Larnie's Nano-Cube DX 92w

[larnie]

Reggie

 

Your questions and comments are welcome on this thread anytime. Your posts have always been on topic and I look forward to your continued input on this thread. Mr. T was expressing a little bit of forum humor...

 

As a matter of fact, I asked Chris at Nanocustoms to post his product advisory here today. I thought it would be a good idea since many Nano-Cubers frequent my thread.

[CyberGuru]

Ah humor...

 

 

Thanks Larnie,

 

I feel better now that I know my posts were within this forum's decorum.

 

Reggie.

[larnie]

Metallic Green Yuma

 

Pink Coco Worm

 

Neon Green Trumpet Coral

[CyberGuru]

Nice macro pix Larnie.

 

Those are very close shots, is that a 1:1 lifesize Lens?

 

Reggie.

[larnie]

Reggie,

 

I'm using a Sony DSC-V1 5MP camera with its native lens. The camera was on macro setting and utilized the built-in flash.

 

I'm not very accomplished at macro photography, but I'm working on it...

[CyberGuru]

The Carl Zeiss Lens on your Sony Cybershot are very good lenses.

 

Keep up the good work, Macro photography is very challenging especially when setting the exposure manually.

 

I look forward to taking Macro shots of my own corals and fishes.

 

Reggie.

[BelowH2O]

Nice shots larnie. The candy cane looks awesome!

[nanocustoms.com]

Hi Reggie,

 

Yes, the fans are rated at <30 db (i have found some rated at 26dB) 16.1 CFM.

 

The real "problem with noise" comes from the orientation of the fan in order to blow air into the canopy (to cool the fuge light and help get more air in).

 

The air flowing through the grates are causing a "swishing" sound to occur as the air flows by. Ive taken a dB meter to these tanks and the noise averages anywhere from 50-60dB.

 

I think when they test these fans for noise, there is no grate and no resistance, so they run very quiet.

 

The best way i can see doing something about the noise is to remove some or all of the grates on the fan vent. It wont compromise performance or mounting issues.

 

The fewer grates, the less viscous drag occurs as the air passes through the grates.

 

My 0.02

 

Chris

 

ps. Let me know if you want those lower rated fans, however the real problem here is CFMs going through the grates, not the fans intrinsic sound properties.

[sandee]

Did anyone removed the fan grates yet?

I may try to do that when I install my fuge light and new fans.

but just wondering if anyone has acutally done it already.

Does the cut make the cube look unprofessional, and would that cause excess evaporation?

[ccjung]

It hasnt been done yet. I wouldnt do it, i just cope with the increased noise. Its about the fish, right?

 

It was merely offered as a suggestion, but not neccessarily a recommendation.

 

Sorry for any confusion.

 

Chris

[Jestdave]

Larnie,

 

Are you currently running a 7100K bulb in your third light or did you change it to a 10000K bulb? Also have you been succussful with the cheato with the small amount of light it gets from the display bleed over? Sorry if you answered these in an earlier post and I missed it.

 

I am due to receive my cube from Chris tomorrow (counting the hours as I am eager to get this hobby started.....I know I know...patience is the key with this) and LR which I decided to order from live aquaria. I ordered their nano package (16lbs of LR from fugi, tonga, and indonesia) which was much cheaper. I just hope I dont totally negelect my 125g cichlid tank heh!

Thanks Larnie for all your input.

 

Jest

[larnie]

Jest

 

Below is the bulb configuration that I am currently using. I am running the JBJ 10K white bulb in the third 24w position. I wanted the white intensity without the yellow cast.

 

24w Actinic [Jalli or Realux]

10w Actinic

24w 50/50 [Realux 12K/7.1K]

10w Actinic

24w 10K [JBJ}

R2 Moonlight

 

For pictures related to the lighting sequence, see page 6 of this thread.

 

The cheato is slow growing but green. The amount of light spilling over doesn't allow the cheato to thrive but that's kind of a good thing maintenance wise. Keep in mind that I believe my heatshield was an early revision, and the current heatshield from Nanocustoms may be more restrictive.

 

I hope you enjoy setting up your tank. Don't be surprised if it takes you a couple of tries to get an aquascape that you are happy with. With 16 lbs of live rock you should have some options. It should also provide you with enough rubble to use in your sump.

[CyberGuru]

Hi Reggie,  

 

Yes, the fans are rated at <30 db (i have found some rated at 26d 16.1 CFM.

 

Thanks Chris for your input,

 

If the current fans are < 30db, then probably going to 26db won't make that much of a difference. I agree, its most likely resistance in the air flow that is causing the increase in noise.

 

If I was certain the majority of the noise was coming from the grates and not internal, then I think I will try to remove the grates. We'll see...

 

Have you added these fans to your inventory? I would like to check it out.

 

Also, you mentioned you still have the variable fan adjuster. Is it an external device or will rewiring be required?

 

I would like to adjust the speed of the fans when I am only using the T-5s to reduce noise. This is usually in the evenings when I am home.

 

I will monitor the temperature within the splash guard and adjust the fans until temperatures reach a constant rate of around 105F.

 

So if you still have them, please let me know how I can purchase them from you.

 

Thanks again.

 

Reggie.

[Jestdave]

Larnie,

 

Thanks for the input. Will see how the bleed is once i get the tank. If I need to I suppose a could add a plug in single bulb of some sort to the rear chamber. Good point on the LR, we shall see if I have any left for sump purposes.

Chris was out of the 10K bulbs atm, so he gave me a 7100k for the time being until he gets them in. It wont matter since I will be cycling for weeks anyway. The cycle will also give time for tunze to get that pump in stock heh. Will post pics once I am up and running.

 

Jest

[ccjung]

In order to power with a variable speed AC adapter, just replace the current AC adapter with a 3-12v (300ma or greater) AC adapter available just about everywhere. Make sure it has a 2.5mm Jack. (2.1mm for the models with serial number less than NCDX32400045).

 

Also, 105 may not be attainable, i think the normal temp is 110F for that particular model. My absolute max temp allowed in these systems is 135F. (the service temperature (max) is 185F).

 

You should have room to breathe, but ive found the max lux happen between 105-110F.

 

Good luck.

 

Chris

[CyberGuru]

Thanks Chris.

[larnie]

I just received a shipment from Tigah with a few new corals for my Cube. Here's a macro of a small colony of eagle eye zoos. Overall there are about thirty polyps on a two inch piece of rock.

 

 

I'll be posting some more pictures over the weekend.

[afiser]

NICEB)

[CyberGuru]

Nice Zoos Larnie,

 

I was suppose to pick up some chaeto at Tigah' apt since he lives locally, but i found the chaeto at my LFS instead.

 

But I may just go ahead and check out his Corals for sale anyways.

 

I received my ReefKeeper last Friday and just love it. You can have so much control over your Nanocube's Devices.

 

I will be mounting the ReefKeeper inside my JBJ nanocube stand to keep all the cables looking nice and neat.

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

Reggie.

[91lxracer]

Great tank Larnie. After I saw yours, I purchased the Larnie edition from Nanocustoms.

 

I wondered if you had any current pictures of your entire tank?

 

Thanks

 

Chris

[DamageInc]

Larnie,

 

I've been searching for info on a nanocube with custom lighting and your thread has been extremely informative. Your information is greatly appreciated.

 

I'm looking forward to picking up a custom 12g or 24g nc and joining the club. Great information from all the posters here.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Damage

[Mjames4]

Larnie, Chris and all the others,

 

Just wanted to take a moment to thank you for all the great info on your NC's. Due to this thread, I have contacted Chris and ordered a hood for my current NC. In reading this thread from start to finish, every question I had was answered, even ones I had not yet thought to ask . Back in the day (20 or so years ago)I had a 120 gallon SW tank and loved it, but finally gave it up due to the huge amount of work it involved . Living in Florida and being an avid diver, I moved that tank outside and tried my hand at creating a mini reef with the items that I collected on my dives. It was a great learning experience but I never really gave it the attention it deserved. Now I'm ready to jump in both feet first once again, only this time I'm armed with a wealth of great information. Not trying to pump sunshine up anyones backside, but just wanted to say Thanks!

 

If yer not livin' on the edge, yer takin' up to much space!

 

Mark

[Mjames4]

I know this is Larnie's thread, and I hope you don't mind, but for the benefit of anyone thinking of getting a hood from Chris at NanoCustoms, I can't say enough about the guy. Today he called me, just to give me an update on the status of my tank and when it will ship, as well as spend some time answering a few questions I had. This guy is first class in my book. I go to my local LFS (and in my area I have a bunch) and ask them a question, and it's like they don't have the time to deal with a noob. Thanks again Chris, can't wait to get my tank....and thanks Larnie for letting me digress a bit from your thread.

 

Mark

[AndreM]

Hey Larnie, I have the same tank as you and I couldn't be any happier Except when I purchased a blastomussa merletti and a blastomussa wellsi I got confused about which needed the more vs. less light. I think my merletti is almost dead I had it in the front and I think that's what killed it, so I moved it far behind some LR so it gets less than 10% light. My blastomussa wellsi lost a head too, completely skeletoned but I have 4 more heads that seem to be slowly recovering. Have you had any problem with giving "too much" or "too less" of light to any corals?

 

I haven't dosed my tank with anything except phytoplankton, some nitra/phospha zorb, and fuge light (if that helps any more).

 

What would you recommend - if any - should I get a calcium/iodine test to dose my saltwater. I change the water about 2x weekly because I have a quite a few different kinds of corals.

 

Thank you for your time and help, if you could provide any more help on how you recommend caring for your wellsi given we have the same light setup I would appreciate it.

 

Sincerely,

 

Andre' M.

 

1 true perc w/RBTA

1 royal gramma

Montipora Digitata purple & pinks,

Favia alien eyes

Yuma pink, purple, blue, rainbow, green

3 coco-worms

colony of dragon eyes, zombie eyes, and various zoo's

[ccjung]

Sorry for the threadjack larnie,

 

For those of you that dont know, Larnie was my first "custom" cube ever. We consulted on many aspects of the cube over countless phone calls in order to get it just right... For nearly a month, i could expect 2 things, the sun would shine, and larnie would call...lol..

 

Back then, it was the 2004 canopy, but by mistake, JBJ leaked 2 copies of the canopy to me. Larnie got the first one, and we were amazed at its performance and expandability, the point is, patience in this hobby is a virtue. It emanates from the time you order/buy your tank to the time you put the final touches on your new mod.

 

To make a long story short, my relationship with my customers doesnt end when the Fedex guy shows up. If i spent top dollar on an aquarium, id expect nothing less and intend on giving my customers that as well.

 

From failed T5s to destroyed tanks, its the understanding that this is a hobby for you, which should bring lots of enjoyment, both in the process of provisioning/selecting components, to stocking and maintenance, that makes customer service so important.

 

As a hobbyist first, its always my primary concern that this becomes an enduring hobby, and want to guarantee success. There are however, no guarantees in this hobby, so its important to make the right decisions. Thats why i take the time to talk to each and every one of you be it shopper/browser to full blown nanofreak (read... mikeguerrero, larnie) and even with some of the most ambitious DIY'rs out there like adin, tigahboy and artamon (the new cube DIY guru).

 

This is a hobby, and if you are disinterested in gutting/splicing/soldering/drilling/testing/modding cubes and are more interested in the reef, nanocustoms is for you.

 

When i put NC32400001 on the UPS truck i said to larnie, "This must be how michael dell felt when he shipped his first computer".

 

Larnie said, "no i think its more like having your first child"..

 

I think its a little of both.

 

Thanks for your support..

 

Chris