JBJ 28 Gallon Nano Owners Club

[sahin]

There was a guy that was a regular on this thread for quite some time out of the UK that has a great lid fan mod. His handle is 'sahin' - you'll have to search back through the last 10 pages or so if this thread to see if you can find his input on it

slvrsurfridr: Thank you, i may be a stalker of yours because i find that i print most of your posts and i am going to use them when i get back home. I have 3 months left in this hellhole and i cant wait to get back to my tank. The first thing i will do is change out the stock fans and remove the feed lid. I also want to drill the tank and have a seperadte fuge. I have the HQI and i think that a seperate body of water would help keep the temperature down. Plans to change out the ballast and add CF Actinics are also in the works.

Question: has anyone thought of mounting an 80mm computer fan directly to the lid of the tank? it would be an eyesore but it would pull the heat up and away from the tank? Feedback?

Army JAG:

This is the thread you need: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1839180

Someone started a JBJ 28G Mod thread that never really took off, but its got photos and details of 3 mods i did:

1. Adding Royal Blue Cree LED's;
2. Replacing Magnetic Ballast with an Electronic Ballast;
3. Advanced Fan Cooling mod.

I did email you the link, but here it is in case you didnt get the email.

Regards

 

[ir_danno22]

Need some lighting help!

I have had my JBJ28 with CF lighting for about 3 months now. Yesterday morning the CF light did not come on. It worked fine the day before. I don't think the bulb is loose either. I called Foster's and Smith and their tech guy told me that it was most likely NOT the ballast because the fans were turning on but not the light. They were overnighting me a new bulb. Does that sound right about the ballast?

The fans and ballast are on the same power cord but are separate devices. my ballast went out after 3 months in operation and since i didn't know the specs of a better quality ballast that would fit in the canopy, i just modded the hood. I don't think the bulb would go out that fast. If the replacement bulb does not fix the problem, then it's probably the ballast.

 

[mjg1961]

The fans and ballast are on the same power cord but are separate devices. my ballast went out after 3 months in operation and since i didn't know the specs of a better quality ballast that would fit in the canopy, i just modded the hood. I don't think the bulb would go out that fast. If the replacement bulb does not fix the problem, then it's probably the ballast.

Well the bulb did not fix the problem as i suspected. Foster & Smith turned me over to JBJ and they told me it is the ballast. They are sending me a new ballast but charged me $15 shipping and handling which I think is a rip-off for a 3 month old tank. They said that since the tank is over a month old that is their policy. Still waiting on the ballast. It's been over a week without a light and I'm concerned I am losing my corals. Have a temporary clamp-on light with a PC bulb I use in my refugium to grow macro that is providing some light but not enough. So far, JBJ has not been the most responsive company I have dealt with, that's for sure.

 

[ir_danno22]

sorry to hear about your coral losses and the 1 month warranty. they use to have a 6 month warranty when i bought mine. i was thinking of getting their LED hood but i think i'm better off getting a new setup that's not jbj. hope the new ballast fix does the trick. df

 

[corrado007]

i want to say hello, I purchased the HQI 28 gal JBJ in july of 2010. I started reading this thread at page 14 and just finished. I am currently in Iraq and i was having withdrawal so i came here, my brother has been caring for my tank while i am away

Hey man, how's it going. I spent some time in the sand box back in '03 with the 3rd ID too. Not fun, I feel your pain. Keep your head down and come back safe and sound to your family and your tank.
Rock of the Marne!

 

[Army_JAG]

Hey man, how's it going. I spent some time in the sand box back in '03 with the 3rd ID too. Not fun, I feel your pain. Keep your head down and come back safe and sound to your family and your tank.
Rock of the Marne!

Top of the Rock!

Sahin: Yes I got you email, the times I can get on the computer over here is limited. The security system here blocks out all of the pictures but I have emailed myself the link and I will check it out when I get home. Thanks!

 

[d9sccr]

i was going to go lifereef nano overflow, but i've seen some people drill the tank. i was too nervous to do that.

Did you end up doing this? If so, does it work well? I'm debating drilling my tank now...

 

[solastsummer]

So I am either going to add the nano tuners CF retro to my hqi or add 6 3w creee led's to it. I would rather do the cree led's to reduce heat and well, i want to do leds haha. my question is where would i mount them in this hood if i did not want to obstruct the light?

 

[solastsummer]

So this is what im thinking, adding 6 royal blue cree leds, drilling the reflector and sticking just the bulb through, so i can hide all the wiring behind and keep the reclector clean.

attached is my CAD high resolution went-to-school-for drawing.

 

[corrado007]

Looks good to me. Will the LEDs handle the heat of the MH bulb well over time you think?

 

[BarryRey]

I have the same tank, sent a message to Ecoxotic about their LED's and this is their response:

If your still using your HQI light, we would not recommend using the
Panorama Modules or the Stunner LED strips. The heat from the HQI
lamp in your hood would likely degrade the LEDs very quickly - and
they would likely only last a couple years. Normally for the 28
gallon NanoCube - hobbyists simply pull out the existing lighting and
replace it completely with three of the Panorama LED modules (two
white/blue modules and one 453nm blue module.) Hybridizing the system
with HQI and LED would not be a recommendation we would propose and
would likely only lead to disappointment later.

 

[corrado007]

I don't know what that costs but you can buy a JBJ LED hood with all lighting needed for about $400 if I remember right. You HQI guys could sell your chillers and put the money toward that. Just an idea. : )

 

[solastsummer]

hmmm not to by cynical here, but their suggestion is to ditch the hqi all together and replace it with 300 bucks worth of their product, maybe im over analyzing but seems like suggestive selling to me.

 

[BarryRey]

I am still not completely sold on the LEDs. Like the proven track record with the MHs, even though you do have to deal with the heat issues on this tank. To get more pop I am just going to go with Nanotuners 18x2 PC actinic upgrade.

 

[renogaw]

Did you end up doing this? If so, does it work well? I'm debating drilling my tank now...

ended up going with the tunze 9002 as shown above. got that thing in, and after fiddling with it and getting the cup in the right spot (yea right, you can open the hood with the stevieT cup in place my arse), it started making insane amount of skimmate. i just need to dial it in so it's not so wet.

i'll be putting some chaeto in the back compartments now. there's just no room

 

[renogaw]

I am still not completely sold on the LEDs. Like the proven track record with the MHs, even though you do have to deal with the heat issues on this tank. To get more pop I am just going to go with Nanotuners 18x2 PC actinic upgrade.

try to get them to give you square pinned light holders, they come straight and i would have loved to use the dual actinic 460/420nm bulbs instead of the straight 420's.

 

[drillsar]

I'm selling a stand for the 28G JBJ and 1/15 hp Chiller if anyone is interested, thanks

 

[SlvrSurfRidr]

ended up going with the tunze 9002 as shown above. got that thing in, and after fiddling with it and getting the cup in the right spot (yea right, you can open the hood with the stevieT cup in place my arse), it started making insane amount of skimmate. i just need to dial it in so it's not so wet.

i'll be putting some chaeto in the back compartments now. there's just no room

I had this setup for quite awhile, went with a DIY mod on an AC70 fuge for chaeto. It was too loud for my living room though, so I went back to running chaeto in the center chamber and going with the AquoEuro Nano skimmer. If you are interested, I'll make you a deal on the fuge setup (since I don't have a need for it anymore) - PM me if interested

 

[BarryRey]

Renogaw, what do you think the main difference is with the 460/420's vs the straight 420's?

Also, how do you guys paste in a previous post?

 

[renogaw]

Renogaw, what do you think the main difference is with the 460/420's vs the straight 420's?

Also, how do you guys paste in a previous post?

you hit the quote button, and it brings that post to yours.

the difference between the 460 and 420's are wavelengths. one supports better growth, while the other gives the eye popping colors. the 460 is a darker purple. (as far as i can find) the combo lights are only from one manufacturer, and they are only made in square pin. i couldn't find a straight pin to square pin adapter.