# Top Fin Retreat 2.5 and 5 gallon mods



## FishRFriendz

The 2.5g Retreat aquarium appears to be the same as the Top Fin 5 gallon glass aquarium as seen here https://youtu.be/miXC9KuwH14 but smaller.

I think the Retreats can easily be compared to a Fluval spec of equivalent volume, just way crappier filter compartment and light build quality. I wish there were a greater modding community for these tanks as they could be really good value for money with a little DIY. 

Also since it seems Top Fin is Pet-smart’s house brand, they run discounts on it much more frequently. It retails at $50, but I picked up pair of the 2.5g for $33 in Oct, and the 5g would have been $42.50. I imagine they’ll do some big markdowns for Black Friday that may be even better.

The issues I intend to address are:
Light doesn’t default to On when it is given power. Preventing use on a socket timer.

Filter cartridges and flow. Flow was just a bit strong for my betta and there is space in the filter before the pad but after the grill for my betta’s food to hide.

The biggest problem for me is the light as I want a consistent, automated photo period for a planted nano.

The light bar is relatively easy to open and gain access to the electronics.

















The chip U2 handles the capacitive sensor and power.








Fortunately we just want power to flow through all the time rather than have the chip decide. 

Pin 1 and pin 5 need to be connected.










The filter I’m actually fine with the addition of some floss to fill up the compartment space so Shrimp don’t hide in there, but I prefer some dedicated bio media. Simple enough to toss a bag of rings or something into the space on top of the pump, but I have other plans.

Picked up a 3 pack of these for $1 at a dollar store.









Opening comes off.

















Cut off excess plastic around the opening and use some tubing to adapt the size. Cut bottoms off and insert into each other and viola! Media reactor.


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## FishRFriendz

I’m using two retreats so each tank’s power adapter could be placed on different sockets and one could be on a timer. The only thing that needs to be done is cut off a pair from each adapter to swap one set of 2.1x5.5 mm pigtails. But since I have these pigtails in bulk I just made adapters so I wouldn’t have to damage the originals. 










If I were running only one tank it would be simple enough to simply buy any 12v 1000ma ac/dc adapter and just plug the light into that.


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## Biff_Elwood

I just registered to thank you for these mod ideas. I would love to see more about the media reactor thanks again!


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## FishRFriendz

Biff_Elwood said:


> I just registered to thank you for these mod ideas. I would love to see more about the media reactor thanks again!




Thanks! I’m pretty happy with the tanks now so I won’t be posting much about them at all since I’ve fixed my problems with it. I ended up filling the reactor with Seachem Matrix and toss a timer on one adapter.


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## Biff_Elwood

FishRFriendz said:


> Thanks! I’m pretty happy with the tanks now so I won’t be posting much about them at all since I’ve fixed my problems with it. I ended up filling the reactor with Seachem Matrix and toss a timer on one adapter.


Well the light mod was great and I plan on working on the reactor once I make it to a dollar tree or whatever.


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## jeffvmd

Thanks for showing the light mod.
Now I can put it on a separate power supply and timer.
Kids requested a fish tank and we found the 5g retreat on sale at petsmart for $36 and change last week.


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## FishRFriendz

Aww, ya missed Black Friday. I actually bought mine a month before Black Friday. They were $25 for BF. I bought two on BF and then used the old receipt to return them. Receipts are good for 60 days.

Edit: oh you got the 5g, not sure what that went for on BF but I think you made out real good!


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## Tagomi

I have modded my own Top Fin and love the changes I've made, mainly in filtration (pinky filter cut to size and using old filter frame as support, a mesh bag of bioballs hanging right above filter intake). 

I would like to do the light mod, but what is not mentioned is that the lights and filter are on a "Y" connection, one AC plug. If you put a timer on it, you will lost the filter everytime the the lights are shut off. How was this problem addressed?


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## FishRFriendz

Tagomi said:


> I have modded my own Top Fin and love the changes I've made, mainly in filtration (pinky filter cut to size and using old filter frame as support, a mesh bag of bioballs hanging right above filter intake).
> 
> I would like to do the light mod, but what is not mentioned is that the lights and filter are on a "Y" connection, one AC plug. If you put a timer on it, you will lost the filter everytime the the lights are shut off. How was this problem addressed?


Buy another 12v AC adapter to run them separately 1 amps is plenty for a single tank.

Like this should be sufficient:
https://www.amazon.com/NKC-12VDC-Adapter-Supply-LJY-186/dp/B006GEPUYA


I didn't need another adapter as I have two of these tanks and simply replaced the connector so that one adapter powers both lights and the other powers both pumps.

The wire I used to solder the connection from the pins was from a USB cable. I think most ppl have a bunch of spare USB type A to mini-B cables that they'll never use again. The black or red wires in USB cables are for power. I live on the edge using the data wire for power LOL (most old cables use the same gauge for data/power wires anyways 28AWG). Just to be safe I would recommend using a 24AWG cable, they make them as 28/24 cables which are fast charging cables.


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## FishRFriendz

Holy cow ppl are picking up the 5g for $26. Wish I had space for one. Would love to add a filter makeover that is actually shrimp safe mod to this thread. 

I’m think cutting out a big portion of the filter wall with a dremel but leaving enough to act as a holder for a matten filter and using the pump for quieter operation than an airlift.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jeffvmd

Out of stock in our area.

Anyone know a fabricator that can make a media rack for this and possibly a snap on cover for the inlet grill?


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## Kattikawn

I bought one of these tanks on sale last week and opened up the light to do the mod. Looks like the board has been changed a bit since the original post.

The U2 chip has been rotated and the pins are no longer numbered, so I can't tell which pin is 1 and which is 5. Any way to know? I was thinking that perhaps the 1 and 6 lined up on the same edge as the U2 label like the first post. Here are photos of the front and back of the board. The two dots side by side on the back correspond with the two right above U2.


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## FishRFriendz

Kattikawn said:


> I bought one of these tanks on sale last week and opened up the light to do the mod. Looks like the board has been changed a bit since the original post.
> 
> The U2 chip has been rotated and the pins are no longer numbered, so I can't tell which pin is 1 and which is 5. Any way to know? I was thinking that perhaps the 1 and 6 lined up on the same edge as the U2 label like the first post. Here are photos of the front and back of the board. The two dots side by side on the back correspond with the two right above U2.


When I was doing the mod the first time, I used a wire and insulated pliers to hold the wires while the light was plugged in to temporarily touch the 1 and 5 pins and test without making permanent solders. 

I do not recommend touching any other traces to each other on any of the other chips, as you may blow a resistor, as I recall all the other chips were just resistors. Just test that chip at U2, looks like it's just rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise.

Post an update if it worked out for you. Would love to know if anyone else has done the mod.


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## Kattikawn

Good thinking. I'm the process of stripping a wire out of a usb cable to try it. I'll post back with what I find.


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## Kattikawn

It's an ugly soldering job, but it worked. The chip is definitely just rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise. Tested the pin combinations and it still matches up with the other version of the board. If you have shaky hands and/or haven't soldered before, recruit a friend and a magnifying glass for this one. Also fine gauge solder wire. The one I have was too big.


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## RobGoSlow

Kattikawn said:


> It's an ugly soldering job, but it worked. The chip is definitely just rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise. Tested the pin combinations and it still matches up with the other version of the board. If you have shaky hands and/or haven't soldered before, recruit a friend and a magnifying glass for this one. Also fine gauge solder wire. The one I have was too big.


Just an added tidbit, I did the same modification but my soldering iron is just too big to be that precise. To get around this I rang out the connections on the board and found 2 easier solder points. U1's pin closest to the capacitance sensor rings out to the middle pin on the right of U2 (U2 pin 5). U2's pin 1 rings out to one of the trace holes just next to the U2 label. So I stuck my wire through the hole, soldered it in place, then soldered to the larger pin on U1. Turns on with power now like you'd want. Here's a photo of what I did.


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## Mike A.

Pump died in mine within about 7 months.

Any suggestions for a replacement?


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## FishRFriendz

Mike A. said:


> Pump died in mine within about 7 months.
> 
> Any suggestions for a replacement?


One of mine had a little pebble stuck in it for several months and wasn't spinning. After removing the pebble it ran again. I've bought a couple of other similarly small pumps for some other projects that could easily be fitted. Look for 3 watt pumps. I'm not sure what the voltage is, I'll check when I get home, but I have a hunch it's 12v. You could find quite a list of them on ebay with the search term "3w 12v pump".

Alternatively I've been thinking a better idea is to replace the pump with an airlift tube and run the filtration via air pump. You'd get better low flow control via airline valve. Also a single large air pump is easier to put on battery backup than a bunch of little water pumps, easier in the sense that it uses less power so the battery backup would last for longer in a power outage.


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## Mike A.

FishRFriendz said:


> One of mine had a little pebble stuck in it for several months and wasn't spinning. After removing the pebble it ran again. I've bought a couple of other similarly small pumps for some other projects that could easily be fitted. Look for 3 watt pumps. I'm not sure what the voltage is, I'll check when I get home, but I have a hunch it's 12v. You could find quite a list of them on ebay with the search term "3w 12v pump".
> 
> Alternatively I've been thinking a better idea is to replace the pump with an airlift tube and run the filtration via air pump. You'd get better low flow control via airline valve. Also a single large air pump is easier to put on battery backup than a bunch of little water pumps, easier in the sense that it uses less power so the battery backup would last for longer in a power outage.


Thanks. Yeah, this one is dead unfortunately. Took it apart and impeller doesn't turn. Pump is labeled as "DC200" 12V, 2.8W, 180 l/hr, .85m head. I've seen some others but not sure which are worth buying. Probably all about the same I suppose. Nothing in the tank but plants and snails so not a big problem. Have an air/sponge filter in it now just to hold things over. Need to look anyway for a similar backup for my Spec V too where I do have things that matter so will force me to get that done. drsfostersmith.com had some Hagen(?) pumps that looked good for cheap that I should have grabbed then but not available now. I'll post if I find something that looks good for future reference for anyone else who may be looking.


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## FishRFriendz

Tired of the pump getting stuck. Too many snails. Getting the pump out is too much hassle so...










And an Azoo mignon 60 amazingly fits without modding the lid and the light is still centered.


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## aehowitt

Anyone have any idea if this light mod would allow the light to work with an inline 12v dimmer? Ive picked up 2 different inline 12v dimmers on Amazon and neither has worked. I noticed today that if I turn the dimmer up to full power and then press the button on the light, it will turn on. As soon as I spin the dimmer wheel, the light shuts off and will not turn back on even when the wheel is turned back to full power.

Im guessing this has to do with the fact that (like someone said earlier in the thread), the light doesn't default to on when power is applied. I understand all LEDS are not dimmable, but these LEDS must not be much different than the types used in other aquarium lights and LED strips.

Or is there anything else under the hood that I can solder to bypass this restriction. Im about to set this tank up and would really love to keep the stock light!

Thanks for any help you can send my way.


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## maarken

Another "always on" light mod option I just did and I think is simpler still. There's a transistor labeled "Q1". Bridge the two outside pins with a blob of solder, taking care not to bridge to the upper pin. That ignores all the switching circuitry on the board and connects the two legs of the transistor to close the switch.


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## Ralphcuisak

Is there any way I could see the pictures of your solder without making 10 posts? 

Bump: Hi, I just discovered this thread and I'm planning to do the light mod with no prior soldering/electronics circuitry knowledge? Do i just strip a USB cable and use any of the wires inside it for connecting the 1 and 5 pins of u2? And once that is done, I would use a separate adapter for the light is my assumption. TIA!


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## Ralphcuisak

maarken said:


> Another "always on" light mod option I just did and I think is simpler still. There's a transistor labeled "Q1". Bridge the two outside pins with a blob of solder, taking care not to bridge to the upper pin. That ignores all the switching circuitry on the board and connects the two legs of the transistor to close the switch.


Could you please share a picture of this? what material should be used for soldering? Thanks in advance!


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## pyriel127

You should be able to find a soldering iron and some solder at wal-Mart, I would get a kind that says something like flux core. I’m working on a build of the 5 gallon version of this as well, so I’ll snap a couple extra pics of the process.


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