Vivarium special FX (Holo fairy, sound activated thunder/Holo plasma lightning, firefly lights etc..)

[Dendro Dave]

Ok kids, this is pretty rough but I'm excited about it so I'll post some teaser videos to give you an idea how this might look/work in a viv.
(Sorry for the crappy camera work, the loop was only 40sec, and it was hard to start/restart it and film at the right distance, and this isn't the actual 30 gal that will be used...this one needs to be cleaned before it gets used)




WATCH THESE IN HD, MAKES BIG DIFFERENCE... ESPECIALLY with THE LIGHTS OFF VID
It is kinda visible in the vids but I get a decent cloud being lit up by lightning effect that that should get even better with a more optimal fog/fan setup. And the sound synchronized flash works out so well it may have rendered my led strip light/music controller plan obsolete...I'll have to repurpose that stuff for other FX or making background lightning flash that comes from multiple locations.
Lights on...

Lights off...

Holographic (Ok technically not a hologram) Fairy Cave...





The lightning is a purple plasma lumin disk star that reacts to sound.

Amazon.com: MengYi 12'' Star Luminglas PURPLE: Home Improvement
(Purple I guess isn't easy to find anymore...nor is white...and IMO those are the 2 best colors for this)
I thought about using a nebula ball but the disks things have a better lightning effect IMO...and my 2 nebula balls are old and the plasma is all cloudy without good defined "lightning"
You could Macgyver up quite a few different kinds of plasma lamps to work this way though.




It is basically laid on the top glass, and the image reflects off the glass plate that is at a 45 degree angle below. Basically it is the same concept as the Holo fairy cave proof of concept.
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/par...f-concept.html


I'll put lights on either side of it and the main lighting will be in front of it so I should get enough regular light in the viv.


The idea will be that plants/rock hide most "screen" or help it blend into the background. I'm not sure if I'm going to do just enough screen to catch the lightning or have it go all the way across the viv. I have an aurora (Northern lights) effect I wanna try that would utilize the same screen.


The viv will have the holo fairy cave in it, and it will also have fiber optic stars suspended in the first inch or 2 at the top... and ponds and/or stream that are clear containers buiried in the substrate and lit from underneath so the water glows blue.


I'm just using a phone to play the music for the demo, and nothing is actually set up much like it will be in the viv. This was just putting some of the rough pieces together to see how it looks.


The fan setup is especially ghetto at the moment, but from what I saw playing with it I think with more fog and a better fan setup I really can achieve a cloud that is mostly at the top...the craptastic very light cloud in this demo actually stayed mostly at the top so looks like the theory is sound.


For the real deal I have a Motion activated 300 second loop player

http://www.electronics123.com/kits-a...on-sensor.html


That will be coupled with a sensor plug mounted on or near the viv setup to be triggered at about the same time the sound player gets triggered. Both activate and stay on for about 5 minutes...so we'll have a 5 minute storm.
I need Marty to sponser me with a free mist system or something Maybe he'd wanna use a vid of the finished viv to pimp some mist king systems?


Sensor plug...

SensorPlug - Motion Activated Electrical Outlet - Amazon.com
So basically you'll walk up to the viv and wave your hand at a certain area and it will make the sensor plug turn on most of the FX and at the same time kick off the sound loop device, which both run for about 5min...and Enjoy.






Here is the fogger I used....only 20 bucks and nice nozzle easy to retrofit with decent fog output. I think I'm going to need 2 though to create a cloud thick enough to look good while being sucked out/recycled by fans strong enough to keep the cloud from sinking.

Ultrasonic Desktop Bedside Baby Humidifier 110V | eBay


Gemmy Lights in flight firefly lights...

Available at lowes and kmart
LightShow Solar Lights in Flight Light String - Outdoor Living - Outdoor Lighting - Decorative Lighting


Firefly Fx threads...
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/mem...tml#post540470
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/par...-plants-3.html

Update to Lightning thread on DB:

Thanks!....I think I can pretty much claim success though as of now. The cloud with one fogger wasn't quite satisfactory but my theory held that you could keep most of it suspended, so with 2 foggers and a better fan setup...maybe 2 fans in each corner, we should be good to go. I'm getting adjustable fans too so I can fine tune the suction rate and get the best cloud suspension. I'll probably get this adjustable dual fan system...

AC Infinity AI-92SCXD Speed Control Fan Kit for Cabinet Cooling, Ranged Dual 92mm - Amazon.com


I bought the controller those fans are attached to thinking I could plug in an old computer fan but it has some odd terminal connector or something so I guess I'll just get the dual fan system and at some later date pick up a fan to attach to controller I bought or rip the plug off and directly wire a pc fan to it (might do that anyways) and use it on another project/viv.


The lightning/sound works great and looks awesome. Video doesn't really do it justice, and the cloud was hard to see in the video but better in real life. I Might do another video with black background and see if that helps the cloud show up better. With plants and a real background in there it should look sweet.


Minus the duct tape holding the glass at an angle (use fishing line or something) that system could be hid with plants and stuff really easily as it is now. I do need to test the 300 second usb sound loop device to make sure the sound quality is good enough, but my guess is it will be adequate and if not I may be able to yank the speaker out of it and wire in a better one, or mod the current one for a bit better sound.


There is also a device that attaches a plug to some mock AA batteries that allows you to run AA devices off a wall socket, so I may get that and plug the sound loop device into the motion sensor plug so I don't have to change batteries. Might be helpful in getting everything to go off and run how I want it, but for now I'll just run the device on batteries. I have to dig up a usb cord though and figure out how to work the software to load sounds on it and find a good loop to use, or make one by stripping the audio off some youtube vids and making a .wav file out of that audio to run on the loop device.



Convert AA Battery Pack to USB or AC Electric Power Plug
(That store has a lot of cool lighting stuff)

And another...

I stumbled across this in my continuing quest for cool FX...





Cannon Thunder Strobe
or
Cheaper here...
Cannon Thunder Mega Strobe Light - Party City
or maybe here...
Celebrate Express - Cannon Strobe with Thunder
Google/google shopping cannon thunder strobe for more store links and possibly better prices...I didn't look that hard since I don't need it right now...also it is on amazon.
Amazon.com: Cannon Strobe with Thunder: Toys & Games
You could plug this in on an outstrip with your mist system and fogger and put the entire plug strip on the timer so that it triggers the mist/fog/thunder/lightning cycle all at once and for the same duration.


I don't really need it with the system I'm setting up but for others who don't wanna go the plasma luminglas /sound loop device route this is a pretty cheap way to add some thunder/lightning FX to your viv...at 7in it will probably sit ok on the back of a glass top on most vivs 20gal and up. Some of the reviews aren't great, but seems like it would be decent enough for the viv purpose and still a nice FX if not ideal (Like my system )


Here is a crappy video I found of it working...
[youtube]eAnQXic0bzQ[/youtube]


The sound quality of the video isn't great...I can't tell if that continuous sound is rain or supposed to be the thunder...but if it is the thunder and it is to long for you you could hook the light up on one of the mistking seconds timers so it come off and on every few seconds and cuts that rolling thunder down...but I'd try it first before seeing if that is necessary.


Some reviews have said it wasn't loud enough at like 10 feet away and they modded it with an amplified speaker, but for indoor use on a viv that is probably a good thing not being to loud.


MistKing Misting Systems by Jungle Hobbies Ltd

The whole system will be powered by a Mr. Fusion coupled with a Flux capacitor

Hopefully the Mr Fusion will cut down on the electricity bill from making lightning at home
The Flux capacitor is how I got here...and how I'll get home. I'm from the future...of vivariums

[VicSkimmr]

This is... this is nuts! lol

[tinkgirl77]

Dave, you are oober talented. Congratulations on such a creative mind. Wish I had time to do some of these projects.

.:* Lisa *:.
laissez le bon temps roulet! :-)

[Dendro Dave]

Thanks!
Do what I did...get fired All the time in the world baby!!! ...It's the money that is the problem for me