Christmas Lights

tiffrobbins · 04/25/2007, 07:20 AM

Okay, just in an effort to think outside of the box... What would be the problems with using christmas light to light a tank? Let me know if you have any input.

kaserpick · 04/25/2007, 07:39 AM

Not much light?

tiffrobbins · 04/25/2007, 07:42 AM

The string I have says its 45 watts. It will light up a whole room. I was just thinking of lighting like a 1 gal pico with it.

Slakker · 04/25/2007, 08:05 AM

Wrong color spectrum?
Heat?
Inconsistent?

Rosseau · 04/25/2007, 08:14 AM

Yeah. Likely your christmas lights are incandescents. These are pretty much the worst light bulbs we could have invented. They use a lot of power inefficiently.

This means, you'll have a lot of unwanted heat.

Even worse, likely the light produced won't be within the useful range for your corals.

If you had other lights to supplement, then I see no problem with it (other than heat).

[17]shawn[17] · 04/26/2007, 01:55 PM

do u mean the led christmas lights? i had the same idea

Slakker · 04/26/2007, 02:04 PM

the LED christmas lights wouldn't be too terrible, but I'm still not sure it's the right color spectrum for photosynthesizing.

Would be an interesting experiment though.

nynex · 05/11/2007, 08:34 PM

The problem with the LED christmas lights are that they are most likely not enough
mcd (candlelight) for what you want. Most likely they are under 5000 mcd's each.
Even the LEDs used for moonlights are typically 6000mcds each.

You would be better buying the proper LEDs and building your own setup. I just
ordered a bulk of the super bright white 10mm LEDs that are 140,000 mcds each
and super bright blue LEDs that are 60,000 mcd's each.

anyway...good luck...

KUDA · 05/11/2007, 11:13 PM

I used a strip of 30 blue led's for moonlights on my tank. After about 3-4 months, they died down and the parts directly beneath the bulbs rusted. I guess they couldn't take the salt water.

04/25/2007, 07:20 AM	#1
tiffrobbins Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kansas City, KS Posts: 68	Christmas Lights Okay, just in an effort to think outside of the box... What would be the problems with using christmas light to light a tank? Let me know if you have any input. __________________ Tiffany A. Robbins Current Tank Info: Starting Over w/ 25 Gal from Bare Basics

04/25/2007, 07:39 AM	#2
kaserpick Keeping it Simple Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 2,637	Not much light? __________________ Kasey Current Tank Info: None

04/25/2007, 07:42 AM	#3
tiffrobbins Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kansas City, KS Posts: 68	The string I have says its 45 watts. It will light up a whole room. I was just thinking of lighting like a 1 gal pico with it. __________________ Tiffany A. Robbins Current Tank Info: Starting Over w/ 25 Gal from Bare Basics

04/25/2007, 08:05 AM	#4
Slakker Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Southeastern Wisconsin Posts: 4,521	Wrong color spectrum? Heat? Inconsistent? __________________ -Tyler Oceanic 58RR display/20H sump/fuge thread...follow the red house. Current Tank Info: Oceanic 58g, 20H sump, AquaC EV-150, 175w Hamilton 14k + 2x39w T5HO Actinics

04/25/2007, 08:14 AM	#5
Rosseau Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kingston, Ontario Posts: 2,049	Yeah. Likely your christmas lights are incandescents. These are pretty much the worst light bulbs we could have invented. They use a lot of power inefficiently. This means, you'll have a lot of unwanted heat. Even worse, likely the light produced won't be within the useful range for your corals. If you had other lights to supplement, then I see no problem with it (other than heat). __________________ Still fighting entropy.

04/26/2007, 01:55 PM	#6
[17]shawn[17] Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brockville Ontario Canada Posts: 844	do u mean the led christmas lights? i had the same idea __________________ shawn “We will only conserve what we love. We will only love what we understand. We will only understand what we are taught.”

04/26/2007, 02:04 PM	#7
Slakker Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Southeastern Wisconsin Posts: 4,521	the LED christmas lights wouldn't be too terrible, but I'm still not sure it's the right color spectrum for photosynthesizing. Would be an interesting experiment though. __________________ -Tyler Oceanic 58RR display/20H sump/fuge thread...follow the red house. Current Tank Info: Oceanic 58g, 20H sump, AquaC EV-150, 175w Hamilton 14k + 2x39w T5HO Actinics

05/11/2007, 08:34 PM	#8
nynex Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 141	The problem with the LED christmas lights are that they are most likely not enough mcd (candlelight) for what you want. Most likely they are under 5000 mcd's each. Even the LEDs used for moonlights are typically 6000mcds each. You would be better buying the proper LEDs and building your own setup. I just ordered a bulk of the super bright white 10mm LEDs that are 140,000 mcds each and super bright blue LEDs that are 60,000 mcd's each. anyway...good luck...

05/11/2007, 11:13 PM	#9
KUDA Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Central PA Posts: 402	I used a strip of 30 blue led's for moonlights on my tank. After about 3-4 months, they died down and the parts directly beneath the bulbs rusted. I guess they couldn't take the salt water. __________________ Just Getting Started After a Few Years Away! 5g Ecoxotic EcoPico