70W MH in stock Nano Cube!!

[artarmon42]

The Nano Cube has been setup for about 2 months, but everything was transferred from another tank that had been up about 9 months before hand. The MH (and subsequent SPS) has been there nearly 2 weeks.

[artarmon42]

jmt: are MJ606's really going to work on a wave timer? thought you needed special pumps (e.g. Tunze) to avoid screwing the electronics with constant on/off.

[jmt]

I think it has a lot more to do with the length of the intervals to be honest.

 

I've seen Maxi-Jets on the Coralife Power Strip (wave timer-esque) work flawlessly. I would assume the same quality would exist in the Mini-Jets since they are manufactured by the same company.

 

Maybe someone else will chime in with an experience.

[SeanCallan]

artarmon42,

 

I will agree with jmt on one subject and that's random flow. SPS not only desire a higher flow of water but a random flow. Right now I'm having a custom 24x24x24 cube built and I'm utilize an Ocean Motion 4 on my CL and I'm using a surge tank.

 

As for wavetimers, don't buy one, please. They are way to expensive and there are many other solutions out there like this : http://www.instrumentpro.com/P-CHASF4005.html

 

It does the exact same thing, for 39.99; far less then a wavetimer.

[artarmon42]

Off topic, but would 2 Sea Swirls be "random" enough?

I'm getting a custom nano built as well

[artarmon42]

Sorry for the lack of recent updates.

 

You might recall that I had previously warped my original splashguard TWICE. First time when I was trying to find the best voltage settings, and the second time when I replaced the adapter and forgot to set the correct voltage. After the second time (about a week ago) I manually inspected the splashguard and found that it was while the area of warping was larger, there was nothing especially wrong with it.

 

As people suggested, I ordered a new hood/splashguard from Chris at nanocustoms. Today I set about replacing that old splashguard...

 

In the past week, I had been monitoring the water temperature "only". To recap, I run 2x 5-hour photo periods which increase the water temp by ~3 degrees each photo period.

 

Today, in preparation to replace the splashguard, I removed the hood and was surprised at the damage that had occured in that week!

 

The picture will clearly show that the outer edge of the warp had discolored (turned yellow-brown). What may not be clear in the picture, is that the very center of the warp basically disintegrated when I touched it (I was just wiping the condensation off the splashguard). That area had melted to be super-thin. The splashguard was intact when I took the hood off, but I suspect in another few days or so the MH would have "burned" straight through.

 

Here's a better shot of the splashguard's hole.

 

Iniitally I suspected that the first or second mistake (wrong voltage setting) had weakened its structural integrity (:nerd: ) setting it on a path of eventual disintegration.

 

To test this theory, I replace the splashguard, put the hood back on and turned on the MH. In <1 hour I noticed that the new splashguard was starting to warp. I now believe that the MH retro kit was simply too close to the splashguard. :-*

[artarmon42]

So, the important thing to do (before I destroy another splashguard) was to move the MH further from the splashguard. For the purists, the UV glass of the MH retro was about 1 inch from the splashguard.

 

I had originally attached the retro to the stock reflector. It occured to me that there was another inch of clearance from the the "peak" of the curved hood to the reflector. So I set about attaching the MH retro directly to the hood (instead of the reflector), doubled my splashguard clearance to 2 inches.

 

First order of the day is to figure out a good way to stick the metal DE socket to the plastic hood. Found a two-part epoxy that is rated for high temperatures (up to 300F) at the trusty Home Depot for around $5...

 

Mix, and dab it on...

 

Here is the new hood, minus the stock reflector.

 

For those who have been following this thread closely, you'll notice the new fan configuration. As I previously mentioned, the rear fans now blow (hot air) OUT. I still have a scroll fan to exhaust out the side, but I replaced the other scroll fan with a standard fan rated for 30 CFM simply to push around more air.

 

Here it is with the new splashguard.

 

I am now 3 hours into the evening photo period, without any futher (noticeable) warping of the splashguard. The top of the hood is slightly warm. I believe this heat is not direct transfer from the attachment, rather simple proximity to the MH reflector.

 

Looks like this did the trick!

[artarmon42]

I was hoping the hood/splashguard cooling would help with the tank temperatures...

 

Unfortunately there has been no change in the temperature situation. So far, the data shows:

*) 1 degree per hour, with the flap closed

*) 0.4-0.6 degree per hour, with the flap prop'd (slightly) open

 

Yes, when you think about it, it would not have made sense for that minor reconfiguration to have had any impact on the water temp. But it was a nice dream

[ccjung]

looks good. My only concern is conduction of heat from the base of the bulbholder onto the plastic.

 

Theres some major room in there now.. If this stands up to the heat, i think you will be golden.

 

Chris

[ccjung]

Hey yuen,

 

based on the calcs from:

http://www.aquasales.com/techinfo/heatcalc.html

 

you have about 29w of energy going into that system (flap closed).

 

With the flap open, the effective heat flux is about 15w.

 

These are all within range of a TECs capability.

 

Id try the iceprobe, vented through the lid as we spoke about on the phone, sacrifice that spare hood i sent and give it a shot, i think that it would be a feasible idea if you are willing to carefully drill through the splashguard.

 

Chris

[Chronicles]

just wait for that big ass system cooler to come, then you'll have enough airflow :

[artarmon42]

Chris: I don't trust myself to not screw up drilling the splashguard/hood. Perhaps when you "pre-manufacture" those, I'll get one off you

 

Chronicles: Nexfan are pretty slow shippers

The standard 120mm fans (the type that comes with the Iceprobe) seem to be rated at 100+ CFM. Not sure if the server-heatink I bought (rated at ~30 CFM) is going to cut it...

 

I think the NanoIceprobe idea will do my tank good anyway, as that air between the water and the splashguard really needs some flow/venting.

[artarmon42]

This weekend has been moderately cool.

With an ambient ~72 and the flap prop'd up, water temps only risk ~2 degrees for the whole 5 hour period.

Ah the wonders of the Law of Thermodynamics

[Chronicles]

Slow to get it out the door, or slow to get it to you? PA to CA should take 5 business days

 

Know what you could do? In the flat part of the rear splashgaurd, trace out a pattern of a 80mm fan, cut out the middle and drill 4 small holes for the mounting.

 

Then, get yourself 4 fan mount screws ($0.25)

 

and then mount this bad boy to the underside of the splashgaurd ($1.99)

 

 

This will prevent any water from being sucked into the hood (not like it would happen). Doing this will get rid of that pocket of hot air that forms between the water and hood. Find a nice quiet fan (I like silence) and mount it in there.

 

$5.80 - 21dba

 

 

Or if space is a concern (I'd have to look) get this:

$7.99 - 20dba

 

 

 

It's only 15mm thick vs 25mm. Bigger the fans you can fit in there, more air you'll move and the quieter it will be. 30dba from a 60mm fan spinning @ 5000rpm will sound MUCH louder then 30dba from a fan spinning @ 2500rpm.

 

All parts here are from bestbyte.net, they use USPS for 2-3 day shipping at low costs, they are from TX, I've used them many times before.

[Chronicles]

Oh and since you have a gutted hood...why are you still using 60mm fans? If you drill the gaurd, I'd drill over a 60mm fan opening and lose that fan, then it will shoot it right out of the hood. I'd get a 80mm fan and if you have to, superglue it where the old 60s were. If you want more air and less noise you must get away from these crappy 60mm fan sizes. Just put some superglue on the mounting posts and tada, a mounted fan! That's my plan once I gut my hood for MH.

 

My other plan is when I mount my fan to suck out the hot trapped air, I'm going to use plastic ducting (found @ hardware store) to duct it right out one of those 60mm fan holes, that way it won't heat up the air in the splashgaurds. I then plan to mount 1 80mm fan in the rear blowing out, and 2x 80mm fans where the side air intakes are. I have a feeling I'll be using 2x 15mms in the rear (space concern), and 2 of the white TT ones for the intakes in the middle. Just think how much cooler your hood would be without that 10cfm scroll fan, but instead a quieter 30cfm fan

[ccjung]

Chron,

 

your digging up bones... lol.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...testing+monster

 

That mod does an amazing job at keeping the water cool in the Convection zone.

[Chronicles]

bah! Oh well, still a good idea At least now I know it'll work.

[ccjung]

Yeah, it worked wonders in the 2004. My only fear is moisture getting in there.

 

The grill did an acceptable job, but it was very damp, so i can surmise that some water was able to get up and through.

 

Im thinking with a gutted hood and very good wiring, you could get away with it.

 

Chris

[artarmon42]

Since the re-work of the airflow, it looks like the hood is being cooled much better now. I think the 2 primary contributors are:

1) Higher CFM (thanks Chronicles!)

2) Removal of the stock reflector (erm, otherwise known as "heat collector" and "air-flow blocker" )

 

I don't think (at least with 70W) that more CFM is needed at the moment. Next step is to replace the scroll fan, but otherwise, quieting the system will be the next priority.

[Chronicles]

My #1 priority is quiet, when my fish tank is louder then my PC, somethings fishy!

[artarmon42]

I used to have a 16 Bow, with a Orbit 24" and AquaC Remora.

 

With my current setup (including with the open flap, although that doesn't make much of a difference), my Nano Cube is a little louder than my Orbit, but definitely much quieter than the Remora (aka "white noise generator" ).

[Chronicles]

I was just thinking, do I even need MH? I don't plan SPS, but I'd like to keep anything else. Actualy nevermind, I'd like to get a small RBTA, so the MH would really help, plus I'd rather have a gutted hood then the one that's there right now, gives me more freedom and less noise!

[artarmon42]

You know, when I think back on this project, it's pretty simple and cost-effective to put MH into the Nano Cube. It's almost a case of why hasn't it been done earlier?

 

$150 for the MH retro, $20 for 4 new fans, $10 for 2 voltage adapters, $5 for a box of wiring nuts (of which you're only use a few), $5 for the epoxy (of which you'd only use a few dabs), a pair of pliers (to yank out the stock wires), wire cutter (to cut and strip wires), and a screw driver.

 

I estimate, given the lessons learnt, it could be completed in around 1 hour by almost anyone. And I'm not awfully handy (as I'm sure people have noticed by my soldering attempts in the Iceprobe thread).

 

To be fair, the mod is not without it's risks (things will melt if the fans stop working), so be forewarned. But I think anyone who does mods are inherently risk takers.

 

If people want someone else to do and stand behind the work, then I'd recommend waiting for Chris's official kit. For others who like to play and fiddle around, you definitely get the most light for your buck (I won't even go into MH vs PC discussion) and falls into the "easy" category.

 

I'd love to hear from anyone else who might do this themselves!

[sterling18]

Hey artarmon42,

 

Great job.

 

btw, have you tried installing the fans with the thermosensors that spin up when there's heat and spin down when there isn't? Just thinking out loud from my PC building days?

[artarmon42]

Thanks Sterling18.

 

Without the stock reflector and the 4 fans I've got in there now, the hood is sufficiently cooled. I will replace the scroll fan to reduce the noise, add more CFM movement, and the lower the price of the total mod (in hindsight those scroll fans are expensive and unnecessary).

 

In the past 2 days, with ambient ~74, I've found that the water temp quickly rises from 78 (which is where the heater is set to) to 80 (in something around 2 hours) and then stabilizes around 81-82 for the remainder of the 8 hour photo period. This is with the front flap open.

 

A variation of 4 degrees over an 8 hour photo period with a 70W MH is acceptable for the moment. For sure, it's not as temperature stable as the stock lights (although I suspect in hot summer days even the stock setup would still need the front flap open), but I believe it's only marginally less stable than the other mods that cram 100+W of PCs into the hood.

 

Personally, I'm not quite ready to call the project done yet. I still need to complete the chiller mod (whether it be the NanoIceProbe or some other cooling mechanism). My target remains <2 degree variation over an 8 hour photo period without opening the front flap (the <2 target allows an "acceptable" variation increase during summer days).