Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
So I bit the bullet and went for broke. Here's my bio cube LED upgrade.
I gutted the whole hood but then put the 2 switch box back just because light was escaping the 2 holes.
I cut out a hole on top just a little smaller then the light so the top part would seat on top of the stock hood(wife liked the hood better then open top with egg crate)
Once light was in I had to drill out the hole making it bigger so I can route wires like the stock wiring.
I then used black silicon to seal around the light on the outside. I re installed slash guard and set up to 10 timers on the control module.
I'd like to thank Mr. X for all his help and patience with me as I bombarded him with A LOT of questions! He was always very polite and helpful and ALWAYS answered his PM's. So again thank you Mr. X.
So here it is... My bio cube LED upgrade.
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Of course I cleaned up the silicon lines and I'm really happy with the out come. I left if sticking out like that for 2 reasons. Manufacture recommended the top half be exposed to air and there is a center fan. And if I recessed it anymore I wouldn't be able to use the stock splash guard and the light was expensive so I wanted to protect as best as possible. I siliconed the wires and then wrapped them in material I got from my work shop down the firehouse. It's corrosive proof and fire retardant, so I wrapped the wires in it. It hit the fish saver from inTank so I had to cut a piece out of the fish saver to allow room for the wires.
So now instead of 3 plugs, 2 with timers, I have 1 plug and the control module which is plugged into the unit itself.
I like how it ramps up till noon and then ramps back down to moonlight setting then a period of total darkness. I did a lot research and spent a good hour on the phone with a tech who helped set up all the timers and ramp up times. It's set for a 2 week acclimation period as to not shock anything, even though I only have a few snails, hermits and hitchhiker emerald crabs.
Manufacture still highly recommends an acclimation period of 2 weeks and that is all pre set.
There are so many plus sides to this light. It will allow me to grow whatever I want IF I'm ready to expand or just keep it as is. I can dim lights on the fly and raise them or just let the timer do its thing. Also being a firefighter I never know I I'm gonna get called to a job and how long I'll be gone so the full timer is HUGE.
And a added bonus which is not needed at all il assuming but it cool when you have friends over is the thunderstorm effect. Yup I have a 20% chance of thunderstorms and it's set to 1 storm a day. So ya never know and every storm is random with blue,royal and white lights so you never know what your gonna get and it depends on the time of day. You can also set the light to follow the earths lunar cycle which I have off right now.
Well that's it. Sorry for the ramble, just wanted to give you enough info and feed back as possible. I do not have any fish or corals yet as I'm dealing with my African tank but hope to get back on track next weekend with my cube. It's been cycling for almost a month now.
Thanks for reading and again thank you Mr. X.
Here's a link to the light
http://www.aquaillumination.com/sol/
I gutted the whole hood but then put the 2 switch box back just because light was escaping the 2 holes.
I cut out a hole on top just a little smaller then the light so the top part would seat on top of the stock hood(wife liked the hood better then open top with egg crate)
Once light was in I had to drill out the hole making it bigger so I can route wires like the stock wiring.
I then used black silicon to seal around the light on the outside. I re installed slash guard and set up to 10 timers on the control module.
I'd like to thank Mr. X for all his help and patience with me as I bombarded him with A LOT of questions! He was always very polite and helpful and ALWAYS answered his PM's. So again thank you Mr. X.
So here it is... My bio cube LED upgrade.
View attachment 74912
View attachment 74907
View attachment 74910
View attachment 74909
View attachment 74913
View attachment 74914
View attachment 74916
Of course I cleaned up the silicon lines and I'm really happy with the out come. I left if sticking out like that for 2 reasons. Manufacture recommended the top half be exposed to air and there is a center fan. And if I recessed it anymore I wouldn't be able to use the stock splash guard and the light was expensive so I wanted to protect as best as possible. I siliconed the wires and then wrapped them in material I got from my work shop down the firehouse. It's corrosive proof and fire retardant, so I wrapped the wires in it. It hit the fish saver from inTank so I had to cut a piece out of the fish saver to allow room for the wires.
So now instead of 3 plugs, 2 with timers, I have 1 plug and the control module which is plugged into the unit itself.
I like how it ramps up till noon and then ramps back down to moonlight setting then a period of total darkness. I did a lot research and spent a good hour on the phone with a tech who helped set up all the timers and ramp up times. It's set for a 2 week acclimation period as to not shock anything, even though I only have a few snails, hermits and hitchhiker emerald crabs.
Manufacture still highly recommends an acclimation period of 2 weeks and that is all pre set.
There are so many plus sides to this light. It will allow me to grow whatever I want IF I'm ready to expand or just keep it as is. I can dim lights on the fly and raise them or just let the timer do its thing. Also being a firefighter I never know I I'm gonna get called to a job and how long I'll be gone so the full timer is HUGE.
And a added bonus which is not needed at all il assuming but it cool when you have friends over is the thunderstorm effect. Yup I have a 20% chance of thunderstorms and it's set to 1 storm a day. So ya never know and every storm is random with blue,royal and white lights so you never know what your gonna get and it depends on the time of day. You can also set the light to follow the earths lunar cycle which I have off right now.
Well that's it. Sorry for the ramble, just wanted to give you enough info and feed back as possible. I do not have any fish or corals yet as I'm dealing with my African tank but hope to get back on track next weekend with my cube. It's been cycling for almost a month now.
Thanks for reading and again thank you Mr. X.
Here's a link to the light
http://www.aquaillumination.com/sol/
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