DIY 70w HQI Nano question

JeffD · #1 12/08/2007, 09:38 PM

hi all, I'm planning a nano tank around my already purchased 70w electronic ballast. I have not bought the bulb yet and looking for suggestions on a few things.

1. What bulb out there in 70w hqi will give me good brightness but not intense white? I'm personally not a fan of a dark looking blue tank so i'm looking for a bulb that is bright with some non-overpowering blue tint or hue. I see inexpensive bulbs selling via online auction but maybe these are garbage..most of these cheapies are no-name brands available in 10-20k usually.

I really want a bulb i'll be happy with and not have to add extra lighting to give me the color i want.

2. For a 70w hqi i'm looking for a tank size that this single 70w mh will provide proper coverage. Both in width and in depth. I'm thinking of 2 tanks.

a.) a 20 gallon long with one end sectioned off for a built-in fuge\overflow. The 20 long is not too tall so the 70w should penetrate well and having it sectioned off the 70w would cover the "tank area" ok

b.)a standard 10 gallon drilled and a small sump added with fuge built into sump.

I plan on keeping mostly zoo's\shrooms in this tank.

your opinions would be appreciated!!

thanks

cherubfish pair · #2 12/08/2007, 11:46 PM

Is this a pendant or clamp-on?

JeffD · #3 12/09/2007, 12:08 AM

This will be a pendent over the tank. More then likely a DIY pendent as i'm not seeing much out there for 70w hqi for relectors\pendents available. I could probably build a fan cooled canopy that could house the 70w hqi also.

cherubfish pair · #4 12/09/2007, 12:19 AM

If you have the right parts and the skill, diy is the best way to go. It puts more pride in your reef.

Eklikewhoa · #5 12/09/2007, 11:37 AM

Isn't the title of the thread DIY 70w MH?

JeffD · #6 12/09/2007, 11:46 AM

diy 70w mh qestion. I was hoping to get some opinions on my questions that revolve around a 70w diy mh setup.

FrozenSurfer · #7 12/09/2007, 01:24 PM

I have setup a DIY 70w HQI setup. I actually think it's posted on here somewhere.

I'm using a 20k HQI with 2 24w Actinics

FrozenSurfer · #8 12/09/2007, 01:27 PM

If you want some pictures of how it's assembled I can take some when I get back into town

JeffD · #9 12/09/2007, 06:50 PM

hi FrozenSurfer, nice job. Sure I would like to see how its assembled if you dont mind taking the pics. Nice tank too! What size tank? I never would of thought you would need to add actinics with a 20k. Pretty much the color balance i'm looking for also. What type of bulb is the 70w 20k?
I was planning on hanging my light over either a 10 or 20 long but if i need to start adding actinic as you did not too sure how that will hang..May need to instead build a canopy of some kind to hold the hqi and a few actinics like you have.

Blitz99 · #10 12/09/2007, 10:59 PM

i would also like to see... is that in the stock hood?

Rosseau · #11 12/10/2007, 01:15 AM

I had a cheap eBay 14,000.. it was really really blue. I also have a 14,000K Astralux. It is much less blue, bordering on white, and in opinion a good colour. A few pics are in my thread (red house).

The in-tank pictures do not have the Astralux, only pics of the Astralux are during install.

Personally I wouldn't only have a single 70W over a 20long.

JeffD · #12 12/10/2007, 07:18 PM

hi Rousseau, so your tank is a 24" wide 15 gal? If I were to go with a 20 long i was going to section the tank off at 20-24" and use the other side as a overflow\fuge. What do you think? Also, its probably worth it for me to just spend the $$ on a astra lux 20k bulb. I like some blue tint but not blue blue.

Jeff

Rosseau · #13 12/10/2007, 07:27 PM

Yup my tank is 24" long.

Running lengthwise (24") I section off a 2" section for all my gear.

One reason I did it this was so that I could use T5 bulbs as 24" is the shortest readily available type.

If you do put the sectioned off area where you are describing you could have the tank viewable from the 2 long sides (20" sides). This would definitely have way more viewing area than what I've got.

I think what you're trying to do will work well also. There are a few people who have done something similar to what you are describing.

JeffD · #14 12/10/2007, 08:15 PM

thanks for the reply!. Do you know what the length is on a 20 long? The other scenario i'm debating on doing is to plumb the little tank in with my 90. So drilling the 15 or 20 and running the drain to the sump of my 90, then use a small mag or whatever for the return. There's some definite advantages of doing this i can see (water stability, no need for top-off, share a fuge etc) Wandering away from the true definition of a nano really not being independent and all. This nano is to be primarily a zoo\shroom type tank.

Jeff

FrozenSurfer · #15 12/11/2007, 12:09 AM

Alright folks, for those of you not familiar with my "addiction". my name is Brett, and I am addicted to Nano tanks. (phew that was hard!) Some told me that to cure my addiction I needed a bigger tank. so I went out and built a 400 cube. and I hated it, and shut it down. So I'm back to the nano tanks. I have posted the builds on some other boards, but it's time to add them to this one.

Here is my tank at work, thankfully where I work I am required to have a tank. This is a 12 gallon "el cheapo" tank picked up at a mom and pop shop somewhere out in the ghetto of Anaheim CA. I liked the design so much that I bought all the ones that the store had made. and I have never seen another one.

FrozenSurfer · #16 12/11/2007, 12:10 AM

Basically I had retrofitted a 70w halide, 2x 36w PC's and an Aqua C remora on it. made a wood canopy and threw it together.

I liked the tank, hated the aquascaping. so I revamped it.

From there I added a 6 gallon fuge, 1 gallon kalk topoff, 4 more powerheads, a lot more livestock (including a seahorse in my fuge) and here's what I got.

Since this is a work tank and I'm only there a few days a week. I had to make the tank a bit more automated. so I added the ReefKeeperII by Digital Aquatics. This was basically a trial run to see if I liked the RK2 better than the Aquacontroller JR. After some inital testing, the RK2 beats it HANDS DOWN.

So this tank has now been set up for over a year. I have just put on the new AquaC Remora Nano, and it pulls just as great as the bigger brother.

Here are some updated pictures over the last year.

(taken last week)

really blurry sorry

6 weeks of growth on what started as a 1mm frag of a Superman Denae

FrozenSurfer · #17 12/11/2007, 12:11 AM

Sweet little monti cap

New HQI setup, created from an old Satalite Fixture. I again, redesigned the hood, and started making a few of them for people. The bulb was the hardest part to find, I found them one time from a manufacturer that went out of business, I bought every single one he had left, (76 in all) and have since held on to them. If you need one, I have them for sale..( I know.. shameless plug)

Another shot of the HQI

Some of the Acans that are growing like weeds.

Little purple and yellow duster.

That's all for now, I will try to get some more pix here soon.

I've got a new "nano calcium reactor" in the works, so that will be posted as soon as I can get the final mods done on it.

Let me know if you have any questions

-Frozen

Rosseau · #18 12/11/2007, 12:23 AM

Wow that was huge post!

Since you shamelessly plugged the bulbs I'll shamelessly ask about them.

What is the K rating and how much do you want for them?

JeffD · #19 12/11/2007, 04:13 PM

excellent pics..thank-you! I'm also wondering about the bulbs also (price\k)

thanks, Jeff

FrozenSurfer · #20 12/11/2007, 06:28 PM

Lol. I had no idea that people would actually be interested in them. I'm actually in Spain until Thursday, when I get back home I will find out what I paid for them and then give you a price on them. I think I paid $30, which is what I can sell them for, I'm not in it to make money, I just need them gone. I was going to take them over to my LFS and put them on consignment, but I would rather not. So... yeah.

Jeff, if you need some help wiring up the ballast, I would be more than happy to help you out. Depending on the type you bought it can be pretty tricky. And I can also give you a hand if you are looking to retrofit an old PC light with a halide like I did.

racksteris · #21 12/11/2007, 06:33 PM

kool tank.

JeffD · #22 12/11/2007, 07:46 PM

thanks FrozenSurfer. I believe the ballast is made by Nais without digging it out. I was told the length of wire from the bulb to the ballast needs to be short. Something like 6-8ft max. Thats all i know about it so far. Sure on the hand with doing a retro for the reflector etc. I was trying to find a better reflector then the ones that comes on a worklight but not having much luck. I would like to have the option of running 2 x 24" t5's along with the 70w hid if possible. Just in case i need to adjust the color etc.

thanks!

mdisalvo55 · #23 12/11/2007, 08:31 PM

I just finished my DIY 70 watt in my stock biocube hood. It's a 14 gallon and I fit everything in and only had to cut a small hole in the back of the hood to add a fan to pull in fresh air. The tank looks great and it only cost about 150 for the whole deal.

mdisalvo55 · #24 12/11/2007, 08:32 PM

I'll post some pics up later...

FrozenSurfer · #25 12/14/2007, 06:38 PM

Hey guys, I finally got home, dug up the receipt, and found out I paid $35 a piece for them. But, since i need them gone, how about $30 a piece + say $5 for shipping. So $35 total to your door. Also, now that I'm looking at them, I have about 20 - 20,000K bulbs, 10 - 15,000K bulbs as well, and another 10 that are 10,000K. (Don't ask, I really thought I was going to open a shop...)

So, send me a PM to get one.