The Nano Reefs DIY thread... - Page 7

BlueChip · 08/22/2011, 11:09 AM

any more refugium DIY's?

MyOwnGrowOp · 09/21/2011, 11:26 AM

i did a small DIY media basket for my 6 gallon zoa tank. a large % of the water was passing by the right side of the filter and not actually getting filtered. here is what the flow looked like. notice how a fairly large amount is passing by the right side?

stock filter out.

so i cut 3 of these for "levels" for the new filter

then i used an 80 tooth saw blade on the table saw and cut some acrylic

here is the acrylic weld i used

so i built it 3 sided, so i can put the media in the open side, and the outside wall of the tank acts like the 4th side. here it is

and here it is with filter floss in the top, carbon in the middle (waiting on chemi-pure for 3rd chamber)

and here it is in action

notice how the whole water collumn is going into it now! it actually cleared up the water after a water change about twice as fast. let me know what you guys think

sandy100 · 09/24/2011, 09:03 AM

good job~

DREWS10 · 09/27/2011, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ninjafish

Great projects everyone!
I recognize some of the Old Guard, but many people who are currently active probably haven't seen my "no-equipment" cubes. Here are some videos:

8" cube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJqOrAFZ7VU

mantis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhvL0qPHSLI

12" cube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS8oSnBdCxU

Hope you like it,

Chad

WOW!!!! Those are both awesome but the 12" is unreal!!! VERY NICE

dahogs · 09/27/2011, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DREWS10

WOW!!!! Those are both awesome but the 12" is unreal!!! VERY NICE

That's what she said.

Immature? Absolutely!

bymers42 · 09/27/2011, 09:40 PM

Anybody have pictures and steps for mounting an AI nano above a BC29?

jcopp24 · 02/08/2012, 06:51 PM

Thought I would throw my media basket on... I understand they are cheap enough to buy, however I like to build stuff... I used plexi glass, sealant, the front of an old box fan to make shelves... and the stock false bottom for a bottom, and cut the over flow to drop three waterfalls into the basket.
Without top and bottom

Top and Bottom

Installed next to BC14 Nanoskimmer

johnnie1960 · 06/08/2012, 05:50 AM

Good job stevie t would be proud I also built my own but used super glue because i wasn't sure about the acrylic glue seems to be holdnig on

biocube14g · 10/19/2012, 08:28 AM

Auto top off for nano's anybody?

jebbab · 01/03/2013, 06:49 PM

Sweet.

SantaMonica · 01/17/2013, 11:42 AM

I think more auto top offs are being made for nano's nowadays. But fortunately the (mostly) closed tops of nano's keeps evap to a minimum.

Dripdrop123 · 03/18/2013, 09:39 AM

I'm made a hospital tank out of off one of my uncles old filtration tanks and a pile of PVC I've already got it hooked up, it's in the cabinet under a 28g nano cube but anyone got any idea of what light to buy

Lpoole · 07/04/2013, 09:26 PM

You can use the eshopps nano overflow box in the last chamber in a biocube for a sump and connect the pump back up and connect to the jet that the small powerhead was on originally. You just have to cut the plastic a little to make it fit. There's a video on youtube on it. If you type in "eshopps nano overflow" it should come up.

Jblank44 · 07/20/2013, 08:10 PM

Here is my DIY for a ATO on a biocube 14g

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2314843

Psittac · 09/12/2013, 11:11 AM

Here is my DIY for an overflow and display refugium for my 3.4g pico

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2329600

brvheart · 10/04/2013, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biocube14g

Auto top off for nano's anybody?

I would highly suggest a DIY air powered ATO. Now that mine's running, I couldn't imagine doing it any other way. With the air pump, I'm never going to ruin a pump by running my reservoir dry.

Parts list for mine:
float switch(es): $5
12v relay from Radio Shack: $10
project box from Radio Shack: $3
air pump from Petco: $10
misc: FW reservoir, airline tubing, wire, super glue, mounting bracket for float switch

Key benefits:
-low cost.
-easy to find parts: I was able to get everything locally
-reliable, though component based, so easy to replace components
-runs on 12v, not 120v like other DIY ATO's
-no possibility of ruining your pump by running reservoir dry as mentioned above

This is not my design or original by any means. I did struggle to find build instructions 'tho when I went to make mine. There are several people who post the parts but don't list instructions (like I just did

). So if anybody would like me to, let me know.

Irongills · 10/04/2013, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brvheart

I would highly suggest a DIY air powered ATO. Now that mine's running, I couldn't imagine doing it any other way. With the air pump, I'm never going to ruin a pump by running my reservoir dry.

Parts list for mine:
float switch(es): $5
12v relay from Radio Shack: $10
project box from Radio Shack: $3
air pump from Petco: $10
misc: FW reservoir, airline tubing, wire, super glue, mounting bracket for float switch

Key benefits:
-low cost.
-easy to find parts: I was able to get everything locally
-reliable, though component based, so easy to replace components
-runs on 12v, not 120v like other DIY ATO's
-no possibility of ruining your pump by running reservoir dry as mentioned above

This is not my design or original by any means. I did struggle to find build instructions 'tho when I went to make mine. There are several people who post the parts but don't list instructions (like I just did

). So if anybody would like me to, let me know.

Yeah, build instructions would be great. I've got awful evaporation and have gotten close to running it dry a couple times because I lacked a jug of RO/DI water laying around.

brvheart · 10/04/2013, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irongills

Yeah, build instructions would be great. I've got awful evaporation and have gotten close to running it dry a couple times because I lacked a jug of RO/DI water laying around.

Ok, I will post detailed instructions tomorrow.

brvheart · 10/05/2013, 03:17 PM

OK... I would be pretty disappointed if I looked at these instructions to learn how to do a DIY project. I couldn't take very good pictures because everything's assembled and zip-tie'd in. This would have been better to write up DURING the build. Anyways..

Parts:

- Air powered pump from Petco
- Relay from Radio Shack
- 12v power supply
- Reservoir: I found a great 3 gallon drinking water jug at the grocery by the water refill machine. You could use a Gatorade bottle or something, but you'd need to refill more often.
- bracket for float switch(es)
- airline tubing
- rigid airline tubing
- Super glue or silicone or both
- Project box
- OPTIONAL misc items: clamp on airline valve to secure output of airline tubing to tank, shrink tube and solder for any splices if you don't want to use wire nuts, extension cord if you don't want to cut your air pump's power cord. Socket for your relay if you'd prefer to use screw terminals on your electrical connections.

Put simply, this ATO uses the air pump to force air into an airtight reservoir which forces water out of another piece of airline tubing running to your tank.

Steps:

Electrical:
notes: You're using the 12v relay and power supply simply to keep 120v out of your tank. You will have to cut your air pump's power cord. If you'd rather not void your $10 Petco air pump, you could always use a cheap $2 extension cord to cut into.

1) Take the power cord for your air pump (or extension cord) and cut ONE wire. Peel a couple inches back on each side and strip back a bit of the jacket. These exposed ends plug into pins 4 and 6 on your relay. The order doesn't matter. I soldered my wires to the relay pins. In retrospect, I would have definitely grabbed a few female wire connectors and used those. Much easier.
2) Take the wire from your float switches and make connections to 12 volt power supply and pins 7 and 8 on the relay. You can use 1 float switch or 20. Doesn't matter. I won't get into details on how many float switches you want to use for safety or redundancy or the best way to wire them. There's a lot of info on that here about wiring float switches. My diagram shows 2 float switches. You may need to extend your float switch wiring down to your relay. If you do, use whatever wire you're comfortable with to extend it. I used an old plug in wire you would find on the back of a VCR or something. I suggest using shrink tubing and soldering your splices for safety.

Both power supplies will be plugged in and left plugged in. The signal from the float switches activate the relay which converts the 12v to 120v, activating the air pump. Stuff your relay into a project box, tidy your wires, and be done with it.

Hand drawn diagram below:

Tubing and reservoir:

1) Take the tight fitting lid of your reservoir/container and drill 2 holes just a bit smaller than your rigid airline tubing. Cut one short piece, about 4", then the other longer one to reach to the bottom of your reservoir with about 2" left to come out of the top. Push the tubing through the holes you drilled. I suggest Super gluing the tubes in place AND siliconing them for maximum airtightness. The air pump output tubing goes onto the shorter tube on the lid. Run another piece of soft airline tube from the longer piece of rigid tubing on the lid up to the tank. I used the clamp on airline valve shown in the pic below, which I found in the FW section of my LFS. This piece basically keeps the tubing out of the water to eliminate the possibility of a syphon.

notes: this $10 Petco air pump easily pumps the 4 ft from my reservoir to my tank. If you have a lot further to go, you may want to splurge on a $15 pump :P
I would also suggest letting the silicone or caulk dry until firm and dry. I made the mistake of being impatient and got it wet while it was soft.

Float switch bracket:
I won't get into a ton of detail on this. You can buy one, make one, or maybe you have one lying around. If you need to make one, run to your local store that sells acrylic, snap off a couple pieces, and shape them as needed for your tank and float switches with a lighter or other heat source. You should really try to make this thing adjustable.

Couple more comments..
There are a lot of ways you can splash/snail proof your float switch(es). Pill bottle, 35mm film canister, pvc end caps. I used pvc end caps and drilled a bunch of little holes so water can flow through. I find that this setup is perfect in terms of the system coming on and off. It's not constantly switching on and off.
Also, this is a GREAT setup if you ever want to does KALK. No pump comes into contact with the water and you have an easy jug to work with and clean out if necessary.

Good luck and enjoy. Let me know if anything needs clarification.

Jblank44 · 10/06/2013, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irongills

Yeah, build instructions would be great. I've got awful evaporation and have gotten close to running it dry a couple times because I lacked a jug of RO/DI water laying around.

Look above at mine, very easy and VERY reliable

SantaMonica · 10/07/2013, 01:58 PM

Have not seen an air ato in a long time.

truthdesigns · 01/14/2014, 07:42 PM

Anyone seen a hob algae scrubber?

JAnwyl · 01/14/2014, 09:46 PM

I've seen aquaclear's converted to algae scrubbers

cfronczek · 01/21/2014, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jblank44

Here is my DIY for a ATO on a biocube 14g

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2314843

Thanks.

donlocke65 · 03/21/2015, 04:22 PM

Just joined,looking at diy nano getting a lot of bad or old posts ,what's going on?

09/21/2011, 11:26 AM	#152
MyOwnGrowOp Zoa Addict Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Calgary Alberta, Canada Posts: 274	i did a small DIY media basket for my 6 gallon zoa tank. a large % of the water was passing by the right side of the filter and not actually getting filtered. here is what the flow looked like. notice how a fairly large amount is passing by the right side? stock filter out. so i cut 3 of these for "levels" for the new filter then i used an 80 tooth saw blade on the table saw and cut some acrylic here is the acrylic weld i used so i built it 3 sided, so i can put the media in the open side, and the outside wall of the tank acts like the 4th side. here it is and here it is with filter floss in the top, carbon in the middle (waiting on chemi-pure for 3rd chamber) and here it is in action notice how the whole water collumn is going into it now! it actually cleared up the water after a water change about twice as fast. let me know what you guys think __________________ 120 Gallon Reef With Starfire Front, 45 Gallon Sump, Lit by Aqua Light Pro Deluxe, Super Reef Octopus 2000 Skimmer. 25 Gallon Top Down Shallow Cube lit by a Radion Pro with a TIR lens kit Current Tank Info: 120 Gallon Reef. 45 Gallon Sump. 25 Gallon Top Down Reef

02/08/2012, 06:51 PM	#157
jcopp24 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 341	Another DIY Media Basket / Rack BC 14 Thought I would throw my media basket on... I understand they are cheap enough to buy, however I like to build stuff... I used plexi glass, sealant, the front of an old box fan to make shelves... and the stock false bottom for a bottom, and cut the over flow to drop three waterfalls into the basket. Without top and bottom Top and Bottom Installed next to BC14 Nanoskimmer

01/17/2013, 11:42 AM	#161
SantaMonica Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Santa Monica, California, USA Posts: 2,511	I think more auto top offs are being made for nano's nowadays. But fortunately the (mostly) closed tops of nano's keeps evap to a minimum. __________________ Inventor of the easy-to-DIY upflow scrubber, and also the waterfall scrubber that everyone loves to build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1424843

09/12/2013, 11:11 AM	#165
Psittac Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Colorado Posts: 65	Here is my DIY for an overflow and display refugium for my 3.4g pico http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2329600 __________________ 3.4g pico reef w/3.4g refugium 29g pistol shrimp tank

10/05/2013, 03:17 PM	#169
brvheart Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 524	Air Powered ATO OK... I would be pretty disappointed if I looked at these instructions to learn how to do a DIY project. I couldn't take very good pictures because everything's assembled and zip-tie'd in. This would have been better to write up DURING the build. Anyways.. Parts: - Air powered pump from Petco - Relay from Radio Shack - 12v power supply - Reservoir: I found a great 3 gallon drinking water jug at the grocery by the water refill machine. You could use a Gatorade bottle or something, but you'd need to refill more often. - bracket for float switch(es) - airline tubing - rigid airline tubing - Super glue or silicone or both - Project box - OPTIONAL misc items: clamp on airline valve to secure output of airline tubing to tank, shrink tube and solder for any splices if you don't want to use wire nuts, extension cord if you don't want to cut your air pump's power cord. Socket for your relay if you'd prefer to use screw terminals on your electrical connections. Put simply, this ATO uses the air pump to force air into an airtight reservoir which forces water out of another piece of airline tubing running to your tank. Steps: Electrical: notes: You're using the 12v relay and power supply simply to keep 120v out of your tank. You will have to cut your air pump's power cord. If you'd rather not void your $10 Petco air pump, you could always use a cheap $2 extension cord to cut into. 1) Take the power cord for your air pump (or extension cord) and cut ONE wire. Peel a couple inches back on each side and strip back a bit of the jacket. These exposed ends plug into pins 4 and 6 on your relay. The order doesn't matter. I soldered my wires to the relay pins. In retrospect, I would have definitely grabbed a few female wire connectors and used those. Much easier. 2) Take the wire from your float switches and make connections to 12 volt power supply and pins 7 and 8 on the relay. You can use 1 float switch or 20. Doesn't matter. I won't get into details on how many float switches you want to use for safety or redundancy or the best way to wire them. There's a lot of info on that here about wiring float switches. My diagram shows 2 float switches. You may need to extend your float switch wiring down to your relay. If you do, use whatever wire you're comfortable with to extend it. I used an old plug in wire you would find on the back of a VCR or something. I suggest using shrink tubing and soldering your splices for safety. Both power supplies will be plugged in and left plugged in. The signal from the float switches activate the relay which converts the 12v to 120v, activating the air pump. Stuff your relay into a project box, tidy your wires, and be done with it. Hand drawn diagram below: Tubing and reservoir: 1) Take the tight fitting lid of your reservoir/container and drill 2 holes just a bit smaller than your rigid airline tubing. Cut one short piece, about 4", then the other longer one to reach to the bottom of your reservoir with about 2" left to come out of the top. Push the tubing through the holes you drilled. I suggest Super gluing the tubes in place AND siliconing them for maximum airtightness. The air pump output tubing goes onto the shorter tube on the lid. Run another piece of soft airline tube from the longer piece of rigid tubing on the lid up to the tank. I used the clamp on airline valve shown in the pic below, which I found in the FW section of my LFS. This piece basically keeps the tubing out of the water to eliminate the possibility of a syphon. notes: this $10 Petco air pump easily pumps the 4 ft from my reservoir to my tank. If you have a lot further to go, you may want to splurge on a $15 pump :P I would also suggest letting the silicone or caulk dry until firm and dry. I made the mistake of being impatient and got it wet while it was soft. Float switch bracket: I won't get into a ton of detail on this. You can buy one, make one, or maybe you have one lying around. If you need to make one, run to your local store that sells acrylic, snap off a couple pieces, and shape them as needed for your tank and float switches with a lighter or other heat source. You should really try to make this thing adjustable. Couple more comments.. There are a lot of ways you can splash/snail proof your float switch(es). Pill bottle, 35mm film canister, pvc end caps. I used pvc end caps and drilled a bunch of little holes so water can flow through. I find that this setup is perfect in terms of the system coming on and off. It's not constantly switching on and off. Also, this is a GREAT setup if you ever want to does KALK. No pump comes into contact with the water and you have an easy jug to work with and clean out if necessary. Good luck and enjoy. Let me know if anything needs clarification. Last edited by brvheart; 10/05/2013 at 03:55 PM.

08/22/2011, 11:09 AM	#151
BlueChip Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Old Lyme Posts: 1,308	any more refugium DIY's?

09/24/2011, 09:03 AM	#153
sandy100 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 10	good job~

09/27/2011, 09:40 PM	#156
bymers42 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 63	Anybody have pictures and steps for mounting an AI nano above a BC29?

06/08/2012, 05:50 AM	#158
johnnie1960 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 48	Good job stevie t would be proud I also built my own but used super glue because i wasn't sure about the acrylic glue seems to be holdnig on

10/19/2012, 08:28 AM	#159
biocube14g Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Templeton, CA Posts: 240	Auto top off for nano's anybody?

01/03/2013, 06:49 PM	#160
jebbab Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 9	Sweet.

03/18/2013, 09:39 AM	#162
Dripdrop123 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Savannah Georgia Posts: 2	I'm made a hospital tank out of off one of my uncles old filtration tanks and a pile of PVC I've already got it hooked up, it's in the cabinet under a 28g nano cube but anyone got any idea of what light to buy

07/04/2013, 09:26 PM	#163
Lpoole Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: PA Posts: 52	You can use the eshopps nano overflow box in the last chamber in a biocube for a sump and connect the pump back up and connect to the jet that the small powerhead was on originally. You just have to cut the plastic a little to make it fit. There's a video on youtube on it. If you type in "eshopps nano overflow" it should come up.

07/20/2013, 08:10 PM	#164
Jblank44 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 594	Here is my DIY for a ATO on a biocube 14g http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2314843

10/07/2013, 01:58 PM	#171
SantaMonica Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Santa Monica, California, USA Posts: 2,511	Have not seen an air ato in a long time. __________________ Inventor of the easy-to-DIY upflow scrubber, and also the waterfall scrubber that everyone loves to build: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1424843

01/14/2014, 07:42 PM	#172
truthdesigns Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Gilbert,AZ Posts: 1,861 Blog Entries: 1	Anyone seen a hob algae scrubber? __________________ -Justin "Beauty is within an ocean behind glass" Current Tank Info: 18 gallon custom nano.

01/14/2014, 09:46 PM	#173
JAnwyl Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: El Dorado Hills, CA Posts: 239	I've seen aquaclear's converted to algae scrubbers

03/21/2015, 04:22 PM	#175
donlocke65 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 1	Bad links Just joined,looking at diy nano getting a lot of bad or old posts ,what's going on?