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Tom Michael
Member
- Joined
- 16 Nov 2014
- Messages
- 270
Anyone have a stab at this yet? I have just returned from Japan, where the Light screen is much cheaper but delivery costs were to high to make the difference.
I will be setting up a 90h in the next week and I don't really want to be moving the aquarium in the near future as the weight is significant!
Are there any examples of anyone going for a simple approach of a led light strip around the four edges and just some frosted background or somehow angling one led light strip from below the aquarium? Looking at some older ADA photos they have achieved a similar effect before the commercially produced the light screen.
Thanks
I will be setting up a 90h in the next week and I don't really want to be moving the aquarium in the near future as the weight is significant!
Are there any examples of anyone going for a simple approach of a led light strip around the four edges and just some frosted background or somehow angling one led light strip from below the aquarium? Looking at some older ADA photos they have achieved a similar effect before the commercially produced the light screen.
Thanks
Anyone know exactly what material the "electrostatic film" is? Mylar or acetate? It says it adheres with only static but if you search for static film, you'll mostly find the rubbery vinyl ones. This looks like a glossy, rigid sheet. I'm wondering how to get a nice gradation in color on a sheet of mylar, maybe airbrush? I think mylar needs some surface treatment to accept paints without beading up.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
Ed Wiser
Member
Nigel95
Member
Did anyone build on yet? Would love to see a tutorial 🙂
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/updating-an-old-aquarium.61656/page-3
I built one. WiFi/Alexa control etc. Cost about £15.
I built one. WiFi/Alexa control etc. Cost about £15.
One of my favourite aquascapes by Dave Chow, but I've always wondered how he achieved the backlighting? I'm guessing foggy film on the glass, then a dark blue background panel with some light blue LED's shining up against the panel from the bottom left corner?
Ed Wiser
Member
Lightground
I guess he could have got a custom tinted film printed for the light screen, like this:
I wonder where you go about getting custom films though.
I wonder where you go about getting custom films though.
Ed Wiser
Member
There are many custom window film sites
I have used this one in the past.
https://www.decorativefilm.com/colored-collections-made-to-size
I just posted my lightground to the thread for future readers.
I have used this one in the past.
https://www.decorativefilm.com/colored-collections-made-to-size
I just posted my lightground to the thread for future readers.
Great stuff Ed, exactly what I was looking for, thanks.
Look properly on this pic basicly the whole edges of the panel has a strip all four corners.
Just looking at the image above of the ADA light panel. Are we 100% sure that there are led strips to all four edges?
The edges of a piece of acrylic will glow with light due to internal reflections, even if only one edge is illuminated
I wondered whether only one edge is indeed lit?
Andrew T
Member
I tried to inspect the edges with a flashlight in the dark and I could be wrong but the sides don’t seem to have any LED’s . The bottom has a U shaped aluminum track where I suspect LED’s are mounted and pointed upwards to illuminate the panel.
So you could be right..
Many thanks Andrew, I suspected that might be the case, purely from a manufacturing complexity perspective.
Andrew T
Member
This confirms it. I played with the photo a bit to accentuate the source of the light on this panel.
You can clearly see the bottom LED’s, nothing on the side and top.
Somebody needs to come up with something similar at a much more attractive price point.
Thats great stuff, thanks Andrew.
I am on it - I've ordered the opaque perspex panels: https://www.simplyplastics.com/cata...diffusing-opal-acrylic-sheet/c-24/c-110/p-676
The plastic is 5mm thick, so I need a 5mm channel - so far I've only found this to try - hopefully it'll still grip the panel despite being soft silicone, and a few blobs of superglue should lock it in place: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silicone...-Multiple-Sizes/124281537871?var=425147462660
Then I just need to decide which LED strip to use, which is also available in 5mm width from various places to neatly fit inside the channel.
I think the led's would need to be behind that sheet, so the light shines through from rear to front, rather than underneath the sheet? Like a light box. It diffuses the light behind it
No, when you edge-light perspex sheet, you project the light inside from an edge - internal reflections distribute the light throughout the sheet, as you can see with the image of the ADA one above, I'll try it both ways when I get the sheet though.
