JBJ 24g Nano cube

**Seahorsedreams** · 12-11-2006, 02:40 PM

These tanks are becoming very popular. Nice and easy "plug-and-play". We have the 12g version for the Fuzzy Lion and were aware of their heat issue. We set one up the 24g recently for the Volitan and have found that the temps are not just high... they are boiling! The ambient room temp was 71.4 and the tank temp was 81.4! That's crazy. So right now, these are not tanks I would recommend for seahorses. I can't even put the volitan in there.

As part of my early Christmas present I was given a chiller mod that came from nanotuners.com. This week I will install it and see what kind of a difference it makes!

***Rob*** · 12-11-2006, 08:31 PM

good input, as i know lots of people are looking at these units as possible pony tanks

saxman · 12-11-2006, 10:37 PM

the biggest issue with the heat from these tanx is that since the lid fits tightly when closed, there is little evaporative cooling going on.

one thing that helps is leaving the feeder lid open. also, a cooler-running return pump can be swapped for the stock pump. and finally, since SH need little in the way of lighting, one of the tubes can be pulled or the "fix" which adds a ballast and separate controls for each lamp can be installed, which will result in less light-generated heat buildup.

the "chiller" is actually referred to as a ICA (Integrated Chill Assist), which is primarily designed to counteract system-generated heat. it consists of a Peltier (thermoelectric) junction to which a heat sink and a Delrin water jacket is attached. an improved fan, which sits atop the ICA and replaces one of the hood's stock fans, draws heat from the heat sink out of the hood. water is pumped into the water jacket via a 90 gph pump in the third compartment and returns to same.

i'm sure Renee will photodocument the installation and report on our results.

***Rob*** · 12-11-2006, 11:08 PM

yes, photos would be cool, in the mean time do you have a link to this product for others that might be interested?

saxman · 12-11-2006, 11:22 PM

they make them for the JBJ's as well as the Aquapods.

here's the link for the JBJ 24

nanotuners

PSH · 12-12-2006, 06:53 AM

These nano/pods get ridiculously hot with the lids on. I know with the AquaPods the little fan in the hood really doesn't do much heat removal. I had two small fans wired up with a large fan blowing across the tank, plus the feeding lid wide open and the hood propped open about an inch in the front. I still had temps of 83 degrees. Your best bet is to not use the hood. The lights are only about a half inch above the water line with the hood closed. Maybe someone could design a new raised hood for these tanks. Nanotuners has some cool options. So if you are looking to buy check them out. Some of their upgraded units are the same price I paid for my stock Pod.

saxman · 12-12-2006, 10:49 AM

sometimes i wonder if the folks who designed these tanx were thinking "oh, peeps keep reefs in the low 80's, so we're cool with the temp..." we used to run our JBJ 12 with the hood partially propped open on the little locking posts, and it worked pretty well, but the fish decided it wanted to be a jumper, so we had to discontinue that practice.

hopefully, this ICA will deliver the goods on the 24. if so, i'm sure we'll be getting one for the 12 as well.

they're great, no muss, no fuss setups, but they DO need to be modded.