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LED Biocube 16 Lighting Retrofit.


Volnation

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Any kit designed for the BC 14 should work fine in this new dimension, which has the same "footprint", but is simply 2" taller.

 

Seems so strange that they redesigned them to be so PAR deficient - just 38 at 12"... :wacko:

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Any kit designed for the BC 14 should work fine in this new dimension, which has the same "footprint", but is simply 2" taller.

 

Seems so strange that they redesigned them to be so PAR deficient - just 38 at 12"... :wacko:

Rapid responded to an email I sent yesterday. Told me nothing made would fit it now. Including the nano box

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I call BS,I'm sure you can figure out a way,there is always a way.

 

Rapid responded to an email I sent yesterday. Told me nothing made would fit it now. Including the nano box

 

No offense to RapidLED, but I would talk to Dave at NanoBox directly before writing it off. You could also check with Steve'sLED to see what they think...

 

I call BS,I'm sure you can figure out a way,there is always a way.

 

I would not think it would be too hard to find mounting points for the retro heatsink - heck, I wonder if the one already in it would work... fingerscrossed

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That's what I was thinking. If there is room for the light already in there,then there is room.

 

I wonder if the poster can post a pic of the underside of the hood.

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I think the issue is that the the current RapidLED retro heatsinks and mounting holes are not compatible with the new hood designs. Furthermore, the Nanobox Retro heatsinks currently mount into the old CFL reflectors of the old BC 14s, 29s and NC28s. With the newer LED Biocubes, you have a heatsink with weak LEDs, therefore, no reflector to mount Dave's Retro heatsinks onto. I'm guessing we'll have to wait for Rapid LED to come up with new retrofit kits for the LED Biocubes or have Dave figure out a way to effectively mount his Retro kits into these new hoods and work around their existing heatsinks.

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Strip out old heatsink put in new one. Not that hard to figure out. Old heatsink has to be mounted somehow so take advantage of its mounting method.

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I'm sure you could take out the stock heatsink and use it's mounting holes to tap and drill the RapidLED retrofit heatsink and screw it into the hood's mounting posts. That said, as I am unfamiliar with the new hoods, you'd just need to make sure it has the proper vent holes for the fan that comes with the retrofit heatsink for proper cooling.

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Or even look at heatsinkusa they have super thin sinks you could tap new holes in the canopy and the sink and mount it. For a tank that size you shouldnt need TOO much power so you can use a lower current driver.

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Got in contact with Dave. Sending him a picture to see the differences. The major difference is the new lid is much much thinner. I'd guess 3/4 to an inch.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So after some discussion, Dave recommended the small retro kit. Said I would be able to have some sps but not acroporas, which is my main reason for wanting the light upgrade. Don't think that is going to work for me. So I'm back to square 1.


I call BS,I'm sure you can figure out a way,there is always a way.

I'm all ears...I don't know what to do now.

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Can you post some pics of the underside lid ? Depending on howyou wanted to control the leds (mainly driversajd psu) you can always add some leds to channels. Also depending on your rock work,I'm sure you can keep Acro's. I've kept them with less lighting,while I didn't have vertical growth I had amazing colors and encrusting.

 

You just have to play your cards right.

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  • 2 weeks later...
jcolletteiii

I'm thinking of trying one of the Hamilton 12" LED strips in mine. They come in 9w (9 x 1w) and 18w (6 x 3w) configurations. I think the black coating at the rear of the splash guard can be scraped or peeled away and the strip mounted just to the rear of the current lights.

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jcolletteiii

Okay, there is a snag. The inside surface of the black (rear) part of the splash guard in the 16g. LED Biocube is painted. Not only that, but the clear plastic is molded with an 'orange peel' texture as well - it's not flat. That might be good for light dispersion though if you can chemically strip the paint without melting the plastic. But - the maximum space available behind the stock LED circuit board (to the stock fan wire connector is only about 1.125"; the Hamilton strips are 1.5" wide. If I wanted to seriously upgrade the lighting, I'd look for a stock 14g. hood (they should fit the 16g) and gut that and do a retro. Sell the LED one on fleapay.

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