BioCube 8

[Robster]

Stallen-

 

I picked them up from Crazy PC. Of course I found them a little bit cheaper after I ordered, but when they came in one of the bulbs was defective, I called them and they sent a new bulb right away!!! 5-stars for customer service!!!

 

link:

http://www.crazypc.com/products/casemods/lighting.htm#single

 

I was just able to squeeze in the 12" size ones!! but they do have the 4" also

 

-R

[stoney waters]

I think I might do the cold cathode tube mod. It looks like you have yours mounted outside the cover so I guess it's water proof. Or did you do something to protect it from water. Also, is there a way I can just wire it up with my existing LEDs. I'd rather not have to get another ac/dc adapter. I'd probably just run it 24/7 along with the LEDs.

 

Stallen, it looks like the viewing angle of your LED's is restricted by the compacts below them. It might be wise to move them out front or behind the fluorescents. If that is not possible you might want to go strictly cold cathode. I mounted mine outside the splash shield because I had absolutely no room left inside. I first mounted it with some Velcro, but the heat would soften the adhesive and it would start to fall. I ended up welding it onto the plastic with a dab of PVC cement. I also run it 24/7 so no moisture builds up inside the tube.

 

As far as wiring goes, they run on 12v. It just so happened that my LED kit ran on a 12v trans, so I was able to tie into that. If your LED's don't run on 12v ( and they probably do not) you could use the same adapter as your fuge light, just switch it separately.

 

You can most likely find them at a local computer supply store for about $10-$12 for the dual light units. Look for the blue ones.

[djitchy]

@Stallen

 

I live in Los Angeles, CA...there are quite a few LFS around here. If you're ever willing to take a road trip to Los Angeles, give me a holler!

 

@Salty

 

I wish I knew how to frag that thing....Are you considering getting one? So far I think the sun coral was a good buy...You just have to be willing to feed it at least once every other 2-3 days. I don't mind it. It's actually pretty cool to watch it open up its mouths. And its probably the brightest thing in my tank.

[flyingjeff]

Hey Stallen...

 

You patience before adding corals is commendable! I appreciate your waiting to get the right pieces.

 

I installed my Chamber 2 fuge last week. I used a submersible 5W Halogen bulb (the same one Fish used in his "Office Cube"). It seems to work great. I was concerned about temperature increase, but it has only caused a 1 or 2 degree increase. We'll see how that holds in the warmer months. I will update my thread with pics as soon as I have a moment to breath at home.

 

While I was poking around, I noticed a grate in the bottom of Chamber 1.

 

Did anyone else notice this?

 

It appears to be installed just above the lower inlets, and not be open to anywhere but above. Did you guys leave it in place, or remove it? It seems like dead wasted space to me, but I am not in a hurry to drain the whole tank to cut it out!

 

Now I have to get that third lamp in the hood.............

[SaltyVT]

I am going to go order some along with a croeca clam soon. So heck yeah I want one!!!!

[stallen]

@ flyingjeff - Good News! You don't have to "cut" it out. Ironically I just removed mine last night. It needs to come out!!!. It restricts flow much more than what you think. There are only vents in the front part of the grate; the back of the grate is solid plastic. It was designed like that with the stock filter in mind.

 

I almost didn't think it came out cause it's wedged in there tight. Take a butter knife and shove it DEEP into one of the vents, give it a twist, and pull up. It'll probably take a few tries, but it'll come out.

 

BTW, I now have chamber 1 about 1/3 the way full of rubble and dropped in a 5oz. bag of chemi-pure.

[stallen]

Here is my first coral! I gotta Torch!!

 

 

Since it's pink maybe I should call it a Pom Pom.

[SaltyVT]

Friggin' Sweet, meow!!!

[stallen]

I got some xenia a couple days ago. I placed it on the bottom against the glass hoping it will attach itself to the glass. I'd rather keep it off the LR if I can. I think it would be happier up higher, but I'm hoping it will grow toward the light. We'll see.

 

 

Here is another shot of my Torch. It's really opened up nicely; seems to be very happy. I've fed it mysis a couple times. It devours them!

 

 

FTS!

 

[sma11s101]

I must say i love your mods. I just got a bc8 for xmas and was thinking of putting more light in there. Now i think i will seeing as you made it look so simple. At the moment im working on the fans. The ones in there are quite loud so i ordered some 50x10mm evercool ones. The only i thing i cant figure out is how to wire it. did you just wire yours to where the old fans were? I know they're only drawing something like 80mA and yours are probably rated for like 200. Do you notice a decrease in speed or is there enough xtra current that it doesnt matter?

[lrac2006]

Just finished reading thru your posts and great job I have to say. I do have a question on that fuge light mod. How is it attached to the back and how did you go thru the back of the tank? I have the BC 29 and I believe it's a plastic back? My tank is set up and I can't tell at this time.

 

Nice Xenia too!

 

Jeff

[stallen]

Congrats on your nice Christmas gift!

 

You should be able to make any 50mm computer fan work. Or in my case if you are willing to do a little cutting/modding you can make 60mm x 25mm fans work.

 

If the fans you purchased have two wires/prongs you can just unplug the old fans and plug in the new ones. My fans came with three wires/prongs. The extra wire is for a computer to be able to detect the RPMs of the fan. Obviously that is not needed for an aquarium so that wire was just cut and wrapped with a little electrical tape. The other two wires are the same as any other fan. One positive and one negative. I just snipped the stock fan wires, stripped the wires and spliced (twist them together and cover with some electrical tape) them together.

 

As I've said in previous posts, I recommend the silenx fans. They are pricey but offer the best noise to flow ratio I have ever seen. If you buy something rated higher than 20 dBA then it's gonna be too loud if you don't like the stock fans. If buy something with less than 14CFM then you'll have less flow than the stock fans. If you plan a light upgrade you are going to need better air flow than stock.

[stallen]

@ Irac2006 - I used velcro to attach the fuge lamp. You can veiw that in post #24.

 

The back is not plastic on these BioCubes. It is black paint. Use a razor blade and slice off a little bit at a time. I just marked the area of paint that I wanted to remove and took a razor blade and scraped it off. Once you get down to the glass, just start slicing off 2-4mm of paint at a time all the way down to the glass until you've got it all off. It took about 15 minutes. Take your time and don't feel like you have to take off all the paint in one swipe or you'll just be scratching/shaving the paint. Also, hold the razor so you are slicing the paint off and not digging into the glass. You can scratch the glass!

 

[lrac2006]

Ok cool... I didn't want to move my tank and be dissappointed. This is probably the best mod I have seen for this tank as I didn't want to add an external HOB or sump type in the stand. I have the sapphire skimmer in there and I may have to make a choice on what to keep permanant in there.

Thanks again...

[stallen]

You could consider having the fuge in chamber 1.

[SaltyVT]

VERY NICE!!

[71vwbug]

i like those sun corals. your tank looks really nice. but you need to move that thermometer, it really takes away from your tank.

[stallen]

huh

[The Velvet Sea]

Looks like you're off to a great start Stallen. I really love the lighting mods and I think I'm about try to make a fuge light like yours. It should be perfect for what I want to do!

[GMan]

Excellent work! A real DIY inspiration!

[GMan]

OK ... before I go buy everything, I have a few questions ...

 

1. Regarding installing your new fans (60x25 silenx)

It appears that you had to make some cuts to the interior of the hoods plastic and metal framing and extended the vents a little further. Is that correct? Were any mods necessary to the exterior of the hood?

 

It also appears from the photo that you have both of your fans pointing in the same direction, opposed to the original configuration of one sucking air in and the other blowing it out. Is that the case?

 

Did you go with the 16db or 8db fan?

 

2. Regarding the lighting ballast

Are you using the 36w just to attempt to get more light, or was there some other reason you chose not to use the 18w?

 

3. Regarding the fuge lighting

Is that a fan mounted on the back of the fuge enclosure? If so can you provide any additional details on the size, type, wiring, etc.

 

Thanks a million!

[SaltyVT]

Ali G in da Hizouse!

 

 

Your clown hostin your Torch??

[stallen]

Thanks for the compliment gman.

 

I would have answered sooner, but I just saw your posts.

 

1. I have the 60X60X25 16dBA/18CFM Silenx fans in the hood and on the fuge light. Both fans in the hood are blowing out. I did it this way since I cut vents just above the feeder door. When I put my hand over those vents I can definately feel the cool room air being pulled in. I can feel warm out blowing out from both fans. There was some cutting involved to get the 60mm fans to fit. I think I went in to some detail about that in my previous post about the mod. There is no metal framing in the hood. It's all plastic. I did cut some plastic from inside the hood to open up the existing fan vents.

 

2. Yes attempting to get more light. It looks a little bit brighter, but it's also a little bit newer bulb. Who knows really. But it's working out great.

 

3. For more information on the fuge light please read post #59 Here... I just can't type it anymore

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...03908&st=40

 

Your clown hostin your Torch??

 

Hell no At least he's not afraid of it anymore though. Stoopid clown wouldn't move from the corner for the first several days. Then still wouldn't go near it until about 5 days ago. Now he swims all around it, but not in it. Damn torch looks darn close to an anemone too! Sometimes it takes a few months.... or as we know sometimes never.

 

BTW, I've only had that Xenia for a week and it is already stuck to the glass and has part of the base/trunk stretching out and starting to spread.

[GMan]

Thanks stallen ... You ROCK!

 

Good luck with the clown and torch. BTW ... shouldn't your upgraded light allow enough for you to get an anemone?

 

I owe ya some pics when I get my setup rockin'

[stallen]

My LFS (which I'm just about done with! But that's another story) has a bubble tip anemone in their stock BC8. I'm not sure it looks all that great, but I'm no anemone expert either.

 

I did some reading on them. I dunno, maybe someday I'll get one, but you never know where they are going to roam around in the tank. I've seen some pics here on this forum of how they get stuck in the intake vents and things like that. They should be put in well established tanks and mine is not quite there yet. And the biggest reason I would get one is so my clown would host it, but there still wouldn't be any guarantees even with an anemone (especially with my tank raised clown). But who know I do think about it every once in awhile.

 

Yeah, I look forward to seeing your tank in your own thread. Let me know when you got it going. Oh and BTW, I should have said it before...