DIY mod for nanocube

[oqs]

Hi. I've just got a nanocube and am interested to mod the lighting to have MH power. Hope anyone who have been through this can help me find some materials that i will need as below.

1. E-ballast for 150W MH lamp

2. Aluminium sheet that is cut to dimension

Thanks in advance to any comments and suggestions.

[Jameshong]

Hi. I've just got a nanocube and am interested to mod the lighting to have MH power. Hope anyone who have been through this can help me find some materials that i will need as below.

1. E-ballast for 150W MH lamp

2. Aluminium sheet that is cut to dimension

Thanks in advance to any comments and suggestions.

Hi oqs,

The mod for MH is not cheaper...and easily cost 300buck +++.

you need;

1.Custom make reflector,

2.MH bulb

3.holder

4.eballast

5.Fan

6.heat sensor circuit - incase of over heated and melt the canopy.

7.Custom make Aluminium sheet

8. UV glass

Why not just remove the canopy and buy a light fixture and put on top of the tank instead?

[oqs]

Thanks for your reply James.

Yes, I understand that it may not be cheaper, perhaps more expensive compared to buying a clip on. But i guess it's more for the aesthetics, not the $$. I wanted to go for a clip on MH to in the first place, but after looking at the hood, I've decided to keep it if I can. I have a 2ft MH currently, so I can salvage the reflector, holder, MH bulb and UV glass.

I will still need more powerful fans, e-ballast (the old one is magnetic and runs pretty hot), thermal fuse (believe this is cheap) and the aluminum sheet as the base. I figured the e-ballast is the most expensive here but at least it runs cooler than if I were to buy a clip on MH that runs on magnetic ballast only to change it to e-ballast some time later.

So do you have any lobangs for the materials??

[tqut]

Thanks for your reply James.

Yes, I understand that it may not be cheaper, perhaps more expensive compared to buying a clip on. But i guess it's more for the aesthetics, not the $$. I wanted to go for a clip on MH to in the first place, but after looking at the hood, I've decided to keep it if I can. I have a 2ft MH currently, so I can salvage the reflector, holder, MH bulb and UV glass.

I will still need more powerful fans, e-ballast (the old one is magnetic and runs pretty hot), thermal fuse (believe this is cheap) and the aluminum sheet as the base. I figured the e-ballast is the most expensive here but at least it runs cooler than if I were to buy a clip on MH that runs on magnetic ballast only to change it to e-ballast some time later.

So do you have any lobangs for the materials??

You can get all the MH stuff for DIY from here http://www.viclite.com/aqlight.htm

[oqs]

thanks lots. gave them a call but they say MH e-ballast is out of stock.

guess i will have to go searching in sim lim tower or kelantan lane.

You can get all the MH stuff for DIY from here http://www.viclite.com/aqlight.htm

[dr evil]

thanks lots. gave them a call but they say MH e-ballast is out of stock.

guess i will have to go searching in sim lim tower or kelantan lane.

bro,

u need help on the stuff?

[oqs]

Thanks. You've already helped me. Just got the e-ballast from you on Sat. Now trying to mount everything together and pray the thermal switch do work well to prevent any possible plastic burning. Any other things to note when modding the nano cube?

bro,

u need help on the stuff?

[dr evil]

Thanks. You've already helped me. Just got the e-ballast from you on Sat. Now trying to mount everything together and pray the thermal switch do work well to prevent any possible plastic burning. Any other things to note when modding the nano cube?

Make sure u have a strong fan to cool the MH and also a tempered glass to prevent the heat from melting the tranparent plastic cover.

Just make sure u monitor when u run it.....

[oqs]

Make sure u have a strong fan to cool the MH and also a tempered glass to prevent the heat from melting the tranparent plastic cover.

Just make sure u monitor when u run it.....

Yes, I have 6 fans inside (4x 60mm at the vents, 2x 40mm standing, sucking air out from the MH). Made countless visits to SLT already, going again today to get some more connectors then shopping is (i hope) done. Probably can do the wiring today and fire it up during the weekend when i can monitor. Still finding some way to mount the tempered glass... will epoxy work in high temperature? My idea now is to stick some metal bracket at the reflector to hold the glass.

[oqs]

the light has been completed.

The hood now consists of 1x 150W MH, 4x blue LEDs, 4x 60mm fans, 2x 40mm fans, thermal cutoff at 60 degrees C, and additional switches to control MH and LEDs. It's in the testing phase now, running and with each run, i will increase the time that the MH is switched on, to see if anything gets burnt.

I will get some pics up if anyone is interested, do drop a reply. Thanks.

[Cedric]

the light has been completed.

The hood now consists of 1x 150W MH, 4x blue LEDs, 4x 60mm fans, 2x 40mm fans, thermal cutoff at 60 degrees C, and additional switches to control MH and LEDs. It's in the testing phase now, running and with each run, i will increase the time that the MH is switched on, to see if anything gets burnt.

I will get some pics up if anyone is interested, do drop a reply. Thanks.

Hi oqs,

yes, please dopost some pics. I've always been curious how to fit a MH into a nano tank.

Thanks in advance!

[Jameshong]

the light has been completed.

The hood now consists of 1x 150W MH, 4x blue LEDs, 4x 60mm fans, 2x 40mm fans, thermal cutoff at 60 degrees C, and additional switches to control MH and LEDs. It's in the testing phase now, running and with each run, i will increase the time that the MH is switched on, to see if anything gets burnt.

I will get some pics up if anyone is interested, do drop a reply. Thanks.

Any update ? picture leh !

[oqs]

sorry guys. forgotten all about this thread! the tank has been running for quite some time now. Melted the clear plastic cover for the lights once because itchy hands me switched on the lights but forgot to on the fans. Got a replacement from JBJ. Thumbs up to them. So far, all is fine. The fans are really essential to running such a high wattage lamp in a enclosed hood. I will post some pics soon. So watch this space!

ps. currently waiting for the sapphire skimmers to be delivered from nanocustoms. fellow nanocube users may want to look at their website for custom made skimmers. I've been waiting since May, FYI! but looks like it's going to be released anytime soon.

[dr evil]

sorry guys. forgotten all about this thread! the tank has been running for quite some time now. Melted the clear plastic cover for the lights once because itchy hands me switched on the lights but forgot to on the fans. Got a replacement from JBJ. Thumbs up to them. So far, all is fine. The fans are really essential to running such a high wattage lamp in a enclosed hood. I will post some pics soon. So watch this space!

ps. currently waiting for the sapphire skimmers to be delivered from nanocustoms. fellow nanocube users may want to look at their website for custom made skimmers. I've been waiting since May, FYI! but looks like it's going to be released anytime soon.

The best way to avoid this is to link your MH with the fan. So the MH and fan will activate together.......

my 2 cents

[oqs]

the modded NC24 hood. Can you guess how many fans are there?

(thgie)

Left side view. reflector and UV glass salvaged from a Atman 2ft light. Rest of the stuff bought from SLT.

Right side view. Where the switches are.

The switches! One for the MH. One for the moonlights.

Behind the switches. The 2x thick fans are really powerful stuff.

Bottom of the hood, where all the wires hide and play. 2x fans to help with the cooling too.

The moonlight. Which is actually only a super-bright blue LED. There's 4x in each of the clear corners of the plastic cover. Just sufficient to light up at night.

The holes drilled to accomodate the chiller intake and return. Skimmer not here yet... so air pump activated to keep the fish happy after lights off.

With the moonlights on.

That's all folks. Hope you like what I did. A lot of stuff was learnt and adapted from nanocustoms' expert series mod.

[oqs]

The best way to avoid this is to link your MH with the fan. So the MH and fan will activate together.......

my 2 cents

Thanks drevil. I've done that after the first burn. Don't wanna stink the whole house with burnt plastic smell anymore.

[Jameshong]

Nice n well done !

the modded NC24 hood. Can you guess how many fans are there?

(thgie)

Left side view. reflector and UV glass salvaged from a Atman 2ft light. Rest of the stuff bought from SLT.

Right side view. Where the switches are.

The switches! One for the MH. One for the moonlights.

Behind the switches. The 2x thick fans are really powerful stuff.

Bottom of the hood, where all the wires hide and play. 2x fans to help with the cooling too.

The moonlight. Which is actually only a super-bright blue LED. There's 4x in each of the clear corners of the plastic cover. Just sufficient to light up at night.

The holes drilled to accomodate the chiller intake and return. Skimmer not here yet... so air pump activated to keep the fish happy after lights off.

With the moonlights on.

That's all folks. Hope you like what I did. A lot of stuff was learnt and adapted from nanocustoms' expert series mod.

[eviliztic]

very very nice n neat bro! hope ur ls love the light..