Nano Size...

reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
Well I've decided. Picked up an Eclipse System 6 today. Here is the plan. I got a 32w PC retro kit that will fit in the eclipse hood (I'm going to leave the NO in until it's ready for corals), 10# of sand & 6# of LR (for now). After the tank cycles I plan to move a couple small pieces of LR from the other tank into the nano. I figure my biggest potential problem will be heat. Not quite sure how to get a fan in the hood or if I will need one.
I plan to use water changes to keep the nitrates down... so there will be no skimmer, sump or fuge.
All I'm lacking now is a few mollies... :D
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
reeferdude

reeferdude

Member
I am just about to go mount my 2x13watt lights in an Eclipse 6 gallon system and I'll post pix from before and after.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
Reeferdude, looken good! Are the PC bulbs "Smart Bulds". I got a smart bulb and was wondering what it would look like. Here's mine :D .
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
Reeferdude, one more thing. Please let me know how the tank handles the heat from the PC. I may get a couple little computer fans and cut them into the hood if I need to. I think leaving the top flip cover off will also help... But I'm not sure yet.
 
cbshark

cbshark

Member
Hey reefnut. I have an eclipse six also that is retrofitted with a csl 14 32 watt 50/50 lamp. When I leave my hood closed, the temp rises to abot 85-86 degrees! I have drilled some holes in the lid and on the side next to the light fixtue which seems to have helped but it still rises to 83-84 with the lid closed. I have been leaving the lid open resulting in 81-82 degrees which is still ok but I hate how it looks with it open. I think i'm going to try to cut in a 2" fan in the back of the hood. Hopefully that will make all the difference. If anyone knows where you can get a 120 volt 2" fan, let me know. I would like to wire it in to the light switch so it can function off of the same timer. I'll try to post some pictures of my tank and the mods I made to the hood if anyone is curious. I'll get some shots tonight and post them asap.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
CBSHARK, thanks for the info... I'm not completely sure where you could find a 2" fan but we have a local computer store that carries them. Radio Shack may also have them. I would be very interested in pics of the modifications you've made. I've been wondering how I can attach the PC to the hood w/o putting a screw through hood. I was thinking of maybe gluing it in.
 
cbshark

cbshark

Member
As far as fitting the light in, the model i have is the custom sealife smartlite retrofit csl 14 32 watt. It has a full length reflector and the bulb is one of those 2 bulb deals with a daylight and an actinic blue. It pretty much fills the entire length of the hood in the front ahead of the lid. The reflector actually overlaps the lid opening by about 3/4 inch. For installation, have you removed the eclipse light and ballast assembly. If not, underneath it are two raised bosses that the fixture bolts into. I drilled two holes in the csl reflector and used the two screws to attach to those bosses. The only problem I have is that the light sits kind of low. Maybe 3/4 inch above water level. I may use a dremel tool and cut off some of the bosses and reattach it slight higher in the hood. The csl doesn't come with a plastic splash guard so I cut a piece of plexiglass in the shape of the frame to fit tight against the filter discharge and I get no splash in the light. On the oposite side of the discharge, I drilled 1/4" holes to allow for some air movement so as not to create a greenhouse effect and totally overheat the tank. I still have a tad of a heat issue so I will put a fan in as soon as I can find one. I'll try to post photos of all of this tonight or tomorrow. As far as everything else though, I am having a wonderful experience with this little nano tank. All of my corals and everything else are doing awesome, thanks to the help of many of the posters on this board. I love nanos maybe more than a large tank. They are much cheaper to stock and are a fun challenge to keep going.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
CBSHARK, sounds like you did a fine jod. I think your retrofit is the same as I have... I'll check at lunch.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
Found some fans! To the right is the cord plug or what ever they call it off the back of the eclipse hood. The fan in the middle is a perfect size... The one on the left could also be used I think but I'm going to try the small one for now and see if it's enough.
 
reeferdude

reeferdude

Member
Ya mine gets up to like 85 86 degrees and i just shut the light off. I dont think those fans would be too much of a pain in the butt to wire in but my only concern would be the noise. I have 4 holes drilled into mine at the top above the lights and it doesnt seem to help at all! There is a huge computer store right down the street from where I work and I think I am gonna drop by there tommorow but i have no idea on how you would wire them into it or where to put them, please help me out!
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
I'm going to put the one in tonight... I'll take some pics. Not quite sure how yet.
The wiring I think is going to be the easy part. I'm going to get an old 12v converter (the type used on cell phones or something like that) and hard wire it in.
I'll let ya know how it goes.
 
reeferdude

reeferdude

Member
well dont burn your house down, ya I think that those are like 12v and i know they run on dc power, I was thinking whats to stop us from using a battery on the fans?
 
cbshark

cbshark

Member
Hey Reefnut, I installed one of those 2" 12 volt fans in my hood the other night and boy what a difference! My tank was getting anywhere from 84-86 degrees through the day and now it hover around 80-81. The only problem is noise. But i think it's worth it. I have alot of wires coming out of my hood from powerheads and the light fixture so I cut mine into the opposite side of the back of the hood. I bought the fan at radioshack along with a 12 volt power supply. I have it on a timer so it goes off at night so we can sleep. I must have a pretty good heat load from my pump and powerhead because the temp still rises with the lights off and it's in the coolest room in our house. I'm going to experiment with the timer to see what works out best. I haven't gotten a chance to take some photos yet. We just picked up a 7 month old Jack Russell and she's pretty much consuming all of my time at home right now! We now have three dogs, a female beagle, a male boxer-beagle mix and now the Jack. She's supposed to be a birthday gift for my father in-law but i'm not sure we'll be able to give her up. If anyone's interested, i'll post a few pics of our dogs along with my tank pics. Sorry for the ramble.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
Burn down my house? No chanse of that ;) ... Here are some pics. The first one went so well I decided to put both in.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
Last one... I also drilled two small holes on the side of the cover tword the front where the light will be for air flow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top