Jump to content
ReefCleaners.org

El Jefe's 3.7 Gallon Cylinder Tank - Now With Corals!


El_Jefe

Recommended Posts

Greetings all,

 

I thought I would start a build thread for a rather unique office tank I am putting together. Many years ago I acquired a 14 liter bioreactor vessel from my university that they were throwing away. I thought the thing was too cool looking to go to the scrap pile, and I figured that one day I would set it up as a fish tank. The bioreactor vessel consists of stainless steel top and bottom plates, and a 9'' diameter, 17'' tall Pyrex glass cylinder. Here is a picture of what I started with.

 

s-l1600.jpg

 

Initially I ran this tank as a fresh water tank, and I kept a single dwarf puffer fish in the tank at my office. I ran the tank with the lid off, and used a small canister filter and in line heater. I could not figure out to get light into the tank and still utilize the lid, so I ran the tank open top. The tank was torn down when I switched jobs and was not allowed to have a tank on my desk. Fast forward several years and I am now at a new workplace that is very cool about how I decorate my office. So cool in fact, that I dragged in an old 60 gallon fresh water setup and started a Cichlid tank about six months ago.

 

Its always been a goal of mine to set this little tank up as a tiny salt water tank, and after reading about the air stone driven sealed pico vase systems that brandon429 and others have been running successfully I decided to modify the reactor to allow me to run such a system. I was looking for a way to set up a small reef that I could work on once a week and leave alone the rest of the time. Brandon's 100% weekly water change, sealed system appeals to me since the full water change can be accomplished in 30 minutes or less.

 

I really wanted to incorporate the original lid into this tank build, as I want to retain as much of the laboratory equipment look as I can. My biggest challenge in this regard was how to get light into the tank to support coral growth. The central part of the tank lid consists of a stir rod mechanism that was originally used to stir liquid during the fermentation process. I decided to remove this entire portion of the lid and replace it with a glass window that would allow light to shine into the cylinder. The stir bar mechanism was welded into the top lid, so I machined this portion out and then machined the center opening and counter bore on a lathe to fit a 3.75'' diameter glass disc.

 

IMG_20160112_175056947.jpg

 

IMG_20160116_094238633_HDR_1.jpg

 

The lid features a variety of ports, most of which will be capped off. There is a venting apparatus that bolts to the lid that contains some sort of ceramic media that I am thinking of leaving open as the vent for the air stone. I will also likely use several ports to feed through my airline and heater cords, as well as a freshwater top-off line. There is also a large threaded port that I think will be perfect for feeding the tank. Here is a picture of the lid after the center window machining was complete. The glass window fits snugly in the hole and seats on the counter bore. I have not decided yet if I will bond the window in place using silicone, or just leave it as is. Once it is seated it takes quite a bit of work to remove it. The lid seals to the glass cylinder with a large o-ring seal. The lid can then be locked in place with wing nuts and a backing ring, but I will likely just let gravity hold the lid down since it weighs quite a bit.

 

IMG_20160116_100215095.jpg

 

One of the major challenges in running the tank the first time around was the difficulty of performing maintenance due to its small diameter and volume. I would typically have to remove about a gallon of water in order to get my hand down to the bottom of the tank. This wasn't a big deal with my fresh water setup because I did not have any rock work, but this presents a major challenge when considering setting up a reef tank. Because I want to be able to view as well as clean all the way around the tank, I wanted to be able to form a central rock structure that does not touch the glass at all. I also want to be able to remove the rock structure when needed to clean the rock work and glue frags occasionally.

 

The base plate of the tank also has a stir bar mechanism that I will be leaving in place. It originally had a stainless steel rod that ran through the center of the tank that I cut down when I ran this tank as a fresh water tank. I am having a friend of mine weld a new stainless rod in place that will run up the center of the tank roughly 13 inches. My plan is to drill holes through all of the rocks used in this tank. I will then insert the base rod through the holes in the rocks to form a central rock tower. I then plan to glue the rock work together to form a single rock formation that I can remove as one piece when I need access to hard to reach areas. I have not gotten to this stage in the build yet, but I am hoping that I can figure out a way to structure the rock work so it doesn't look too ridiculous. I am going to try to taper the rock formation as it gets taller to some degree so I don't create to many shadows.

 

I'll include an equipment list below for the parts that I have put together for this tank:

 

Filtration: Live rock + 100% weekly water changes. Large feedings 1 hour before water change

 

Water movement: 1 or 2 small air stones driven by an air pump with adjustable flow valves

 

Temp control: Tetra HT10 50W heater

 

Lighting: 14W PAR 30 Coral Compulsion 18K LED light run with customized desk lamp

 

Salinity control: I plan to get the tank set up and running and then evaluate if I will need to top off between water changes. I have a spare TOMS aqualifter pump that I may plumb into the system through one of the top lid ports that I could power up as needed with a button. Obviously this is overkill for such a system, but I have the stuff laying around and it would look pretty cool.

 

Planned Stocking List

 

Fish: I don't believe there are any fish that would tolerate once a week feedings, so I don't plan on keeping any fish in the tank. If there are some options out there for this type of setup please make some suggestions!

 

Inverts: Maybe a pair of sexy shrimp and a pair of pom-pom crabs. I may also keep a few hermit crabs as well. I plan to glue all corals onto my rock formation, so I'm not concerned with the hermits knocking down my corals. Maybe one other ornamental shrimp of some kind, still undecided...

 

Corals: This will likely be a mixed reef. I plan to frag most of the corals for this tank from my 70 gallon cube. I will likely add a variety of Zoos, Duncan, Frogspawn, Candy Cane. I may add some SPS near the top of the tank down the road, but I will want to see how some of these easier corals do before I go down that road.

 

Rockwork: I'm somewhat on the fence on what I should do for my live rock. I have an overabundance in my 70 gallon tank, more than enough to break up and use in this tank. On the other hand, my main tank has been up for a couple of years and is not completely free of nuisance algae. I have some smaller rocks in my sump that I could use to seed the new tank, and I could then go and buy some nice dry rock in shapes that would work well for this setup. The third option is to buy some nice live rock from a LFS and set the tank up with that. What do you guys think would be the best route to go? I like the diversity that I may get by buying live rock from an LFS and starting that way, but at the same time that does introduce some risk as far as unwanted hitch hikers. Thoughts?

  • Like 10
Link to comment

Subscribed! Excited to see how this build progresses. I'm also really jealous that you have a 60 gallon tank in your office!

 

I really love the idea of repurposing items, and this is certainly one of the most unique items I've seen used used for a tank! My only concern with the build is the stainless steel. While it obviously held up in the freshwater environment, saltwater is a lot more corrosive. Could you make a false acrylic bottom that you seal over the stainless steel bottom and use an acrylic or PVC rod to support your rockwork.

Link to comment

Subscribed! Excited to see how this build progresses. I'm also really jealous that you have a 60 gallon tank in your office!

 

I really love the idea of repurposing items, and this is certainly one of the most unique items I've seen used used for a tank! My only concern with the build is the stainless steel. While it obviously held up in the freshwater environment, saltwater is a lot more corrosive. Could you make a false acrylic bottom that you seal over the stainless steel bottom and use an acrylic or PVC rod to support your rockwork.

Thanks for the feedback Mirya. I have had reservations about the use of stainless steel as well. I did quite a bit of research but could not really find a conclusive answer one way or the other. I considered trying to encapsulate the metal with acrylic or some other means, but I've decided to give the tank a shot with the stainless steel exposed and see how it holds up. One thing I have going for me is that the lid and base are very likely made from 316L stainless, which has better corrosion resistance than more common 304 stainless. These fermentors were also designed to grow bacteria in media that often has fairly high salt content, so I'm hoping that I don't have a serious issue. If I see signs of corrosion or the corals start to struggle then I will have to go to plan B, which will be to seal around the base, rethink the center rod, and replace the top plate with a glass or acrylic cover. I will likely set this tank up at home and run it for a while there to work any kinks out before I bring it into my office. This should give me more time to address any issues with the tank setup that may come up.

 

Right now I am waiting for the welding on the base plate. Once I have that done I can start moving forward with figuring out how to aquascape this thing.

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Jefe

I once had a dream about a left sleeve tattoo that was both steam punk and a living coral reef as the actual tattoo

 

Your tank is going to look like the manifested version that's sick prep man. Sick machining skill

we rotted some metal on purpose in testing a claim

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/366281-only-i-xacto-blade-in-tank/

 

I don't think that upscales to your build other than a little funk won't be instant lethal most likely, various metal oxides as long as they weren't nuclear cake don't seem to hurt. I had Randy comment on that rust in his chem forum at reef2reef and he wasn't much concerned stating about a rusty float valve arm been in his sump for ten years directly in water flow. I'm assuming both of these example metals are way worse quality than what you are working with

Link to comment

Thanks for the feedback Brandon! It sounds like minor corrosion won't cause any major problems. I'll just have to keep an eye on things as time progresses. What are your thoughts on substrate for a tank this size? I was planning on running fine aragonite sand and stirring/cleaning it when I do my weekly water changes. I'm not a fan of bare bottom tanks on larger systems, but I was thinking it may be worth considering for this setup. If anybody has any thoughts I would appreciate the advice.

 

I'm also still on the fence on wether to use dry rock or live rock. Is there a prevailing technique with rock when starting one of these systems? Thanks Gang!

Link to comment

Nice to see another cylinder! I won't feel so lonely! Lol. Following along, looks interesting!

Nice cylinder Marc, you've packed a lot of color into the space you have!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Hey guys. Progress has been a bit slow on the cylinder tank, but I've finally got the welding and machining done. Here are some pictures of the main cylinder components.

 

IMG_20160205_221904149.jpg

 

Here are a couple of closeup pictures of the lid. I think it cleaned up quite nicely.

 

IMG_20160205_221950036_HDR.jpg

 

IMG_20160205_222012517_HDR.jpg

 

And some pictures with the base installed...

 

IMG_20160205_223533374_HDR.jpg

 

IMG_20160205_223604935.jpg

 

And finally, some shots with the lid fitted up as well.

 

IMG_20160205_224955827_HDR.jpg

 

IMG_20160205_225018803_HDR.jpg

 

IMG_20160205_225038355_HDR.jpg

 

IMG_20160205_225427058_HDR.jpg

 

The lid will just rest on top of the glass, as I think having to remove six wingnuts every time I want to gain access to the tank would be tedious. The lid probably weights around 10 lbs, so I don't think I really have to worry too much about it going anywhere. I will probably get some type of articulating desk lamp to run my PAR30 bulb, I haven't really looked into that much yet.

 

I think its coming together pretty nicely so far. If I can find some time this weekend I may start trying to piece together the rock column. I will be taking the glass off the base to do this, which will give good access all around. I still havn't decided yet if I am going to pull live rock from the sump of my big tank or just start fresh with dry rock. I'm starting to lean towards dry rock as it would allow me to pick and chose what shapes I would like, and take all the time I need to configure the scape. I think its going to be difficult to pull off a natural look with such a tall and skinny layout, so we'll see what I can come up with. Stay tuned...

  • Like 3
  • Wow 1
Link to comment

You could drill through the rock and slide it down the rod to hold the rock centered in place for a 360 view though any rock you do use will just take up the already minimal space in there.

 

Sexy shrimp would be nice, macro algae to help suck up some the excess nutrients.

Link to comment

You could drill through the rock and slide it down the rod to hold the rock centered in place for a 360 view though any rock you do use will just take up the already minimal space in there.

 

Sexy shrimp would be nice, macro algae to help suck up some the excess nutrients.

Yep, that is the purpose of the rod. I'm planning on making a single rock mass that will slide down the rod. That way I can pull my whole rock structure out for cleaning purposes.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

That's what I figured but I didn't see it mentioned in the immediate vicinity. Too lazy to read each and every post in detail. Lol this time of night it's all, walls of text, scroll, scroll scroll, ooo a picture!


Can't wait to see how this turns out

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...

Its been a few weeks but I have finally had the time to buy some dry rock, and then drill and shape it into a somewhat respectable shape. This is a pretty tough tank to aquascape for obvious reasons. I wanted to get a good amount of rock into the tank to build my corals off of, and I also wanted to avoid creating a rectangular "Christmas tree" like structure. Here are some shots:

 

Its nice when your tank comes apart this much...

DSC_0096.jpg

 

DSC_0084_1.jpg

 

DSC_0083.jpg

 

Here are some top down shots, not too much real estate left to the side walls...

 

DSC_0085_1.jpg

 

DSC_0086_1.jpg

 

I scored a great deal on a Kessil A150W light and goose neck, so I think I will be using this light instead of the Par 30. I'm going to hang on to both for now and see how they look when the tank is up and running. The Kessil is probably overkill for this tank, but I'm really happy with the A360W I am running on my 60 gallon cube and for 100 bucks I couldn't pass it up. Here are some shots with the lid on and light running:

 

DSC_0088_1.jpg

 

DSC_0089_1.jpg

 

DSC_0090_1.jpg

 

DSC_0091.jpg

 

DSC_0092_1.jpg

 

What to you guys think about the rock work? Do you think I have packed too much into the tank? I think my plan right now is to run bare bottom, and try to get some corals to grow off of the stainless bottom plate, maybe some Zoas or GSP. I'm still not quite sure which direction I will go with the coral overall. I was thinking of going the soft coral route and trying to cover my rock work with a variety of Zoas. On the other hand, and SPS dominated tank might be pretty cool. I think I can keep the water quality up and I should have plenty of light, at least in the top half of the tank. Water movement is my main concern with this setup since I am only planning on running a small air stone. I'm a big LPS fan, but I think most of them would overgrow the tank somewhat quickly. Any thoughts regarding coral selection in a tank of this size would be greatly appreciated.

 

Here are a couple of recent shots of my main tank. I will probably be fragging a number of corals out of this tank to start stocking the pico once it is up and stabilized.

 

DSC_0067.jpg

 

DSC_0034_2.jpg

 

 

 

 

  • Like 10
  • Wow 1
Link to comment

Sweet little set up you have going on.

 

I think the wing nuts would be a PITA but maybe find a way to make it look like they are on there?

I can't seem to find the stainless coller that the wing nuts originally attached to, which I'm really bummed about. I agree that the wing nuts are a cool detail that I would like to have. Hopefully I can find this missing part eventually. Otherwise, maybe I will come up with another way to put them in place.

So happy to see this coming along. please keep the updates coming.

Will do, thanks for the kind words!

  • Like 1
Link to comment

It's just all stunning large tank included those are solid colonies. The pico reminds me of a polished dive helmet I'm not sure a better pico plan exists.

Thanks Brandon, that's high praise! I think there is a lot of potential here. Hopefully the end result lives up to it. Everything seems doable in my head after reading through lots of posts by yourself and others describing these sealed systems.

 

I'm also considering building a "control pannel" that would sit next to the tank in keeping with the science theme I'm going for here. Stay tuned for that...

Do you have a thread on your main tank? It looks very impressive.

Thanks for the compliment! I actually don't have a thread started for my main tank. I've had it up for going on 2 years now. Maybe I will put together a thread about it. It's unique in some aspects, but somewhat genaric in others.

Link to comment

Thanks Brandon, that's high praise! I think there is a lot of potential here. Hopefully the end result lives up to it. Everything seems doable in my head after reading through lots of posts by yourself and others describing these sealed systems.

 

I'm also considering building a "control pannel" that would sit next to the tank in keeping with the science theme I'm going for here. Stay tuned for that...

Just make sure it has blinking red and green lights. Maybe even a large self destruct button. ;)

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...