Modding the Nano Wave 9

[Socalsuperhero]

Got everything going last night. Still waiting on equipment to finish the hood, so no lights for now. And I need more liverock. Ended up deciding against the closed loop after I built it due to how stupidly huge the system was. I'm thinking of two nano streams on a wave timer, what's everyone's thought?

 

Built the sump from a 5 gallon tank. I am using an MJ600 with a 400 impeller for the return pump. The sump light is a 2x13w PC fixture, which for some reason looks green in the picture. Right now it's running one 10k and one actinic (will switch out to 65k later). I also modded the skimmer so that the intake and pump are in the return chamber. This provides more recirculation of water through the skimmer and fuge, more flow through the fuge, and shortened the skimmer. If I had to guess the flow from the return pump to the main tank is around 80gph. There's an mj1200 in the tank right now for circulation. Since there's no sand bed in the display tank, I'm running a deep sand bed in the fuge.

 

Best news: Microbubbles from the skimmer are not getting pumped into the display!

 

 

[darkfishy2690]

nice job man that is a sweet tank. One question, do you think that just venting the hood would be enough to keep the water at the right temp? thanks

 

Oh yeah nice new avatar!

[Socalsuperhero]

nice job man that is a sweet tank. One question, do you think that just venting the hood would be enough to keep the water at the right temp? thanks

 

Oh yeah nice new avatar!

 

Venting the hood...

 

...on a stock tank? depends on ambient i guess. If it doesn't get warmer than 75 I would say you've got a pretty good shot at reasonable temp. Above that, I doubt it.

 

Figured the avatar was a bit more reef appropriate! Still learning with taking reef shots...I need want a macro lens

[Socalsuperhero]

Add an overflow intake to the last compartment with the goal of maintaining the tanks water level at the optimum height for the skimmer. The overflow could be added by cutting a large hole and adding a skimmer box, or cutting slots into the compartment. Either way the water line should be a fair bit below the trim.

As far as selling the skimmer box, I don't see why not, except that it's attached to the filter compartment. I guess I could try to take it off or make another one. Sure, I'd sell the filter box, real cheap too!

 

Just to clarify, here's what I was talking about...

 

[JohnDeStef]

Here's one very simple thing you can do though. In the tank, take some silicone and run a bead all the way around the sides and bottom of the rear compartment. That will keep waste and critters from building up back there and becoming a problem later.

So it will *look* like reinforcing the rear compartment corners? I'm assuming that will fill empty space where the critters will gather...

 

I'm assuming one for the skimmer and two for tank circulation? If that's the case, I wouldn't bother with the skimmer, it'll be a PITA for minimal return, and besides, the stock one works pretty well. If they other two are for tank circulation and your planning on putting them in the last compartment you may want to reconsider, or at least mod accordingly.

Two Rio 180s to replace the stock pumps in the rear, and a Rio 90 to add circulation in the tank. The 180s are close to stock with less watts (120gph - 85gph @ 1ft and 3.4 watts. The 90 (85gph and 2.8 watts) will go in the tank for more flow. I'm hoping the similar to stock 180s will not affect water flow or compartment/skimmer height....

 

There are a couple things to remember when changing things around in the nano wave rear compartments.

 

1. because of the outlets, the skimmer's performance is affected by water. High water level (above the skimmer outlets) means very wet skimmate. Water level at or below outlets means drier skimmate.

 

2. As you increase the flow to the rear compartments, the water level will rise in the skimmer compartment affecting skimmer performance. This is because of flow restrictions through the compartments and media.

 

3. The skimmer puts out tons of micro bubbles. Because of this you need adequate time for them to dissipate in the rear compartments or else they will be pumped back into the main display. Personally, i think that 60-80gph flow through from the skimmer to last compartment would be ideal.

 

In order for things to work properly, my recommendations are as follows:

 

1. Leave the stock openings to the skimmer compartment

 

2. Add an overflow intake to the last compartment with the goal of maintaining the tanks water level at the optimum height for the skimmer. The overflow could be added by cutting a large hole and adding a skimmer box, or cutting slots into the compartment. Either way the water line should be a fair bit below the trim.

As far as selling the skimmer box, I don't see why not, except that it's attached to the filter compartment. I guess I could try to take it off or make another one. Sure, I'd sell the filter box, real cheap too!

Which ever fans you go with, don't go thicker than 15mm. They won't fit or flow properly. I chose to only circulate air through the bulb enclosure and even with the 3.24 setup, my tank temps never rose above 82. Personally, i think it's better to deal with the heat at the source. The upside is that you have less evaporation. For circulating air, I found that drilling holes directly behind the bulbs in the reflector worked quite well. Another key is opening up an exit for the air. I chose to open up the side slots which helped a lot because i cut them down past the reflector. I could also see a benefit to drilling a pattern of holes in the top of the hood in the center towards the front of the splash guard compartment. Seems like a dead spot, but then again, i didn't notice any problems.

 

BTW, I'd be open to selling my modded stock hood complete with ballasts, power supplies, bulbs, and fans. Could save someone a lot of trouble!

Parts tanks..as in the glass is broken? Cause if the glass isn't broken you can make a sweet setup! I got mine setup last night and will get pics up once the water clears up. Couldn't be happier so far, and coming from me, that's HUGE!

So hopefully I'll avoid modding the rear compartment by going with same flow/lower watt pumps. Thanks for the offer on the hood but I'm going to work with mine till all hope is lost! I will take you up on the modded rear compartment filter box. How much to deliver it to zip 33907? ... Ft Myers, FL. it's south of Tampa.

 

I've cut slots in the reflector to direct airflow to the back and front of the bulbs. The fans will be installed on the outside of the canopy. I'm going to use two Papst 60x60x15mm fans, 21cfm @ 16dba. I drew on the reflector where the fans will be on the outside of the hood, to get an idea how the incoming air will flow.

 

The hood is slightly sloped, so I believe the air will guided towards the back of the light compartment by the level reflector. So to vent the air I going to add slots at the front edges of the existing vents. (the pics are of a broken hood that I'm practicing on) That way I'm hoping the air will move from the back of the compartment, flow across the bulbs, and exit at the front corners.

 

I'm going to cover the stock vents in the area that's above the reflector and below the hood. That will keep the incoming air flowing the way I want. (vs blowing out the upper sides. I will leave the vents uncovered in the rear of the hood to allow the ballast? to cool.

 

 

 

 

 

But back to the question at hand. I understand your boggle. I guess you could cut the plastic off and transplant it, although it's going to be difficult to make it look right. What i would do, and even easier, would be mask the tank off except for a strip 1" wide (or however think you need to cover up the waterline) below the trim and use krylon fusion to paint it black.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Yes it does, very much thanks! I will be masking off the tank and painting. That water level has to be lower.

 

Btw, what dremel bit are you using to carve this platic? The small turbine groved cylinder bit I'm using melts/chews up the plastic too much.

[Socalsuperhero]

Btw, what dremel bit are you using to carve this platic? The small turbine groved cylinder bit I'm using melts/chews up the plastic too much.

 

I use a combination of the 199 high speed cutter and the 1/4 router bit.

[JohnDeStef]

Sure, I'd sell the filter box, real cheap too!

 

Let's make a sale! Could you give me a price for the box delivered to zip code 33907?

 

Thanks!

[vcruz17]

are you still selling your modded canopy for the nanowave 9? if so, how much shipped to NY 10021. I'm also interested in any other mods for the nanowave you may have. thanks

 

victor

[JohnDeStef]

Let's make a sale! Could you give me a price for the box delivered to zip code 33907?

 

Thanks!

 

PM sent!

 

$20 delivered to me in zip 33907?

 

Thanks!

[Socalsuperhero]

Sorry, I'm not ignoring anyone right now. I'm definitely planning to get rid of all the leftovers, but I've been trying to sort through all the stuff. I will be posting all of the leftover bits in a classified thread and will put a post in here letting everyone know when I have done that.

[JohnDeStef]

PM sent!

 

$20 delivered to me in zip 33907?

 

Thanks!

 

SoCal, cancel my request. I done modded my own.

 

Pics pending.

 

Thanks anyhoo!!

 

Sweet job on your (formerly known as) NanoWave!

[Nishant3789]

damn some of the BEST DIYing ive ever seen. just awesome.

[Socalsuperhero]

Nanowave parts for sale!

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=114264

[darkfishy2690]

anything new with your former nanowave?

[Socalsuperhero]

anything new with your former nanowave?

 

some updated pics in this thread

[bluelair]

Socal,

 

I've read thru your NW9 mod threads, and I have a bunch of questions, hoping you're still reading these.

(I got a NW9 from AquariumWholesaleDirect.com. The first one came with a shattered back, but they were very cool about it and shipped out another no questions asked (without needing to return the first.) I repaired the first with a piece if 1/4" glass that cost me $20 cut to size, and took 15 minutes to install, now I have 2!)

 

Anyway, I definitely need to do something about venting or cooling these lights, like you did. It gets up over 85 degrees with the lid closed. I have some 15mm fans on order, but a bunch of questions on how you did certain things:

 

1. Cutting the holes in the top, how did you get such nice round holes? The top is arched, so it will be hard to use a dremel+circle cutter. Did you just draw and freehand it?

 

2. I assumed you used 12v fans, if so, how did you power them? Did you install a new separate AC lead, switched? Can't quite tell from the pictures.

 

3. I see you completely removed the switches in the top, did you install any new switches or just go to timers for everything? Looks like timers.

 

4. Did you move the LED transformer out of the lid as well?

 

5. Did you wire the fans to a water-temp thermostat? Would this be possible?

 

A few things I've learned, that might save someone some time:

 

- Fanless temp fix: A simple temperature fix is simply to raise the main lid an inch or two, you can get 2-3 degrees difference with almost the same light intensity just by propping the main lid open an inch or two measured at the front. Doesn't look too great, and you'll raise evaporation, but easy if you're just going through a temporary heatwave.

 

- If you notice a sudden temp spike, check your water level, the clear cover over the lights can dip into the water if your level is too high, and this will conduct way more heat to the water than if it's not touching, so always keep an eye on the water level and make sure your light cover comes back dry.

 

- Removing the plastic bottom and top: a butterknife is the tool for this, first razor through the silicon whereever you can (get the bead of black silicone along the bottom, then gently, slide in your butterknife and push on the bottom of the plastic (think separate, not peel). The silicone releases slowly, so apply gentle but constant pressure, don't force it or you'll crack the plastic. It will separate, silicone doesn't stick to plastic very well. Work your way around. CAREFUL! the glass edges under the plastic are not ground and will cut you. THe top is more of a rim, the bottom is just a plastic tray.

 

Once you get the top and bottom off, you can scrape off the rest of the silicone from the glass. It doesn't look too bad rimless. (I'll post some pics of mine). The top is going back on mine, however. Need it for the light.

 

- Removing the filter chamber w/o removing top. Yes, you can get the filter chamber out without removing the entire top. First, remove everything from the filter box. (Easiest to do with a drained tank.) Next reach down and tip the bottom of the filter box toward the front of the tank, this will let you angle it out of the back and slide it toward the front of the tank. Then, angle it diagonally, and you'll just be able to get it to clear the top opening, then, bow the longest 2 sides of the filter chamber gently apart to get it to clear those final few millimeters and it will slide ouf of the top diagonally. Go slow, the plastic will bend just enough and you won't crack anything.

 

- Silencing the Skimmer: The skimmer can be virtually silenced by replacing the stock gray valve at the end of the air intake with either an airstone, or an air filter/backflow preventer valve ($2 at LFS).

 

- Reducing liquid skimmer output: The problem with the skimmer filling too quickly with liquid can be reduced by shimming the skimmer to sit a little bit higher in its chamber, installing a needle valve on the air input to slightly reduce the volume of air going in, and by fitting a 3/4" piece of round tubing on the top of the skimmer output tower, raising it as much as you can and still get the rear lid to close (you have about 1/2" or so to work with, if you toss the skimmer cover.)

[zanoshano]

oh man, ive got one on the way from them too. Almost everyone i talk to says their tank arrived in terrible condition.......

[Krayon]

how's the tank doing?

[cmoreland]

Holy moly! Superior craftmanship here but I just crack my hood open about an inch or so or leave the feeder flap open during the latter half of my photo period and it stays at about 83F. So long as you don't submerge your shielding you're good, corals can live in 80-83 temps just fine I think!

 

That and throw a Hydor Korali Nano PH in there and you should have enough flow to make most corals happy.

 

Just a note, this is a dirty running tank, I don't know if it's from the buildup in the back crevices or what but I had to throw some filter floss in there as well as some Chemi-Pure and even then do a couple of small water changes a week to bring PO4 and Nitrates to 0. Doing much better since then, I even added some Chaeto to the fuge.

 

I still love this tank, un-modded

 

I spoke with one of the reps at Aqua Medic, they say this unit has been discontinued and they don't forsee a new model coming out for a couple of years yet. I'd imagine when they do it will be a pretty penny and will not have the same heating issues this one did. As it stands I picked it up for $90 w/ free shipping. A steal I say!

[NANOWAVE9]

You have done a great job i just got two brand new NANO WAVE 9s

 

And hope to set them up as you do

 

but for cooling i am going to go with the Ice Probe I hear its best for small reefs tanks as ours.

 

One of them is still in a box i may just leave it in there for while and work with one

 

or sell it if price is worth it some day .

[NANOWAVE9]

You have done a great job i just got two brand new NANO WAVE 9s

 

And hope to set them up as you do

 

but for cooling i am going to go with the Ice Probe I hear its best for small reefs tanks as ours.

 

One of the Nanowaves is still in a box never used . i may just leave it in there for while and work with one

 

or sell it if price is worth it some day .

 

 

I found out the ice probes are not as good as they would seem .

So i will mod some lines in to the back For a chiller and a uv sterilizer

 

I am still new to this stuff but can I run a chiller and use the same line and install a uv sterilizer as well so it would go from tank through uv sterilizer then chiller back to tank saving from having to use another pump ? Thanks for any info .

[TheStar]

I found out the ice probes are not as good as they would seem .

So i will mod some lines in to the back For a chiller and a uv sterilizer

 

I am still new to this stuff but can I run a chiller and use the same line and install a uv sterilizer as well so it would go from tank through uv sterilizer then chiller back to tank saving from having to use another pump ? Thanks for any info .

 

What is the purpose of the sterilizer? Are you having issues with algae?

 

Have you tried running a fan on the tank when its really hot to cool it down?

[NANOWAVE9]

What is the purpose of the sterilizer? Are you having issues with algae?

 

Have you tried running a fan on the tank when its really hot to cool it down?

 

 

No i havent any problems but i have some verry expensive seahorses around 2000 dollars

 

and some corals in the tank as well that will be going in this one . I just will spare no expence ans use a chiller and inline uv incase its needed for anything . The small tank is good for them and such.

 

But i am new to the use of how a chiller works but i do know that sehorses can not take changes of temp verry long or even at all . and i will be having some other things in there as well.

 

When i found a warehouse that had two Nanowaves i acted quickly to buy them as they are amazing tanks and i love them . I wish to know why they went out of buisness and stoped making them was it cause the other companies forced them out . thats what i was told . the product was just to good for what it is able to do or be moded to do.Cause i have the connection to get any parts for a nano wave except the Main glass as this was the part they no longer make making it impossible to bring them back fully.

[TheStar]

O...IC...what kind of seahorses are they?

[NANOWAVE9]

O...IC...what kind of seahorses are they?

2 starfires

and two Mustangs

bought them at http://www.seahorse.com/

 

even purple one as well

 

check that site out theese are friendly you can play with them actually

 

here is some of my other reef tanks features on Youtube

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/iixii0iixii#pl...s/7/7KhUDDE9ly4