Updated pics 2/15/07











"Posted May 21 2005, 09:42 AM"
I just ordered my nc6 today,
so I could get going on the mods for the OPEN CATEGORY.
2.27+1.18=72watts+48LED fuge lighting
Rick

looking forward to seeing your entry... been a fan of your alife for a long time.

Man who opens mouth early, gets it stuffed in the end.

You going to enter, Master of Cool?

We have the need to know how many 70MH NC6 are going to be entered.
artarmon42????

THANKS for the kudos adinsxq

Nope, I'm out.
Or more specifically, banned from entering by the boss... (:ermm: I mean the wife :angel: )

gl rick. its good to see you back on the boards

My nc6 arrived today from NanoTuners and it looks great.
Chris you do a great job boxing & shipping and thanks for the Nano-Reef discount.
Ordered the nc6 Sat and it arrived Tues, that’s fast.
I did some side by side comparisons with an extra ALIFE 7 I have laying around
and the quality of construction on the nc6 hood just blows the ALIFE away.
The nc6 and the ALIFE 7 are almost exactly the same size.
I’ll try to post some comparison pics tomorrow.
Now it’s time for planing the mods.
Rick

alife7 on left, nc6 on right

Nice comparison shots! I wish the NC6 was black

Rick J G

Who makes (made) the alife7?

Alife is a brand of aquarium products. The Alife 7 was popular around So Cal fish stores a couple of years ago. The Mini-Reef Aquarium on the web site below looks like it’s the Alife 7.
http://www.hobokenfishandpets.com/specials.htm

Just stopping to wish you good luck!

Don't forget to do this:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=58764

before you fill your tank!

Does this void my warranty?

MGD guy huh? Did you really need the beer to take apart the hood?

Naw, that doesn't. I completely trashed a PS2 and they still gave me a new one, even thought it was my fault. My guess is that I can't buy their games if my game system is broke

Three lights jammed in the hood.
(1) 18 watt & (2) 27 watts.


The 27 watt bulbs just fit, but don’t leave room for the pins.
I removed one of the two brackets that hold the hood open,
drilled holes in the side for the pins and connectors.
I also made my own pin connectors by finding electrical clips
the right size to slid tightly onto the bulb pins and covering them
with silicone air tubing.
I pulled one bulb out a little to show better.
I made a new lens to cover the side the pins and power are on.


I replaced one fan with a scroll fan to blow air between the reflector & hood.

I installed connectors for the low voltage, so I could use the original plugs.
and made up a LED light for the fuge.
The LED has 48 - 5MM 12V narrow beam white lights and is super bright.
The LED is from BestHongKong.com
http://www.besthongkong.com/modules.php?na...products_id=161
I attached the LED to a small fan-heat sink to keep it cooled.



Here is a pic with lights on.


Pic of the lighting setup

Crazy!

But really cool!

nice LEDS man!

Full Tank Shot


RULE 2

I better post this before I forget.
Don’t have any carrots in the house,
but it’s apricot season round these parts.
Captain Money & the Golden Girl rule!!!

Great mod work rick............ I'm soaking up all of the knowledge before my nc6 comes. Questions, where did you get the 27 watt bulbs? Also can you still fit the stock splash guard over the bulbs? If not what are you planning to use?

I love the light mod! This makes me more and more tempted to pick up a nc6! I hope you post lots of details on how to do it so us non-competition or non-open competition people can work on this later!

The 27 watt bulbs I used are Aqua Lux 27W 50/50 four pin #10417
You can order them by contacting Aquatic Warehouse by email at,
sales@aquaticwarehouse.com
Chris at Nanocustoms may also carry the bulbs
http://www.nanocustoms.com/catalog/product...fa9b83dcdb790f0
You will need a ballast to run the lights and Chris at Nanocustoms has them.
The Fulham Workhorse 5 should fire all three of the lights and make wiring simple,
* but you should check with Chris on wiring issues.
http://www.nanocustoms.com/catalog/product...fa9b83dcdb790f0
The 27 watt lights will fit under the stock splash guard,
but you need to drill holes & run the pins out the side.
I removed one of the two brackets that hold the hood open.
Then ran my pins & wires thru the chase left on that side.
If you use the stock splash guard you would need to seal the side area. I made a new splash guard that covers the side with wiring.
You could make things a lot easier by just using (3) 18 watt bulbs.
Chris at Nanocustoms could sell you the whole lighting upgrade,
but it would be 3.18 = 54 watts total instead of 72 watts.

Working on tank mods now
I’m NOT going to run the original pump in the third chamber,
Switched to Rio 90
plus add a second pump in the same chamber.
I plumbed the additional pump to the second chamber.


The surface skimmer is made from a 4mm data cartridge case.
The case is just the right size for the nc6 and I can snap it on & off.
The cuts are not to clean because it is very soft plastic,
but I only plan to use it when necessary as the surface scum accumulates.


Here is something I suggest you make.
It’s a small eggcrate cut to the size of the chambers.
It makes it easy to pull things out of the chambers,
because it is very difficult to get your hand in there.
It also protects the bottom glass from falling objects.

This thing is a MONSTER... DIY at its best

you wouldn't happen to be the Rick who's always giving out free Xenia down here in SD would you?

Xenia - Give it away or flush it, that's the choice.
I'm ALIFER on sdreefs.com

Rick............... how long is the 27 watt bulb?

The Aqua Lux 27W 50/50 four pin bulbs are
9-5/8” from tip of bulb to bottom of the base,
10” from tip of bulb to end of the pins.
Hope that helps

I can't get over how clean your hood looks. Amazing! Keep up the good work!

that's a great LED mod - keep us up to date on how well it grows macro - the extra flow through chamer two should really help in that respect too

chaeto & macro in fuge, 6-6-05
I setup the tank over the weekend of 6/4/05
Let’s use this pic as a starting point for growth.
The fuge has both Chaeto & a red leaf lettuce looking macro.
I want to see which will grow best,
or if they grow at all with the LED.
Rick

It is amazing how much stuff we add that requires power

(1) stock nc6 ballast for the (1) 18 watt light

(2) Fulham Work Horse 2 ballast for the (2) 27 watt lights

(3) low voltage transformers to run;
*(2) cooling fans for daylight cycle,
*(1) 48 LED fuge light & cooling fan for night time cycle
*(2) LED moon lights

(1) 50 watt heater

(2) pumps

(1) Coralife Power Center timer for day/night cycle

(1) timer for second pump to control wave maker action

Did I forget anything??????????

Nice workmanship Rick. Can't wait for the water.

Lets see full tank shot!

Patience patawaun, find what you seek, you will

6-5-05 Finaly Setup



6-9-05

left side


right side


front


front open

WOW, very nice.

Too bad the competition isn't just 5 days long...you would be a winner

What??? X) I didn’t win?
I thought it was a race to see who could mod their tank and have it stocked first.
Darn, I knew I should have read the rules.

Good luck on your 2nd tank Agent003, sorry to hear about the 1st one. SDreefers rock!

Great tank! can't wait to see it once the contest is over

Thanks for the heads up on the contest, I wouldn't have known about it if you didn't post it on sdreefs. Good luck to you too!

Very impressive. Looks great Rick




Bob

Gotta keep the pics coming

Right side


Left side


Old school reef

Looks really nice. I still prefer the looks of a well stocked colorful softy and LPS tank to that of SPS...

I like corals that can move with the water movement
& my favorites are the different Euphyllia species.
I also like that you can mix them together,
at least most hammer & frogspawn species.
I’ve tried a couple of Euphyllia torch species
and have not had much luck mixing them with
hammer & frogspawn species. Oddly enough I’ve
never had problems mixing Euphyllia species with Xenia.
They seem to have no affect on each other.
All the Euphyllia frags in my nc6 are branching species,
so as they grow too large I can just snip off heads & trade them.
Most people are amazed by the Xenia, so I try to keep some in the tank,
but they are hard to keep under control and will over grow other corals.
Xenia can be used as nutrient export just like Chaeto..
I also use Xenia to monitor water quality, since I never test the water.
If they stop pumping, it’s time for a water change.

Looks great Rick. I agree on the hammers and frogspawn. I defintely like the movement. Keep up the good work!

6-24-05

Hi, great looking tank, and the perfect mod in my opinion. I was just wondering what the "Rules of the Aquarium" are, on the side of the stand?

the first rule of the aquarium is no one talks about the aquarium:P

I love the tank, keep us updated!