Saltwater & Reef

Gamefreak0109 · 05-15-2011, 10:14 PM

Whats the cheapest way to add LEDs to my Nano cube?
I have a JBJ 24g nano cube with the original PC hood. i want to have LEDs instead of the PCs, but i cant afford to buy the LED replacement hood. Whats my best bet to add LEDs to my hood? I found LED strips. They are the 12in TrueLumens LED strips. and they run about 70 each at my LFS.

http://www.current-usa.com/lighting/...ed-striplights

would those be any good? or does anyone have a used LED hood they are lookin to get rid of for a decent price? any suggestions are welcomed. i really just want to move on to somethign that is better for the coral, less heat output, and cheaper to power, which LEDs do all that. and just to be clear, im not looking for moon lights, im looking for actual daytime lights that will promote growth, and also make the colors stand out. becuase my tank doesnt have a good color output from the corals like i would like to have, here is a video of my tank from a couple months ago and youll see what im talkin about. the first strip i would get would be the blue,so that color would show, then later add to it to get the daytime lights

YouTube - My 24g Nano Cube 9 Months Old

iDream · 05-16-2011, 07:54 AM

How much are you willing to spend? There are several options I could give, none of which are are cheap.

The replacement hood (or the nanotuners.com upgrade) would probably be more cost-effective for you.

**melosu58** · 05-16-2011, 08:45 AM

Moved to General hardware and equipment discussion

Gamefreak0109 · 05-16-2011, 10:10 AM

Well, the replacement hood is $400. If I were to get the truelumens strips, it would cost around 350.. I didn't know of there was any cheaper options

iDream · 05-16-2011, 10:17 AM

That's about what you're going to spend

FYI the Truelumen PRO strips are the ones that are more than just moonlights

Gamefreak0109 · 05-16-2011, 11:17 AM

Yea I know. Sorry I should edit the post more. When I typed it, the original true lumens is what I was talkin about. But then I changed it to the pros. I guess what my next question is, if I fit the pros in my hood, would that be better lighting than the JBJ led hood?

Gamefreak0109 · 05-16-2011, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melosu58

Moved to General hardware and equipment discussion

Thanks

iDream · 05-16-2011, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gamefreak0109

Yea I know. Sorry I should edit the post more. When I typed it, the original true lumens is what I was talkin about. But then I changed it to the pros. I guess what my next question is, if I fit the pros in my hood, would that be better lighting than the JBJ led hood?

If you're meaning this replacement hood, then I doubt it. That one is an amazing one that you couldn't ask for more in LEDs, dimmable, whatever color strips you're wanting, purely amazing

Gamefreak0109 · 05-16-2011, 02:45 PM

Well I was talking about the actual jbj brand hood. This one

JBJ lighting LED replacement hood- fits 24 and 28 nano cubes

But the one from nano tuners seems like it would be better

iDream · 05-16-2011, 02:54 PM

I'm fairly sure it would be stronger, though it is a bit of DIYing. Very simple as far as DIYing goes, but a little handiness is needed.

For the price though the nanotuners is better purely on the dimmability of the fixture, that's a great tool for fine tuning the color and intensity of your lights

Gamefreak0109 · 05-16-2011, 07:38 PM

Ah that's good to know. Thanks

Gamefreak0109 · 06-02-2011, 09:00 AM

what do you guys (and girls) thing about this?

JBJ NANOCUBE 24/28 GALLON LED LIGHT UPGRADE KIT CREE 3W | eBay

carey · 06-02-2011, 09:23 AM

Wow, seems awful expensive and you still have to do the work yourself basically. lol Good luck!

Gamefreak0109 · 06-02-2011, 10:16 AM

expensive? the led retro i was looking at doing was gonna cost me around 250-300. and the one from nanotuners.com is 400... i dont mind getting my hands dirty, i just want to save as much money doing it as i can. anyone else know any other options?

krap101 · 06-02-2011, 11:05 AM

I think jimbo did something similar to his hood. Overall a pretty simple process, but it might take awhile to get parts, depending on where you buy them from

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...ld-132103.html

Gamefreak0109 · 06-02-2011, 03:44 PM

my plan is to just buy three 12inch true lumens pro strips, gut the PCs out of the hood, and fit the strips into the hood. it seems pretty simple.....but is it worth it? i can get 12in pros at about $82 each at my LFS, and they said if i order the 3 strips and power supply, they will work a deal with me. (who knows what that means) i was gonna get 2 strips of 50/50 and one strip of blue.

Gamefreak0109 · 06-05-2011, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDream

If you're meaning this replacement hood, then I doubt it. That one is an amazing one that you couldn't ask for more in LEDs, dimmable, whatever color strips you're wanting, purely amazing

so i might actually be getting this kit insead of the true lumens pro.... not 100% positive yet but if the funds are available. ill get this one. But my question is, out of the 4 strips, what colors should i go with. 2 blue, and 2 50/50, or one blue and three 50/50, or what? each strip has 6 LEDs. or shoudl i do two 50/50, one blue, one white? i dont know, what do you guys thing?