Having a reef mini-ecosytem is awesome but also very distracting... in a good way thats why i want to bring it to my desk. A failed attempt before leads me to going even smaller and out of the way.

Heres my idea i know we all love pictures

My desk L-shaped with computer on one side


My amazing paint skills


Cabinet above corner where light and filter could go


The tank would be about 11" x 10" x 8.5"

Im leaning towards Acrylic so i can bend the corner that will be facing me for a seemless view. I need to find a good readily avaliable adhesive??????????

The above tank filter is what has me a little stuck.
NO pumps in the tank since space is at a minimum

So far my ideas for a filter and water movement is to use an old Maxijet and split the flow to the filter to and an output in the tank. Keep in note the pump will be in the cabinet.

My only ideas for the filter:
trickle filter (vertical)
mini sump (horizontal)
Pressure filter (kinda like The Kent Marine Phos Reactor)

that would be an awesome place to put a pico.

That's about where I have my pico and it is a great place to have one, I look at it 10x as much as my other tanks.

You can't really see much through a curved corner due to the lensing effect, a square corner with a thin seam might be even less obtrusive than a bent corner. But either one can be cool.

Here's an old pic of mine, it has changed a lot since but my desk is way too dirty to take a new one right now

cool idea. you considering making the tank yourself?

I would deffinitely like to make it myself.

I need idea for filters

Also anybody know the thread that was realy popular a while back a guy had a pico tank on his office desk with a mantis shrimp, a metal halide retro'ed into a desk lamp and canister filter plumbed under the desk. anybody knoew what im talking about.

Sweet spot for a tank but how will you get inside the tank, take out the bottom of the cabinet?

Maybe you can do a type of "reverse" sump where the sump overflows to the tank below. Or a closed loop type filter. Like a canister.

Yup i will cut the bottom of the cabinet out.

Im thinking about the reversed sump and canister ideas im just not sure how to perfect them.
the canister seems like a better idea if i can find i EXTREMELY reliable way to seal everything
The reverse sump seems easy but i can see overflow issues and bubble issues

I would say ditch the canister idea IMO. If i were you i would take the bottom of the cabinet out and add light into the cabinet. Make sure to vent!

Then in back corner have small overflow box(3'' fits my 1.25'' bulkhead so maybe 2.5'' square with 1'' bulkhead?) with a standpipe. Install sump under desk and VUALA! Maybe elevate sump so all you need is like a MJ1200 for the whole tank?

This is all my opinion, but go with what ever floats your boat! I think its a great idea and will look super sweet!

I could do that. ill keep that in mind however i don't like the idea of drilling into the desk top since that cannot be replaced. But its still a good option.

I would still like to try and fit everything into the cabinet above, for a very clean-looking system

I asked in a previous post but any one remeber this guy

looking at your pics i couldnt help thinkin of an L shaped tank - see attachment

could be challenging to do but should turn out nice

That would be sweet ^^^

nah that would be too easy. i need something challenging

Your filter options are...limited. I can't really think of any. You're taking the bottom out of the cabinet, so a reverse sump is out of the question. A canister filter could work, I'm just not sure where you'd put it if you're against drilling the desk. The one idea that occurs to me is a HOB filter, but you'd actually have to design space some where on the tank for it. Avoiding all of this, you could do a tiny AIO, and just use the cabinet for light, all though the space in THOSE back chambers would make any one think twice before complaining about their biocube.

I do remember the Youtube video you're talking about, all though I only decided to get my Mantis because of it.

That sounds like a tank I saw. Might have been on Youtube. It was drilled through the desk tho. I want to do it at some point but I am like you.. Not willing to modify the desk.... just yet.

Any thing is possible so this can be done. The filter must go above the tank in the cabinet. i will draw up my designs ...pictures always help

If you do decide to drill the desk you could always get one of those plastic covers that are used to route cords through a desk top. Then if you decide to rid yourself of the tank it will look like nothing was ever there.

That is true but i really wanted everthing in the cabinet ..... but actually if i did go under the desk i could have a ten gallon sump..... more water less evap. more room for equipment hmmmmmm no you got me thinking

Sorry. Just sumps IMO are the way to go. Plus i think it would be a PITA to fit everything into the cabinet.

Easy work around:


[IMG=http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/9993/aquariumdesk.jpg][/IMG]

Here is a link to a very nice office tank set-up


office tank


Check it out!


DougN

that thread ended abruptly.

well i do have more to do then surf nano-reef all day long haha
I don't start working for another 2 weeks so reefing funds are at a minimum until i make some cash

To Doug- thats not the thread i was think of but i have seen that one before and i like his overflow design thanks

To Cracker- that was my orginal design i drew up when i first began thinking about this project but i really like the ten gallon sump idea now