NanoTopia Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I am starting a new build using one of Micro-Reefs temperate pico tanks. I have wanted to do another temperate tank for some time now, this is the perfect system for what I wish to accomplish. I am hoping to have water in it in two weeks, and life a month or so after that. First, I would like to thank for creating this mini temperate Picotope, it really is amazing! The red circle indicates the geographical location of the biotope I am creating, Tidal Pool off the coast of Vancouver Island-Georgia Straight, British Columbia. Water temperature averages 55oF year round. The numbers all over the map indicate temperature in oC. 12 oC = 53.6 oF, but tidal pools and the life within them are capable of tolerating fluctuating temperatures with ease, 13oC - 15oC is a good range for this pico and the life that will be contained in it. Mike at Micro-Reefs says this tank and chiller is up to the task. I have scuba dived for 20+ years in and around these regions and as high as Alaska. I no longer dive for medical reasons but I have some clear memories (and photo's) of what lies beneath these beautifully cold waters. This box came a long way, a little beat up but everything inside survived without a scratch. This is the pico with a can of Canada Dry to show just how "pico" this thing is. I will admit, I giggled for a while after seeing it, it's just so cute! Side view showing the rear chamber which houses the chiller, return pump, and filter pad. This is a AIO. Top view showing just how beefy this pico is with it's 1/2" acrylic throughout. 1/2" is required to prevent condensation from forming on the outside of the tank. I will be keeping this tank at 55oF ! This is the Nova Tec Ice Probe chiller, I will be controlling it with a DA Reefkeeper Lite. The Hydor 180 pump should do the trick, it was included with the tank along with several fittings. Okay, for those who know me, you will not be surprised that I took a little time to plan out a few things for this build... Yes I can use SketchUp, LOL. Expanded view shows also the custom light fixture I will be making. Now lighting is not as important for a temperate reef, at least the one I will be making, but I am still taking lighting pretty seriously. This is a basic plan that does not show all the details, that will come later when I put it together. For now, this. Lots more to come as things develop, unlike my last build, this one will move at a chilling pace (pun intended) ! Link to comment
slidinstar Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Looks like you and I may have the same tank. What is your tanks dimensions? Also, what LEDs are you going to be using? Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Wow! I am speechless on your innovation behind every build you create. Just amazing, once again I salute you! Sincerely, Mike Guerrero CEO/Owner Micro-Reefs LLC Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 LOL! Kinda ridiculously cute. Awesome! Looking forward to the new adventure. Link to comment
jbb Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I cant even get one good tank going , and you are on what ... the 12th ? This thing is a beast , cant wait to see it come to life . Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share Posted October 16, 2013 Looks like you and I may have the same tank. What is your tanks dimensions? Also, what LEDs are you going to be using? Awesome, do you have any pics you could PM me? Love to see what you have done and get some ideas The ID is 5 1/4"W x 4 1/8"D x 8 1/8"H (132mm W x 105mmD x 205mmH). I will be making one using cree cool white and blue LED's. Wow! I am speechless on your innovation behind every build you create. Just amazing, once again I salute you! Sincerely, Mike Guerrero CEO/Owner Micro-Reefs LLC Thanks Mike, you made it, I'm just putting on some finishing touches Will follow! Nice to have you along Brian LOL! Kinda ridiculously cute. Awesome! Looking forward to the new adventure. Yes, I giggled every time I saw it for the first couple of days. Nice to have you along also. I cant even get one good tank going , and you are on what ... the 12th ? This thing is a beast , cant wait to see it come to life . Haha, I have lost track over the years, I have a disease, and desperately need help Link to comment
JDigital Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Woman, you are crazy!!! Good Luck Link to comment
jbb Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Haha, I have lost track over the years, I have a disease, and desperately need help Well you're in the wrong place if you're looking for help. Link to comment
sangheili Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Love it. I'm from the coast of Washington state so these temperate systems are really appealing to me. Fighting off the urge to build one... Link to comment
slidinstar Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Awesome, do you have any pics you could PM me? Love to see what you have done and get some ideas The ID is 5 1/4"W x 4 1/8"D x 8 1/8"H (132mm W x 105mmD x 205mmH). I will be making one using cree cool white and blue LED's. My dimensions are a bit larger...ID is 6 3/8"W x 7 1/8"D x 9"H. I believe it was a demo attempting to find that perfect size to maintain the optimum 55 degree temps. Looks like mine would have some problem keeping up. I've ordered parts for my LED build...somewhat on the lines of what you built previously... incorporating a shield to focus the light downward. I also am going to control the temps with a RKE...and, am planning a wood stand...I was thinking Ebony to kind of simulate black coral once out of the ocean and polished. Who knows, if the light spill over doesn't please me I may make a hood also. Rock will be here tomorrow and I plan on scaping up, similar to what Jim did with his temperate pico. I do like your overflow with the teeth much better than mine, but think I'll also steal from Jim's pico and install a black mesh. I'll post some pics as things develop. Unfortunately I don't have the graphics skills you obviously have to produce the superb illustrations of whats to come. Needless to say, I'm following! Link to comment
Giga Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Nice to have you along Brian I love thinking outside the box(or inside lol) and this is just what it's all about! Link to comment
zeke2020 Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Still going through some of your old threads. Loving every minute of them. Probably heard it a bunch but you do have some serious diy skills. Please leave lots of info for us on this build. I'm intrigued by temperate systems but have no idea on the requirements involed! Definitely following! Can't wait! Link to comment
DaveFason Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Looks cool! You should only need two LEDs to get this going. You could even run four running at 350mA and wont need a fan. Cant wait to see what this turns in to. -Dave Link to comment
Sunar357 Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Nice! Can't wait to see her finished. Do you need fans as Dave asked above? I wouldn't expect the few LED's to put off much heat and with the chiller i'd think it'd be fine. Link to comment
rick12 Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 I like it. It gives me the chills! :-) Link to comment
neuwave Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Awesome. New Nanotopia tank. What are the stocking plans? Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 Woman, you are crazy!!! Good Luck You got that right Thanx Well you're in the wrong place if you're looking for help. Haha, I know, like an alcoholic looking for help at the bar Love it. I'm from the coast of Washington state so these temperate systems are really appealing to me. Fighting off the urge to build one... Don't fight it, call Mike at Micro-Reefs. My dimensions are a bit larger...ID is 6 3/8"W x 7 1/8"D x 9"H. I believe it was a demo attempting to find that perfect size to maintain the optimum 55 degree temps. Looks like mine would have some problem keeping up. I've ordered parts for my LED build...somewhat on the lines of what you built previously... incorporating a shield to focus the light downward. I also am going to control the temps with a RKE...and, am planning a wood stand...I was thinking Ebony to kind of simulate black coral once out of the ocean and polished. Who knows, if the light spill over doesn't please me I may make a hood also. Rock will be here tomorrow and I plan on scaping up, similar to what Jim did with his temperate pico. I do like your overflow with the teeth much better than mine, but think I'll also steal from Jim's pico and install a black mesh. I'll post some pics as things develop. Unfortunately I don't have the graphics skills you obviously have to produce the superb illustrations of whats to come. Needless to say, I'm following! Please start a thread for that build, I want to follow it. I have collected crushed clam, muscle, pebble, sand mixture from the ocean, stuff is beautiful. I am preparing it for the tank already. I will have a picture up today of it. I am thinking to mould a wall of portland cement all the way to the top, very thin but it will look like the real thing. Regular rock takes up too much space in the display. More on that later. I love thinking outside the box(or inside lol) and this is just what it's all about! Yes, the biotope is really cool, what ever you do. Yours is by far the coolest! Still going through some of your old threads. Loving every minute of them. Probably heard it a bunch but you do have some serious diy skills. Please leave lots of info for us on this build. I'm intrigued by temperate systems but have no idea on the requirements involed! Definitely following! Can't wait! Thank you I will try and leave as much info as possible, with pics of course. For now I am working on the substrate and soon the small stand. The led light should take a day only, just waiting for a couple supplies to arrive. The sooner I can get water in this tank the better, temperate water takes a long time to cycle. Looks cool! You should only need two LEDs to get this going. You could even run four running at 350mA and wont need a fan. Cant wait to see what this turns in to. -Dave Thanks Dave, I have a total of 4 leds + a moon light already. I was planning to run them at 350mA (have the drivers already) and put pots on two channels (I know I will need to dim them down), 2x7000nm and 2x450nm (there are two leds on a board). Keeping it very simple, and so I can change out the leds if I decide to change the spectrum. Had these from a different build (recycling them) I was thinking to do a full spectrum multi chip with a controller but not only would that be overkill, but also out of my budget for this build, haha. Nice! Can't wait to see her finished. Do you need fans as Dave asked above? I wouldn't expect the few LED's to put off much heat and with the chiller i'd think it'd be fine. In every build I do, I MUST have one thing that is complete OVERKILL, it's my build signature, LOL The fans are it, but they will look coooool I like it. It gives me the chills! :-) You better put on a jacket, things are going to get much cooler soooooon Awesome. New Nanotopia tank. What are the stocking plans? Thanks Neuwave, I have a friend with a boat on Vancouver Island, he will take me to some collection sites, all legal of course Not sure what I will find but I was thinking a few small minnows swimming around might be just the bang I'm looking for. Link to comment
metrokat Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 This size is a challenge and I know I'm going to learn a lot from you Christine. Looking forward. Link to comment
Sunar357 Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 LOL Well hey if you want to go for it! Will be neat to see! Link to comment
Reef_Suds Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Too cool! Can't wait to see how this little tank is stocked Link to comment
slidinstar Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Please start a thread for that build, I want to follow it. I have collected crushed clam, muscle, pebble, sand mixture from the ocean, stuff is beautiful. I am preparing it for the tank already. I will have a picture up today of it. I am thinking to mould a wall of portland cement all the way to the top, very thin but it will look like the real thing. Regular rock takes up too much space in the display. More on that Interestingly enough, I was thinking somewhat along the same lines...possibly frag mags on the back wall. Now you got me to thinking..... I'll start a thread shortly...still working a few things out in my head! Link to comment
jgpico Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Any pics you can post of your dives in that area? Would love to see them. I can't wait to see how this turns out, I'm sure it will be epic like all your other tanks. I'll be following along that's for sure. Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted October 17, 2013 Author Share Posted October 17, 2013 This size is a challenge and I know I'm going to learn a lot from you Christine. Looking forward. Kat were all learning here, this thing is going to require some experimentation along the way. LOL Well hey if you want to go for it! Will be neat to see! I going for it, stay tuned Too cool! Can't wait to see how this little tank is stocked Me too Please start a thread for that build, I want to follow it. I have collected crushed clam, muscle, pebble, sand mixture from the ocean, stuff is beautiful. I am preparing it for the tank already. I will have a picture up today of it. I am thinking to mould a wall of portland cement all the way to the top, very thin but it will look like the real thing. Regular rock takes up too much space in the display. More on that Interestingly enough, I was thinking somewhat along the same lines...possibly frag mags on the back wall. Now you got me to thinking..... I'll start a thread shortly...still working a few things out in my head! Portland cement custom wall That's what I will attempt, going to make a mould box in the dimensions of the tank and work from there, maybe hold off a couple of days and watch what I do, help you with more ideas maybe Any pics you can post of your dives in that area? Would love to see them. I can't wait to see how this turns out, I'm sure it will be epic like all your other tanks. I'll be following along that's for sure. Oh boy, you had to ask, LOL Some of my inspiration for this build, but obviously I'm not putting in a sun star or the Stellar Sea Lion, LOL. Finally, My dive buddy with a stellar find, circa 1981...told you I been doing this for some time,haha [/url] Link to comment
jgpico Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Those are so awesome! Thank you for posting those. I love cold water biotipes, it gets too hot where I live to keep a cold water biotope. I'd be pushing a chiller to its limit in the summer. Link to comment
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