mikecoscia Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Thanks Yah I would like to see it also, I might pick up another nc6 for my gf. I finally got my live rock, posted a pic the other day here.... My NC6 Starting to get cyno all over the rocks already. Haven't done anything with the chambers, just live rubble in the middle one, no sponges or anything. Looking into getting some kind of LED to just stick on the top so I can get some macro algae going. Link to comment
MVS Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 I’m glad that this thread is catching so much attention. It’s not unusual to see threads on modifying a 12 or 24 gallon nano but when it comes to the six it tends to be much more limited. Good luck with the work and keep us posted. Link to comment
Tostito Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Still waiting for the pics Fish Stick Link to comment
Tostito Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 me too, hahaha Still waiting..... Link to comment
Fish Stick Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Hey guys...and gal...Sorry. I have been so busy at home I haven't had a chance. I am going to have some ME time this weekend. My LR came in the mail Wednesday and is sitting in a bucket with a pump and a heater. I will post pics on Saturday after I do the work. I ahven't even got my fans in yet! EDIT: Your avatar is very funny Tostito....That was a great episode. Link to comment
Tostito Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Hey guys...and gal...Sorry. I have been so busy at home I haven't had a chance. I am going to have some ME time this weekend. My LR came in the mail Wednesday and is sitting in a bucket with a pump and a heater. I will post pics on Saturday after I do the work. I ahven't even got my fans in yet! EDIT: Your avatar is very funny Tostito....That was a great episode. Okay sounds great! Thanks yes...it was a great episode. hehe Link to comment
Fish Stick Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Okay....I don't know what exactly you want to see. And I am not saying what I have done is right. And if you burn down your house or blow up your cube don't blame me! If anyone sees something I have done wrong please speak up. Now I didn't really take any pictures when I was first setting it up. So sorry about that...there will be more words than pictures....Basically what you have to do is take the hood off and open it up.....then gut it. I tossed everything but the ballast. Then get yourself some wire and wire connectors. The wireing of CFL lights is very easy. The retro kit I got came with "german" style end caps. You just slip the wires in and they get stuck inside...kinda like one of those thumb trap things...if you know what I am talking about. There is a diagram on the Pony.....and the same idea goes for the JBJ ballast. Yank the wires out of the JBJ end cap so you can stick the wires you splice onto the JBJ ballast in, instead of splicing wire to the existing wires....that's just dumb. Feed the wires through the hole in the back of the hood BEFORE you attach the end caps. I wrapped my wires with electrical tape... Underneath the wires just go to the end caps..Eight wires on the left form the Pony and four on the right from the JBJ ballast.. Here it is from the back..The small wire goes to the fans..NOW! I had my moon light set-up and working. I was stupid and I didn't look and see how much power they can handle and blew one out...I am waiting for the replacements to get here. I had them working fine on a 12v 300mah adapter. When I hooked them up to a 500mah adapter one burnt out. Also you can see where the switch on top used to be....I was going to fill it in and paint it....but realized I DON'T GIVE A HOOT..lol The wires then go to the ballasts I am going to have a little box to put them in when all is said and done... So there it is....it is really easy...HTH Link to comment
Fish Stick Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Lights have been on for 4hrs......The temp went down! It was 81.5 when I turned them on. I have the central h/a set at 70. And my 25w heater set at 79. Link to comment
MVS Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 That’s great. I’m glad to see that everything is going according to plan. Your tank is already off to a great start. I’m seriously considering upgrading my lights now. I hate to sound like such a DIY illiterate but, you mentioned that you purchased wires and connectors, what type exactly are you using? Did Chris include instructions on how to perform this process? Thanks again Link to comment
Fish Stick Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 Thanks MVS. I just got some 16g wire from Home Depot. And wire nuts. The retro kit doesn't come w/ instructions or anything. But honestly it is very easy. Get the heatshield! With out it it would have been a real PITA. Link to comment
rickjg Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 That’s great. I’m glad to see that everything is going according to plan. Your tank is already off to a great start. I’m seriously considering upgrading my lights now. I hate to sound like such a DIY illiterate but, you mentioned that you purchased wires and connectors, what type exactly are you using? Did Chris include instructions on how to perform this process? Thanks again MVS If you have not done any DYI electrical work you might really want to consider just sending your hood to Chris @ Nanocustoms and have him do the retro work, including upgraded lighting, switching out your fans & rewiring the LED moonlights. That way everything works correctly (& safely:) ) and you can focus on setting up your tank. Rick Link to comment
Fish Stick Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 That's good advise.....I was going to send mine in and have it done...but I get a kick out of DIY. Link to comment
rickjg Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 I was going to send mine in and have it done...but I get a kick out of DIY. ME TOO!!! Link to comment
MVS Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 I honestly feel that with detailed instructions this procedure is not overly complicated and I should be able to handle it without any problems. The issue is, obtaining the step–by-step instructions. I appreciate all of your advice. The problem with sending in the hood is of course the additional cost and the time constraint. My tank just came out of a cycle around a week ago and I would really hate being without a light for what I assume to be anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks, if not longer. I was hoping that threads like this might show the wiring process but I guess that would really be a pain in the but to perform the process while simultaneously taking pictures. Thanks again Link to comment
Fish Stick Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 You are right it is not overly complicated. Step-by-step instructions....you just don't need....Once you get the kit, if you deside to do it you will see how easy it is. Just Gut the hood feed the wires through the hole in the back and push them into the end-caps and clip the lights to the heatshield. If you deside to do it and have problems just message me and I can help. Supplies to make it work (The way I did it) 2.18 Retro Kit and 3.18 Heatshield From nanocustoms.com 50 ft. 16g wire Wire nuts (About 20) 2 12v Power adapters (1 300mah for moon lights, 1 500mah for fans) You can see in the picture above of the Pony ballast the colored sets of wires. Yellow and brown go to one end-cap and blue and red to the other. One color on one side, the other color on the other side. Same thing for the JBJ ballast. HTH Link to comment
techdef Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 My $0.02 on this mod... just did Chris' 3x18 onto mine with a fullharm workhorse 5 to light all 3. while i had it open I added one of his 50x50x10mm variable speed fans. Works great, but took a bit more work ;-) had to enlarge one of the fan grates, covered over the other & then did a bit of work to the lens cover to make room below the fan 9the 10mm almost touches teh lens if you just mount it straight to the hood) temps up about 0.3 degrees from the stock. Link to comment
Fish Stick Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I don't understand...the stock fans are 50x50x15. Why did you have to mod it to add a smaller fan? I have two 50X50X10 fans in mine.. Link to comment
ccjung Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Hey Techdef: I was wondering why you ordered the 60x60x15mm fans. I thought it was for a different project. Yes, he is correct, you only need the stock fans and an alternate power supply to get it to cool. You should see about a 1.5-2 F decrease in temps in the tank with the new heatsheild and fans. HTH Chris Link to comment
MVS Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 You are right it is not overly complicated. Step-by-step instructions....you just don't need....Once you get the kit, if you deside to do it you will see how easy it is. Just Gut the hood feed the wires through the hole in the back and push them into the end-caps and clip the lights to the heatshield. If you deside to do it and have problems just message me and I can help. Supplies to make it work (The way I did it) 2.18 Retro Kit and 3.18 Heatshield From nanocustoms.com 50 ft. 16g wire Wire nuts (About 20) 2 12v Power adapters (1 300mah for moon lights, 1 500mah for fans) You can see in the picture above of the Pony ballast the colored sets of wires. Yellow and brown go to one end-cap and blue and red to the other. One color on one side, the other color on the other side. Same thing for the JBJ ballast. HTH That’s very courteous of you, I appreciate it. The list will help me out tremendously and I know that Chris from nanocustoms provides great customer service. I’ll give it a shot in the near future. Best of luck with all of your work. Sorry, I forgot to mention that I’ll be working on adding just one additional 18w light to have a totally of 36w in the hood; I assume the work will be that same? Thanks again Link to comment
Fish Stick Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Thanks for clearing that up Chris. I was confused there. And yeah MVS same idea with the 2.18. Just one less light. More simple with one ballast too I am sure. Ask Chris that's him above your last post...ccjung. Good luck to you too. Link to comment
Garf Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I added the 2x18 retro kit from Nanocustoms, and it was an adventure. The OP has one item shown in his first picture that is a must, Mt. Dew! I was up till the wee hours, as I soldered and shrinkwrapped my connections. I need to wrap the wire harness with tape now! I also put in R2 moonlights, and hooked up a 12v DC adapter I had laying around for the fans. I am running them at 9v (variable adapter is nice), and they are much quiter. Tank does run 1-2 deg cooler, depending upon ambient temps. Question I had, I have a two power cables coming into my aluminum enclosure, what did you guys do with the ground? I have the power plugged into a power strip (beefy Belkin), and that is grounded, do I need to ground the balast enclosure? I kinda did, but jamming the wire under one of the Pony's and taping it down to the enclosure may not fit the bill, lol. I took the two ground wires off the three prong cable, wire nut them together with a heavywire lead that I tried to attach by soldering. Ended up taping it to the enclosure. Link to comment
Fish Stick Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Yes sir...Mt. Dew. I also have the fan adapter set to 9v. The noise is deafening at 12v. In regard to the ground....I have everything running through one of those breaker outlets...and a surge protector. The ground isn't connected to anything on mine. I hope I don't burn down the house.....Would insurance cover that? Link to comment
UnBr0k3nH3r0 Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 thanks for the help here im ordering the 2.18 kit right now hey fish stick is it this kind of power supply? http://cgi.ebay.com/Universal-110V-240V-Ad...1QQcmdZViewItem if not could you pm me a link Link to comment
Fish Stick Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Hey hero....I would not buy that adapter! The ones to get are variable...meaning you can switch the voltage output......I bought mine from an on-line supplier....I have the website at home....I am working right now and don't have it...I will post the website later tonight.....What worked for me is: 1 500mah 12v Adapter set to 9v powering my two fans 1 300mah 12v Adapter for my moon lights I think I paid 15 bucks shipped for both... Link to comment
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