It's been a long time coming, but the release is finally here. We are ready to start rolling out the LED retrofits for the nano community. Currently we are releasing the retrofits in two flavors, which are 3x18w LED and 5x18w LED. We've made our best efforts to accomodate all of the various mainstream nano tanks on the market and we're sure that there's something for just about everybody. Current systems that are supported are as follows:

JBJ
Nanocube 6 (3x18 Default/Max)
Nanocube 12 DX (3x18w Default /5x18 Max)
Nanocube 24 DX (5x18 Recommended)
Nanocube 28 HQI (5x18 Recommended)

Oceanic
Biocube 8 (3x18 Max)
Biocube 14 (3x18 Max)
Biocube 29 (5x18 Recommended)

Current-USA
Aquapod 12 - Coming Soon
Aquapod 24 - Coming Soon

Red Sea
Max Systems - Coming Soon

For those ready to make the jump to LEDs now, and we've already had a few, we're offering a limited time promotion for early adopters. The kits will normally retail starting at $349.95 and $449.95 for the 3-strip and 5-strip LED configurations respectively. Until October 1st we're offering a $50.00 promotional discount to any customer looking to purchase one of the retrofit kits or off the price of a pre-built canopy assembly. In exchange for the promotional discount we simply ask for a 1-2 week window to ship your order. This short lead time allows us to procure the LED emitters we need from the manufacturer.

As usual it is also possible to send in your existing canopy and have us perform the retrofit free of charge, however the shipping costs to get the canopy to our door must be paid by the customer. If a completely new canopy is desired with the upgraded lighting the cost will be the price of the LED retrofit in addition to the cost of a new canopy.

Further information can be found on the product pages listed below. Feel free to give us a call or send us an e-mail with any questions you may have!

Nanocustoms 3.6 LED Retro Kit (For BC14, BC8, JBJ NC 6)
http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php...products_id=620

Nanocustoms 3.6 LED Retro Kit (For BC29, NC28, NC24, NC12, AP24)
http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php...products_id=618

Nanocustoms 5.6 LED Retro Kit (For BC29, NC28, NC24, NC12, AP24)
http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php...products_id=619


More details can also be seen in the thread about my personal tank:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=207429&hl=

Finally, I made a Youtube video of my personal system show PAR number results. Note that in the video I was using 2x daylight and 1x royal blue strip. Currently I am running 3x 50/50 strips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLcCFXMJiU4


Nick

are these dimmable? and how do these leds compare say to new qree leds? thanks!

Those look really nice.

How much for the nc28

SbCaes - I'm going to let Chris handle that question as he's got more details regarding that.

andrewmedic08 - The NC28 can handle 3 or 5-LED strips so really you could go either way. We recommend the 5-LED configuration, which starts at $399.95 for a limited time.

If blue and white LEDs are alternated by row instead of individually, is this particularly noticeable?

Ex:
WWWW vs WBWBWB
BBBBBB BWBWBW
WWWW WBWBWB

Also will spacing between rows be adjustable? I'm interested in the 5.6, but not entirely sure why all the LED rows have to be placed directly adjacent to each other.

are these dimmable? and how do these leds compare say to new qree leds? thanks! -

sbcaes -

At this time, the drivers are run on/off. We have a version of the driver being spec'd for us that features a 0-5v control signal for dimming. We expect those units in a few weeks.

These feature the Cree EZBright 1000 LED chip, which is the same chip (someone correct me if i'm wrong) that Cree uses in its XRE series.

The light output from these emitters are pretty compelling, and the thermal characteristics are IMHO more superior to that of stars (the MCPCB has more mass and features more surface area for conductive heat transfer.

Hope this helps


edit - CONFIRMED - EZBRIGHT 1000 is the CHIP in CREE XRE
http://www.ledsmagazine.com/news/3/10/10

MORE ON EZBRIGHT 1000 - http://ledsmagazine.com/news/3/9/2

Chris

The color mixing is better with the 50/50s, but the independent control of Blue vs White is lost for sunrise sunset simulation.

Based on feedback and some of Nick's input, he prefers the more natural look of a 50/50 sunrise/sunset than the Royal Blue. He says the royal blue is too much and looks "fake". Different strokes for different folks i guess.

As for the spacing, the heatsink is drilled and tapped to accomodate up to 9 of these modules.

This spacing will allow you to move the modules to locations you prefer. The quick disconnect nature of the LED dongle/harness also means you can make all these changes without SOLDERING.

HTH

Chris

Everything about this kit is perfect! And you even included my runt of an AIO - the JBJ NC6. Everything is perfect, except for the price that is...darn.

It's weird how it would be cheaper for me to go 4x T5HO or 150W MH and upgrade to a 20L/30Breeder than to buy this LED kit for a 6 gallon AIO. I know where the cost is though, it's in that custom CNC heatsink, and let me tell you that heatsink is freakin' sweet.

Can one of these setup work on a custom made hood?

Sweet looking!

I'm planning to get one to try it out. Is there an installation manual?

We will have an installation video similar to that found for our other retros. Thats part of the "ramp up" process, and why we have it on "early adopter" status.

Its going to be very simple tho, since everything will be plugging into the harness, its a matter of gutting your hood, running the harness/cable through and making connections.

HTH

Chris

If we send in a hood for retrofit, about how long is turnover to get the kit installed?

Hi Xiao -

The turnaround times are typically 1-3 business days from the time we receive the hood. Since the installation of the LED kits are a bit less complicated than that of the HQI retros, it will take a bit less time.

We usually give each unit a few hours of testing time too, to ensure that the units are performing as expected.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Chris

Heres a video of the CNC process to make the 3.6 LED retro for the smaller tanks (BC14/BC8/NC6).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKmQApeah-I

Chris

Heres the 5.6 LED heatsink

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmOQccg3bRc

wow looks great! only thing stopping me is the price!

Can the dimmable version that is mentioned above as coming in a few weeks be preordered at a discount?

Yes. once we figure out the pricing and ETA we will make it available as an option. Also, if there are other custom requests, give us a holler. After all, its "nano customs" not "nano what we want you to buy".

Just shoot us an email. info_at_nanotuners_dot_com

New video of Nanocube 3.6 LED system in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhwwtvuF5HE

very simple but yet nice system but like someone mentioned, it's cheaper to upgrade to some other light that currently out there than getting the kit...the price is too darn high

But you can't get that much light with that little heat and still keep it inside the hood. That's still important to some. Once the dimmable drivers come out, then you will have complete control over your color temp and brightness. That is something that is not easily done with any other light source. You also need to take into account the long life of the system, and factor in the savings for not buying replacement bulbs every 8-12 months. It's not that expensive once you start looking at the bigger picture.

Many on this forum can attest, that we are not a HARD sell here at Nanocustoms/Nanotuners. I rarely like to comment on negative feedback, but I have to jump in here when people complain about price.

There are plenty of options out there for lighting for your All in Ones, and we offer a series of "bolt in" or "fully custom" solutions for end users. Part of that solution involves the research and development, testing, customer support to ensure end users a SAFE and RELIABLE product. In the past 5 years or so, 10000 of you have trusted our brands to bring you products we are happy to put our name on.

I can agree that there are upfront costs, but you haven't factored in the savings in electrical consumption (LEDs are more efficient), thermal management costs (LEDs emit far less infrared if any at all) so there are no Chillers to purchase. And clearly, through the hard work of people like evil and others on this forum, its a no brainer that the light output is compelling.

Factor in the replacement of bulbs (PC, HQI, whatever) and its CLEAR that LED is cheaper and the better way to go.

I could go on and on, and probably dig myself a bigger hole PR wise, but those who know me, know I didn't work 3 years on this kit to deliver a product that wasn't worth it to the end user. Price is determined by the person offering it and the person buying it. When a customer clicks "buy now" an agreement is made. We always have a 30 days no questions asked return policy as well.

As always

Good Luck

Christopher Jung
CEO, Nanocustoms/Nanotuners

questions? comments? chris_at_nanocustoms_dot_com

The price is right in line with what you would be paying to do it yourself, actually cheaper if you consider all the labor and time you would be putting into actually retrofitting your own hood.

Yeah I kind of wish they did it earlier though O_O =..../ had to build my own

but question (im really curious as your guys setup) ( i kind of wish i waited for this wouldve saved me from headaches and money)

how is the operational temp of this unit?

The key to the success of the heatsink was being able to run thermal and fluid dynamic simulation on the units to optimize performance. In the CADBOX the heatsinks loaded at 100W on the bottom surface ran at 122F with 90F ambients and a convective heat transfer coefficient of 25.

In real world testing, we used 5 LEDs and measured temps in the mid 120s. My convective transfer coefficient was off, but the fact is, they are running FAR below the 60C they are rated for.

The biggest issue DIYers may run into is the fact that the heatsinks are such a high profile that they take up the whole hood.

In a HQI or PC system, the heatshield we use on kits serves to act as a barrier to keep the heat trapped in the bottom portion of the tank. The space above the heatshield is poorly ventilated, in fact, its trapped.

We get around this with a very low profile heatsink and moving it into the airflow of the hood with spacers that sit on the factory standoffs. By doing this, we allow more surface area to be exposed to moving air, and better cooling of the heatsink.


We did months of real world testing to get it to this stage.

We will also be selling the heatsinks by themselves or tapped for a variety of emitter configurations. Programming a different drill sequence is fairly easy on our side.

HTH

Chris

Due to customer requests, there is now an "emitter type" drop down where CREE XR-E emitters are available for a slight premium.

The heatsink will be drilled and tapped for an equivalent amount of emitters (or to custom spec if you email us) and you will unfortunately have to finish the emitter to emitter wiring on your own.

The quick disconnect harnesses, etc will all work with this option.

this is awesome. I will be interested in doing the conversion to my newly purchased BC29 - probably when I need to replace the bulbs that came with the system. When do you guys expect dimmable drivers to be available? Also, i figure it won't be possible to adjust the color temperature easily with the LED strips - assuming you use a 50:50 mix of RB and CW. Any thoughts on this? Thanks and keep up the good work!

Dimmability will be coming further down the line. Its not a technical, sourcing, or engineering issue, but a patent issue.

As some of you know, there is an Orbitec patent that claims all "spectral and spatial" control of LEDs. For now, that means our systems ship "dumb". They are only on/off.

Once there is more clarity, we will start offering dimmable drivers. Nothings stopping the end user from performing these updates themselves, but we cannot sell or offer a complete system that has spectral or spatial control.

As such, the MCPCBs we have released are all in series. We are in development of a 2 channel MCPCB that will allow for the convenient packaging/sequence for the LEDs, while giving us the ability to control 2 channels of the MCPCB.

Theres always the "BEST" solution, which is to order the setup with the CREE XR-E LEDs. You would see about 20% increase in output, while being able to control the LEDs (since they are not on a MCPCB, but wire to wire connected).

Hope this helps

Chris

We have added the ability to order the kits without drivers. This will still come with the extruded aluminum ballast box, the harness, etc. Just no Paclantic "on/off" drivers.

Chris