Hi all

Xandertank · Jul 4, 2021

Hi,

I could do with some help - I’ve had an interpet river reef tank for about 18 months and I feel it is now time I need to automate the lights - or at least be able to stick a WiFi plug on to turn them on/off from my phone.

how can I go about this? I cannot find anything on the net except what looks like an old set of instructions to a similar tank but not with these led type lights i have.

my lighta are set in the hood and the buttons are part of the hood itself.

do i change the lights or can i install something in between to set the blue light to q plug and then the white to a separate plug?

any help woukd be great.

anthony

P-Dub · Jul 4, 2021

Welcome, Anthony. We will likely need more information about the lights that you have to be able to help.

Waters · Jul 4, 2021

Welcome :):)!!

Billldg · Jul 4, 2021

Welcome to R2R!!!

zukihara · Jul 4, 2021

Welcome!

DDenny · Jul 4, 2021

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

fuelman · Jul 4, 2021

welcome to R2R!!!

Poof No Eyebrows · Jul 4, 2021

Welcome

PeterC99 · Jul 4, 2021

Welcome to R2R!

Jimbhoy13 · Jul 4, 2021

Welcome to R2R and the salty world Anthony. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

Xandertank · Jul 4, 2021

P-Dub said:
Welcome, Anthony. We will likely need more information about the lights that you have to be able to help.

Hi,

they are just the standard lights with the tank. 37cm single strip blue light and 2 triple strips white.

P-Dub said:
Welcome, Anthony. We will likely need more information about the lights that you have to be able to help

Smarkow · Jul 4, 2021

Do they have a standard 3 prong outlet you can plug into a standard wall timer (like for when you are out of town and don’t want the house to look unoccupied) or for an alexa outlet?

also welcome to R2R!

Staghorn · Jul 4, 2021

Are they LED? Are you trying to separate the white and blue or just turn on all at the same time?

Xandertank · Jul 4, 2021

They are integrated into the lid I’m afraid so that is my issue. If I’m away I have to get someone to come in and turn the lights on and off at the moment. Be nice to be able to do it remotely so only have the feeding to deal with.
I have attached a photo so hopefully that is clear enough to show the cables.

Ideally I’d like it to be as simple as cutting the cables and putting the 2 white cable lights together and then the blue so I can put 2 WiFi plugs on them to deal with it on my phone.

I don’t mind changing the lights to new ones but these seem fine for my tank.

Fish Think Pink · Jul 4, 2021

Xandertank said:
Hi,

I could do with some help - I’ve had an interpet river reef tank for about 18 months and I feel it is now time I need to automate the lights - or at least be able to stick a WiFi plug on to turn them on/off from my phone.

how can I go about this? I cannot find anything on the net except what looks like an old set of instructions to a similar tank but not with these led type lights i have.

my lighta are set in the hood and the buttons are part of the hood itself.

do i change the lights or can i install something in between to set the blue light to q plug and then the white to a separate plug?

any help woukd be great.

anthony

Hi Anthony and Welcome!

What about a smart plug? Just like you'd use it to automate/control a household light/toaster/coffeepot/etc, you'd use it to automate/control your fishtank lights. https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/best-smart-plugs/

Above is along the line of what @Smarkow post #12 Alexa outlet, but more options

Glad you joined

KJ · Jul 4, 2021

Welcome to R2R!!!

CMMorgan · Jul 4, 2021

Xandertank said:
Hi,

I could do with some help - I’ve had an interpet river reef tank for about 18 months and I feel it is now time I need to automate the lights - or at least be able to stick a WiFi plug on to turn them on/off from my phone.

how can I go about this? I cannot find anything on the net except what looks like an old set of instructions to a similar tank but not with these led type lights i have.

my lighta are set in the hood and the buttons are part of the hood itself.

do i change the lights or can i install something in between to set the blue light to q plug and then the white to a separate plug?

any help woukd be great.

anthony

There are several smart power strips on the market. I personally use kasa strips from Amazon. The 6 receptacle model allows you to monitor the power usage per port. You can also set up schedules individually. So, yes.... you could have the white light on one schedule and blue on another.
I hope that helps...
Welcome to the salty family!

Xandertank · Jul 4, 2021

Fish Think Pink said:
Hi Anthony and Welcome!

What about a smart plug? Just like you'd use it to automate/control a household light/toaster/coffeepot/etc, you'd use it to automate/control your fishtank lights. https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/best-smart-plugs/

Above is along the line of what @Smarkow post #12 Alexa outlet, but more options

Glad you joined

It is bot possible to use a smart plug as the system is set up. This tank has the lights all integrated in the hood and the on off buttons are at the top. So even if I did pop a WiFi plug on it the lights need to be manually put on. There are 2 buttons at the top of the hood which scroll through blue, blue/white etc.
I imagine I am going to need to snip the cables and put something else on it to connect to a plug and bypass the hood buttons.