Nani's Cube Masters 12G 72w Upgraded

[Nani]

Objective

1. Update of tank progress

2. Upgrade guide

3. For people to learn from my mistakes and not burn down the house

4. Contribute to the community for which I learned so much

5. To make friends so they can give me their frags!! gimme! oh yeah!

 

Components:

1. Nanotuners 2x24w PC Retro Kit

2. AeroCool Aluminum 80mm Blue LED Fan

3. 3 x Thermaltake 60mm Fan

4. ZALMAN ZM-MFC1 Fan Controller Panel

Note: Cost works about to be approximently the same as a MH upgrade but I didn't want to deal with the heat issues of a MH.

Cube Master 24w T5 + 48w PC Lighting. 72w total Upgrade

This is a guide so please read and ask questions if you are unsure of what you are doing. I offer no warranty or guarantee of the information expressed below.

 

Disassembly - Self explanatory.

 

Mock Up - Notice there is a groove in the clear plastic panel. That will cause a very tight fit if you place the bulb right on it. This will help you visualize bulb placement.

 

Heat shield preparations - Metal zinc plate can be gotten at HD or Lowes. Use the old heat shield as a template and cut to the appropriate size. Use a dremel and go at it. Note that you may have to make three notches in the plate or cut the plastic tabs. Then check for accuracy. With the additional lighting it gets hot if you don't provide proper ventilation. I used a 80mm blue LED fan. The blue light from the LED provides the moonlight at night. You may want to relocate the LEDs out of the fan and place them in a more optimal place where a bulb is not in the way. Pictures of this will be under the ventilation portion. (This mod was made after I finish the initial project. You will notice subsequent pictures will not have this cutout. In hindsight I may have chosen a smaller fan because even on the lowest speed settings using a fan controller it blows too much. There is almost no noise but I noticed the PC bulb directly below the fan is a little dimmer than the other. If the fans are turn off than they are of equal brightness but it gets HOT.)

 

Bulb Clip Placement - With the mock up as a guide place the bulb clips on the cut zinc plate. Use a marker and mark where to drill the holes. Allow room behind the PC bulb clips for wiring to run. Once the screws are in place cut off any excess screw length as space is tight.

 

Wiring - Use multi-conductor sprinkler wire gotten at HD or Lowes. Determine how much length you need and separate the cable into two sections. Have at lease 4 wires for the two sections. Strip the wires and connect it into the PC bulb holders. Note the pair of color wires you have connected to each bulb because on the other end you will be connecting it to the ballast. As for the wiring for the original T5s, use the original connectors. However, you need not worry about them at this stage. Also use an extra wire for the ground and attach it to the plate.

 

 

 

Assembly - You can secure the plate to the hood now if you wish or if you find it easier to install the bulbs first is your prerogative. However, if the screws to secure the plate is beneath one of the bulbs and you have no access to it once the bulbs are installed it would behoove you to install the bulb later. Also, remember to plug in the T5s power cord before you mount them on the plate. You will need to make room on the right side of the clear plastic panel for the wire outlet, unless you allowed yourself enough space inside before hand.

 

Ballast wiring - Remembering which pair of colors are connected to which bulb you will connect it to the red, blue, yellow, brown pairs coming from the ballast.

 

T5 wiring - Use the old power connector and connect the T5s together. I used two power connectors in order to control the T5s separately for dawn/dusk lighting. Also be sure to ground the wires.

 

Let there be light! -Note: make sure there is no exposed wires, as moisture and water exposure is color=#FF6666]eminent[/color].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ventolation - Three 60mm fans is probably a little overkill but they not! 60mm is the perfect size for the stock vents. Using the 80mm fan as a template, cut out a square in the hood. The aluminum fan is a good choice because the aluminum conducts heat and is a solid around the edges. Some of the other fans are flared so it may look awkward. I used the ZALMAN ZM-MFC1 Fan Controller Panel to lower the fans RPM. There are cheaper ones on the market but I think these are quality. Without the controller the fans are very loud and would probably contribute to a lot of evaporation. I ended up using an old Motorola Razr case to house the ballast and controller. You can use anything you want.

 

There you go. Enjoy!

[wimby]

ok what?

 

what if I don't want those T5's anymore since it impossible to find replacement bulbs and there is now way I can do any of that but thank you

[Nani]

ok what?

 

what if I don't want those T5's anymore since it impossible to find replacement bulbs and there is now way I can do any of that but thank you

 

You can use the Hagen Glos for the T5s and all or part actinic for the PCs.

[wimby]

waht if i get rid of the t5's andput in 3 of those 24things 2 daylight and 1 actinic that would fit right?

[Nani]

waht if i get rid of the t5's andput in 3 of those 24things 2 daylight and 1 actinic that would fit right?

 

Yup there should be plenty of room for 3 x 24w PCs.

[wimby]

ok again thank you wish you were in new york to make this for me anyways so I get 3 24s and all that other stuff? still a little iffy about wiring and i think i would like the led showing through the fan that woud prob look cool do they sell a 3 24 watt or should i just get 2 24 watt so i have a spare bulb? and any pc bulb fits in there ? sorry i'm on this thread now i confused myself

[Nani]

You'll probably have to get two ballast. One running two bulbs and one running a single bulb. Check out www.nanocustoms.com and talk to someone there, I'm sure they can advise you on what you need to get specifically. But before you decide on going with power compacts decide what kind of coral you plan tp have. Some require more lights than the setup I have. If you are planning on keeping soft corals and fish, than the upgrade would be fine. If you plan on keeping SPS than metal halides would be a better choice. There are also arguments whether some zoanthids and LPS do better under MH.

[wimby]

ok Thank You for all your help

[Gvtv44]

Are those fans open to the water? i.e. not behind the plastic shield? I want to so something like that in my BC 14, b/c I have temp problems. Do you have a GFCI? Do they trip that?

Thanks!

[Nani]

Are those fans open to the water? i.e. not behind the plastic shield? I want to so something like that in my BC 14, b/c I have temp problems. Do you have a GFCI? Do they trip that?

Thanks!

 

The fans are open and have no plastic shield. They are completely stock. I have a GFCI for all the power strips. I don't think it's gonna trip it unless there's a short. They work fine and have kept the temp under control at the lowest settings.

[Gvtv44]

Thanks- I wasn't sure if they would trip my GFCI Now I can finally solve my heat problems- do you think they will lower the temp by 3-5 degrees?

Thanks!

[Nani]

Thanks- I wasn't sure if they would trip my GFCI Now I can finally solve my heat problems- do you think they will lower the temp by 3-5 degrees?

Thanks!

 

How high is your temp with the lights on? I've turn off the fan and ran the lights as an experimen for about an 1hr. The temp went up 2-3 degrees. Although to get a more accurate picture I would run without fans for several hours. You'll have to factor in that there is a fan blowing directly on the bulbs so that helps a great deal. Also I've never run the fan at max speed to determine how low it can go. I assume the setup can lower a couple more degrees. Stay cool.

[bonsai reefer]

Awesome upgrade how are your corals liking it? I would look in to mabye a piece of acryllic for a cover over those fans in the future and dremel out slits to let them still do their job of cooling and still have some protection . Just my 2c. I will be updating my thread this eve with pics, been busy with adding things and fine tuning as well .The 2 Ice probes solved my heat issue so far got up to 83 in the house as of now 6:00 the temp with t5's and halide is 83.5 and holding

how about a fts?

[Nani]

Awesome upgrade how are your corals liking it? I would look in to mabye a piece of acryllic for a cover over those fans in the future and dremel out slits to let them still do their job of cooling and still have some protection . Just my 2c. I will be updating my thread this eve with pics, been busy with adding things and fine tuning as well .The 2 Ice probes solved my heat issue so far got up to 83 in the house as of now 6:00 the temp with t5's and halide is 83.5 and holding

how about a fts?

 

I don't have any corals. I only have a candy cane, torch and a couple of zoas but they appear to be doing good. I'm waiting for the Swap 'N Meet to score some new frags from local peeps. Then things will really start looking good.

As for the fans. Are you getting a lot of water splashing into the fans? I haven't experienced any problems yet but if it does I'll know what to do. Got any coral in yours yet? Did you ever get that jawfish? Man I would love one. They look so cool but 100+ for a fish... Post pictures when you get him.

[psidriven]

You talking about the blue spotted jawfish? Tong's in FV had them for $70. Go on a weekday and you might get it on sale. That's the cheapest I've ever seen them go for.

 

Btw, nice modding. I need to make some time and get some tools.

[bonsai reefer]

I don't have any corals. I only have a candy cane, torch and a couple of zoas but they appear to be doing good. I'm waiting for the Swap 'N Meet to score some new frags from local peeps. Then things will really start looking good.

As for the fans. Are you getting a lot of water splashing into the fans? I haven't experienced any problems yet but if it does I'll know what to do. Got any coral in yours yet? Did you ever get that jawfish? Man I would love one. They look so cool but 100+ for a fish... Post pictures when you get him.

 

 

No do not have any issues just thought it would be cheap insurance for your investment .I only have 1 monti and a few frags of zoo's and some mushrooms for now Still looking for the jaw fish at a good buy but got this guy for 10 bucks could not pass it up and he came with some free micro stars sorry for the crappy photo need to get a new camera instead of this one from the dark ages just got done posting some pics on my thread Check them out

[Nani]

You talking about the blue spotted jawfish? Tong's in FV had them for $70. Go on a weekday and you might get it on sale. That's the cheapest I've ever seen them go for.

 

Btw, nice modding. I need to make some time and get some tools.

 

They have a nice display on the left hand side as you enter with a jawfish in it. The fish looks awesome but it'll look better in my tank tho! Saw the price elsewhere for 100+... maybe Pacific Reef and automatically thought it was out of the question.

 

bonsai - I got sick of looking at rock and got a bicolor blenny for $10. My first saltwater fish and he ROCKS! Best $10 buks on a fish I ever spent. He's a complete joy to watch.

 

[bonsai reefer]

bonsai - I got sick of looking at rock and got a bicolor blenny for $10. My first saltwater fish and he ROCKS! Best $10 buks on a fish I ever spent. He's a complete joy to watch.

 

 

 

Cool I think they may also eat hair algea

[AresDoggy]

Wow... That seems complicated for me, I have zero experience doing any electrical work etc... I have decided that I am going to switch my Cube Masters 12g from FW to SW, it was a gift and I just couldnt justify the lighting for SW.... But after starting my Aqaupod as SW, I decided I would just upgrade the lighting....

 

I seriously dont know if I could do this mod though, it seems kinda intense for someone not having the experience in modding anything! That kit you used, do you think you could have just used it, and left the old t5s out, then installed a few fans? That would "dumb" it down for someone like me... Would that work? I would only be keeping zoas and softies (lighting low-moderate)...

[Nani]

You know, I have ZERO electrical experience too but managed not to shock the living crap out of myself... not yet... I'm no expert but I think you just have to make sure the wires match up, ground it properly, and not leave any bare wire exposed. If you plan on installing just 2x24w bulbs it's totally possible. I think some softies and zoas would do ok. I'm not sure if they'll be doing spectacular tho. You can try and recycle the old T5s to pack in more light. If not you can send me one, I busted one of them several days after I finished the mod.