4x36W 24g NC to 70W MH & 126W PCs

[shao-lin nano]

Hi everyone, just wanted to share my new lighting setup. My original mod to the 24G NC included 2 extra 36W PCs and 2 additional 80mm fans. I then liked the MH retro that artarmon and others did to theirs and couldn't resist.

 

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

 

BEFORE / AFTER

 

Besides the change from 1x36W PC to 1x70W MH & 2x9W PCs I've also changed the fan setup. I now have a scroll fan in the stock position blowing at the MH and another smaller scroll fan under the reflector (underneath one of the 9W PCs) blowing at the MH as well.

 

I also extended the reflector to cover the flip-top-lid and stuck reflectors on the center of the fans, don't think it'll improve the reflective properties but it was fun and looks cool .

[shao-lin nano]

Forgot to mention that i've also added a fan speed controller. The fans in the stock position will turn on at the same time the 2X36W PCs at the top turn on. The other 3 fans will turn on when the first lights (2X9W PCs) turn on and they will be adjustable by the silver dial at the bottom right of the "after" pic.

[Web Guy]

Sweet!...: As always.

[shao-lin nano]

thanks, i also forgot to mention a new vent i cut out at the top of the hood to hopefully allow more heat to escape from the top.

 

[Web Guy]

I saw that last night. So what did you use for you control on the fans? I am running a power adapter and I really wanted to install a fan control switch as well. Did you use a ....Aaah what is it called? Has some prongs on it and then a nob.

[shao-lin nano]

It's a pointometer (sp?); variable resistor. I just ripped mine off a pc fan controller. One set goes to power supply and another goes to the fans.

[shao-lin nano]

What I meant above was that one set of prongs go to dc power another set goes to fans.

[shao-lin nano]

I took the silver dial off the blue fan and just connected it mine.

 

[artarmon42]

Nice setup shao.

 

Are the PCs actinic?

 

Have you fired it up yet?

Am very interested in how hot your tank gets :-*

 

Oh, and whether with 70W MH, you're actually able to see any PC lighting

[shao-lin nano]

the PCs right now are the 50/50. I'll change 2 of the 36W and both 9W to actinic.

 

My second set of fans that are connected to the controller isn't working, have to re-check the wiring before i test the temps. i'm not too worried, i have a chiller that i'll be running with this setup.

 

water temp shouldn't be an issue...just worried about hood temp going too high and possibly damaging some of the components.

[Web Guy]

Again, Damn it sure is pretty boy!..

[artarmon42]

I think the biggest risk you run with that hood is the PCs blocking air flow. I don't think it'll be a problem, but that's probably the most significant risk (besides overloading your fuse box ).

[tam]

shao, you got some crazy mad modding skills..

[NanoBob]

So Shao when ya going to do mine?

Bob

[shao-lin nano]

thanks for the complements web and dark.

 

hey bob, how about i trade you a mod job for one of your nifty surface skimmers?

[gil716]

Hi Shao,

I've been diligently monitoring yours and Artamon's threads and I've been suffering from MH upgrade fever (ever since I was told I couldn't keep clams or SPS's). The only thing holding me back is the question of whether your system is able to handle the heat adequately. I know Artamon's has been a huge success, but his was a 12g and he removed his PCs. I was hoping to see some positive results from your 24g.

 

My plan was to keep the two existing 36w PC's and replace them with Actinics after getting the 70w MH up. Do you think it would be wise to place the MH in between the two PC's? Was there a specific reason why you chose to place the MH after the two PC's?

 

Your advice is appreciated.

 

-- Gil

[shao-lin nano]

gil,

 

You'll definetly need to add more fans for moving out the heat generated by the MH. The stock fans don't work so well removing heat from the hood but I've heard that if they're reversed it could help lower water temps.

 

As far as placement of the bulbs go, I placed the MH in that location because it was the highest point under the hood. As long as you're using a reflector for the PC's and MH I don't really think position will play that big of a role (I'm not entirely sure of this though).

 

HTH

[shao-lin nano]

You'll also have to be careful of the splash guard. The portion directly underneath the MH will get very hot and may melt/warp. I plan to cut out an 8x10 inch section of the splash guard under the MH and replace (glue) a piece of glass from Home Depot in it's place. Only like $2 for a piece of 8x10 glass from window section.

[gil716]

Adding more fans was definitely on my list of todo's. I was going to mirror your setup (minus the fan on top), with a scroll fan in one of the stock positions, a replacement for the stock 60mm, another scroll fan pointed at the MH under the reflector and an 80mm on the other side. Could you tell me which scroll fans you ended up using. I went to Sunon's site and saw several models ranging from whisper quiet to *****in' loud. I guess that's another big question, how noisy is it with your 5 fans running at once?

 

BTW, great idea about the glass!

[shao-lin nano]

The fans are a bit noisy, that's why I installed a controller. That way I can have it low when trying to do work or watch TV and full blast when I'm not around. I dont have any data on the scroll fan I installed because I got them second hand from artarmon. All I can say is that the larger one is a 60x15mm for sure and the smaller one under the reflector poointing at the MH is 40x15mm I think.

 

Try and get low dBA and high CFM.

[gil716]

I think I'll hit those HTPC sites for that info. They've probably done all the research on the fans with the best noise to cfm ratio.

 

I have another question about how you mounted your MH. Did you notch your reflector and glue the MH mount to the hood or is it directly mounted to your reflector?

[shao-lin nano]

I'm not using the stock reflector as you can tell. I did notch out the main reflector and glued the fixture directly to the hood using an epoxy from home depot that's rated for 300 degree F. There was a gap between the "lip" of the MH reflector and the "main" reflector. I just cut a thin strip of the reflector, glued, and filled in the gap.

 

I used sand paper to scuff up the contact area on the hood so the glue would adhear better. Since the hood is plastic and basically non-porous the glue cracked off the first time I used it. After you find the sweet spot for the MH use plenty of glue to secure it.

[artarmon42]

Any new pics?

Ready to fire it up yet?

[shao-lin nano]

All ready to be lit up. I'll test water temps with the lights on over this long weekend probably. Still haven't picked up the 36W actinics yet thought. I'll just test with 50/50 s (and take pics).

 

I'll probably spend most of the weekend building a stand for it.

 

stay tuned...

[shao-lin nano]

I fired up the lights this morning at 10:30 to test the temps. The 70W MH, 126W of PCs, and all fans were turned on at the same time. The tank is filled with tap water. I've been running the stock pump, 50W ebo jager w/ dial set at 77, and no media of any sort (back chambers competly empty except for pump) since last night. The fans were running at 7.5vDC at first and then turned up to 9vDC.

 

I took all temps with a LIFEGARD LITTLE TEMP. Tank temps were taken with the switch set at WATER and ambient temp was taken with switch set at AIR. The digital thermometer was set at least 1ft away from the hood. Temps fluctuated +/- 0.2 F while I took readings.

 

Here are the results for a 4.5 hr photo period, I'll try to get a complete 8 or 10 hr next time.