2.70 MH & 2.36 PC Biocube 29 Gallon

[Jasonf08]

Well, i decided to put another 70 watt MM in my Biocube 29. I have all sps in my tank & wasnt happy with the coverage of the MH in the hood. The watts for the light was enough, however the focus was too narrow for me. I didnt want any shaded spots on my LR & I want the option to fill in the sides of my rocks with some frags at some point. So i installed a 2.70 MH 14K in my tank. I was able to retain 2 moon lights, 2 14K MH bulbs, & 2 36 watt Actinic bulbs. Take a look at the pics below & here is a link to see the whole installation.

2.70 MH Install Photos

Let me know what you think.

 

[itsboosting]

looks nice! goodjob!


one question, do you have any problem with the heat with the additional lighting?

 

[Jasonf08]

Not sure yet about the heat. I just finished the mod lastnight & i will be monitoring the temps. I'll keep you posted.

 

[i2go]

nice job, where did you get those small MH?

 

[Jasonf08]

Thanks, i got them from www.nanotuners.com

 

[StunnaShadez]

all i can say is wow. thats a first that i saw double MH in a nano hood. very nice!

 

[o2zen]

I think I like the 70s spread out over the single 150 I see many others do. The light has better coverage that way IMO for the same watage roughly. Do you get the shimmer lines now in the tank?

 

[o2zen]

You still have your splash guard on correct?

Post two pics for me, one of your system before any light upgrades but the lights on and the other from now with the x70s in there.

Thanks,.

 

[fire_06786]

What kit did you actually buy?? I just purchased a 29 g OceanicCube and I would like to set it up like yours....

 

[Jasonf08]

i purchased two of the 70 watt kits from www.nanotuners.com

 

[milsaltnewbie07]

you shoould get the blue actinic bulbs, instead of the regular 03 actinic that the set up come with to get more color.that was just my personal choice. But nice tank

 

[Jasonf08]

To answer your questions.

I still have the splashguard on. I had a old tank with a retro in it & wouldnt go back to no splashguard that close to the water again .

Yes i get shimmer in my tank. I was getting shimmer with the single 70 watt & now i have more of a shimmer since the light is covering all the water surface & shows up more.

Overall im happy, the only think i wish i had was 2 bulbs that were the same. I ordered a ushio 14k each time & i recieved two diffent bulbs, one box marked the other not.

 

[dbartkow]

How is the heat and ventilation with the mods? Are things running too hot?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Jasonf08]

Well i have had my temps fluctuate up and down before i did this mod. Its due to the temps warming up & then it snows again. But lately i have been keeping the back lid open to maintain better stability with my temps lately untill this crazy weather levels out.

In regards to the tank i have only seen a 2.5 degree raise in temps with the 2.70 kit, however I had only .5 degrees less change with the 1.70. So overall its running really close to the origional kit i had in the tank.