Nano Box 13Up Module

[NavyChief52]

Announced here

 

Purchased here

 

I was running the nanotuners 4.6 kit (12 Royal Blues and 12 Whites) on their Duo700 controller on my Biocube29.

 

Using an Apogee PAR meter I was seeing ~ 700 at the top of the tank and ~ 90 on the sand bed.

I own a Seneye that also has a PAR meter in it that is close to what the Apogee read.

 

Installation was simple. Unsolder the 4 strips that come with the 4.6 kit. Drill 12 holes and mount to the nanotuners heatsink, and then solder 8 leads. I purchased 2 of the 13UP modules, there are two channels on each module.

 

If I had a comment on changes for a version 2, I would have liked to see the solder pads spaced a little further apart. It was a pain with the eyesight of a 49 year old to actually see the pads, much less solder 8 leads and make sure they don't touch.

 

Visual appearance, I don't see anything different than what I had the the 4.6. There is no extra POP in the corals. They all look the same.

 

PAR readings are different. Measured with the Seneye I'm seeing 1100 at the water surface 200 at the sand bed. So yes, they do put out more PAR. I've turned them down to 80% Blue and 70% white to not stun the corals.

 

Shipping was fast, I bought them on the site on Sunday and had them in my mailbox on Wednesday. I had a few questions and Dave was fast to respond.

 

Here is what it looked like with the 4.6 with the Apogee for reference (yes the tank was new). I'll post a Nanobox shot when I get my hands on the Apogee.

 

[d0lph1n]

Great, thanks for sharing. I'm looking fwd to your nanobox shot. Please let us know what kind of corals you have. I'm surprised that you didn't see anything different color-wise.

 

Also, I'm curious what PAR levels is the module producing since I'm planning to install one , no lens, 1-2 inches above a 12 inch cube. Dave told me that it should be plenty.

 

It's too late or too complicated to measure the PAR levels produced by a single module, isn't it?

[NavyChief52]

Great, thanks for sharing. I'm looking fwd to your nanobox shot. Please let us know what kind of corals you have. I'm surprised that you didn't see anything different color-wise.

 

Also, I'm curious what PAR levels is the module producing since I'm planning to install one , no lens, 1-2 inches above a 12 inch cube. Dave told me that it should be plenty.

 

It's too late or too complicated to measure the PAR levels produced by a single module, isn't it?

Pink birds nest

Green birds nest

Pokerstar Monti

Rainbow Monti

Undata Monti

Plating Monti

Reverse Prism Favia

GSP

Zoas

 

The driver is already soldered to both boards. I have two channels, a blue and a white, each channel drives both boards. Sorry I can't turn one board off.

[d0lph1n]

I've figured that's how you soldered the boards.

If it's not too much trouble, maybe you could do it by covering one board.

 

It sounds like you have beautiful corals. Lets see the before and after photos, especially the pink birds nest and the rainbow monti.

 

I've just purchased a rainbow monti few hours ago from Jason Fox at the Reef Raft opening. Under Jason's lights it looked spectacular. Under my diy rebel es royal blue it looks ok but it's not fully open yet.

[Veng]

Awesome! I was thinking I might use the 13up for a DIY setup on a new BioCube 14 I picked up.

 

Any chance of before and after photos?

 

Also, are you getting any disco ball effect going on or any shimmering?

[JR!]

would love to see how they were installed.

[NavyChief52]

Finally got my hands on the club Apogee meter. Same exact meter as the earlier readings.

 

Two 13Ups, driven by a DUO700 with 2 Thomas Research Drivers, through a RKL ALC driven to 10Vs on both channels.

 

Both boards are mounted next to each other Left/Right in the middle of the heat sink.

 

 

For reference, here are the Nanocustoms LEDs, driven the same way.

 

[d0lph1n]

Thanks for the update.

The PAR readings seem the same but the colors from the 13U boards seem better.

 

I'm still waiting for mine to arrive.

[basser1]

I'm waiting for my BC29 retro hood with 2 - 13up boards, and Daves' new controller!

[DaveFason]

Thanks for the small review. Play around with the intensity a bit more to give a little more pop. I promise you it is better than the CW/RB standard.

 

The wire that works best for wiring it up is 22-24 AWG wire. It should fit perfectly on there.

 

Anyways I am glad you like it!

 

-Dave

[NavyChief52]

Thanks for the small review. Play around with the intensity a bit more to give a little more pop. I promise you it is better than the CW/RB standard.

 

The wire that works best for wiring it up is 22-24 AWG wire. It should fit perfectly on there.

 

Anyways I am glad you like it!

 

-Dave

Dave,

 

I think it obvious that the color is better just by just by looking at the pictures. I'll take some closer pictures once I have the intensity worked out. All I wanted to do here was to crank the power up to 100% on both and get the PAR difference between the two light sets. I wasn't expecting a huge difference, there were 24 LEDs with the nanotuners and there are 26 with your board.

 

I'm happy with the set, and I recommend them as a drop in replacement for the now unsupported nanotuners LED sets.

 

Thanks !

[basser1]

So......

 

Any updates NavyChief52??? Pics??

 

I have a retro that Dave did for me, but I'm waiting on him to get the controller lined out. Looks like it may be another month or so.....