Hi all,
this is a pre-cursor to the mods i'm going to do tonight. I've got meself a cold cathode tube (blue) for pc cases and a power adaptor which i'm going to wire so it runs from the mains. then i plan on fitting it, hopefully, inside the plastic cover of my aqua 40 (where my lights are already contained) to come on for a couple of hours after the main lights in the hopes of getting some fluorescence
here's the cathode tube (small white stick) and the other bits and pieces. Sorry it's a little out of focus:
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here we go then:
First cut the 2 wires from the 12V inverter that comes with the cold cathode, then soulder them into a 2.1mm power line socket. This is used to connect to a 12V universal mains adaptor for your normal plug and bobs your uncle, actinic light!!
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actually kicks out a hell of a lot of light for a 10cm blub!! Sorry tank pic is not the best, had freak most of the inhabitants out a bit by the time i'd finished....

very nice sam well worth it, gives out more light than i was expecting

and me!! actually lights the tank very well! No photosynthetic value, but nice asthetic!

i thnik the only thing i'm not sure about is that i put the cold cathode actually in the hood in the end, as was worried about the heat being kicked off from the pc's. I didn't think it'd do it any good to be within 2/3cm of one of the pc's. the hood does get some condensation but the cold cathode is all guled into the holder so hopefully water won't penetrate, and the wires are obviously covered (even more so now i've wrapped ecltrical tape around them!)

Looking good sam, I used 8x the 12" ones in my last tank as an actinic supplement and I thought they worked well. They average at about 425nm so they're the right wavelength, definately a place for them in this hobby.

Nice, it gives a great effect.

cool,,,while ago brought a strip of 5 little moon lights for my cichlid tank of ebay,,only about 12quid,,,,even got a dimmer on lol,,,,,in main tank they were pony but maybe after i see ya pics makosam i gonna see how they look in my aqua 40,,,,just waiting for a few things to arrive in post (power head and heater)then its all systems go,,,lights are splashproof so reckon they be fine in hood,,,gotta be worth a try

Hi what is the tube colour of yours the only 10cm ones I could find in Maplins are a blue tube, the larger ones come in U/V so Im not sure which is the correct one?


Makosam is yours the blue or U/V?

think mine is the blue - i only had room for the small one in my hood. the uv would prob look good too

Got it and its in now.

Workingi on idea now for the moonlihjt LEDS on the NC