Nanos - Halides - and Heat

[crumbletop]

I'm now itching for a nano. Maybe a Red Sea Max

For those of you who run nanos, I have a few questions. I really like the fully enclosed look of the Max (nice and sleek and clean) and I don't really want to run an open top. If I get a nano, I'd like to keep some acros in there (mainly torts, I think, which don't grow as fast) and so I'd like to run some better lighting than PCs. Best I can tell, none of the nanos run true T5s. So a few questions:

1) Does anyone have experience running a closed-top nano with halides and not needing a chiller?
2) Any experiences with nanocustoms halide retrofits? Good quality? Worth the $?
3) Are the T5 "PCs" in the Red Sea Max brighter than normal PC bulbs or are they just normal PC bulbs?
4) Do any of the All-in-ones have decent enough flow without needing to add power heads?
5) How noisy are nanos?
6) Any major differences between the Max, the 29 Biocube, and the 28 Nanocube HQI?

Thanks!

 

[fallinapart]

Thanks for asking Jack, I think after my frag tank setup, this is my next move. so I'll follow this thread with great intrest.

Norman

 

[RevRoy]

my nano had heat issues with PCs I upgrade the hood with nanocustoms PC upgrade doubling the light that came standard. It would run between 84-88. It is an older nanocube though. The newer ones look very nice amd may not have the issues i had. Since going toppless and the solona and the jb fans heat is not an issue. I have ordered a glass top for it when it gets here i'll let you know if it hold heat or not. I'm hoping to leave the lid on it to keep "little fingers out" and still run at an acceptable temp.

 

[Fanof49ASU]

I don't have halides, but I can't imagine running with a top and no chiller.

I have a pc lighting upgrade from Nanocustoms and like it very much. They are great to work with, but for some reason I believe they were bought out by someone in the past year or so. I believe the same 'original' guys work there, it's just owned by new people.....and I don't know if the quality has changed.

 

[sperry]

I have the nanotuners 1.70 + 2.18 kit on a NC12 with no chiller and dont have any temp issues. All total I have 4 of their hoods. The quality is excellent and well worth the cost. As far as flow it depends on how much you want. I run a Koralia nano in mine along with a maxi jet replacement for the stock pump.

 

[crumbletop]

Interesting. Nanotuners / nanocustoms say that the hoods run cooler after thier upgrade than before (extra fan(s) + better fan(s) I think). I was hoping that translated into easier heat issues with the tank.

sperry -- do you run all the lights at the same time?

 

[SRT80]

That nano at the swap with the chiller looked sweet. Did anyone buy that who owned it?

Jack, don't you have one of those Viper lights? Those look nice but that takes away from the closed look.

I'm fixin' to setup another nano. Probably a 29 with either a 150w halide or T-5s. My tank is so overrun with stuff I no longer want. Purple hairy mushrooms (20+ that have moved and covers my back glass), star polyps. And the worst part.....razor caulerpa. So, I'm gonna start from scratch.

It was probably about 2 years ago when I was pickin' up a zoa rock from fishdoc. I was like "I'm not really into SPS, I'm ok with softies..." That has changed. I want a SPS tank now with some LPS too.

Steve

 

[silvers]

I was running a 250w MH on my 22g nano but it was open top and had the fan from the 48'' Blueline fixture I cut down to 18'' and it was very nosy from the css220 skimmer I was running on it. But with that being said it was probaly one of my more sucessful tanks. With no heat issues at all.

 

[crumbletop]

I don't have the viper (sold it). I'd like to keep the aquarium looking sleek (closed) if I could.

 

[Fanof49ASU]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11650045#post11650045 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crumbletop
Interesting. Nanotuners / nanocustoms say that the hoods run cooler after thier upgrade than before (extra fan(s) + better fan(s) I think). I was hoping that translated into easier heat issues with the tank.

Once again, I got the pc's...and I got the 12g 4.24 upgrade (upgrades 48w to 96w). I have seen 1-2 degree drop in temps overall.

IMO.....The biggest change with the fans, was in reversing one fan's direction. I believe they both blew into the tank initially.

You should checkout nano-reef dot com
They have modded every all-in-one tank available....using the Nanotuner fixes, as well as, stuff we can do on our own.
Nanotuners is a big supporter there, and have a 'sponsor message board section that they visit often for questions.

 

[crumbletop]

Thanks, Mark! The land of nanos is new for me

 

[waynesworld]

Jack you need to go bigger not the nano look at the 500 gal range

 

[crumbletop]

LOL! There is a desire for bigger as well -- but that one I'll definitely need to wait on.

 

[Fanof49ASU]

Are you going to plumb it to your 90 gallon?

 

[DMBillies]

I can't speak to halides on a nano. I can say that our nano had a 1200 maxijet upgrade in it and I was having heat issues. I replaced that 1200 with a 900 (a much lower watt pump which is slightly more efficient in terms of gallons/watt) and increased the flow in the tank via a Koralia 1 (although any small ph with a dispersed flow pattern would work). This lowered my temperature by at least 2 degrees and increased my flow dramatically.

 

[gsusfreak]

are the RSMs the same price range as the Solana?....if so, id go with that...rimless and it comes with cool light fixture!

 

[crumbletop]

Hmm. This sounds more and more fun all the time. Part of the fun of this hobby is wrestling with the system to get it to do what you want (e.g. Brian's post above).

Mark, this would be stand alone (not plumbed in).

John, there are flying objects at my house -- most of them unidentified -- and I would likely have someone discover that the light sounds like a cool bell when you hit it with a light saber, or have a stuffed animal clog the water intake and flood things. Open tops won't work too well around my house.

 

[gsusfreak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11651789#post11651789 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crumbletop

John, there are flying objects at my house -- most of them unidentified -- and I would likely have someone discover that the light sounds like a cool bell when you hit it with a light saber, or have a stuffed animal clog the water intake and flood things. Open tops won't work too well around my house.

:lol: :lol: :lol: