12g JBJ Upgrading lighting..worth it??

[Phyxius]

Picked up yet another tank to add to our growing list of them :) Wanted a smaller NC to grow out some zoos and the like

Found a great deal on a 2 week old JBJ Nano cube DX with sand/rock/stand all for 130.00. Got it home and things were great till wife accidentally pulled one of the power connectors for the light apart. She tried to plug it back in while still powered and I heard the electrical pop from the other room. I assume the pins were not matched and it cross feed the ballast but never blew the fuse. Needless to say it blew the ballast but left me with only the LEDs. No big deal and easy to fix but I also found a kit on the site to add another 24watt bulb to the existing 2.
Has anyone added the Nanocustoms light kit to their JBJs? Did you find it worth it and what are you able to grow in the tank now? Judging if its really worth it in terms of more light, added heat and the ability to add more kinds of corals to it. Son has a AP24 that grows pretty much all softies with ease.
Already have 3 other tanks for large LPS, softies and SPS but thought it would be fun to add a 12g to the mix.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

Ya I was recently looking at the addition of another light as well. But, even with the additional light would you be able to run some of the monti and acro stuff? They have a 70 watt hqi conversion for like $300 I think, but thats not in my price budget at the moment.

[Phyxius]

CSUPUEBLOTIM
I`m not real worried about SPS and stuff in it as I have a 90 with MH and all the goodies for that as well as a 29g frag tank. Have over 700 watt and 400watt total in them for all my SPS needs as well as pretty much all other high light needs. This seems to be too much light for some of the zoos and other little softies
I was just wondering who was growing what with 48watts and possible under 72watts with the lighting upgrade. Son had a 12g JBJ a few yrs ago before it got upgraded to a 24g AP and had good luck with Zoos and some other softies. Would like to start some zoos off again as well as Rics, mushrooms and the like and possibly some higher light need frags (non-sps)

[Bluesop7]

Personally I would say ditch the hood and find a PC fixture. I would wager you could find one that will fit your needs better, be cheaper, and easier to install. Not to mention you would get the added benefit of a cooler tank.

[reefman13]

I would also ditch the hood. I live in the NE and I bought one brand new, and one day I came home and the temp was like 90 degrees. Personally, I can grow ANY softies and MOST LPS. So you will be fine, but I would def. upgrade the fans. Either that or (what I am thinking of doing) buy a completely new fixture. I am going to buy the Coralife 150W DE HQI hang on light. And under that I will be able to grow anything.

Hope that helps.

[MikePowell]

look in the classified ads, selling forum, and local reef clubs to find a deal on a light. i just got a nano cube 12 with a 70w sunpod for 190. they light alone was selling for 100 bucks, retails new for ~210.

[Tylt33]

You can buy a 12g Aquapod with 70w Metal Halide Sunpod for $149 on marinedepot.com right now.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11028226#post11028226 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Phyxius
CSUPUEBLOTIM
I`m not real worried about SPS and stuff in it as I have a 90 with MH and all the goodies for that as well as a 29g frag tank. Have over 700 watt and 400watt total in them for all my SPS needs as well as pretty much all other high light needs. This seems to be too much light for some of the zoos and other little softies
I was just wondering who was growing what with 48watts and possible under 72watts with the lighting upgrade. Son had a 12g JBJ a few yrs ago before it got upgraded to a 24g AP and had good luck with Zoos and some other softies. Would like to start some zoos off again as well as Rics, mushrooms and the like and possibly some higher light need frags (non-sps)

Sorry if my response was misinterpreted, but ya I was also kinda wondering like you about the SPS with the more wattage. I would eventually like to upgrade so I can get some of the acro's and what not. Might just try and mod something into the factory hood since I like the clean look. Just have to wait and see. Does anybody have rough dimensions of the Viper clamp on?

[sperry]

I have the NanoCustoms 4.24 and 1.70 + 2.18 hoods. I can't say enough good stuff about them. With the 4.24 2~10K, 1~actinic and 1~50/50 I get good color and LPS growth. Right now it is on my frag grow out tank. Mostly zoa and rics. On the 1.70 + 2.18 I went with the 14K bulb and am glad I did. I dont think the 2.18 actinics could add enough blue to a 10K bulb. I have some SPS in it. Heat is not an issue with either hood.

[Eklikewhoa]

I have the NanoTuners/NanoCustoms 1.70+2.18 that I installed myself and love it! I switched mine from the Ushio 14k to the Astralux 14k and love it even more!

Keeps everything looking good and growing healthy and like sperry, no heat issues whatsover.

[Phyxius]

Thanks for all the replies and options guys. Seems like they are more choices for lighting a Nano than for all my larger tanks...

I`ll have to look around some more at the options and see where I need to take this.

[joesmoe517]

i wouldnt ditch the hood because of the benefits you get from it. I only top off maybe a half cup per day with the nanocustoms 4.24 96watt PC upgrade and i love the color and growth im getting. I wouldnt just get the 72 watt, if youre going to go to the hassle of the upgrade do all 96 watts. Also get the R2 moonlight upgrade because its hard to get the stock ones working without the upgrade (as i found out) and the SilenX fans because with the hood still being closed youll need it to dissipate the heat from the extra bulbs.

[CSUPUEBLOTIM]

I am thinking of getting the viper clamp on and some how modding it into the hood with the factory lighting. Have to see if I get the viper or not first.

[Eklikewhoa]

You could easily put together a MH setup to mod into the hood without spending the extra amount of money on a viper.