Mr. Clownfish Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 So after several years I'm going back to driving truck for a living. The good news is my wife is going to join me this time so we can be together. The bad news is that I have to tare down my tank until we decide to come off the road in a year or two. But I don't want to give it up until then. I would like to make some sort of sealable pico jar reef that I can keep in the truck. I'm still working on finding the Jar/Tank that I think would both look and work but here is what I'm thinking so far. Sealable Jar/Tank Betta heater air bubbler with air stone I would drill a small hole in the lid for the air line and heater power chord with silicone to seal it up. And some cheap LED light that I can mount in a box above the Jar. Stocking plans a greem mushroom that I have Sexy shrimp 1 margarita snail 1 blue leg hermit crab and couple frags that I got a few weeks ago. Do you guys think this could work? I will have water with me and can do small water changes several times a week when I am stopped. I just want something simple that I can have with me in the truck. My biggest concern is the movement and the truck bouncing around. what do you think it will do to the stuff inside the jar? like the sand, rock corals.... Link to comment
spinycheek Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 That's an interesting idea! I've heard of people successfully keeping corals in vases, I think the primary thing is daily water changes. A little sloshing around might even be good, like a wavemaker. I might leave out the hermit, he might start gnawing on coral if grazing opportunities are scarce. I say give it a shot, the only way to find out is by trying. Link to comment
PicoSavvy Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Bare bottom With a screw top like a media reactor with a gasket, I think that could work. Link to comment
chemikalzsky Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Oh! What a wonderful idea! I would think something like a mason jar might be good, but the lid might rust from the salt water though. I agree with a bare bottom and maybe gluing or securing the rock to the bottom somehow. Zoas and mushrooms are a good idea. I'm not sure how the shrimp would do. Those trucks can shake an awful lot and I would be worried the poor little guy might slosh around and get stressed out. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Oh! What a wonderful idea! I would think something like a mason jar might be good, but the lid might rust from the salt water though. I agree with a bare bottom and maybe gluing or securing the rock to the bottom somehow. Zoas and mushrooms are a good idea. I'm not sure how the shrimp would do. Those trucks can shake an awful lot and I would be worried the poor little guy might slosh around and get stressed out. Trucks might shake, but the insane flow from our powerheads is also something to take under consideration. The shaking might be really good for the tank even! Link to comment
Mr. Clownfish Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 My thought was to drill a large enough hole in the rock to put an air stone in on the back side so it can bubble thru the rock. Next use aquarium silicone to try to stick the rock to the base. Next use just a little handful of sand on the bottom to cover the silicone and make it look good. The bouncing I think would be good as far as adding movement in the water and flow to the corals. My biggest fear is that it would turn into a snow globe from the little bit of sand that I want to add. How much light do you think I'll need for zoas and a couple mushrooms? Link to comment
chemikalzsky Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Trucks might shake, but the insane flow from our powerheads is also something to take under consideration. The shaking might be really good for the tank even! That's true. I wasn't thinking about that. It's hard to tell how much flow a shaking semi truck makes.. Hahaha! Link to comment
Mr. Clownfish Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Yeah you can't really get a GPH based on bouncing truck Link to comment
plainrt Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 No worries about overheating in truck or anything? Neat concept though Link to comment
Mr. Clownfish Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Humm.... That never really crossed my mind. I don't really think so. The truck will have an auxiliary power until that can keep the A/C running when the truck is shut off. So that's good. Link to comment
plainrt Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Cool cool. Figured some way to keep cool seeing that they are home away from home nowdays Link to comment
PicoSavvy Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 You can also try building a damping platform like this (http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j7LI7GVns_U) this can help from isolate engine vibration. Link to comment
Mr. Clownfish Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Also another good idea. Not sure to what extent I can build something like that. But I do know that I want to build some kind of box to house everything that I can secure down to the shelf. Maybe within the box something to dampen the jar. Link to comment
spazizz Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 For the aquascape you could use concrete/foam and rocks. Link to comment
PicoSavvy Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 The platform works the same way an earthquake damping system work (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/GERB_spring_with_damper.jpg) it has two surfaces the bottom surface and the top surface in the middle there are spring that dampen the bottom platform movement. The one I show you works slightly different instead of spring it uses ball bearing that let the top and bottom platform slide and canceling the vibration from getting to your tank. Here is more information on the one I showed you (http://reefbuilders.com/2013/06/19/mame-tank-saver-protect-aquarium-earthquakes/) Link to comment
pgrVII Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 You could always use some kind of thick soft rubber or carve out some styrofoam to put the jar on to help keep it stable and absorbs big bumps and shocks from the road. Link to comment
Mr. Clownfish Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 You could always use some kind of thick soft rubber or carve out some styrofoam to put the jar on to help keep it stable and absorbs big bumps and shocks from the road. This is kind of more along the lines of what I was thinking. A nice rubber pad to absorb the shock and also not get damaged if it does get wet. I have to keep this simple and small. I can't get too carried away with this. I just want to be sure everything survives and grows. But how about a light? Something small but enogh to grow zoas and mushrooms. Link to comment
pgrVII Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Exoterra make a terrarium led that maybe worth looking at. Link to comment
gkarris Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/362072-low-techno-tech-picos-thread/ Link to comment
kylhcky Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 how well insulated is your cab? i feel like stable temp control in something like that will probably be the hardest variable of this equation. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 how well insulated is your cab? i feel like stable temp control in something like that will probably be the hardest variable of this equation. Humm.... That never really crossed my mind. I don't really think so. The truck will have an auxiliary power until that can keep the A/C running when the truck is shut off. So that's good. Link to comment
PicoSavvy Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 The hardest variable will be the motion of the truck itself. He need a way of isolating it. Specially on heavy braking, up and down incline Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 The hardest variable will be the motion of the truck itself. He need a way of isolating it. Specially on heavy braking, up and down incline If its sealed and mounted wouldn't the movement not effect the tank? Like why not let the water splash around a bit- wouldn't that be healthy? Link to comment
PicoSavvy Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 If its sealed and mounted wouldn't the movement not effect the tank? Like why not let the water splash around a bit- wouldn't that be healthy? Some movement is healthy in our tank. But I don't know how healthy constant movement is, all he had to do is turn on the engine and it like strapping a vibrator from a controller to the tank. I maybe over thanking it but I have very little information on mobile tank to compare to Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Some movement is healthy in our tank. But I don't know how healthy constant movement is, all he had to do is turn on the engine and it like strapping a vibrator from a controller to the tank. I maybe over thanking it but I have very little information on mobile tank to compare to So I guess we need you to strap your vibrator onto your Pico and see how it does? (Just teasing. I agree regarding the many variables of the trucks movement possibly having an effect on the tank) Link to comment
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