MH in a nano-cube 6

[coralcrazy]

I did it..i finally put 70 Watt MH lighting in my nano-cube with out starting a fire....when i came back from my class i was hoping that my dorm room wasn't on fire :biglaugh:...i didn't think this would work...i will def post pics.. The reason why i am so happy is the hood was made of plastic...so the temp of the lights would easily melt the hood...well i thought it was a great victory for a nano- cube..

 

[coralcrazy]

pics..of the tank for now..

this tank has been set up for a while but..just recently put MH on it...
also the little hole..is an auto top off hole..i have an iv drip that fits in the whole..gravity fed auto top off.. :Hydrogen:

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Umm not a fire science major huh?

 

[DevIouS]

You're crazy!

Thats not safe dude!

 

[coralcrazy]

meh..we will see...so far so good..if you hear about me on the news...then you know i screwed up all i have to say..

 

[coralcrazy]

How would this start a fire btw? when the MH are fired up..the hood is cool to the touch...
Well at least i have a great story to tell that i caused classes to be canceled for a day

 

[DevIouS]

It's eventually going to melt + falling into the water...

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

CC You need to realize that that hood was probably made for either a NO or a PC light. Add the heat of a MH light and you are talking about a big problem. The breakdown of the plastic may not be right away but I am sure if you left that light on for 8-10 hrs and came back you might have a problem. Heat causes the plastic to break down and become brittle and either fall apart or catch fire. Think of the forest fire. If you drop a cigarette on a nice green lush leaf it probably won't burn but do it to a dry brown brittle leaf and you may have a big problem on your hands.

Think of this too, lets say that the hood just breaks apart, after that the light still energized falls in the water. 2 things most likely will happen 1 fried fish 2 Fire. Think this one out and see if you wanna keep it.

 

[coralcrazy]

hm..whoops...sigh...Chief..i haven't seen any melt points..i will watch it very carfully..but High heat epoxy especially JB WELD..does create a very good bond with plastic.....it can be kept with temperatures in engines...but then again you know what you are talking about...i guess i am just a crazy korean..

 

[gil716]

hey CC, I did the same thing to my 24 nano when it was running. some advice, even tho u didn't ask for any.
1) put each fan on its on adapter. if they both fail at once, you'll have a meltdown in no time. it could be as simple as a faulty timer or a loose plug. i had 3 sets of fan on separate power supplies for redundancy.
2) i would put the splash shield back on, but do the mod that "shao-lin" did. He cut out a big square opening in the plastic shield and put a piece of glass in its place. this would prevent the mh from falling into the water if it were to ever work itself loose.

I even had a Ranco single stage controller monitoring the heat in the hood. It was programmed to shut off the MH if the temperature rose above a set point.

hope it works out. be safe.

 

[coralcrazy]

yea they are on seperate adapters...i am not worried..nano customs..does the same thing...so far the lights were on for 10 hours..no warping around the hood..was cool to the touch...but i will keep an eye on it..

 

[coralcrazy]

It's eventually going to melt + falling into the water...

not true..the hood is made in a fasion that the fans suck out the heat..plus having high temp epoxy will keep the bond strong..i did lots of research before doing this..but this is my own take on a costly modification. If all goes well people don't need to spend big buxs to get a MH on their cube..
Thanks for all the words advice guys..i will watch this with care..

 

[Quang]

coralcrazy, i say goodluck dude and in college, f few bucks means a lot. GOOD LUCK DUDE! You're in a dorm and not your house...I doubt u would try to pull something like that off in your crib. IF that really makes any difference....

 

[ezee]

Coracrazy,

Even though this has been beat to death, I just wanted to chime in and say it is a risk you are taking. What everyone is talking about is not that it is hot or cool now, they are referring to the long term. It may be fine now but if anything goes wrong and it starts an electrical fire, you could endanger the lives of other people.

You might just want to reconsider how you put the light in the hood. Maybe replace part of the hood or something else. A tight lasting bond is great but when the fans go out and the light melts the plastic, it really doesn't matter what kind of bond you have.

I saw a guy make a nano MH from a metal desk lamp, maybe you could try that. Can't be too expensive.

E

 

[masterswimmer]

froggie made the best point so far. You're dealing with the lives of other innocent people. If it works, great. But if it doesn't work, it'll be too late for the unlucky students/friends of yours that might not have been able to get out safely. Choose wisely holy man!

master

 

[nanoreefer22]

Coral,
This is just simply something that made no sense posting. Everyones telling you the hazards your creating just by having that hood running and you seem to be ignoring it.

Froggie did say it best, your endangering the lives of other people and you probably wouldn't pull this if you were running the risk of burning you own house down.

And from the looks of it the bulbs closer to the water than anything, if you happen to get a splash of water I'd feel bad for that bulb.

This by far isn't the safest thing to do, nor is it the most logical.

You can take everyones advice for what its worth, but it's not cool when your messing with a situation not safe for other people.

Just a nickel from Kris before I hit the bed.

 

[Quang]

Again I dont want you to feel you're being bashed coral...we're all friendly here. In this case, we have your concern, your safety and those around you first on our minds before we begin to think about how your corals are benefiting from the mod. WE CARE ABOUT YOU and THE SAFETY OF YOUR ROOMMATES/FLOORMATES, first and foremost!

 

[Rborgia]

As mentioned... Nanocustoms / nanotuners has been doing this for a while. They do however have a considerable heat sheild between the reflector and the plastic of the hood, and also a cover of some sort between the bulb and the water.

Note: They have this on the 12 + sizes. unless I overlooked a 6?

I would ask around and see what the clear cover is made of, and put somthing in there incase it does drop. the one they use looks like it wouls contain the light if it were to drop.

It's a start... maybe just a few minor (or major) tweaks and you will be set.

Rich

 

[coralcrazy]

i have that plastic shiled..i could put it up...it comes with all the nano cubes..it's just the default cover..

 

[masterswimmer]

i have that plastic shiled..i could put it up...it comes with all the nano cubes..it's just the default cover..

I don't think the plastic shield is what you should use with MH lights. That would be appropriate for NO or flourescent lights. You should be using a piece of tempered glass.

JM $.02,
Russ