28G JBJ Nano Stock Lights & Coral Growth

[Ceejai777]

Hi everyone, I just replaced the blue moon lights in the hood of my 28g JBJ Nano with the same bulbs because the others were very dim.

I have always wondered if the stock lights in these tanks is adequate enough to keep and grow coral. I have only had one of these tanks set up for a longer length of time but it had upgraded lights in the hood so I've never kept coral for longer period under the stock lights.

I had just gotten my tank up down in California and was stocking it before I decided to move back to WA. It had been set up for about 7 months but I didn't use the hood and light (had a dimmable light that hung above the tank).

I would like to keep the hood, no matter what, so even if I do upgrade, it would need to be something that can be modded in the hood. Is there any SIMPLE upgrades I can do? I know nothing about doing electrical anything. This tank has the 105w quad lighting.

 

[Coraljunkie]

I had the same tank before but it had the leds. I ended up doing a mod to the hood and put an ai hydra in it. You can see the entire mod in my tank thread.

 

[Ceejai777]

I had the same tank before but it had the leds. I ended up doing a mod to the hood and put an ai hydra in it. You can see the entire mod in my tank thread.

Thank you...will definitely check it out

 

[iteach2wheels]

I just replaced the stock CFL's with A RapidLED.com retro kit and a Storm controller in my BC8. Such a huge difference I would almost say night and day.

I liked it so much when a NanoCube with the same mod came up for sale I decoded to upgrade.


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[nanoreefing4fun]

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

Start a new tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along - we love pics

 

[Ceejai777]

I just replaced the stock CFL's with A RapidLED.com retro kit and a Storm controller in my BC8. Such a huge difference I would almost say night and day.

I liked it so much when a NanoCube with the same mod came up for sale I decoded to upgrade.


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Thank you for the info...how hard was it to install the kit and controller and how much did it cost?

 

[iteach2wheels]

I depends on your skill level. I bought this kit.

http://www.rapidled.com/biocube-8-dimmable-retrofit-kit/

But I added the Storm Controller and required drivers.

I also upgraded the power supply.

I had no trouble at all soldering and heat shrinking everything.

Call Rapid and talk to them. They were very helpful and really didn't mind answering all my stupid questions. ;-)




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[iteach2wheels]

Also, as far as future expanding lift goes. I will be using my storm controller and power supply to run my NanoCube when I get it running. It will easily power the LEDs on both tanks at once. Quite a deal!!


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[Ceejai777]

I depends on your skill level. I bought this kit.

http://www.rapidled.com/biocube-8-dimmable-retrofit-kit/

But I added the Storm Controller and required drivers.

I also upgraded the power supply.

I had no trouble at all soldering and heat shrinking everything.

Call Rapid and talk to them. They were very helpful and really didn't mind answering all my stupid questions. ;-)




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I don't have any skills (Napoleon Dynamite voice). I believe that is the company that will do all the soldering and everything for you, correct? They seem to be the best option out there for people like me (no skills). Thank you very much for the info!

 

[iteach2wheels]

Actually buy the solder less kit. As far as soldering the other stuff. It's a very easy skill to learn. The supplies are pretty cheap and it's worth learning


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[iteach2wheels]

Solder less applies to the LEDs only... I think. They are the most sensitive to overheating.


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[Ceejai777]

Actually buy the solder less kit. As far as soldering the other stuff. It's a very easy skill to learn. The supplies are pretty cheap and it's worth learning


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I'll do my research but also need to take into consideration that I can't just get up and go get what I need when I need it because my car is out of commission at the moment and I have no idea when or if it will be fixed (transmission issue) so I have been buying everything online, which, I guess I could get soldering stuff online, too. I just feel like a fish out of water as far as that type of stuff goes. Will look into doing it myself, though

 

[iteach2wheels]

These are the LEDs in my BC8. Notice the wires and solder on the chips.

This is my Nano Cube. I haven't checked out the internal wiring in the Nano yet.

As far as the supplies goes. You shouldn't need anything more than a small soldering iron, rosin core solder and small heat sharing tubing. All of that should be available on Amazon.


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[Ceejai777]

These are the LEDs in my BC8. Notice the wires and solder on the chips.

This is my Nano Cube. I haven't checked out the internal wiring in the Nano yet.

As far as the supplies goes. You shouldn't need anything more than a small soldering iron, rosin core solder and small heat sharing tubing. All of that should be available on Amazon.


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Awesome...thank you so much for taking the time to post these pictures! You should start up a Reef Chronicle if you haven't already

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

If interested checkout StevesLeds too

http://shop.stevesleds.com/Saltwater-and-Marine-Aquariums_c44.htm

 

[iteach2wheels]

If interested checkout StevesLeds too

http://shop.stevesleds.com/Saltwater-and-Marine-Aquariums_c44.htm

That looks like a pretty awesome setup!! I love the dedicated fan and plug and play design.

I went with LED's after my stock lighting crashed. Rapid showed up on a Google search. They had a good rep so I took a shot. (I probably would have been to cheap to buy something like this... ;-) ). However, if you have limited experience and supplies this would be an ideal solution.




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