70W MH in stock Nano Cube!!

[artarmon42]

The hood has been sold to yellowbird53.

Thanks for your interest.

[QuaveCube]

I want to keep this thread alive for the newbs who may be interested in this mod. It is a winner I think

[irussell]

You know, when I think back on this project, it's pretty simple and cost-effective to put MH into the Nano Cube. It's almost a case of why hasn't it been done earlier?

$150 for the MH retro, $20 for 4 new fans, $10 for 2 voltage adapters, $5 for a box of wiring nuts (of which you're only use a few), $5 for the epoxy (of which you'd only use a few dabs), a pair of pliers (to yank out the stock wires), wire cutter (to cut and strip wires), and a screw driver.

I estimate, given the lessons learnt, it could be completed in around 1 hour by almost anyone. And I'm not awfully handy (as I'm sure people have noticed by my soldering attempts in the Iceprobe thread).

To be fair, the mod is not without it's risks (things will melt if the fans stop working), so be forewarned. But I think anyone who does mods are inherently risk takers.

If people want someone else to do and stand behind the work, then I'd recommend waiting for Chris's official kit. For others who like to play and fiddle around, you definitely get the most light for your buck (I won't even go into MH vs PC discussion) and falls into the "easy" category.

I'd love to hear from anyone else who might do this themselves!

 

I am going to start on my 24nc Sat. or Sun. I got might kit from Chris. I plan on moving the stock PC's apart and mounting the 70watt between them. I hope that given the extra breathing room for the bulb I will not have as many problems as you had with melting. I will give it a couple of trial runs but do not plan on running full tiume until my T150 comes in the mail. Any suggestions are more than welcome.

[artarmon42]

Heh, I was surprised that this thread reactivated again

 

I'll still around, so if anyone has questions or want to discuss this topic, just add to this thread.

[sparky77]

How hot the hood running then, that is my only concern, is it possible to place your hand on the lid.

 

The equipment I have:

MH Lamp 20,000K

Stainless Steel Mirror Sheet

Electronic Ballast 240V

Glass 6mm Thick

 

Wish list:

http://www.hellolights.com/70w15hqisopa.html (Pending them shipping it to the UK hurry up Plz)

More time.

 

Other lights 2x 36watt Pc

 

When completed I will post a full report with pics

[artarmon42]

How hot the hood running then, that is my only concern, is it possible to place your hand on the lid.

 

It was warm to touch, but no more than the stock PCs.

You could leave your hand there indefinitely without being uncomfortable.

 

When completed I will post a full report with pics

 

Looking forward to see the pics.

Presume you'll do the rear fan to stabilize the temps!

[sparky77]

yes there will be fans

[.13Fathoms]

Atarmon,

I was so impressed with your mod that I had to do it to my brand spanking new 12DX. After months of research and thinking things through I took the plunge. Your post was my Bible along the way.

There are a couple of things that I think may be of interest to those who also want to give this a shot. For the most part, my mod follows yours step by step. The thing that I thought about the most was the blower fan that vents the water/splashshield space which by the way, I think happens to be the pinnacle of heat managment in this mod.

 

First is the blower location and mounting. Its still in the same place but, its located a little higher on the back lid wall (5-7mm), its upsidedown, and its angled up slightly. Higher, and angled up allows the lid to be opened a full 90 degrees to facilitate removal by the hinges (pic). Its upside down for no real reason besides I could see myself accidently dropping something ie. tools, rocks, fingers into the moving fan blades. Mounting higher on the lid wall allowed for a tighter fit as I just cut out a space for the fan opening instead of the entire long dimension of the case (a small rectangle verses the three sided cut).

 

Second is the vent location. Instead of cutting two holes in the back lid wall, one for the fan and one for the exhaust, I cut two small exhaust vents in the front sides next to the feeding lid (pics).

I feel that this added a more efficient cooling effect by sending the blowers ambient air more directly across the water surface and out the sides. These vents are simply drill holes in a makeshift pattern. The same effect can be had if you just prop the lid up a bit too I guess. I like my lid closed. Oh, and light spillout is not a problem from these vents.

 

These small changes are working great for me. Not to say that your vent mod did not. Clearly they did per your testing results. I just obsess about things sometimes and I gotta tweak something.

 

Thanks Atarmon for all of your work. I look forward to more great stuff from you. TJ

[artarmon42]

Thanks for the update TJ!

I made a footnote to my instructions to include a link for your mod.

 

I think your mod to the fan placement is a very good idea. The place that I put the fan did make a tight fit when trying to take the hood off. It looks like you really put some thought this!

 

As for your front vents, I have to say that it's a great idea! I'm pretty sure that you'll get even more cooling as a result of pushing air through the entire air-gap. What is your blower voltage set to? Can you also update us on some temperature measurements?

[BSimm]

Hey guys... what a set of wonderful ideas, testing and collaboration!!!

 

I bought a 24dx a couple years ago, but then moved, so I never had time to set it up. Since then, with life just crazy, I've not gotten around to it... until now. After viewing this thread and getting the urge again, I think i'm going to dive in with this mod in mind and get my tank going. Life is more stable now and I can really put my mind to it.

 

Thanks for all the great ideas and I look forward to hearing and contributing more.

[artarmon42]

Wow, pretty cool BSimm posted that one year and one day after my previous post

 

I also noticed bonsai reefer and others are still putting a MH in a NC. Rock on!

[nanoty]

Nice mods. I have a shell of a hood sitting around waiting for me to decide what to do with it. I do have one question though and I appologize if it has been answered already. Did it sound like a computer store with all of those fans going at once? My cube is in my livingroom and I am trying to quiet all my tanks down right now.

[artarmon42]

The secret is actually getting low DB fans with high CFM.

 

I learnt that lesson in the second half of this thread, and I found even better fans in second thread in my signature (my custom nano).

 

It's been ~2 years since I build those tanks, so I'm sure fan technology has come a long way. The trick is to look for unique fan designs (where you look at the fan and say "wow that's different looking") and then read the technical information on the packaging.

[Qwank]

i cant believe i didnt find this thread with all the searching i've done! anyways great thread. i'm starting to gather parts right now. i just ordered the fans you recommended here. i couldnt find the same scroll fan but found a different 60mm one for 1.99 on nexfan.com. i got 2 just in case. so my fans cost $21 with shipping. are the new fans you found that much better? these seemed like a really good deal.

 

i also want to know, has anyone done this with the cheap DIY MH parts from halogen lights and the <$50 ballast? or should i be the first to try it?

[nanoty]

Lots of people are using halogen light like the brinks home security light from walmart (I am too). There are a few Nais 70w ballast on ebay for under $50 and ballastwise.com has some for $30. Haven't figured out which ones I am going to use but I am thinking Astralux 14k with the nais would be best. Let me know how it works if you beat me to it.

 

BTW qwank, which fans did you get? I am really worried about noise because my cube is next to my entertainment center in the livingroom. I hope this can be pulled of without my livingroom sounding like an airport.

[moraymadness]

how the deep is the reflector. the ones being used here are under 2" i think. the brinks one looks deeper.

[nanoty]

how the deep is the reflector. the ones being used here are under 2" i think. the brinks one looks deeper.

 

I just measured my Brinks reflector and it's under 2 inches deep. It just looks bigger.

[Qwank]

nice. sounds like i'll be making a trip to walmart tonight.

[Qwank]

heres the fans i bought:

 

i got 4 of these 60mm fans

http://www.nexfan.com/galaxy606025b.html

 

and 2 of these scroll fans

http://nexfan03.stores.yahoo.net/everflow-...blower-fan.html

 

the scroll fans only have 7.4cfm. is this going to be enough?

 

it was $21 with the shipping for all 6

[nanoty]

heres the fans i bought:

 

i got 4 of these 60mm fans

http://www.nexfan.com/galaxy606025b.html

 

and 2 of these scroll fans

http://nexfan03.stores.yahoo.net/everflow-...blower-fan.html

 

the scroll fans only have 7.4cfm. is this going to be enough?

 

it was $21 with the shipping for all 6

 

That's not a bad price, I am going to need some soon. Do you have variable voltage adapters for them? Can anyone tell me if 4+ fns can all be wired to one VVA's?

[Qwank]

i dont have the VVAs yet. i think they can all be wired to the same one as long as its not in series. not too good with house electricity, so i dont know for sure. i think i'll use 3 adapters as recomended. but instead of doing both front and both rear together i'll do lefts and rights. and the scroll fan separately. its going to be a lot of plugs. i figure i can put all the fans on one power strip with a timer controling the whole power strip and the light on its own timer. i dont think the fans need to be on 24/7 i'm going to try turning them on at the same time as the light and turn off 1 hour after. i think that should be more then enough time to let the bulb cool down after operation.

[nanoty]

I agree. I sent off my money for the ballast and bulb. Just have to wait for it now , I hate waiting. Anyways, I need to order some fans but right now I am trying to figure out how to mount my fuge light. I cannot believe how much evap I get with out the hood on and my house stays below 75deg all the time and it's always humid here in E. Texas. I sure hope it is a lot better when I put this hood back on.

[Qwank]

did you see how my fuge light is mounted?

[artarmon42]

the scroll fans only have 7.4cfm. is this going to be enough?

 

You don't actually want the scroll fans to be very powerful.

I used a VVA to lower the power/speed.

Once you get it going, you'll find that there's a "sweet spot".

Once you get up to the correct speed, it'll cool the water using evaporative cooling.

After faster speed, you won't anymore cooling, but you will get much more water loss.

[nanoty]

did you see how my fuge light is mounted?

 

Yes I did and I like it. I have my cube up against a wall though and there is very little room. If I move it to the dining room I will probably go external.