 12v it says but im not sure. the resistors that come with it. will they be the correct resistors to wire it straight into 12v or what?? how do i know? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 16, 2006 Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 The guy seems to have answered your question I think the resistors will be fine to do as you drew your picture before.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 16, 2006 Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 Even if the resistors are a bit too high resistance it's not going to make a huge difference. They'll be good enough. most of them come with resistors for 12v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted February 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 koolies. im guna buy them 2 nite or sumfin i think. thanks sooooo much for the help guys ** EVIL ** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted February 21, 2006 Report Share Posted February 21, 2006 Hey Evil, Did you have any luck with your moonlighting in the end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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