Nano Cube Deluxe w/ 72W lighting upgrade

Hey Guys.

I have posted in other forums, but i think this one it the most appropriate..

I have upgraded the Nano Cube DX to 3 x 24 W with no exterior mods. Here are the specs of the tank. The stock nano deluxe runs a bit hot (about 6 deg above ambient), so I upgraded the cooling too. This bad boy runs with some massive evaporative cooling, so expect a 16 to 20 Oz topoff every 2 days or so..

http://www.nano-reef.com/gallery/showphoto...&sort=1&cat=504

///CURRENT MODS

Lighting: Nano Cube DX OEM ballast/lights 2 x 24W

Nano Cube OEM Ballast remotely rewired 1 x 24W

Coralife 3/4 moonlight LED 2 x 3/4 W

reformed Heat Shield.

hanging clips

Cooling: The nano runs hot, so i had to supp the cooling big time...

Cooler Master 17.5 CFM 60mmx60mm Fans

Radio Shack 12v 500mA AC adapter with disconnects

Relocated stock fans - 1 over the front of the hood underneath the lid to blow cool air over the convection layer of the water.

1 Fan acting as a heat sink cooler on the heat shield.

1 hole cut over fan 1 (over the intake of the reservoir).

Filtration: Stock with Oveflow Mod, and additional overflow over the return.

Circulation: Powersweep 214

Timer: Coralife Timer & electronic timers. Staged so that in the morning the "firing order is" 1 on for 1 hour, 2 on for 1 hour, all 3 on for the duration of the day and stage down 3-2-1.

////PLANNED MODS

Add new "hard drive cooler" fan with built in low profile heat sink.

Refugium light

Investigate putting 1 more 24 watter in.

/// NOTES

I live very close to JBJ and have established a good relationship with some sales people there. I plan on selling some kits/hoods in teh next month or so.

I plan on offering DIY kits, Full Hoods for sale (core is up to you)

Thanks.. Will post images...

Ps. Im runnign about 1 degree above ambient. When I open the lid, the fan blows air on the surface, cooling it to 1.0 or more BELOW ambient depending on humidity.

Im stoked.....

This is an incredible MOD, but how the heck did you do it?

David in DC

What do you have in the tank? Any pics of that?

David in DC

I would never say that teh mod was easy, but there was nothing entirely impossible to do. The key is bending the heat shield in a way that allows you to put one more bulb in, while still being able to put the cover back on.

I also had to get my soldering skills back up to par in order to relocate the ballast (the one from the original nano).

Will post some pics shortly.... I just added a new bulb, a 24w actinic blue only. I plan on running the single ballast in the morning when its "sunrise" and at night "sunset".

I have the stock 2 bulbs in from the deluxe.

The actinic is really bringing out the colors..... Heheh!!!

My old nano has upgraded lighting too....

I put in a helios 1136 (18 x 2 PC) ballast..(I know their rep isnt too good, but for 50 bucks, I couldnt say no) to replace the light in the original Nano I had. Its running good too, although not half as bright as the monster...

This mod gives you 88 total watts of 50/50 pc lighting. The stock nanocube came with 24w and I added 2x32w retrofits.

When are you offering the DIY kits? I'm very interested...I"m there! Hurry up with the DIY kit and pics already (just kidding).

David in DC

CSMReef,

I like it! How did you do yours? Any pics of your tank? What type of corals do you have and what are the limitations of the lighting in terms of the corals you can have?

David in DC

My tank has been set up for about 6 weeks now, and I just got my first corals. I can keep pretty much all softies, most Lps, and a few sps. I do not recommend placing sps under pc only lighting, but I have seen it done and succeed in the nanocube with 88w.

Go here if you want to see pictures of my new mushrooms and my tank at 5 weeks with this mod.

looks great... I think youve "twisted" my arm to upgrade my nano original. Any heat issues?

There are some pics.. please no flame... Click on my profile and view my gallery.. I just added some SPS recently, so pics are coming soon. Also, my previous pic didnt show the second moonlight.

I noticed you have those moonlights from Target. Apparently Target doesn't sell those three LED "Mood Lights" anymore. Anybody find them somewhere else? Being in the SF Bay Area, I haven't found them at any Target stores. These seem elusive online as well.

Well, I purchased 2 - 3/4 Watt Coralifes online from Ebay. Took forever to get but i got them. I had one originally from LFS.

Chris

That's weird, the target here in denver still sells those led lights...

Oh and no, I have not had any heat issues or warping of the hood with the 88w upgrade.

ccjung,

I PM'd you. How is the DIY kit coming?

David

JBJ tells me they will have parts available for the DX in mid november or so... I can get all the parts needed for a DIY now, but for a complete swap, I think november or december (JBJ is notorious for being late with releases...)

Originally posted by Uroboros

I noticed you have those moonlights from Target. Apparently Target doesn't sell those three LED "Mood Lights" anymore. Anybody find them somewhere else? Being in the SF Bay Area, I haven't found them at any Target stores. These seem elusive online as well.

My Target didn't have them either. I used these, can get em at target, walmart, shopko, and i saw them at GI Joes.

Hey ccjung how are the Nano Cube hood(s) moving along???

Rick

I have already built prototype 1, which is my personal nano.. I went to JBJ today and picked up some parts for my prototype.

I will be contacting some of the early birds of this post to see if they want to be my "guinea pigs". Unfortunately, this business of making kits is not my business.. so I have to iron out some kinks first.

The kits will be done with TLC and with high(er) quality parts. I wont scrape the barrel to make an extra buck..

I plan to have a website showcasing my personal set up, configuring, and ordering by the beginning of november. I also plan to do full swaps (core swaps) for those who arent as daunting...

Hey ccjung,

Do you have your modification website up yet? What could you do for a regular nanocube?

For the regular cube, Im working on upgrading the lighting to 60w with a remote ballast. I am working out some heatshield issues for that as well..

There are many mods out there right now for the DIY'r, so the goal of my mods will be to customize them in a way that still reflects the main reasons we bought these Nano Cubes... Asthetics and good value in an integrated unit.

I know that there are mods out there pushing these cubes to 100w or more. There will be no external mods to the cubes whatsoever, so this unfortunately takes a bit of time and compromise to work out..

Stay tuned...

i would like to be a guinea pig for your experiment. please let me know when you ill bel offering teh retro. hood.

thanks

Update...

I have just completed initial testing of the 36 W retro for the JBJ 12g/12g dual fan. This will bring the wattage up to 60w total for the original cube... I also plan a full 72w kit for the original nano if the 60w goes well..

Im also playing around with the idea of the addition of moisture resistant T5s for the fuge area, and the front cover... hehe...

I will be testing for temps and selecting fans in the coming days... So far the retro is looking good... As with all of these upgrade kits, i plan on fabbing the heat shields for a true bolt in mod, so this will most likely take the most time. The wiring of the remote ballasts will also be up to the customer, so we can further taylor the kit to your needs.

Please bear with me as I have been swamped lately.. Site will be up and available for ordering shortly.

ccjung. look forward to your retros. im a very interested customer.and i will of course spread the word out on your kits if all things are well. i m an avid nanocube user with 2 nanocubes. the original and the new deluxe model. i also plan on gettin an additional one.

thanks

huey