NanoTopia Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 I decided to turn an old 5 gallon rimless tank into a pico by building in an AIO. I figure I will have about 3 gallons display space. The theme is "minimalistic" in the display, BB and a small dry rock island. LED lighting DIY ModularLED 18 watts. DIY bio-pellet reactor and skimmer. No fish, only inverts. See thread for details. Just after the DIY AOI conversion At 1 month: At 5 months: EQUIPMENT 5 Gallon Rimless tank converted into an AIO Ehiem 300 return pump ~80GPH DIY up-flow Reactor (bio-pellets) DIY air stone skimmer DIY Cree LED fixture (ModularLED components) Hydor Nano 240 GPH circulation pump Aqueon 50w Pro Heater Pinpoint temperature monitor/probe DOSING Brightwell Aquatics (Ca, ALK, Mg, Iodine, MB7, GAC) Zeovit (Coral Booster, K-Balance, Coral Snow, Pohl's Xtra, Sponge Power, AAHC, Amino Concentrate LPS) Vertex (Bio-pellets) RO water DD H2O Ocean Pro Salt FEEDING Brightwell Aquatics Zooplanktos-S (Liquid suspension) Reef Nutrition Oyster Feast (Liquid suspension) Hikari Mysis Shrimp (Frozen) Omega One Pellets (Dry) PARAMETERS SG/S: 1.025 ppt [Refractometer] Temp: 78.5 F [Pinpoint Probe] pH: 7.8 - 8.0 [Elos] KH: 8.0 - 8.5 dKH [Elos] Ca: 420-430 ppm [Elos] Mg: 1400 ppm [Elos] K: ~400 ppm [Elos] I2: ~0.06 meq/L [seachem] NO3: ~0 ppm [Elos] PO4: 0.00 - 0.02 ppm [Hanna Checker] LIVESTOCK Coral Pinnigoroia flava "ORA Grubes Gorgonion" Montipora tuberculosa Monitipora digitata branching Echinophyllia echinata X 2 Favia X 2 Inverts Venus Anemone Shrimp (Anclyomenes venustus) Sexy Anemone Shrimp (Thor amboinensis) Bumble Bee Shrimp (Gnathophyllum americanum) Long Nose Shrimp (Leander plumosus) Feather Duster Worm Spiny Astrea Snails Link to comment
Cnebo Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Nice work, can't wait to see more! Link to comment
snowflake ell Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 wow can wait to see it fild Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Thanks all, I will be posting some progress photos soon. Also pics of my DIY nano reactor that will run GFO in the back compartment. Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Fresh Water Test: I put the rock in to see how it looked and cure the coral putty. Lighting used was just for the photo. Still have some work to do on the filtration and reactor but it's all coming along quite well. Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 My DIY Pico Media Reactor. When you can't find it in the store you have to make it yourself. It stands just over 7" and has a foot print of 3" 1/2 X 2". It can hold up to 150mL of media. It is powered by an Eheim Compact 300 pump which delivers 40-80GPH (adjustable flow rate). I plan to run about 75mL GFO (RowaPhos) in it. Testing starts tomorrow. Here's a couple of pictures. Link to comment
JR! Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 How much to make me one lol.....seriously Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 How much to make me one lol.....seriously Cost me around 10 bucks. I had the pump and most of the supplies at home. The GFO is $17. I made this to take me through the cycle and will keep it running 24/7 for the life of the tank. Link to comment
aquariumpav Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Cost me around 10 bucks. I had the pump and most of the supplies at home. The GFO is $17. I made this to take me through the cycle and will keep it running 24/7 for the life of the tank. can you build another and post a step by step? please Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 can you build another and post a step by step? please Well I may do in the future, I would like to test this one first for a while then update the design if needed. When I do I will post it here! Link to comment
JR! Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Cost me around 10 bucks. I had the pump and most of the supplies at home. The GFO is $17. I made this to take me through the cycle and will keep it running 24/7 for the life of the tank. pm me what you want to build one. ill pay it lol Link to comment
james1990 Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 sweet setup, wish I went this route. Very clean Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 The water is in! Some pics taken minutes after adding the water. So far everything looks good. I dosed some MB7 just now. So just to explain the filtration I have decided to go with... In the reactor I have 50mL RowaPhos GFO and 30 mL of carbon. I have a basket (I made) with Matrix, I decided to go with matrix in the back due to the fact I have little rock in the front. I wanted to have more bacterial media available. Matrix was the right product for the job. I have floss just under the overflow. I made a box where I can easily replace the floss, it's right on top. Also, I have a air stone confined in a tube to cut down on salt spray, this is temporary. My DIY skimmer will replace this in the near future. Return pump 80GPH and 50w Heater sits in the right chamber. I just have some temporary lighting on top. My LED's arrived in the mail today so I will start that build soon. This is the DIY Pico Media Reactor before it went in the back of the tank. RowaPhos GFO is messy so I wanted to flush out the fines before putting it in the tank. I have some carbon in the top part. Link to comment
d'Espresso Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Cool Build! what a genius! Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 A little explanation of my filtration for the Pico: Link to comment
jbowser Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 This looks really slick! You said something about a DIY skimmer? any ideas on the design yet? I'm also trying to work out a way to build a nice skimmer (will have to be pretty enough to sit in the display...) Following! Jb Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 This looks really slick! You said something about a DIY skimmer? any ideas on the design yet? I'm also trying to work out a way to build a nice skimmer (will have to be pretty enough to sit in the display...) Following! Jb Thanks, I need to experiment a bit more using a small water pump, like the one shown on the reactor, and an air pump with a stone. I will post my skimmer build here when I get some time to work on it. I am in the middle of building my pico LED. Stay tuned, lol. Link to comment
mosquedaj Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 What did u use for the clear pipe on the reactor? Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 What did u use for the clear pipe on the reactor? Aqueon replacement tube :Aqueon Link to comment
miniwhinny Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Wow, this build is amazing !!!! Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 The lighting is almost completed, thought I would share a couple of pics. You can check out my Pico LED build for more info: Pico LED fixture build Link to comment
iball1804 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I'm extremely impressed. Great use of space in the overflow area! Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 Wow, this build is amazing !!!! Thanks, more building to come. The water went in yesterday, and I still have a pico skimmer to build. Stay tuned I'm extremely impressed. Great use of space in the overflow area! Thanks, I have a skimmer to go in as well, in a couple of weeks or so. Tank is cycling at the moment, no livestock for a while. Link to comment
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