Updated Photos of 2 Gallon Cube

[ninjafish]

Here are some updated pictures of my 2gal cube at work:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130reefcentral2.jpg



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130reefcentral.jpg


The tank has been running for a couple months and everything is going great!

Livestock:

- bicolor blenny
- porcelin anemone crab
- blue leg hermit
- pepermint shrimp

- zoanthids
- palythoa
- mushroom
- pulsing xenia
- colt
- green star polyp

[ninjafish]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130reefcentral3.jpg


I also swapped out the 6700K blub in the desklamp for a 13W 50/50 PC (10000K/actinic03). The new bulb is awesome.

I started out with a baby clown in the tank but had to trade for the blenny instead because there was too much current and the clown was getting exhausted.

I will try and get a photo of the blenny.

- Chad

[CPT. MURPHY]

glad to see it's still going great! :)

[Detritivore]

i dont see any powerheads...what are you doing for circulation? great job, BTW :thumbsup:

[20rules]

cool, i mean, your doing great!

["F" is 4 Fish]

i spy with my little eye :eek1: no flow maker. BTW nice job on hiding

[KING OF THE REEF]

i remember the posts he did awhile back when he first got it up. correct me if im wrong nija but dont you have the filtration under the desk? i believe you drilled the tank or had it drilled to add a way of concieling the return line and the intake line. btw awsome job keep us updated on it

[Jimsmowen]

That looks great! Gives me ideas for the 1.4gal =)

[Jordan55]

Thats very neat! Did you make it yourself or buy it?

[phergus_25]

Its a canister filter that has the return and intake hidden like was said before. Its an awsome tank keep it up.

[mightymouse]

thats amazing i was getting ready to ask how he did a tank with no water movement thats a great job hiding it i would still swear that there isnt movement in the tank if i couldnt see the surface rippled

[mightymouse]

o i see one pipe now right by the crab is that the intake or return line?

[ninjafish]

Thanks for the compliments guys... and sorry for the drama :rolleyes: . I should have described it at the start but I still get a kick out of it when people wonder about circulation. Even when people see the tank in person they get a wierd look on their faces like there is something not right about the tank - "what's making the water move???" :p .

phergus was right, I plumbed this tank into an eheim 2222 cannister filter under the desk. As a result, this 2 gal tank has:

3 gals of water

5 lbs live rock

chaeto fuge

constant 80 degree temperature

and

40x's turnover - so much circulation that I almost killed a clownfish that was getting exhausted from smimming against the current :eek2: . The bicolor blenny is better suited for this tank because he can just sit down and take a break.

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by mightymouse
o i see one pipe now right by the crab is that the intake or return line?

That pipe opening below the crab is the only visible piece of equipment. It is my return line. The intake is a bare bulkhead hidden underneath the substrate. I made an undergravel plate by cutting the bottom off of a fluval filter media basket and then covering the top with a carbon filter bag. The water sinks through the substrate and down the intake to the cannister filter. It moves though a compartment full of chaetomorpha and then another compartment full of LR rubble and then back up through the outlet pipe. The current causes the surface to be agitated and then splits into all directions to provide a nice random turbulance.

- Chad

[Lunchbucket]

sweet!!! come on post some pics of the equipment and process of hiding the stuff!!!

Lunchbucket

[ninjafish]

You bet bro!

Here is a photo of the tank with bulkheads drilled. It is an 8" starfire cube:


http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1185flashcube-med.jpg


Here are the 5w halogen lights for the chaeto fuge... doing a temp test:

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1185050118_004-med.jpg


Modded cannister filter drilled with lights (chaeto is bottom compartment):

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130inside_cannister.jpg

[Jordan55]

Did you get the tank locally? I would love to own one of these!

[ninjafish]

Here is a shot of testing just before I was ready to stock. Kinda gives an idea of how it works:

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1185050121-med.jpg

I'm sorry that I didn't take a picture of the undergravel plate before I burried it but it is about 1/2" tall and about 7" in diameter. I cut a round hole in the plate just above the return bulkhead and inserted a short length of 3/4" pvc which sits directly on the the return bulkhead and prevents the filtered water from mixing with the unfiltered water under the plate. I glued some "efi substrat" filter media around the rim of the exit in order to try and hide it a bit better and then poured crushed coral up to the level of the exit. That's pretty much it.

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by Jordan55
Did you get the tank locally? I would love to own one of these!

Ya, IA built it for me to my measurments (i only had a 3.5" slot in the desk for the plumbing - you know, one of those computer cable slots). I've been in to see them a few times and they built this one for me for $50can.

[KING OF THE REEF]

damn straight man awsomely done get a pic of the blenny

[ninjafish]

Thanks bro.
I'll be back to work on tuesday and will snap a pic then.

[skipm]

I really like what you did with that tank, you put alot of thought into that nice litle tank. Keep the pics coming. Skip

[ninjafish]

Thanks Skip. Here is a photo of my 13w 50/50 pc:

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1185050228_010.jpg

Lightining is the limiting factor right now. When I move this tank home from the office I will build a hood with 4 of these, or maybe 4 t5's, or maybe a 70w mh (if I can find one in the right spectrum)....

Lunchbucket, what's your opinion on having a ton of light over a little nano? :p


- Chad

[flycut]

How come this thread only has one page. Awsome little tank.

[ninjafish]

Haha I'm not sure. Others seem to go on forever... maybe because it's all pretty straight forward. ??
Thanks for the compliment. I'll get another picture tomorrow.

- Chad

[aural]

That is definitely one of the coolest ideas for a tank i have seen. VERY clean and imaginative! kudos

[LobsterOfJustice]

Originally posted by flycut
How come this thread only has one page. Awsome little tank.

Cause there's not too much to take pictures of :lol:

[mightymouse]

this tank is amazing i can only hop eto get my new 2.5 to look like that i like the lr in the center so u have somehtin to look at from all angles

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by LobsterOfJustice
Cause there's not too much to take pictures of :lol:

Haha, that's the truth, I feel like I've already shot everything that there is to shoot (cool username by the way).
Here is a couple pics of the blenny - every time I took out the camera, the little bugger would dart back into his cave and peek out at me.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050322_004.jpg




http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050322_006.jpg


As I said before, this fish is perfect for this tank. He struts around his 2gal world like he owns the place :) .

- Chad

[lowem]

Simply awesome...
I hope you keep the updates coming periodically.

[ninjafish]

Thanks :cool: . As long as there is someone interested in it, I'll keep posting!

- Chad

[tekknoschtev]

Just so you know, I am perpetually amazed by this tank, and many nano cubes. If I didnt have so many tanks going (fresh and salt) as is right now, I'd build one for my dorm room, but I dont think my parents would like that very much. I am going to build a tank similar to yours, but it probably wont be set up for a while.

Awesome tank. Just a question though, from a newbie, but don't the bicolor blennies get too large for that size of tank? The resources I have read say they need 30gal+, but thats just what I have read, not what I have experienced, so dont take it the wrong way.

[mightymouse]

what kind of blenny is that is it a bicolor? i have a red sea mimic blenny and i love him he has so much personality but is kind of a scaredy cat lol

[Elric]

That tank is awsome...where can I get one?:cool:

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by tekknoschtev
Just so you know, I am perpetually amazed by this tank, and many nano cubes. If I didnt have so many tanks going (fresh and salt) as is right now, I'd build one for my dorm room, but I dont think my parents would like that very much. I am going to build a tank similar to yours, but it probably wont be set up for a while.

Awesome tank. Just a question though, from a newbie, but don't the bicolor blennies get too large for that size of tank? The resources I have read say they need 30gal+, but thats just what I have read, not what I have experienced, so dont take it the wrong way.

Thank you - if you do set something like this up, I'd love to see it.
To tell you the truth, I don't know the answer on the bicolor. I got him because he was quite small and because he is a perching fish as opposed to an open water, swimming fish. For those reasons, I felt that this tank would be big enough for its physical and psychological health - having said that, if he gets a lot bigger, I will have to move him to my 23/20gal at home. I have come across the same 30+ estimates that you did online but I just thought that no one was going to recommended any fish for a 2gal :p - just because there is no such thing as a 2 gal tank in mainstream saltwater fish keeping. I appreciate any input I can get though and will definitely keep an eye on this guy. If I do need to replace it, I will probably get a yellow r green clown goby.

Adam,
I haven't seen a mimic goby for sale in my city before... sounds pretty cool.

- Chad

[tekknoschtev]

Ok, I wasnt sure, just thought I'd make mention.

I'd like to one day set up a tank in the office of where I work at Michigan State University because I think it'd liven the place up, but it'd have to be a nano/pico like yours, and I am only here for the next 3-4 years, so I dont think anyone would take care of it afterwards/care to learn how to take care of it, and bringing it home is out of the question. Between fresh and salt we have too much.

Anyways, keep us posted on the progress of the tank, I think its pretty well balanced right now, and looks astounding.

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by Elric
That tank is awsome...where can I get one?:cool:

Haha... it was actually pretty easy to set up. The tank concept and hardware is pretty neat (modestly :rolleyes: ), but the livestock right now - particularily coral - isn't anything to write home about. The reason for this is my lighting, it is just barely up to the task. As I've mentioned before, I wanted to go with a normal desk lamp because I wanted this tank to be so understated and clean that anyone looking at it would believe that they could just fill a box with saltwater and plunk it down on their desk and it would do well.
When I move this tank home I plan on building a diy canopy with a 70w mh and two 13w pc actinics. Then I would be able to grow frags of some of my nicer corals and I would get better colors (the zoos in this tank have faded a bit). I also plan on replacing the rock in the tank with one twice as big so that the whole reef is more prominent. I guess even with a tank this size you are never really finished...


- Chad

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by tekknoschtev
Ok, I wasnt sure, just thought I'd make mention.

I'd like to one day set up a tank in the office of where I work at Michigan State University because I think it'd liven the place up, but it'd have to be a nano/pico like yours, and I am only here for the next 3-4 years, so I dont think anyone would take care of it afterwards/care to learn how to take care of it, and bringing it home is out of the question. Between fresh and salt we have too much.

Anyways, keep us posted on the progress of the tank, I think its pretty well balanced right now, and looks astounding.

My situation was much like yours. I am a police officer and at work I was seconded to a detail that meant I would be in the office and have a desk for a year and a half. As soon as I got the news, I got to brainstorming something that would be small and professional looking, but bulletproof enough that I could leave it alone on weekends without any negative effects. This is what I came up with and I moved it into the office with a backback and a bucket of water. If I decide I don't want to set it up at home after, I can just put the rock and the water back into my big tank and the only thing that I will be out will be the cost of the 8" cube - a relatively small expense. This has been a big hit around the office and I'm pretty sure that if they wanted to keep it going when I left they could, providing I showed them how much to feed and how to top up the water. I would continue doing water changes which entails syphoning two liters of water out of my big tank before I go to work and trading it with two liters of water from the nano - I usually do it at the start of each work week and it is the fastest water change I've ever done.

- Chad

[reefarchitect]

I am truly impressed! It just goes to show what can be done with a little creativity and planning. So many people are focused on bigger better more, sadly they will probably never have a tank which looks as good or as well thought out as yours.

Must make your workday much better.

[fred says]

This is one of the best Nano's that i have ever seen. It has to be more thought out than the majority of tanks out there. I have never seen so much effort go into a tank like this. I'm impressed. Great Job :D

[ninjafish]

Wow, those are some pretty kind reviews guys.
This tank does make my day a lot more enjoyable. It's funny because my big system at home (still a nano I guess) is a lot better stocked, has higher quailty equipment, and is more colorful - but for some reason, this little tank is still my favorite. It might be because I put more personal effort into this tank than my home system, or it might be because this little tank allows more attention to be paid to the life inside it. For example I will sit and watch the hermit crab climb the rock - I never look twice at hermits in a larger system. Today it was climbing up towards the blenny's cave and I was watching to see what would happen when it got up. Sure enough, just as it climbed up onto the ledge, the blenny darted out and gave it a quick headbutt, bonk, right on the shell. Knocked the poor hermit off the side and back down to the sand. Put a smile on my face for a while.

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Update,
The bicolor jumped out of the tank and died the other day. Dang it! He was such a great fish, was even eating out of my hand. Does anyone know if yellow clown gobies jump? I really don't want to put a cover on this tank, might just have to go fishless otherwise...

I sold my home system and bought a chemical metering pump for water top off and have also purchased a 70watt mh retrofit kit. The kit comes with a 10k ushio - I am a little worried that it wont be blue enough without supplimentation but I will get a 14k bulb when it comes time to replace it. As soon as this stuff arrives I will post some pics.

- Chad

[Monsport]

I think the Yellow Clown Goby is the perfect addition.
I've had one for 4 months now. It was first in a 3gl setup
and now (since that one cracked) it's in a 12gl. Most of the time it sits on just about anything kind of looking out and was pretty shy at first. Definetly not a jumper...

[ninjafish]

Excellent! Thanks for your advice... I just put the YCG in the tank today along with 4 cerith snails. I'm also going to add a couple stomalella from my home tank. Once the lights arrive I am planning on moving over a nice red and green open brain for the YCG to hang out in. Hopefully the brain doesn't grow too fast though.

[The Unit]

love the tank...
where so u get such little frags of zoas and stuff...lFS or online?

[mightymouse]

sorry to hear you lost the blenny i love that tank how big do those porceline crabs get and what do they eat they are cool i wouldnt mind having one

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by The Unit
love the tank...
where so u get such little frags of zoas and stuff...lFS or online?

I just recently sold my main system at home (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=553719)
but it has about 13 differnt colors of zoanthids in it. I have just been fragging small pieces from there. I plan on grabbing some more frags when the new lights show up - I'm just worried about colors fading right now. Half my zoos came from lfs and half from local reefers.



Originally posted by mightymouse
sorry to hear you lost the blenny i love that tank how big do those porceline crabs get and what do they eat they are cool i wouldnt mind having one

Thanks man. This crab is probably my favorite annimal for a nano. It is a filter feeder and uses these tiny combs on its front arms to strain small particles out of the water column. It isn't shy at all and looks cool! I have seen these get half as big again but I think that is pretty much max size.
Highly recommended.

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Check this out:

Auto topoff

http://i1.ebayimg.com/03/i/03/c7/09/49_12_sb.JPG


http://i2.ebayimg.com/02/i/03/c7/35/1a_12_sb.JPG

I just bought this pump off of ebay. It is completely adjustable and made for pumping into systems with up to 100psi. I plan on teeing this into my filter return line under the desk and dailing it in to add my daily topoff water (about 12oz/day).

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Here is a more recent picture of the tank:


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130latestfull.jpg


This picture didn't turn out very well but it gives you an idea of the size of it.

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Yellow clown goby:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130ycg.jpg


And sexy shrimp:


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130sexyshrimp.jpg



I have the following livestock:

- assorted zoos
- pulsing xenia
- assorted mushrooms
- ricordia
- colt
- gsp
- devils hand (thanks Polo)
- candy cane

- yellow clown goby
- porcelin anemone crab
- three sexy shrimp
- five stomatella
- four cerith
- one margerita/nerite


Tell me what you think. :)

- Chad

[NBMAXX]

Amazing.... Every time I go to someones home and they have a few setups including a Nano , I catch myself admiring the Nano while everyone is in front of the 100+ gal. ...Great work , I don't think people actually know how much work goes into such a tiny little thing. I'm impressed and you've inspired me..... Keep us updated

[ninjafish]

Thanks! I was first bit by the bug when I read the nano edition or Coral magazine. I now prefer this tank to my 23/20sump that I have at home. It has really given me a new appreciation - in the three years that I've been in the hobby, I've never given a second thought to something as mundane as snails. Now however, I get all excited about a new nerite! ( :

- Chad

[tekknoschtev]

lol @ the snails. For freshwater, whenever I needed snails, I just hit up the local fish shop (especially the one my girlfriend works at) and they'd gladly hand over their "pest" snails which i fed/breed to feed to my puffers (fresh and brackish). When I got into salt, and saw a $2.69 sticker on a freaking snail, I flipped. I'm glad I found a cheaper source for them.

[FishyBiz]

ninjafish
This is the coolest tank I have seen on the boards thus far. Keep us updated!

[lanamarks]

I love this tank! My mind is already going, hmm, where could I slip one of those in.

[ninjafish]

Haha, thanks guys. I will let you know once the halide shows up.

[LeftCoast]

Oooooh, halides. Are you going to put any SPS in there?

[ninjafish]

All I have right now is montipora digitata and caps. I'll need to chose carefully because I will run out of room pretty quick.

- Chad

[LeftCoast]

Maybe choose a slow growing, hardy coral.

[sand02]

Just logged into this forum today for the first time and saw the thread for your tank.
I have a 12g nano at work with sim corals as yours and it seemed like there was no more room but I'll have to re-think that after seeing what you have in yours.
I can't believe what you have got in such a small tank. Very nice.

-sandra

[ninjafish]

Sandra,
Welcome to the forum! Let me know when you post some pictures, I'd love to see them.

I am trying to get a good variety in this little tank but I also realize that I will have to prune some back as they grow, just to keep things purportioned. Thank you for your compliment!

- Chad

[skier06]

sweet setup there ninja, that jumpstarted my interest in getting my little 3g set back up at work :D

[reeferkid]

hmmmmmmmm that gives me some nice ideas for a 2.5gal. Do you think a midas blenny would be ok in 2.5gals.

[Jordan55]

No. Midas Blennies get a few inches in length atleast and need ample swimming room. Mine loved to swim around in my old 55 gallon. A 2 gallon for him would be like a car trunk for us. Go with maybe a yellow clown goby. They are very small.

[LeftCoast]

I'd say a citron clown goby (Gobiodon citrinus). They're also yellow, but also have some blue lining on them.

[acropora1981]

thats one of the best designed nano's i've seen! good work on the closed loop canister mod!

[ninjafish]

I agree that a yellow clown goby is the perfect size for this tank. I saw a green clown goby at the store as well but don't know how hardy they are so I went with this one instead.

Acropora, thanks. As soon as I add my auto topoff into the filter mod I will post some photos.

I also ordered an ARC 20k bulb for my halide. I think I will use it instead of the Ushio 10K that comes with the kit and keep the Ushio as a backup. I would like to keep lighting simple without using supplimentation. However, I do have a 13w powercompact that I use to run actinic if I really had to.... ?


- Chad

[reeferkid]

cool but it may have to wait a bit any way cos i might be buying a complete 40gal setup

[ninjafish]

Just to let you know I have received my halide retrofit and installed it in a sweet desklamp! I will get some pictures and post them. I love having the shimer effect in this tank!
I have been concerned lately that my undergravel filter may be pulling the food down into the substrate too quickly and contributing to waste. As a result I will be taking the plate out and be running the tank with both the intake and returns visible in the bottom of the tank. It won't be quite as trick as it is now, but I am hoping that I will make for a cleaner tank. Finally, I have also changed the aquascaping and added a few corals.

- Chad

[dwturpin]

Holy protien skimmer Batman. You could have one in every room in the house. That is too cool.

[350z]

where can i buy a little tank like that one ?

[ninjafish]

I had the tank built by a local shop to my measurements. There really isn't anything to the glass. They charged me $50 Can for the bulkheads and everything. Kinda expensive but I guess it was starfire...

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Alright guys, here's some pictures:
I had to speed up the shutter on my camera because the light was overpowering my camera - sorry the pics look a little dim.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130deskshot.jpg




Each side:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130tanksides.jpg

[ninjafish]

Everyone seems to like the changes:


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050428_022.jpg



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050428_011.jpg



What do you think?

- Chad

[lanamarks]

More details on the light please!

[ninjafish]

You bet!

Here is the retrofit I bought off of ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4377452052&fromMakeTrack=true


I managed to find a 100w halogen desklamp at an office supply store. I has a metal hood that is the perfect size for the 70w mh bulb and reflector. I cut the wires off and took the guts out of the lamp and then atached the mh reflector to the inside of the lamp. A ran the electrical cord from inside the hood and down the back of the lamp to the small electric ballast that sits on my desk on the other side of my inbox. The lamp is plugged into a timer under the desk.

Here is a link to a similar lamp:
http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/sku.asp?PageType=1&Sku=227926&bcFlag=True&bcSCatId=2&bcSCatName=Furniture&bcCatId=35&bcCatName=Lamps+%26+Lighting&bcDeptId=1544&bcDeptName=Desk+%26+Table+Lamps&bcClassId=70500&bcClassName=Desk+%26+Table+Lamps
I am really glad I found this lamp. It looks so good that you can not tell that I have modified it!

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130lightstages.jpg

The 10k bulb really looks great. I ordered a 20k bulb because I was worried that I wouldn't have enough blue. The other bulb just came in so I will need to try it out and take some comparrison pictures.

- Chad

[lanamarks]

Very nice. I like the super clean look. Thats what I try to aim for but you have me beat!

[ninjafish]

Thanks for the compliment. But I really feel like I lucked out with the desklamp fitting so perfectly. It seems like most desklamps sold now are ultra-slim pcs or leds made of plastic. If I wasn't able to conceal the mh in such a normal looking package, I probably would have stayed with my previous lighting. My goal with this tank was that the untrained observer wouldn't even notice all of the hardware that keeps it going - a "sleeper tank" ;)
Now I just need to perfect the auto-topoff...
Cheers,
- Chad

[Carl_in_Florida]

What bulb did you use? Do not forget that bulbs will burn in and become a little less blue in about a week.

CArl

[ninjafish]

Right now I'm running a 10K ushio but I just picked up a package at the mail with my 20K arc - that's probably the one that I will use. I will keep the ushio as a backup if the other ever fails.
New pictures coming once I install the new bulb. Also thinking about putting a frag of my frogspawn int the tank.

- Chad

[LiteEmUpGood]

I am addicted to this thread. I get diassapointed when you dont post even more pics..... This hobby is so addicting.

I have similar plans for my 10g tank. to do a "sleeper" look. one idea is to hook it up to a 40g breeder as my sump/refugium and keep my tank looking way overstocked. I want to put every kind of contraption on it, even a UV sterilizer. Another idea is to have a couple of 2.5 tanks placed next to it mounted in a wall so that it would look like a couple of picture frames, and have some messy stuff in there taht would not be possible unless you had a huge sump.

But I really admire your tank. It just looks so clean

[ninjafish]

Thanks man! The picture frame idea sounds pretty neat.
We seem to think along the same lines. I have myself wanted to set up a small tank, jam-packed with life, and use a big sump to handle the bioload behind the scene. Tanks like that appeal to me because they are kind of a mystery. It isn't very hard to impress people who aren't in the hobby but it's really satisfying when a fellow reefer looks at your tank and says "now how does he make that work?" ;)
Best of luck with your project!
I should have a couple new pictures tomorrow after I install the 20k bulb.

- Chad

[JPereira]

:eek1:

Beautifull!!

[geckos5]

hey nijafish.


new to the site and love the tank.i have a 150g.this is the coolest tank i have ever seen.i sent this link to all my fish lovin freinds and they cant believe how small it is.
my question to you is do need to add any other additives to this tank,and where do you get the underwater light you used to heat it.

p.s. great job.

[ninjafish]

Gecko,
Thanks, it's nice to have others appreciate this little tank too. I don't add anything to the tank besides the 1/2 gallon water change that I do once a week. I found the sumbersible lights online. I don't remember the website but the email address of the company is:
mainlandmart@yahoo.com. It cost me $15 for the lights.

I have added another rock to my aquascaping with a little frag of purple montipora digitata and a tiny piece of orange monti caps. I also added a small bag of carbon to the cannister filter (just to try out). Finally, I also switched over to the 20K bulb. All I can say is:
Man does it ever look awesome! Sorry that I forgot a camera, I'll snag a picture tomorrow.

- Chad

[ninjafish]

To make up for not having a picture of my tank, here is a photo of my autotopoff system. In true ninjafish fashion this system will be completely hidden. I am using an industrial metering pump to inject fresh water directly into the intake hose feeding the filter:


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130topoff.jpg


Since this is such a small tank I am using a timer to adjust how long the pump runs. The pump starts at midnight and runs for 38 minutes before shutting off and then starts again at noon and runs for another 38 minutes. This adds 350ml (11.8oz) of fresh water to the system each day - just a little less than what I lose to evaporation. I figure that after this mod is installed, it will allow me to be away from the tank for as long as a week if need be.
What do you think?

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Here is a shot of how the tank looks under the 20k:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050430_020.jpg





http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050430_008.jpg


I think it is a big improvement in color. I just wish the pictures showed the cool shimmer effect.

- Chad

[LiteEmUpGood]

I love it :)

And yes the mystery factor is what drives me too. How about setting up a 5g tank with a mandarin in it and 1 little piece of live rock and have it be hooked up to a 20g coepod breeder :) My ideas are endless... unlike my money flow lol

[ninjafish]

I'm glad you like it, and yes, I can relate to the money issue as well!
Here's another couple:


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050430_006.jpg




http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050430_005.jpg


I think I am going to take a frag of frogspawn to add to the tank along with some mushrooms and a piece of green moticaps.

- Chad

[LiteEmUpGood]

How is the clown goby doing in there? Is he actice or mor on the lethargic side?

[ninjafish]

He spends a lot of time sitting on the rocks and looking around, but does move from spot to spot. I've never owned one before so I don't know what is normal behaviour. Seems happy enough... knock on wood.

- Chad

[centipededesign]

Your nano Rocks!

[ninjafish]

Thanks man! I recently added a small bag of carbon to the filter and the water is twice as clear as it ever was before. I had to put my 10k bulb back in because I got a defective 20k and even that looks good enough to run without supplimentation now! I am just wating to change to a fine sandbed and add a frag of frogspawn coral. After that it will just be a matter of waiting for things to grow up a bit.

- Chad

[Sugar Magnolia]

That little nano is aabsolutely stunning. I'm extremely jealous of your DIY abilities on the 70 W MH retro. :D

[xtrstangx]

Your tiny nano continues to amaze me.

Keep up the good work and the pictures.

[ninjafish]

Thanks guys. It helps having someone to report my progress to :)

Here is a picture from one of the sides:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050430_013.jpg


Current livestock:

zoanthids (six of my best colors)
button polyp
colt
pulsing xenia
devils's hand
candycane
green monti digitata
purple monti digitata
orange monti caps
purple monti caps
yellow clown goby
3 sexy shrimp
1 nerite snail
4 cerith
4 stomatella
sprig of macroalgae (probably coming out - chaeto's doing a fine job)

To go in soon:

frogspawn
gsp
mushrooms (4 colors)
green monti caps

Also switching to a smaller pump for my auto topoff and a sugar-fine sandbed instead of crushed coral. And then... I'll be done

:rolleyes:


- Chad

[burnah]

i would like to see some closer shots of the montis :)

[JPereira]

Beautifull!!

It looks like you just need a piece os glass, and puto some water, and its ready!!

I love how you resolve the circulations with the cannister filter... its really good!!

I just have a question... isn´t that too small for a fish??

keep going!;)

[ninjafish]

Thanks guys. I will grab some more photos next time I'm in at work.
Actually I think that the tank is a good size for the yellow clown goby. Obviously you couldn't put a swimming fish in a tank this small but a tiny "perching fish" like this works quite well. It spends most of its time sitting in its cave or at the top of the rockwork, just checking things out. It is funny that you mentioned it though because I am planning on taking it out of the nano and transferring it back to my home tank for a little while. Sometimes I have as many as 4 days off work in a row and I am getting tired of running back into the city just to feed the fish. I think that if the YCG was out of the tank, the corals and the shimps would be fine over the weekends. If I ever transfer the nano back home I will put the goby back into it, but until then I will maybe add one more sexy shimp and let it grow into a coral/invert garden.

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Udate:

I have upgraded my auto-topoff with this brandnew pump. It is a little smaller than the last one and has the timer built in:


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130newato.jpg



I will tie the injection tee into my eheim return line halfway down. I have it set so that it comes on at 12:00noon and runs for 30 minutes to add 350ml. That way people will be away on lunch and shoudn't hear the pump run but the tank will be nice and topped up during the part of the day when the most people see it.

- Chad

[xtrstangx]

Nice idea on when to do the topoff... Did you think of that before it was setup or after? Any more pictures/closeups of the tank?

[ninjafish]

Thanks. My initial plan was to split the topoff between two times, one in the early am and one in the afternoon - that way there would be less of a noticeable drop in water level. Unfortunately, the timer on the pump only allows one time to be set so I figured that I would go with the afternoon time because that is when I want the tank to look its best.
By the way, did you meet your "water in" deadline?

- Chad

[ninjafish]

I will take some more pictures when I get back to work. I need to replace a couple of my coral frags (orange monti caps and pulsing xenia) because I accidentaly burned them last weekend. I put my 10k bulb back in because my 20k was defective and I was waiting for a replacement. Just prior to that I also added a small bag of carbon to the eheim. The increased par of the bulb and the increased clarity of the water proved to be TOO much! No matter how long I've been doing this, I still make a rookie mistake now and then :rolleyes: .
The 20k bulb is back in and everything seems a lot happier. I will replace the bleached frags and add a couple heads of a nice frogspawn that I have. I think that it will look awesome moving in the current.

- Chad

[bennerkla]

Chad-
Awesome tank!!! When I started this hobby, I set up a 75 gallon tank which I love...

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/37052lights3.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/37052full4.jpg

Although it is only a FOWLR, I will add corals soon, which is why I bought my 260 PC bulbs. I have a blue tang, yellow tang, and a clownfish. couple hermits.

Upon reading THIS THREAD, however, the nano bug bit me pretty darn hard. This is what I came up with...
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/37052nano.jpg


I was planning on using this AGA tank and that small 50 watt heater for my room. I need to make it all one system with no sump :( because my room is pretty small. This is what I came up with for filtration...

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/37052mini.jpg

It is an Aqua Clear Mini, and once I get it cleaned up and running a sponge and carbon should it be sufficient?

I was planning on doing 1 gallon water changes every week. I am having trouble finding a powerhead that will be good for this small of a tank.

I'll take sand and LR from my main tank (notice the white rock in my main tank? that is my nano rocks).

As for lighting...
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/37052coralife13.jpg

Bought these off eBay for 50 bucks. 36 watts in a 5.5 gallon seemed pretty good for some LPS corals. I don't think I want any fish in my nano, maybe a goby or something along those lines.

What do you think? I'd love to know your opinion. You seem very knowledgable and I've been with this thread for a looong time.

Thanks bro.

-Ben

[ninjafish]

Ben,
Thanks bud but I'm probably not as knowledgable as you think :p . I think you've got the ingrediants for a sweet nano setup - I really like your lights and it sounds like you got a sweet deal. The only thing that I wish those manufacturers would do is put each of the two bulbs on its own power supply, that way you could do dusk/dawn with only one hood. I think your filtration looks good but I agree that you should try and get some more circulation. If you can't find a powerhead with the right output you could always try a closed loop (maybe with a scwd). I would take a look at these guys though:

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=T5024.04&Category_Code=Tunze_pumps

Anyways, looking forward to seeing how it all comes together for you. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Cheers,

- Chad

[Jordan55]

I have a aquaclear mini on my 5.5 gallon. I think the top power makes my sand go everywhere.... you actually have to deacrease the power. It's fine IMO.

[ninjafish]

I don't want to hijack my own thread but if Justin says it works I would believe him because he has the experience using one. However, unless I am mistaken, that filter on full power will give you 100gph. On a 5gal this meets the minimum 20x turnover recomendation but I wouldn't ever run a tank with the minimum. My 20gal had 40x turnover and this 2gal has 50plus'x turnover. You should never sacrifice "circulation" because of a "velocity" or "direction" problem.
- Chad

[Jordan55]

True.... I do not want to hijack your thread either.... but I have been following it and just spotted something I knew. If you have any more questions PM me.

You getting more pictures tommorow of the cube?

[ninjafish]

Sounds good. I will probably get a picture on Tuesday. I am going to take a rock out of the tank tomorrow and bring it home to attach the frogspawn frag to. I will be using that frag putty stuff to mount it and because it smells so bad, I worry about what chemicals it might give off while it cures. I feel more comfortable letting it set in my home tank with the larger water quantity than in this little one. By tuesday it should be ready to shoot.

- Chad

[bennerkla]

Hey Jordan, I'm in high school in columbus as well. Where are you specifically?

[Mattw2190]

What kind of growth are you getting out of those zoos in such a small environment? What kind of growth were you getting when you had them under pc? I want to setup a 5 1/2 gallon tank just for my zoanthids, but I wanted to know how yours were growing before I bought lighting. Do you know about how many polyps yours are putting on each week?
These are my zoanthids
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/88283IMG_4440.jpg

[ninjafish]

First off, those are some sweet zoos!
The 13w pc was not sufficient light. I don't know if they were still multiplying or not but they slowly lost their color. I would say that the 10k 70mh was too much light but my zoos seem to like my 20k mh. To tell you the truth I haven't been as concerned with growth speed because in a 2gal tank, I am going to run out of realestate fast enough. Now that you ask though I will keep track and see what my weekly growth is. Good question Matt.

[bennerkla]

BTW, I love Canada, we own an island in Georgian Bay. Here is a pic of me standing at the back of our island overlooking the open channel...

http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/mirage/ben.jpg

[ninjafish]

That's cool Ben. But it kind of reminds me of a Braveheart dialogue:

William Wallace: That's my friend, Irishman. And the answer to your question is yes - if you fight for me, you get to kill the English.

Stephen: Excellent! Stephen is my name. I'm the most wanted man on my island. Except I'm not on my island of course. More's the pity.

Hamish: Your island? You mean Ireland.

Stephen: Yeah. It's mine.

Hamish: You're a madman.

Stephen: (laughs) I've come to the right place then.

:D

[bennerkla]

lol.

[xtrstangx]

Nope, no water in the tank. Since I decided to change the location of the tank, I have to wire 2 new circuits for it (its overkill). Theres more info and such in my thread if you haven't seen it yet:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=583948

[bennerkla]

BTW i DO own the island.......

[thrlride]

ninjafish, awesome nano!

What type of water movement do you have in the nano and how did you achieve that?

[bennerkla]

Read the first pages, he describes everything.

[thrlride]

That's no fun. A direct answer is so much easier. ;)

[ninjafish]

A gypsy I met one night offered me magical, perpetual water movement in exchange for my soul.
... it has been working pretty good so far.

(how's that?)


- Chad :p

[bennerkla]

Wouldn't creatures fall into the tubing?I'm assuming it has mesh-like substance over it but wouldn't the suction be great?

[ninjafish]

I don't know if this picture will work or not, but I am using a valve screen kind of like this one:

http://www.plumbingsupply.com/images/valvescreen112.jpg

Because there is such a large surface area, there isn't really very much suction at any one spot. A creature would have to block all of it in order to cause any serious suction. Infact, once in a while my sexy shrimps hang out on it.

- Chad

[hingethunder]

Sweet tank bro! I love the fact that it just looks like a plain glass box! I've gotta do somethin' like that someday. Thanks for the inspiration!

-Hinge

[ninjafish]

Thanks man, shoot me a PM if you ever do, i'd love to see it.
Is Hinge your real name? I like it.

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Update:
I have found the golden dosing rate for my tank. The auto-topoff is now set to add 0.75ml every 3.33 minutes - 24/7. The result is that fresh water is added at almost the exact rate that it evaporates. I turned it a little lower so that there is no chance of overflowing over time and the result is that I need to top up the level a little every few days. I am estimating that if I were to leave the tank for a week, it would only lose as much water as I used to lose in a day :D . I am sure that my livestock is enjoying the new, rock-solid salinity levels. And I know that I am enjoying the freedom from constant topoffs. I will take a picture of the installed setup but the pump is sitting on top of a 8 liter bucket that can hold 24 days' worth of topoff water.
I will continue to monitor the level to see how much my evaporation rate is affected by rainy or super hot days ect, but so far, things are looking awesome!

- Chad

[bennerkla]

Great work Chad, this pico continues to amaze me.

[ninjafish]

Thanks bro!

[bennerkla]

Hopefully you're looking forward to my 5.5 gallon nano, coming to you in less than a month..... ;) Going to have 2 Sexy Shrimp, 4 Hermits, 4 Nassarius Snails, and a Scarlet Cleaner (can I put one of those in a 5.5 gallon?)

BTW I ordered that tiny 80 GPH powerhead so I think my water circulation will be badass.

When I start my thread I'll let you know, but I don't want to keep people waiting a month until it sees water.

[ninjafish]

Update,
I went 4days last weekend without visiting the tank and everything went smoothly. The water level did creep up a little (~4mm) so I dialled the pump back to 15 strokes/hour. Now things are working great!
I am going to try and take some video of the tank and post it to the internet.

- Chad

[bennerkla]

Awesome, do you have a webcam or something?

[owskkibibles]

thats an awesome little tank, i like the filter system with the bulkheads

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by owskkibibles
thats an awesome little tank, i like the filter system with the bulkheads

Thanks dude :cool: . When I bring the tank home I might have another one built with the intake bulkhead in the center of the tank so I can hide it under rockwork. Couldn't do that with this one though because the hole in the desk top was right close to the edge.

Ben,
No I use a video camera and an editing program made by pinnacle which allows you to post small clips (10mb) to their web sight.


- Chad

[bennerkla]

Let me know if you get the video up.

[cokevanilla]

Originally posted by Mattw2190
What kind of growth are you getting out of those zoos in such a small environment? What kind of growth were you getting when you had them under pc? I want to setup a 5 1/2 gallon tank just for my zoanthids, but I wanted to know how yours were growing before I bought lighting. Do you know about how many polyps yours are putting on each week?
These are my zoanthids
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/88283IMG_4440.jpg


ur zoas make me cry..never seen something so beautiful... i am crazy about zoas; how do u call them?



and this lil nano tank is aWeSoMe; i can't help but looking at the pictures all over again.... so more pics pls

[ninjafish]

Update,

Here is a video clip of my tank. It isn't very clear because it was compressed so much by the website. I hope it gives you an idea of how it works. By the way, once I but the 20k bulb back in I will make another video because the color is so much better. Hope you like it!

http://www.studioonline.com/playvideos.asp?MediaTypeID=1&crypt=AE100F246CF2BEB8

- Chad

[bennerkla]

Very Cool! I hope to do this soon as well. Nice work.

[SharkBait916]

Really sweet setup! Luv it!

[ninjafish]

Thanks guys. I am going to try and do another one and see if I can't get the lighting to come through properly. Also I just switched to one of these 20k bulbs and the tank looks 100xs better:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46314&item=4350682346&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

So far this bulb works beautifully with my Nais eballast, none of the problems I had with the 20 ARC bulbs.

- Chad

[rsteagall]

YES... what are these zoas called and where can I get something this colorful!!! I'm so tired of the brown stuff and stuff that only look cool under actinics.

Originally posted by cokevanilla
ur zoas make me cry..never seen something so beautiful... i am crazy about zoas; how do u call them?



and this lil nano tank is aWeSoMe; i can't help but looking at the pictures all over again.... so more pics pls

[centipededesign]

Ninja,
Props again on the tank.
Build us another one so i can link it on utahreefs.com
I have already linked this on my local site twice to look cool. (oh and to show everyone your awesome creation )
Great idea! I am saving my canister to copy exactly what you did but with 10 gallons.
Thanks again,
You are a great Canadian
Ryan

[ninjafish]

Ryan,
Thanks man. I've got a lot of old buddies down in Utah too. If I ever do make another tank I will be sure to let you know. If I do anything it would probably be a switch to a 9" cube. I would mod the largest cannister filter I could find and then run the return line through a SCWD and two return bulkheads. I have been thinking about that lately because I have noticed that the anemone crab doesn't ever move but spends his life on the rock above the return bulkhead - catching goodies as soon as they enter the tank. Lazy guy :p .

- Chad

[LeftCoast]

True, he's lazy, but you cant call him dumb (well, at least for a crab :) ).

[ninjafish]

Good point. I guess now that I think of it, I'm never very far from the refridgerator...

- Chad

[Birdlady]

Very Beautiful and well planned!

I had to chuckle tho when you said you sold one of your home systems to buy the top off setup for this little one!:D

I am getting ready to set up my 10 g nano in my bedroom. I am going with the 10" wide HOB aquafuge..so hopefully anything I need to can be put in there, with a clean looking front (altho it won't look as sweet as yours!):)

Thanks for sharing!

[bennerkla]

What do you clean your glass with? Any way you can link me? I don't want an unsightly mag float sitting in my nano.

Thanks.

[ninjafish]

Ben,
I use a magnetic cleaner because I can't really put my hand in such a small tank. This is the brand I use:

http://www.aquariumguys.com/magnetcleaner.html

The reason I went with this one is because the "inside" magnet is super thin (1/4") so I can slide it past rockwork that is close to the glass. Also the magnet is very strong.

- Chad

[stef82]

I just killed about an hour at work reading this entire thread.
Can't stop looking at the whole in the granite topping one of my file cabinets and thinking i could easily put some pipe through there.

Amazing tank!

[rsteagall]

bump... zoas??? What are these particular one's called?

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by stef82
I just killed about an hour at work reading this entire thread.
Can't stop looking at the whole in the granite topping one of my file cabinets and thinking i could easily put some pipe through there.

Amazing tank!

Do it, do it! The entire file cabinet could be full of hidden equipment. After all, do you really need those files... I doubt you will get audited...

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Update:

THe new 20k bulb is performing beautifully and I just added an orange ricordia and purple-polyp birds nest to the tank. Now my livestock are:

zoanthids (six of my best colors)
button polyp
colt
pulsing xenia (two kinds)
devils's hand
candycane
frogspawn
green monti digitata
purple monti digitata
orange monti caps
purple monti caps
bird's nest
riccordia (green and orange)
mushrooms (1 green, 1 blue, 1 red and 1 fuzzy)
green star polyp
2 sexy shrimp
1 nerite snail
4 cerith
4 stomatella

I have found that the birdsnest look much better in the tank than the montipora because its thinner branches are more purportional to such a small tank.
I know I promise it more often than I deliver, but I will post some updated pictures...

- Chad

[shouldabenacowboy]

Amazing setup!!! I truely love it.... keep up the good work and great pictures coming!

S B C

[LeftCoast]

Which species of ricordia do you have, yuma or florida? Also, your new birds' nest sounds really nice. Do you have a picture?

[ninjafish]

Thanks SBC.
Spiff,
I will have to get you a photo of everything - especially the riccordia because I do not know how to tell the difference between florida and yuma (rics - especially nice ones - are not very common where I live so I don't have a lot of experience with them). I will take my camera with me to work tomorrow and grab a couple shots.

- Chad

[bennerkla]

The thing I love about this hobby is that no matter how small an aquarium is (2 gallons, in this case...), the job is NEVER done! I bet you have spent an average of a week or two per cubic inch on that thing. Join the club!

[ninjafish]

Updated pictures:


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050619_047.jpg



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050619_052.jpg



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050619_037.jpg



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050619_016.jpg



What do you think?


- Chad

[LeftCoast]

I think I like it. :D

[ninjafish]

Thanks Spiff! The detail isn't very clear, thanks to the 50k file size limit but I hope you get the picture. I am trying to figure out how to post video to my own webspace. Should have a better video out soon.

- Chad

[LeftCoast]

For the photos you could always register with photobucket.com, which is free. Then you can copy the url from the pages with the specific photos you want and then just use the image pasting function when you post.

[bennerkla]

Send the pics to me, bennerkla@gmail.com, because I have Photoshop, which will keep your pictures big, but make them 50k by un-noticeably lowering the quality.

[thrlride]

Looking great!

[FishMachine]

nice

[ninjafish]

Thanks guys,
I've been working at it for a few hours but my buddy hooked me up with an ftp site and helped me post a better quality video! I found that it worked best if I opened it in windows media player (not the browser) and used the skin mode to stretch it out to a decent size. (I hope that makes sense).
And yes, I know the music is lame but I don't have anything that went with the "nano theme" as well as this. Enjoy!

http://www.102tech.com/fish/PicoMovie.wmv


- Chad

[bennerkla]

Awesome video!! Music cracked me up, though ;)

[ninjafish]

Haha... I knew it would :rolleyes:

- Chad

[reeferkid]

nice tank not too sure about the music though

[Birdlady]

Awesome! My daughter (7 yrs old) needing to state the obvious, says, "Of course it's shallow water!"

I say , keep the music! Great tank!:D

[seahorsedreams]

That is indeed a great video. The tempo of the music fit perfectly with the pace and frame changes in the video. Like your cube this was a perfect production.

[stef82]

Cheers

[ninjafish]

Thanks guys. I'm glad you liked the video, I am pleased with how it turned out.
(of course, I wasn't expecting the please the teenage crowd with any music that I chose :p :D )

- Chad

[bennerkla]

What program did you use to make that? I'd like to make one of mine once I get corals in it.

[bennerkla]

What program did you use to make that? I'd like to make one of mine once I get corals in it.

[ninjafish]

Ben are you going to keep asking until I answer? :p
I used Pinnacle's Studio8. I have used the last three versions of the program and am really impressed with it. It is pretty affordable and allows you to do a ton of neat things.

- Chad

[bennerkla]

Double post :( I get impatient when my wireless cuts out.

Great, I'll buy that program and hopefully get a video of my tank. I was thinking of Whitney Houston music, but I'll let you pick since you are the master ;)

Where did you get someone to host that large of a file?

Cya bro

[ninjafish]

Ben,
I may be hundreds of miles away but I can still tell that you are mocking me with that Whitney Houston comment :mad: :p .
I look forward to seeing what you come up with. I called up my good friend to get advice on the best way to post a 6mb video clip to the internet, and he patiently reminded me that he builds websites for a living and has his own server. He gave me that ftp site and 20gb of space with my name on it. Well, that will work too I guess...

- Chad

[spoon671]

WOW.

I can't really say more than what has already been said about your setup. Would you be so kind as to PM me with all of your tanks specifications (glass). I am thinking about approaching the same glass company you did, in hopes that they can create something identical to yours.

Regards

[ninjafish]

Justin,
Thanks bro. The glass on this tank is the least complicated thing to it. You can make any size cube you want and plumb the bulkheads in the bottom with hosebarbs. This particular tank is just an 8" cube with two holes drilled in the bottom. Any glass shop that is worth its salt will be able to trow together a small cube like this. HTH.
- Chad

[bennerkla]

Any updated shots?

[mr9iron]

Originally posted by ninjafish
Updated pictures:


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050619_047.jpg



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050619_052.jpg



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050619_037.jpg



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050619_016.jpg



What do you think?


- Chad

Amazing!!!!!!:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2:

[mr9iron]

Originally posted by ninjafish
Thanks guys. It helps having someone to report my progress to :)

Here is a picture from one of the sides:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050430_013.jpg


Current livestock:

zoanthids (six of my best colors)
button polyp
colt
pulsing xenia
devils's hand
candycane
green monti digitata
purple monti digitata
orange monti caps
purple monti caps
yellow clown goby
3 sexy shrimp
1 nerite snail
4 cerith
4 stomatella
sprig of macroalgae (probably coming out - chaeto's doing a fine job)

To go in soon:

frogspawn
gsp
mushrooms (4 colors)
green monti caps

Also switching to a smaller pump for my auto topoff and a sugar-fine sandbed instead of crushed coral. And then... I'll be done

:rolleyes:


- Chad

Ninja, I was showing my wife this thread and she pointed out how that picture looks like an eagle. I never saw it until now.

[ninjafish]

Thanks guys. I have been waiting for the coral to grow a bit more before taking any pictures but I will snap a few next week.
And I never noticed the eagle's head either - wierd.
By way of update I have spent some time on hollidays and there was a period where I only visited (and fed) the tank twice in two weeks. The sexy srimp (four now) did great and all the corals continued growing as though nothing had happened. Obviously, this kind of inattention is less-desireable but it was really a testament to how solid this design is. My salinity and nitrates did not change at all over that period of time. This tiny tank is even more stable than my 90gallon reef was!
Thanks to the chaeto 'fuge, I have never had any nuissance algae growth in my tank, but there is a film that grows on the glass after a couple days. I believe that the stomatellas feed off this and then spawn, which in turn provides live food to the tank. I also have a lot of pods in the 'fuge and main tank. It really is a little ecosystem.

- Chad

[bennerkla]

Can't wait for updates.

[ninjafish]

Well here you go then. Thanks for your patience!

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050622_022.jpg



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050622_039.jpg



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050622_037.jpg



- Chad

[ninjafish]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050622_035.jpg



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050622_024.jpg


What do you think?


- Chad

[spoon671]

Holy cow man. You can owe it all to careful planning right? I know it probably says it earlier in the thread, but just for the sake of asking questions, is that just one piece of rock? Also, did you use epoxy to mount the Frogspawn? I guess you really did "do it right the first time!" This little piece of ocean is incredible. I am constantly glued to this thread. Major major kudos to you Chad. So inspiring.

[bennerkla]

I second that post, spoon. Chad's tank rocks!

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by spoon671
Holy cow man. You can owe it all to careful planning right? I know it probably says it earlier in the thread, but just for the sake of asking questions, is that just one piece of rock? Also, did you use epoxy to mount the Frogspawn? I guess you really did "do it right the first time!" This little piece of ocean is incredible. I am constantly glued to this thread. Major major kudos to you Chad. So inspiring.

Justin,

Thanks dude, that is really being generous! The "reef" is actually made up of three rocks stacked on each other. I had about 50lbs of live rock from my old system and a hammer and a chissel so I had no problem getting the shape I was wanting. And you're right, I did epoxy the frogspawn to one of the rocks. You can still see how white it is - I am hoping that over time that epoxy will get covered up. I did do a TON of planning (ie 6 months of daydreaming) before starting this tank but I attribute most of my success to dumb luck. The cannister filter happened to give me the perfect amount of flow for the size of tank and head height I was running + The submersible lights, actually did grow chaeto (I didn't know that when I bought them) and added just the right amount of heat to the water + I found a desk lamp that just happened to be a perfect fit for the halide + The dosing pump for the auto topoff uh, ... wait, no that part was actually pure genious :p J/K
Cheers bro,

And thanks Ben.


- Chad

[coker98]

incredible thread and great tank and everything in it

[ninjafish]

Thanks :cool: !

[bennerkla]

I think a Plate Coral would look great in there Chad. Does your frogspawn require any unique care? I'd love to have one for my 5.5,

[79Yota]

How do you moniter the flow from the tank to the canister and back a again. I know you have the outlet under the substrae, but how do you keep to much from running out.

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by bennerkla
I think a Plate Coral would look great in there Chad. Does your frogspawn require any unique care? I'd love to have one for my 5.5,

Is that an offer Ben? ;) You're right it would look really nice.
The frogspawn is easy to care for and provides a dramatic contrast to the other corals in the tank - plus the sexy shrimp use it as their treehouse. You can spot-feed frodspawn with larger pieces of food but so far it has done fine just with reef chilli I feed the rest of the corals. The real problem the frogspawn poses is outgrowing such a small tank. If it gets too big I will just have to frag it back to one or two branches.

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by 79Yota
How do you moniter the flow from the tank to the canister and back a again. I know you have the outlet under the substrae, but how do you keep to much from running out.

You're right, it would be impossible to regulate the flow from the bottom of a tank to a sump - that is why I used a cannister filter as a sump instead of a tank. A cannister filter is completely enclosed - a closed loop. If any water runs down the inlet hose, the exact amount is also forced back up the return hose, because there is no where else to go. This eliminates any risk of an overflow. Incedentally, when the pump is turned off, no water flows anywhere because both the intake and return bulkheads have the same amount of water pressure on them and there is a constant equalibrium. Hope this makes sense.

Chad

[79Yota]

Now I see the light. thanks

[Chris&Carol]

Simply amazing! I just went through the whole thread and I can't believe how beautifull this small tank is! Keep up the good work fellow Canadian reefer!

Carol

[ninjafish]

Carol,
Thanks for the encouragement. I'm glad that you came across this thread, it's nice to see some of the rare "northern reefs" here in the forum.

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Hello everyone!

I have changed things around a bit and the nano is now a "species tank". I have all of the same corals - they're growing quite nicely thank you - but my livestock list has shortened considereably:

- mantis shrimp
- mantis shrimp's food (snails, hermits)

Here is a picture of the little guy:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130050812_019.jpg

I think I am going to call him Google. He is still a little shy but I will get some more pictures as he ventures out of his lair.

- Chad

[MHannon]

Definitly needs to be nominated for tank of the month!:thumbsup:

[nodbugger]

You never stated if the tank was glass or acrylic, if it is glass you will need to be really careful with that mantis. Break right outta glass.

[ninjafish]

Wow thanks Sebae! I guess all I needed was the right animal in the tank :p . When Google starts venturing out into the open I will make an updated video and take some better pictures.

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Originally posted by nodbugger
You never stated if the tank was glass or acrylic, if it is glass you will need to be really careful with that mantis. Break right outta glass.

The tank is made from 5/16" starfire. I wasn't thinking about a mantis when I had it built so thick - I have just always had a wet-carpet phobia. I figure that a two gallon tank that's thicker than a 20gal should be ok... but only for a tiny mantis...
As you know, if I wanted to keep one of the larger ones not even "double layered safety glass" would be safe :eek1: .

- Chad

[ninjafish]

For those following this thread:

Having this new inhabitant has motivated me to begin planning some new digs. By the end of the year I will probably move to a larger tank - 10 or 12" cube - and modify a larger capacity cannister filter. Along with the 70w halide, I will add a 13watt 50/50 PC for a dawn/dusk effect. I will keep this small tank for as long as I have a desk in the office (probably October) but will upgrade when I move it back home. I will document the process here!

- Chad

[bennerkla]

Sweet, are you going to start a cube thread? Hopefully. BTW that song has grown on me, what is it called?

[ninjafish]

Thanks Ben!
I believe the song is "Shallow Water" by Sylver - uh, used without permission :rolleyes:

- Chad

[AndyL]

Good luck with the new guy Chad, He's an awesome looking mantis. Even in the bland warm white lighting of my office he looked like he'd be stunning.

Ever figure out if he's a smasher or a spearer?

Andy

[ninjafish]

Andy,
Thanks man! It looks like he is a smasher (just what I was looking for). A member in the mantis forum has ID'd him as being a g. smithii. He has had a couple days in the office by himself - hopefully he will be comfortably settled in to his new home by the time everyone returns to work tomorrow.

- Chad

[dBOYD435]

So I was just WONDERING...what was the total cost for your ABSOLUTLY AMAZING(!!!!!)NANO setup???:eek2: :eek2: :eek2:

[dBOYD435]

cus i would really like to try and make a 2g just like yours

[bennerkla]

If I had to take a wild guess I'd say about $425

[dBOYD435]

?

[dBOYD435]

thats alot...woa

[dBOYD435]

chad--do u hav the specific price??

[ninjafish]

Good guess Ben!

Boyd here is a breakdown of my costs in Canadian dollars then converted to US. It will be more expensive for the items you have to buy new and less expensive for the items you already have:


tank - $50 (they said "special price")
desklamp - $30
mh retrofit - $200 (after shipping)
autotopoff pump - $300 (after shipping)
cannister filter - $100 (used)
submersible lights - $50
-------------------------------
Total Canadian - $730 (without any livestock)

Total US - $608 :eek: :eek1: :eek2:

From looking at the list, it is obvious that the biggest expense was my autotopoff pump. You can find cheaper models on Ebay or save a bunch of money and go without one altogether. Sorry for the bad news :p .


- Chad

[eugimon]

wow... that tank is very sweet. nice job... but holy jumping clown fish that's an expensive tank!

[ninjafish]

Thanks,
Ya, when you break it down to dollars per gallon it's pretty brutal...
When I decided to go to a nano I sold my 20gal/20gal system and put the money into the new setup. Didn't really cost me any "new" money, just swapped tanks to something smaller but easier to maintain.

- Chad

[dBOYD435]

dude..i nominated you for the tank of the month!!! and I think every1 should nominate ur nano for TANK OF THE MONTH!!!:D :D :D

[bennerkla]

Already did.

Chad, if you could of had a 5.5 gallon fuge instead of your canister filter, you could still have chaeto and have a return baffle with the return pump. This return baffle could house a float switch, which would trigger the auto top off. This would've saved you about $250.

[ninjafish]

Wow, thanks for the nominations guys! I have read the TOTM every month and I don't see a little tank like this making the cut :p . Still, I apreciate the votes of confidence.

Ben,
I considered doing that, but I couldn't have an overflow without losing one complete wall (and 360 degree visibility), or using a standpipe that ran all the way from the bottom of the tank to the top of the water line. Wanting to avoid the unsightlyness and noise, I decided that a cannister filter was for me. Once I had made that decision, I set to work to solve the problem of auto-topoff and macroalgae lighting. I know that I could do a 2gal (or 20gal!) nano a lot cheaper, but I don't think I could have built a system that is so clean, and so bulletproof for much less. I was as shocked as anyone when I added up the total :eek1: . I guess if I wanted to save money though, this hobby wouldn't be my first choice.
Cheers,

- Chad

[bennerkla]

Nicely said. I agree, not having an overflow is worth $250 bucks. Might sound crazy to a lot of people, but your tank looks so awesome completely free of heaters, powerheads, etc.

[spoon671]

I am right there with you Ben...

[ninjafish]

Thanks guys!
I love this tank and it is a huge hit around the office, but the best thing of all is having the approval of your friends in the hobby!
Things are still going awesome. The mantis was peeking out of his cave today - hopefully he gets braver as time goes on. Looks like he ate 4 tiny hermits. I was also able to give him some krill today. Talk to you soon,

- Chad

[ejls]

Hi Chad,

I've been following this thread and all your others on rc and n-r.com for quite a while and no matter how many times I look at them they take my breath away. I unfortunately made the mistake of showing my houesmates and my tank immediately became the subject of ridicule :(

As a result of this I've decided to try something similar myself (imitation being the sincerest form of flattery) and I was wondering if you could help me with a couple of issues which I can't find in the thread.

As I'm based in the UK I doubt I'll be able to get hold of the same model of dosing pump as you have but could you let me know the name/type of pump and any specifications you know I'd be eternally grateful!

The other issue is overheating. I'm planning on using almost the exact same equipment as you (I already have an Eheim 2222 and a 70W 20k bulb) does the temperature ever get out of control or does the fully open top, high surface area to volume ration and distance from the bulb keep everything in check?

Sorry for asking so amny questions. In case you're interested our variant is a cylindrical tank on a rotating stand (and yes the rotating inlet/outlet connector is an utter pain!)

Thanks in advance,

Ed

[ninjafish]

Ejls,

First of all, to answer your questions:
I don't remember exactly what brand my pump is, but I will check when I get to work. Do a search on Ebay for "metering pump" or "dosing pump" or "diaphram pump" you will see some different models come up like "Prominent" and "Milton Roy". Start searching them out at their homesites and find what output each model is rated at. Estimate (or measure) how much your tank will evaporate in a day and then find the pump that comes closest. The difficulty will be to find a pump with a very low output (most of them will be overkill). You will find that generally the pumps that have the highest pressure rating will have the lowest outputs. They are all very adjustable and any pump will work but you might need to turn it down, or even use a timer so that it only runs (doses) for part of the day. If you have your heart set on having the pump run continually, you will need to buy one of the LCD display models that give you the option of switching from "strokes mer minute" to "strokes per hour" - normally a dosing pump will stroke once per minute on the lowest setting. But that is still 60 strokes per hour. To give you an idea, my dosing rate is currently set on 12 strokes per hour!
Here is an example of a pump that would work (but that price doesn't work): http://cgi.ebay.com/LOW-FLOW-CHEMICAL-METERING-PUMP-GAMMA-G-5B-ProMinent_W0QQitemZ3865704858QQcategoryZ46547QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
These pumps are hard core, for use in labs and manufacturing - they are built to way!!! higher standard than any piece of fish equipment I've ever seen. That will lead to peace of mind - but also an empty wallet...

As for overheating - you will not have a problem as long as you don't try and put your lighting in a canopy or close it in. I have always said (and no one really listens), that metal halide is the coolest form of lighting! This 2gal tank with 70watts of halide (35w/gal) is way cooler than my 90gal tank with 220watts of power compact (2.5 w/gal)! The reason for this is, in order for fluorescent lighting to penetrate, it has to sit right on top of the tank - thereby blocking the flow of air. My halide sits about 7 inches from the top of the tank and none of the heat from the bulb makes it to the tank; infact, if you hold your hand at the water surface the only warmth you can feel is from the radiant energy (like the sun on a warm day). One of my submersible lights has burned out in my 'fuge and since then my temp has only been 74 degrees - I am looking forward to when the replacement bulb arrives so that I can bring the temp up a bit.
I hope this answers your questions!

As for your project of a cylinder tank on a turntable - I am really excited to see how it goes!!! Infact my current setup is only a concession that I made to my wife - my real plans were an acrylic cylinder tank on a motorized turtable that slowly rotated by its self.
My plan was to have the tank on a table attched to a lazy susan bearing (http://www.awsc-online.com/ContentL_a.htm) which was also connected to a hanging basket or harness under the counter. I would bolt a servo or stepper motor (http://www.alltronics.com/stepper_motors.htm) to the underside of the counter and have the driveshaft sticking up through a hole to make contact with a spur gear (http://www.qtcgears.com/RFQ/default.asp?Page=../KHK/newgears/KHK114_2.html) attached to the bottom of the turntable. The motor would rotate the lazy susan w/ tank and also the basket underneath that held the cannister filter. The electrical cord for the cannister filter and pond lights would stick out of the bottom of the basket where it would be connected to my power sourse via a rotating coupler (http://www.power-delivery.com/photos.php),.
As I said, a rotating cylinder tank was my dream and I am really excited to see how it works out for you. If you have the werewithall to make it motorized, well then I hope some of the research I did can be put to good use ;). I think you will find that a rotating inlet/outlet plumbing connecter will be very difficult (if not impossible!). Your best bet is to have the whole setup turn and only worry about rotating your power sourse. In that case, the electrical coupler will probably still be your answer whether you go motorized or hand-powered.
I look forward to seeing how it goes!

Sorry for any mistakes, I was typing in a frenzy. And sorry for the long post everyone :(

- Chad

[ejls]

Wow, that's a very detailed set of answers! Thanks!

I've sent enquiries to a few British and German companies who make dosing pumps and a couple have got back to me. One even thinks they maight have an old unwarrantied unit they could let me have for not very much. Failing that I might have to resort to ebay!

Your design sounds wonderful. Very complicated though. I've actually designed a couple of of rotating joints already. They are simple but a bit fiddly to build. However I've been in contact with a couple of companies who build rotating unions for use in industrial applications. One design in particular uses aluminium chanels and should be acceptable for marine use. Obviously it's not ideal but I'm going to give it a goand see how it pans out. They claim to have used this model for years with saltwater and not had problems so it should be okay.

The downside is that the tank will have to sit on a raised platform. It'll probably be about 4 inches thick. I wanted it thinner but I think that would be prohibitively expensive given the water flow I require.

Now I just have to sort out a tank :( Custom acrylic setups are rather hard to come by on this side of the pond. It looks like I'm either going to have to import from the states or buy a glass flower vase and drill it myself.

I'll start a new thread on this once I get the components. THanks once again for all your help. I'll keep you posted on how it pans out.

Cheers,

Ed

[ninjafish]

Sounds good.

I have posted some more pictures in the mantis forum but here was a nice one that I'd thought I'd share here:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130profile.jpg


I think he is quite a handsome character.

- Chad

[ninjafish]

And:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46130majesty.jpg


- Chad

[bennerkla]

Sweeeet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lunchbucket]

man those things are cool IMO. alien looking

Lunchbucket

[LiteEmUpGood]

How big is he going to get? Post vids of feedings???

[ninjafish]

Thanks guys! I am extremely pleased with how well he has worked out. I will try and get some video of him feeding but so far he is a shy eater. I leave work and there are hermit crabs in the tank, but when I get back in the morning there are only broken shells.

... I'll catch him at it one of these days.

- Chad

[ejls]

Beautiful! Bet you're glad you went for 6mm starphire now!

[ninjafish]

Thanks ejls. And you're exactly right, I don't know if I would have gotten a mantis if I had to go get a whole new tank for it.
Cheers,

- Chad

[thebrian]

On the rotating thing, I have an idea. Maybe you could modify a rotating christmas tree stand to work with this. I know they make them for artificial trees, but I don't know how much they cost. Just something to look into.

~Brian

[thebrian]

http://www.shop.com/op/~Not_Just_A_Tree_Stand-prod-10068806-15513467?sourceid=3 $24.97 holds up to 80 pounds, powers "1,000 mini-lights" - not sure on the equivalent wattage.

http://www.onestopshopcatalog.com/hms111.html $78.80 holds up to 150 pounds, powers "2,000 mini-lights", temporarily out of stock, but available on ebay for $120.

Now you've got me considering a rotating nano...hehehe

[thebrian]

Just to add on, I found by searching that a standard strand of 100 mini
Christmas tree lights uses 40 watts, so 1,000 would be 400 watts potentially, and 2,000 would be 800 watts potentially.

~Brian

[ninjafish]

Brian,
Looks good. The rotating part isn't the hard part though. The hard part is how would you connect it to a cannister filter and have it rotate?

- Chad

[thebrian]

Originally posted by ninjafish
The hard part is how would you connect it to a cannister filter and have it rotate?

I've thought about this too. I think the best way would be to have the Canister as a part of the rotations also. I would try to build a stand around the rotating Christmas Tree stand, so I could have a hidden shelf inside for equipment to be on and rotating with the tank. The problems with this, however, are that this would increase the overall weight, and you can't go over 150 pounds. I think it is still very doable though, especially for a tank under 10 gallons. My other thought is that if you can support the tank in some other manner (like put the stand you're building around the rotating Christmas tree stand on casters), you could take a lot of the weight off of the rotating device and go above the weight limit, so all the rotating device would have to do is provide the power for rotation, not support the entire weight of the setup.

I actually think I might try this at some point, although it will be a while before I'll have the time and resources to do so.

~Brian

[ejls]

Daargh, I feel like a thread-jacker now! Evil rotatey spinny thing... ;)

Thanks for all the ideas guys, I agree with you both that somehow having the cannister and tank rotate at the same speed would be the easiset way to do it, unfortunately like Chad I want to have this on my desk in the office and I need to hide the cannister filter in a filing cabinet undernrneath. While these systems could be made to work in that setting they wouldn't be reliable enough. Can you imagine what would happen if the canister were to jam while the tank was rotating? I really don't want to know how long it takes to drain 2USG of water through a 1/2" hose :(

I've been in contact trying to order one of these:

http://www.dynamicsealing.com/gp_2-passage_unions.html

I'll let you all know how I get on, but I'll make a new thread so as not to seem to be trying to divert attention away from Chad's stunning tank.

Thanks once again to all of you,

Ed

[gumbybc]

what does one of those rotating unions cost?

[tedu]

Maybe we should start a new thread, I remembered this tank (hard to navigate site though):

http://www.foad.org/fish/desktop.html#pictures

And the company:
http://www.aquaticrevolution.com/

[ejls]

I will start a new thread once a few more bits arrive. It'll be on nano-reef.com though as that's my hometown!

Thanks for the links and ideas all but please lets stop posting in Ninjas thread, his tank is the original and best office-desk-pico and always will be. If my tank looks 1/10 as good as his I'll be a very happy man!

Ninja, thanks again for all the information, I'll definitely keep watching this thread and I'll PM you and the others who've helped once the thread has something interesting in it.

Ed

[ninjafish]

Thanks Ed. I look forward to seeing it!

- Chad

[Gbeef]

Chad everytime i see updates of your tank, it makes me want to get back into it. that mantis is awsome is that the special order from big als?

BTW
What was worng with the arc bulbs?

[ninjafish]

Hey Jackson! Long time no see.
Actually Big Als couldn't gaurantee that I'd get a smasher - all they usuall get in are peacocks.
This guy was picked up for me by AndyL. He was at Gold's when they got a shipment of LR in and noticed it in the bottom of the container.

The arc bulbs were nice bulbs (and great price), they just had some sort of conflict with the ballast that I have. It's a shame because Ivan at Aquaria Canada is a great guy to deal with!
I will have a new video up shortly.
Talk to you soon,

- Chad

[ninjafish]

Here is the new video:

http://www.102tech.com/fish/mantis.wmv

I hope you like it!

- Chad

[Gbeef]

THATS AWSOME hahah footage is great, i was looking at a mantis at one time for a nano beacause i was looking for a low bio load.

[Gbeef]

a

[Kigs]

That is one sweet mantis shrimp! Great tank too, of course.

[nonamesright]

that mantis shrimp is AWESOME!!!!!!! i love how the poor crab tried to run away then BOOM, hes toast!! what a unique and colorful addition to a unique and colorful tank. great job and keep up the good work.

[ninjafish]

No kidding! That little hermit crab bailing out of his broken shell is probably the most desperate and most sad thing that I have seen in this hobby. Poor little bugger... the heart of a champion... :p
Thanks for the compliment!

- Chad