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BioCube 8


stallen

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It looks brighter than the surface of the ex-planet pluto! :wacko: Ha Ha

 

All kidding aside, I'm very happy with the way it turned out. :D I'll have to post some before and after pics of the display. (With and without the new bulb plugged in.) The extra bulb up front really brightened things up and filled in some of the shadows within the rock.

 

I just re-attached the hood this afternoon. I haven't had a chance to determine if this will have any effect on my temperature. The ventilation is much better so hopefully that will compensate. ;)

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That extra light in the hood looks sweet.

 

Can you post details on the specifics ie. where you picked it up, and if you have any build pics, that would be awesome too.

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That extra light in the hood looks sweet.

 

Can you post details on the specifics ie. where you picked it up, and if you have any build pics, that would be awesome too.

 

Sure... I wish I could say it was easy.

 

lightingmodia5.jpg

 

I cut about 1/4" off of the original light mounts to make up the difference in this piece of plastic. The gray PVC I used was cut off of an electrical access box just like the one I used for the fuge light.

 

I screwed it in place using the original mounting holes. Then I drilled new holes. The bottom GX11 light endcap was only moved about 4mm closer toward the fan. The top light endcap was moved much more. I moved it as far as I could while making sure I could still attach the clear acrylic cover.

 

You can also see where I pointed out how I used a dremel to open the existing vents and created a new vent on top. I'm not totally happy with the vents on top. It's very hard to make them straight, but it's functional.

 

lightingmodbgu7.jpg

I used this box and whittled it down to this little piece...

lightingmodcmi0.jpg

I did this precision cutting with a compound miter/circular saw :o I don't recommend using a circular saw for this. It's a good way to loose a finger. But I don't have a table jigsaw or a band saw.

lightingmodddz5.jpg

 

Here it is with the light endcap. It is bonded to the hood with J.B. Weld. If you wonder if it is a strong enough bond then you haven't used J.B. Weld. It is a VERY strong bond.

 

lightingmodewq3.jpg

 

I had to cut the corner off one of the fans to get it to fit. I also had to mount this fan with zip ties as you can see.

 

If you try to do this, hope this helps :)

 

EDIT- Almost forgot the other part of your question. I got the ballast/bulb kit from nanotuners.com I also got the ballast enclosure box. I didn't want the ballst in the hood creating more heat.

 

I placed the order over the phone and talked to Chris to special order the kit with a 36 Watt ballast. Here is the link...

http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php...;products_id=33

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Thanks for the pics...The mod looks awesome. How well do the moonlights shine through the center bulb?

 

I will be sitting at home tonight with the lid apart I am sure! The stock fan's bearing is just about shot, so I will at least need to look at replacing it.

 

I was also curious about where you picked up the extra 18W fixture and ballast that you installed? I am still trying to get a handle on where to shop locally/online.

 

EDIT - Thanks for the link

 

Keep it up!

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I wonder if you could just hack out a large hole above the feding door and then fill it in with some black screen, instead of your self-admitted "not so straight" vent holes.

 

Give it the Ram Air Hood Scoop Look.

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WOW STALLEN!

 

Awesome MOD.. I also have a biocube 8 and could not figure out how to add another light. Does the 1 x 18W light kit that you ordered have a ballast just like the stock biocube ballast?

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WOW STALLEN!

 

Awesome MOD.. I also have a biocube 8 and could not figure out how to add another light. Does the 1 x 18W light kit that you ordered have a ballast just like the stock biocube ballast?

 

Thanks!

 

The light and ballast are from nanotuners.com (the ones in the link above). So no, they are not identicle. I wired the ballast remotely so it sits on the floor next to my other two stock ballasts. I'm also using a 36W ballast to overdrive this 18W bulb. I hope to get at least 4 months out of the bulb. If it doesn't last that long, I'll replace the ballast with an 18 Watt'er.

 

@ flyingjeff- The photos don't do the vents much justice. It seems that these downsized photos show pixelation on verticle lines. I could e-mail you a full sized photo if you'd like. They are not perfect, but not too bad. Nobody will notice them except me. Eveyone else will be looking at the display. If I had to do all over again, I'd do it the same way... only I'd be a little better at it 'cause now I've had practice.

 

As for the moonlights. I thought I might have to relocate them to do this mod. As it turns out, I never touched them. I was pleasantly surprised. The light output might be a tiny bit less... maybe. I'm just assuming that it is, but I can't really tell a difference. I was sitting in front of the tank last night with all the lights out looking for critters. Seemed like I could see just as good as before.

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Thanks!

 

The light and ballast are from nanotuners.com (the ones in the link above). So no, they are not identicle. I wired the ballast remotely so it sits on the floor next to my other two stock ballasts. I'm also using a 36W ballast to overdrive this 18W bulb. I hope to get at least 4 months out of the bulb. If it doesn't last that long, I'll replace the ballast with an 18 Watt'er.

 

@ flyingjeff- The photos don't do the vents much justice. It seems that these downsized photos show pixelation on verticle lines. I could e-mail you a full sized photo if you'd like. They are not perfect, but not too bad. Nobody will notice them except me. Eveyone else will be looking at the display. If I had to do all over again, I'd do it the same way... only I'd be a little better at it 'cause now I've had practice.

 

As for the moonlights. I thought I might have to relocate them to do this mod. As it turns out, I never touched them. I was pleasantly surprised. The light output might be a tiny bit less... maybe. I'm just assuming that it is, but I can't really tell a difference. I was sitting in front of the tank last night with all the lights out looking for critters. Seemed like I could see just as good as before.

 

Hey stallen,

 

Can you email me the pics as well? My email address is: boties@sbcglobal.net

 

 

thanks!!!

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What's that???

 

That's the hood scoop/ram air induction he was talking about in his previous post. My virus scanner didn't like that file for some reason???

 

I sent you an e-mail, djitchy. Several large pics. You should get it in a couple minutes. Let me know.

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That's the hood scoop/ram air induction he was talking about in his previous post. My virus scanner didn't like that file for some reason???

 

I sent you an e-mail, djitchy. Several large pics. You should get it in a couple minutes. Let me know.

 

Thanks Stallen!

 

So you have 2 daylights and 1 actinic?

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Yes. The actinic is in the middle. It is also the one that controls the fans. So when the actinic bulb comes on the fans come on. There was enough wire in the hood to just relocate it to the other side.

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Yes. The actinic is in the middle. It is also the one that controls the fans. So when the actinic bulb comes on the fans come on. There was enough wire in the hood to just relocate it to the other side.

 

Is the newly added light connected to your switches? If so, how did you wire them? Sorry to keep bugging...just amazed at this awesome mod.

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Is the newly added light connected to your switches? If so, how did you wire them? Sorry to keep bugging...just amazed at this awesome mod.

 

I've become obsessed with my tank. :P So you are not a bother. My kids are getting a little annoyed that I'm starring at the computer or the tank most of the time. Not to mention my wife! :lol:

 

Anyway, I used underground sprinkler system wiring (found at lowes or Home Depot). It's got 4 18 awg leads. The wire goes from the lamp endcap/fixture to the ballast. I used about eight feet of wire. I had to drill a hole through the hood and it's held in place by zip ties just likethe factory cable. Then the ballast has a regular power cord. I purchased the ballast enclosure box from nanotuners to make it look a little nicer. the enclosure box comes with an on/off switch that you ccan use, but I didn't want to bother with the extra wiring. I can plug and unplug the power cable

 

Go to this pdf file and have a look at page 3 / step 6c

http://www.nanocustoms.com/support/pdf/324BC.pdf

 

and here... look at pages 6 & 7

http://www.nanocustoms.com/support/pdf/336_24DX.pdf

 

So I have the new 10000k bulb and the factory 10000k bulb plugged into the same timer so they come on/off at the same time.

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Stallen-

 

Looks great!! :D the front lines look pretty decent, did clamp down wood block as a guide or free hand???

 

I'm impressed on all the locking down of the 2g11 sockets. I skipped that and went with two bulb clips per bulb and left the sockets floating...I thought it would be easier to pull bulbs out that way.

 

I found that I needed to slow down the fans with the more effective cooling coming from the front. Radio shack sells a 25ohm rheostat you can stick inline from the power supply to test it, but a meter is really needed to get it dialed in.

 

Is the over driven bulb dramatically brighter than the exact same bulb on the stock ballast?

 

you still have all your fingers from the precision cuts eh??

 

cheers

-R

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Stallen-

 

Looks great!! :D the front lines look pretty decent, did clamp down wood block as a guide or free hand???

 

I'm impressed on all the locking down of the 2g11 sockets. I skipped that and went with two bulb clips per bulb and left the sockets floating...I thought it would be easier to pull bulbs out that way.

 

I found that I needed to slow down the fans with the more effective cooling coming from the front. Radio shack sells a 25ohm rheostat you can stick inline from the power supply to test it, but a meter is really needed to get it dialed in.

 

Is the over driven bulb dramatically brighter than the exact same bulb on the stock ballast?

 

you still have all your fingers from the precision cuts eh??

 

cheers

-R

 

Hee, Hee :lol: Yep, got all ten fingers!

 

The overdriven looks brighter than the other bulb. I can't say dramatically brighter. I haven't tried swapping the two bulbs to see if the stock bulb would look brighter in the new ballast socket. They are different bulbs. The stock bulb is coralife. The nanotuners bulb is... well, a nanotuners bulb (that they claim is whiter and brighter anyway). I'll have to do some experimenting and let you know. I will say that this three bulb set-up is MUCH brighter. I just unplugged the new bulb and said to myself "Oh my, is that how dim it was before the mod?"

 

(clamp vs free hand?) I did a combo of the two. I used a board as a guide, but I had a tough time clamping it in place. So I used a sharpie marker to draw where I wanted the lines and then used a board as a guide just holding it in place by hand.

 

Hmmm, never thought about just letting the sockets float. Maybe I went to too much trouble.

 

I'm using Silenx fans. They are low RPM and very quiet so no need for a rheostat... yet. But I might be having a problem :o My temp is usually 78.5 before the lights come on and peaks at 79.5 during the day. Well today it peaked at 80.1. That might not sound like much, but I'm not sure what that will mean in the middle of the summer. Current ambient temp is ~70, but in the summmer it's usually ~74-76.

 

The fan on the right isn't putting out as much air as the fan on the left. I think I'm going to cut off those mounting posts so the fan sits right on the vents. It also doesn't appear to be spinning as fast as the other fan so I might have a bad fan. Another thing I need to do is get my fuge light on a reverse schedule. I've been running it 24/7. That might help a little with my daytime temp.

 

BTW, thanks Robster for your helpfull posts in your thread and the compliment.

 

And thanks djitchy for the compliment. Make sure you let me know how this mod works out for you!

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If you could send me those pics in a higher res that would be awesome. It will give me an idea what the guts of the hood look like without the tank being in the dark all afternoon! I'll PM my address

 

I didn't mean to imply that your cuts were messy at all, actually, the whole thing looks awesome. I just had an image of a hood scoop on the top of the hood.

 

Like Salty said faster is better!

 

I wonder if you could squeeze in a few extra moonlight LEDs in the corners. That would certainly make up for any loss due to the bulb being in the way.

 

I have to give my wife a lesson in online shopping, and maybe, just maybe!!! my retrofit kit will show up under the tree!

 

Again, the mod looks awesome. Good job!!!

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Inspiration to all with BC8's!!! If i wasn't getting HQI I would do this. Keeps the sleek look of the "all in one" but adds the extra umpf!!! WEll done! :bowdown::bowdown:omgomgomg

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Thanks Salty!! Can't wait to see your HQI set-up!!

 

@ flyingjeff - e-mail/pics sent. Without a doubt you could fit a couple leds in there. I've also seen a couple people use cold cathode tubes like the ones people use to pimp out their computer. Like this... http://www.crazypc.com/products/8247B.html

 

I don't think you'll need more moonlighting. I kinda think it's suppose to be fairly dark in there for the fish at night. I'm flirting with the idea of a cold cathode tube if I can find out if it provides any more blue during the day (enhancing the 10000k bulbs like the actinics do.)

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Email received, thanks. The Vents look good in the top down.

 

Did you mention the size of fan you used? I didn't see it in previous posts?

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