My .094 (11.83 oz) pico reef

Melbourne · 03/21/2006, 10:12 AM

Hi,

I decided to post up a log of a experimental tank I'm setting up.
Its a pico tank aproximately 11.83 oz empty. I'm basing it off a plastic tank kids toy called Antworks.

Tank dimensions 6.5"x 5.5"x 1.25" - the tank volume calculator does not calculate the volume correctly. I measured the tank volume and it came out to 450 ml.

Challenges of such a small tank are stability and circulation.

Circulation is via a custom airlift that I built.
Water will be kept at ambient room temperature to avoid the need for a heater. Water changes will be 100 % at a yet to be determined interval.

Pic of Antworks

Pic of the tank cleaned up (removed logo and Ant food gel)

Pic of custom airlift running - provides tank with a nice slow circular flow. The airlift directs the water out to the right. Flow is controlled via controlling the air going into the lift (via adjustable valve inline with air pump).

Tank is sealed with a lid with a small hole for the rigid airline which feeds the lift. The clear lid itself is sealed with a teflon gasket to keep evaporation down.

Melbourne · 03/21/2006, 10:14 AM

Next step was the wrap the airlift in liverock to both serve as filtration and hide the airlift itself. I wrapped it using liverock rubble and epoxy and super glue gel.

Next pics coming soon.

calvin415 · 03/21/2006, 10:23 AM

With a sealed lid how will you have any gas exchange?

Melbourne · 03/21/2006, 10:28 AM

Hi,

Its not a perfect seal - there will still be gas exchange however I'm not sure if it will be enough. The main source for evaporation and gas exchange is going to be through the hole I drilled for the rigid airline.

Melbourne · 03/21/2006, 10:36 AM

Shot of tank with airlift + additional liverock + sand.

Water is still cloudy due to sand and I scratched the left side of the tank getting the airlift in.

The flow is interesting the watch with the sand in now. Periodically the airlift will pull in a few grains of sand and shoot them out the top.

Size of tank compared to 9 volt battery

silver17jo · 03/21/2006, 11:08 AM

What are you going to keep? It does look interesting!

aural · 03/21/2006, 11:23 AM

i think he should put a powder blue tang in there.

sullyfish · 03/21/2006, 11:27 AM

very interesting set-up. As for inhabitants might I suggest sexy shrimp

wetWolger · 03/21/2006, 12:40 PM

Humm, intresting I like your idea but do you truly think you can do such a small volume? And the idea of a SW aquarium at room temprature, not sure how well that will work. I would think about drilling the bottom and going to a modified canister filter that contains carbon, and a heater. Then have the return go from the canister to a valve (to turn down the flow), and then back into another hole that is drilled in the bottom. You can keep your airlift (great for gas exchange) but this would provide more volume, more flow, filtration, and a heater. Plus if you had it on a desk where you could drill a couple holes it could make a very sleek, and clean looking setup. Just my suggestion.

Melbourne · 04/07/2006, 11:19 PM

Tank update

The cycle has finished - bit of diatom that still needs to clear up then I will look at stocking. Sand bed is starting to get colonzied since I see little worm tunnels now. Added in a bit of bubble algae for coral and two zoa polyps.

Not sure if I will be successful but so far the tank has been able to sustain some level of life at the pod / macro level.

tripstank · 04/08/2006, 12:43 AM

Wow.. Looks great!

markandkristen · 04/08/2006, 04:09 AM

def. do halides for lighting. just kidding

so thats less than a 12 ounch coke can

markandkristen · 04/08/2006, 04:11 AM

so a 50 gallon bag of salt should last you oh ...about a lifetime

1SickReefer · 04/08/2006, 05:39 AM

whats your electric bill on thast bad boy!!

aural · 04/08/2006, 05:52 AM

i'm guessing about $2/ year.

mr pink floyd · 04/08/2006, 10:59 AM

hahaha id walk around with it in my pocket to show people, be liek yea i got a 1 gallon.. .you wanna see it?

pull it out of pocket haha

you should put some zoos and yellow polyps, maybe gsp if its a tiny frag, yuo can try tp grow it on the wall maybe?

but it would take over in baout 2 days haha

Cutiewitbooty · 04/08/2006, 11:08 AM

wow that is so cute lol I'll tag along

mr pink floyd · 04/08/2006, 05:05 PM

hehe it looks liek a claymore!

Melbourne · 04/08/2006, 09:14 PM

Thanks,

Tank update - added in a micro blue leg to help clean up the tank a bit. I also placed two Seachem Matrix Carbon balls behind the macro algae on the right, and one small ball of Phosguard. I found the Seachem Seagel product worked well in my 2.5g so I thought the added benefit of some chemical filtration would not hurt this small tank. Another nice thing about matrix is that its not suppose to effect PH and its not dusty like normal carbon and the round compact form makes it easy to place/replace on a periodic basis.

FTS 04-08-06

Little hermit at work

A days progress

Macro rock also holds the Seachem Seagel

Hermit's Mount Everest

Picture of a Seachem Matrix Carbon ball next to air input for tank

Cutiewitbooty · 04/08/2006, 09:28 PM

are you going to add some more LR?

navyav8tr · 04/09/2006, 05:21 AM

very cool. I think this is the only tank my wife would like. Small, quiet, and not expensive.

Melbourne · 04/09/2006, 06:13 AM

Thanks,

No plans to add more liverock beyond maybe a small piece or two attached to coral additions. One the challenges of such a small tank is maximizing the water volume and having enough liverock for filtration.

spline9 · 04/09/2006, 06:48 AM

Sweet little conversion you have here. Excellent idea with the airlift.
I've seen these kits before and considering the width, scraping coralline may be a pain.

I have a Red Sea AquaVase.
http://www.aquatichouse.com/tanks_files/CandyBlue.gif
It's also less than a gallon. It's home for 3 sexy shrimp, a hermit, a small urchin, a handful of bristleworms, and a bazillion pods. Been up for over a year now. Unfortunately the urchin tears up the plastic.
Interetingly enough, I dont do maintenance very often and things are thriving. Just keep an eye on the temp.

kaserpick · 04/09/2006, 02:48 PM

very interesting idea

Thumbs up!
Kaserpick

alien9168 · 04/09/2006, 05:04 PM

This is very cool!

What else do you have planned for this tank?

03/21/2006, 10:12 AM	#1
Melbourne Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Somers, NY Posts: 532	My .094 (11.83 oz) pico reef Hi, I decided to post up a log of a experimental tank I'm setting up. Its a pico tank aproximately 11.83 oz empty. I'm basing it off a plastic tank kids toy called Antworks. Tank dimensions 6.5"x 5.5"x 1.25" - the tank volume calculator does not calculate the volume correctly. I measured the tank volume and it came out to 450 ml. Challenges of such a small tank are stability and circulation. Circulation is via a custom airlift that I built. Water will be kept at ambient room temperature to avoid the need for a heater. Water changes will be 100 % at a yet to be determined interval. Pic of Antworks Pic of the tank cleaned up (removed logo and Ant food gel) Pic of custom airlift running - provides tank with a nice slow circular flow. The airlift directs the water out to the right. Flow is controlled via controlling the air going into the lift (via adjustable valve inline with air pump). Tank is sealed with a lid with a small hole for the rigid airline which feeds the lift. The clear lid itself is sealed with a teflon gasket to keep evaporation down.

03/21/2006, 10:23 AM	#3
calvin415 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: C. Springs, CO Posts: 4,530	With a sealed lid how will you have any gas exchange? __________________ -February 2007 nTOTM "The problem with America is stupidity. Why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself" Current Tank Info: ADA 60-P

03/21/2006, 11:23 AM	#7
aural Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: South Florida Posts: 1,214	i think he should put a powder blue tang in there. __________________ (¯`•._(¯`•._(-aural-)_.•´¯)_.•´¯) Current Tank Info: 20g Reef - 12g Nano-Cube - Another possible Nano in the works

03/21/2006, 11:27 AM	#8
sullyfish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bellevue, Nebraska Posts: 481	very interesting set-up. As for inhabitants might I suggest sexy shrimp __________________ 180 gal SPS reef, 150 gal breeder system

03/21/2006, 12:40 PM	#9
wetWolger Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Colorado Posts: 1,955	Humm, intresting I like your idea but do you truly think you can do such a small volume? And the idea of a SW aquarium at room temprature, not sure how well that will work. I would think about drilling the bottom and going to a modified canister filter that contains carbon, and a heater. Then have the return go from the canister to a valve (to turn down the flow), and then back into another hole that is drilled in the bottom. You can keep your airlift (great for gas exchange) but this would provide more volume, more flow, filtration, and a heater. Plus if you had it on a desk where you could drill a couple holes it could make a very sleek, and clean looking setup. Just my suggestion. __________________ cheers, jent d-_-b Current Tank Info: 66gal = 32x24x20

03/21/2006, 10:14 AM	#2
Melbourne Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Somers, NY Posts: 532	Next step was the wrap the airlift in liverock to both serve as filtration and hide the airlift itself. I wrapped it using liverock rubble and epoxy and super glue gel. Next pics coming soon.

03/21/2006, 10:28 AM	#4
Melbourne Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Somers, NY Posts: 532	Hi, Its not a perfect seal - there will still be gas exchange however I'm not sure if it will be enough. The main source for evaporation and gas exchange is going to be through the hole I drilled for the rigid airline.

03/21/2006, 10:36 AM	#5
Melbourne Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Somers, NY Posts: 532	Shot of tank with airlift + additional liverock + sand. Water is still cloudy due to sand and I scratched the left side of the tank getting the airlift in. The flow is interesting the watch with the sand in now. Periodically the airlift will pull in a few grains of sand and shoot them out the top. Size of tank compared to 9 volt battery

03/21/2006, 11:08 AM	#6
silver17jo Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Davie, Fl Posts: 1,101	What are you going to keep? It does look interesting!

04/07/2006, 11:19 PM	#10
Melbourne Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Somers, NY Posts: 532	Tank update The cycle has finished - bit of diatom that still needs to clear up then I will look at stocking. Sand bed is starting to get colonzied since I see little worm tunnels now. Added in a bit of bubble algae for coral and two zoa polyps. Not sure if I will be successful but so far the tank has been able to sustain some level of life at the pod / macro level.

04/08/2006, 12:43 AM	#11
tripstank Registered Member. Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 488	Wow.. Looks great! __________________ Not to point fingers, but.................... Current Tank Info: Coral Prop troughs

04/08/2006, 04:09 AM	#12
markandkristen Moved On Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Winterhaven, fl Posts: 4,081	def. do halides for lighting. just kidding so thats less than a 12 ounch coke can

04/08/2006, 04:11 AM	#13
markandkristen Moved On Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Winterhaven, fl Posts: 4,081	so a 50 gallon bag of salt should last you oh ...about a lifetime

04/08/2006, 05:39 AM	#14
1SickReefer Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Perryville, MD Posts: 1,048	whats your electric bill on thast bad boy!!

04/08/2006, 05:52 AM	#15
aural Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: South Florida Posts: 1,214	i'm guessing about $2/ year. __________________ (¯`•._(¯`•._(-aural-)_.•´¯)_.•´¯) Current Tank Info: 20g Reef - 12g Nano-Cube - Another possible Nano in the works

04/08/2006, 10:59 AM	#16
mr pink floyd Moved On Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: west hartford, CT Posts: 3,480	hahaha id walk around with it in my pocket to show people, be liek yea i got a 1 gallon.. .you wanna see it? pull it out of pocket haha you should put some zoos and yellow polyps, maybe gsp if its a tiny frag, yuo can try tp grow it on the wall maybe? but it would take over in baout 2 days haha

04/08/2006, 11:08 AM	#17
Cutiewitbooty Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Alaska For 18 Years, Now Cape Coral, Florida Posts: 2,795	wow that is so cute lol I'll tag along __________________ WARNING: Taking my advice may result in personal injury and/or jail time. ~Amber~

04/08/2006, 05:05 PM	#18
mr pink floyd Moved On Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: west hartford, CT Posts: 3,480	hehe it looks liek a claymore!

04/08/2006, 09:14 PM	#19
Melbourne Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Somers, NY Posts: 532	Thanks, Tank update - added in a micro blue leg to help clean up the tank a bit. I also placed two Seachem Matrix Carbon balls behind the macro algae on the right, and one small ball of Phosguard. I found the Seachem Seagel product worked well in my 2.5g so I thought the added benefit of some chemical filtration would not hurt this small tank. Another nice thing about matrix is that its not suppose to effect PH and its not dusty like normal carbon and the round compact form makes it easy to place/replace on a periodic basis. FTS 04-08-06 Little hermit at work A days progress Macro rock also holds the Seachem Seagel Hermit's Mount Everest Picture of a Seachem Matrix Carbon ball next to air input for tank

04/08/2006, 09:28 PM	#20
Cutiewitbooty Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Alaska For 18 Years, Now Cape Coral, Florida Posts: 2,795	are you going to add some more LR? __________________ WARNING: Taking my advice may result in personal injury and/or jail time. ~Amber~

04/09/2006, 05:21 AM	#21
navyav8tr Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Chesapeake, VA Posts: 218	very cool. I think this is the only tank my wife would like. Small, quiet, and not expensive.

04/09/2006, 06:13 AM	#22
Melbourne Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Somers, NY Posts: 532	Thanks, No plans to add more liverock beyond maybe a small piece or two attached to coral additions. One the challenges of such a small tank is maximizing the water volume and having enough liverock for filtration.

04/09/2006, 06:48 AM	#23
spline9 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ventura County Posts: 808	Sweet little conversion you have here. Excellent idea with the airlift. I've seen these kits before and considering the width, scraping coralline may be a pain. I have a Red Sea AquaVase. http://www.aquatichouse.com/tanks_files/CandyBlue.gif It's also less than a gallon. It's home for 3 sexy shrimp, a hermit, a small urchin, a handful of bristleworms, and a bazillion pods. Been up for over a year now. Unfortunately the urchin tears up the plastic. Interetingly enough, I dont do maintenance very often and things are thriving. Just keep an eye on the temp.

04/09/2006, 02:48 PM	#24
kaserpick Keeping it Simple Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 2,637	very interesting idea Thumbs up! Kaserpick __________________ Kasey Current Tank Info: None

04/09/2006, 05:04 PM	#25
alien9168 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 1,664	This is very cool! What else do you have planned for this tank? __________________ -Alien Current Tank Info: I used to have a 30g custom acrylic cube sps, lps, zoos, mushrooms, leathers, 3" gigas+ anthias. 30Xg Sea Horse Tank...starting fresh...