How did you mount your fuge light?

[Chronicles]

I just spent about 2hours with the hood off of my cube. I have an external remote ballast and a 13w 6500 bulb. It took me forever to block off all the light that escaped out to the main tank. I ended up using aluminum thermal tape (for ducting) and folding a piece of electric tape in half and using it like a gasket for the light. Only problem I have now is the light isn't exactly completely exposed (tucked under the heatshield so it would stay) and it's over my fans, which make them louder, I really can't stand the main lights being on due to the fan noise now.

[artarmon42]

Same problem I had/have

 

The most common "fix" is to turn the light off at night. I don't subscribe to that, because it defeats one of the primary purposes of a fuge (oxygenate and maintains the PH during the night cycle).

 

I use electrical tape and black it out as much as possible. There's some pictures of it in my MH thread.

[Chronicles]

I reworked it again, this time better light placement. I need to find some rubber weather stripping for the back wall area, it seems to be unblockable at the one section. Right now I cut a foam block in half, and then each side I put a small slit in so they fit over the wall. This blocks all the rest of the light from comming into the main tank. I'd rather find some rubber stripping instead of the foam, won't trap stuff. Although the foam would be a good surface skimmer, you'd have to rinse it off every water change though. 4hrs on this tonight is enough

[artarmon42]

Try some thick weather strip and stick it to the splashguard. That should achieve the same blockage without dripping stuff into the water.

 

That'll really screw with your air circulation though...

[shao-lin nano]

here's an idea, has anyone thought of submerging their fuge light?

 

i'm going to use a 9W coralife CF, put it inside a clear tube with a screw cap, attach suction cups, and submerge it in the fuge. This shouldprovide ample light in the fuge, prevent light leaking out to the main display, and save on some valuable hood real estate. Kill 3 birds with one stone!

[ccjung]

Yes, there are premanufactured submersible lights but the only ones ive been able to find are 20 inches or so.

 

Also, I know of one gentleman (not sure of nano-reef name) but he has a submersible in a 24g i believe.

 

maybe he will post his results.

 

I also know of a fuge that uses a submersible light in a canister filter on RC, so im guessing its very feasible.

 

Chris

[Chronicles]

Has anyone noticed when you unplug one fan, the 2nd one runs twice as fast? I think I'll be getting an external adapter for these fans. Are the fans that are in there 20mm or 15? Maybe it's because I'm using a 13w bulb, might be easier if I use smaller one?

 

Wish I could use this fan:

http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/comboCo.../SilentCat8.htm

 

I love these, no noise when it gets close to something.

[artarmon42]

Chronicles, you are a cooling genius

 

Be warned about the stock fans that come with the Nano Cube. Not sure if it was bad luck, but the one that I attached to an external adapter stopped working after 1 night. The label says it's 12V, but pehaps it's A rating got overloaded by the smallest (250ma) voltage adapter that I could find??

[shao-lin nano]

Chronicles:

 

If you have the 24g as I do, then your stock fans should be 60mm and either 15 or 20mm thick. You can find low profile 60mm fans that are 10mm thick on ebay for only a couple of dollars a peice. But drawback is that thinner = less air movement.

 

The fans on your link are kind of thick at 25mm. I've added 2 80mm by 15mm thick fans. They may move less air but space saving is key when i mounted them behind the lights and heat shield/reflector.

[artarmon42]

Here is what I was saying about the weather strips...

 

The "marine" version is supposed to handle water better (supposedly "better in wet enviroments"). Around $5 for more than you'd ever use.

 

And then stick to the the outside of the splashguard to catch the spill over light...

 

Not night yet, I'll post an update when my house is fully dark (it seems the work pretty well, but I can't get a good photo because of the sunlight from the windows).

[Chronicles]

You'll have to run some past the buldge part, I was getting light leaking out of there. I think I might just run the fuge light with the main lights. From what I've heard doing that with cheato won't be an issue. I needed a ball half the size of a baseball and the guy I got it from sent me a huge freezer bag full, not sure what to do with the rest? X)

[artarmon42]

Yup, people think they're doing you a favor giving more, but for use nano-guys it's just garbage...

[artarmon42]

Here is what it looks like with the weather strip.

 

In my opinion, a little more light than I would have liked.

But in my setup, there is no reflector, so the light is bouncing around in my main light chamber (and there's no way to block that unless I block my MH as well :ermm: )

[shao-lin nano]

I wanted a fuge light that doesn't leak light into the main display during the night phase and take up little room in the hood so I made this submergable fuge light from a used 18 watt coralife (2x9watt) from hellolights. I took out one ballast, bulb, and wire leads and made a remote ballast with switch and detatchable power cord. The bulb sits inside a plastic tube and that's it.

 

The picture has an Actinic bulb but I'll use a 6,500K bulb for the actual fuge.

[shao-lin nano]

pic:

[artarmon42]

I like it!

What is the container and how are you making sure that it doesn't leak?

[shao-lin nano]

I tried to look for a plastic tube with a screw top for so many days without success...so while at petsmart i saw those gravel vacuums and the sm/med size tube fit perfectly. I used two caps and sealed one end completely with tank sealant. the other end i just sealed the hole for the power cord and the top caps really tight.

 

I'm not going to fully submerge the whole thing, just leave the top above the water line. I figure the top is tight enough to keep water and salt creep out but not water tight for underwater use.

 

I also attached bulb clips to a reflector with a thin strip of acrylic behind it for structure; all hot glued glued to the top cap to hold the bulb in place.

[shao-lin nano]

I tied the fuge light to a heater suction cup and submerged it in the kitchen sink to see how water tight it is. It turned out really well. The inside was dry so I tested it with the lights on.

 

I'm wondering how long I should test it before knowing that it's safe to use. I don't quite trust the top cap because it's not a screw cap and there's no gasket. With heat and temp changes possibly warping of the tube it may not be wise to have the whole thing submerged during operation, I plan on having at least the blue cap above the water line when in use.

[bladze]

That's secured enough.

[shao-lin nano]

Im thinking about switching out the container that the bulb is currently in. I was looking at baby bottles, they're made of thicker plastic and can stand very hot and cold temps without problems. They also have a very secured screw on top. I haven't found the right size one yet but that's probably what I'm going to use unless someone can suggest a better container solution.

[artarmon42]

Baby bottle would be good idea.

Why don't you totally seal the thing? Superglue or Marine Goop it all the way shut? It'll be permanent, but then you don't have to worry about leakage.

Whatever happens, definitely got a GFCI on that outlet!

[shao-lin nano]

changing the bulb would then be too hard.