TheNorthernLight Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Hello, Just thought I would share my simple upgrade to my Biocube 29's light hood with a 12" 6x 2W LED Lightbar (Actinic blue). Started off with 4 of these nice rubber holders designed for case fans on PC's : I then measured and drilled 2 holes per bracket in the front hood flap of the BC29 hood, and then mounted each bracket with the other side of the rubber grommets. I pulled the rubber grommets through the lighthood holes first prior to pulling them through the brackets. The end results we're : up close : When I trimed the rubber down, I just used a pair of cissors... I should have used a sharp exacto knife. In the end it worked out well, and fits nicely... These lights are insanely bright... I'm blown away by the brightness actually. this is JUST with the LED's on.. nothing else : Just thought I'd share... Spyrule Link to comment
mlglunchbox Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Looks awesome, nicely done! Link to comment
msujeff Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Anything preventing them from getting wet? Link to comment
TheNorthernLight Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 They are really well sealed in their housing with a glass pane.. same as this larger model : Link to comment
JakeF150 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I have same as your but little different..your much better :-) Well mine 12" reefbrite have damp inside :-( I dont think it's sealed. I'm thinking about get rid of pc and Put 3 reefbrite 2 blues and one white inside splash guard.. Jake Link to comment
ccjung Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Reefbrites and NC use the same edison strips by the way (this is a good thing). Just keep it dry or try to seal it up, that moisture can kill it in the long run. Chris Link to comment
TheNorthernLight Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 I've actually changed my lighthood setup. I took out both PC bulbs completely, wired both Reefbrite bulbs inside the plastic housing, and then wired up a white and actinic EcoXotic LED strips inside the front flap. So, now I'm running 4 bars of LED's inside the lighthood. This tank is... awesome looking... might be the word. I also added an inTank fuge, inTank tunze cup, InTank FishSaver, Tunze skimmer, Hydor Nano-Evo1200 return pump, JBJ 3W inline UV Filter and a JBJ Nano-Glow fuge light. I also added a Hydor Corralia 2 for more flow. The best part of the entire setup, is that it's crazy quiet, it sits comfortably at 79.5'f with a 0.2'f change, and is a total breeze to maintain. I'll post some pics in a few days. P.s. - If you don't already have one, GET the JBJ Nano-Glow fuge light. I've had a crazy growth of my cheato in my fuge since adding it. Spyrule Link to comment
TheNorthernLight Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 hope you dont mind to help to answer some questions.. you have 2 inside splashguard?? wow any melting or heat issue ?? Im curious how do you put reefbrite with bracket to hold it inside plastic cover?? Im thinking about 2 blues and 1 white inside splashguard...(i have one 12" blue on lid front) i hope its not TOO much light for my little tank bio-29 and causes some bleaching due too high par.. Im thinking about this... ( i have 3.36 upgrade kit) so i m thinking about remove 2 PC, put white in there then 1 week later, last pc out and put blue in ? to give coral time to adjust with light ?? any tip or advice will be HELPFUL! Jake So to answer these questions, I decided to respond to them in the forum so that anybody else considering doing this can know how I did it. I did a few things to this light hood when I upgraded it . 1) I replaced the stock fans with two slightly larger 70mm fans that fit perfectly snug into the lighthood, you just have to be careful to cut off one of the screw pegs for the intake (pull) fan (otherwise it can get caught IN the fan and break a blade). The push fan fits so snugly in it's square area that it doesn't require screws at all. This entire setup pretty much stops heat problems of any kind. 2) Trimed the tin fins from the reflector for the intake side of the fans, this reduces quite a bit of noise generated by the higher air flow, and this also allows for more mixed air flow patterns. 3) I put sealant tape between the tin reflector and the fan itself, so that ALL of the fans air got pushed passed the lights, and not under the reflector itself. 4) I then cut the brackets on the Reefbrites, so that the metal between the two pre-drilled holes on the long side of the bracket. (hint: It's the red box that I drew, the blue X is just to tell you to ignore the rubber grommets, as this photo was taken for a past project) Once, I had those cutouts, I was able to mount the brackets to the lighthoods stock locations that we're used for the PC bulbs. This made for very simple mounting. 5) I removed most of the PC lighting components, however I decided to leave one of the ballasts in place, which is used to run the fans. I figured that no matter what I purchased I wasn't going to find a fan connector that was as water proof as the stock ballast connectors. Here's a pic of the lighthood in it's final configuration (taken prior to my installation of the ecoxotic LEDs mounted in the flap). 6) I then added 2 x EcoXotic Stunner LED strips (1x Actinic, 1 x White), and then wired them individually using ecoxotic's extension cords. Unfortunately one of the power supplies was DOA, so I only have my actinics working atm, but once I get the replacement power supply, I'll be good. The nice part about these lights is that their connectors are VERY well designed to prevent moisture from getting in. I wish more products used this kind of power connector. To answer the rest of the actual questions asked above : 1) No, no heat problems whatsoever. I've got a temp fluctuation of 79.5'f and 80'f 2) See the brackets above. 3) There would be no way to fit 3 RB's inside the plastic housing. The RB's are too thick to fit a 3rd between the plastic and the reflector between the two fans (trust me, I tried). The only way you could is if you removed the electrical wiring underneath/between the two fans, and effectively got rid of the reflector. 4) Honestly, two RB's is MORE then enough light for a tank of this size. My BTA's have split within 2 months since changing the lights. 5) I'd actually do blue before white when it comes to the order of switch out. Mind you, I didn't bother, I just fliped them and let my corals adjust. Took them about 6 hours to completely come back to normal. 6) Don't count out the EcoXotic stunner strips. They are cheap, low heat, VERY modular, and VERY small, so they'll fit in area's the RB's simply can't. Tips and tricks : 1) First, best thing you can do is replace your stock return pump with a Hydor Pico Mini-Evo 1200 pump. More flow, less then 1/2 the wattage consumption, and smaller footprint. 2) Put a fork into the tray in overflow chamber 1, and push relatively hard. It will pop out of it's silicon hold. Then yank that tray out. This turns tray 1 into a deep tray, AND it allows you access to the lower area that previously couldn't be cleaned. (this is the single stupidest design the of the biocube). 3) If your running a fuge in chamber two, then for gods sake, go get the JBJ nano fuge LED light. This thing is a cheato, caulerpa growing machine! 4) Don't bother with ANY other skimmer other then the Tunze 9002 skimmer (this thing was almost MADE for this tank in mind. Cheers and goodluck, Spyrule Link to comment
Thrassian Atoll Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Is it brighter in real life than in the pics? Link to comment
TheNorthernLight Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Is it brighter in real life than in the pics? I have black sand in my tank, so you don't get as much reflection which is what usually makes tanks look crazy bright, but yes, it's VERY bright. I'm trying to get a good camera shot with the tank fully lit properly to give you an idea. Give me a few days though. Spyrule Link to comment
JakeF150 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 oh yeah its DAMN bright LOL! try not to look into LED when its on LOL! I do have 1 blues... Im still itching to order 2/3 more reefbrite I have 3.36s upgrade from nanotuner it came with thin metal flat so i believe it will fit 3/4 in there. I m thinking maybe add 1 white and 1 blues ( 2 blues and 1 white ) make it look like 14K? i might add 50/50 later on... Thank for updated w/ write info. Jake Link to comment
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