ma_sha1 Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 11-30-08: Ittems are now fro sale: Skimmer/ATO/ MH Light. See my for sales thread! http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...177536&st=0 5-5-08 Update. Finally, Let there be light: For details of my 50W 14,000K MH build, go to the end of the thread. Start of the thread: _______________________________________________________________________________ My 4G 35W HID PICO was moved to work. Which left an empty space in my home crying to be filled. Picked up a huge 9" round Vase at Christmas Tree shop for $10. Thus, started my All-in-one Vase Pico build. I always wanted to try a round tank, although it's going to be more challenging to build. Here is a start of Tank set-up: Divider is built to host pump & micro skimmer. After the overflow slots but before skimmer, there's a long & thin chamber for filter pad & carbon. The pump has a built in sponge filter as well. The lid is DIY cut of a 0.5" Thick Acrylic. The thickness is key to insulate heat & will allow future upgrade to MH lighting to sit directly on top (Same design as my 35W MH HID Pico for heat insulation.) The front View with light on, Sorry for the dirty glass. I just finished the lid, should have done some cleaning first. The light is Coral life 18W 50/50. It was 5"x9" long but I chopped it down to 7" long to fit neatly on top. Back View of Sump Chamber: 9' Micro Skimmer & Pump with built-in filtration: Last Pic: View of The Carbon chamber. This is the Filter pad/carbon from Taam Rio nano Skimmer, from my 4G Tank. I just build a few slots to slide it in behind the return flow. Link to comment
Jusiko Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Hey, looks like this will be a fun tank to watch. What are you planning as far as livestock? Watching with interest. Link to comment
Lalani Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 I agree, this will be an interesting one. Link to comment
BeesGoneWild Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Gawd id kill for a corona right now. oh yeah the tank is interesting, ill be watching this thread. Link to comment
ma_sha1 Posted April 13, 2008 Author Share Posted April 13, 2008 Thanks, Guys As far as stocking goes, Tank is for my sone, so Crab & Shrimp first. Probably a tiny goby at soem point. Later, upgrade the light to MH. Then a clam is the target if I can pull it off. Link to comment
ma_sha1 Posted April 15, 2008 Author Share Posted April 15, 2008 First Photos of my tank with Liverock work. It's a whole piece & I cut it in shape to fit in the vase. It's got a bunch of green buttons all over. The left side of rock work is cut low to reserved a spot for a Clam. I know I am going get some heat for this, Clam in a Vase? Flame suit on Full Tank View, The carbon Fiber was meant for my car wheel project, I am stealing yet another application from my automotive hobby. Carbon Fiber Wrap around hide the curved part of the vase bottom, making it into a round column tank. This complete the look I envisioned before starting the tank, let me know what do you guys think. Water is not very clear, as it's not settled down yet. Link to comment
keeperofthereef Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Looks nice so far..... Link to comment
cdckjn Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Looking cool! Like the carbon fibre touch at the bottom of the tank! Link to comment
Reef Chicks Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Hey! I like this... its different. The carbon fiber reminds me of a Ducati I used to have. God that was a while ago! Anyways, I'll be following along because my main love is picos. Great job so far! Link to comment
ma_sha1 Posted April 15, 2008 Author Share Posted April 15, 2008 Chic with a Ducati? You must had a wild past I had almost killed my yank. Came home last night, water temp is over 90. Turns out that my heater was malfunctioning. It's a Hydor Theo 50W, it just kept heating & the thermostat isn't shutting it off. Glad I caught that. My big Mexican turbo was lying on his belly, I moved him back to the 46G tank & he recovered. Buttons are closed but I hope they'll recover. Link to comment
Reef Chicks Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Chic with a Ducati? You must had a wild past You betcha! I didn't drive it though. It was my ex-huband's. I had a lot of fun ~ let's just leave it at that. Link to comment
ma_sha1 Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 My replacement heater is on the way, so the tank is not heated at the moment. Temp. low is 72 & High is 78. Anyone know if the Zoa buttons with such temp. swings will be ok? They have not opened up since the 90 degree heat shock a few days ago. Some are spitting out some brown staff at the button center but not a lot. In the mean time, there's hardly any evaporation as the tank is completely covered (but not sealed). The skimmer is running & got some nasty skimmate out, so I think the tank is oxgenated fine. Link to comment
muzscman Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 My replacement heater is on the way, so the tank is not heated at the moment. Can I ask what kind of heater you are getting? I'm looking for something smaller for my 2.5. BTW, I love the tank. Very creative and it's looking cool so far! Thanks. Link to comment
ma_sha1 Posted April 18, 2008 Author Share Posted April 18, 2008 Can I ask what kind of heater you are getting? I'm looking for something smaller for my 2.5. BTW, I love the tank. Very creative and it's looking cool so far! Thanks. I am getting another Hydor Theo, this time 25W. I believe 25W is the lowest watt heater you can get with a thermostat. Smaller than that, there are 15W, 7.5W & 5W heaters, they just heat without Thermostat. Link to comment
ma_sha1 Posted April 20, 2008 Author Share Posted April 20, 2008 Well, I finally got the 25W heater & it's working now. Temp. is 78 +/- 2. Just added this little guy: Bicolor Blenny, His lower body is yellow but not visible here: Here is a photo of the 8" Pico Skimmer in action, I am amazed as it's just a $10 item from ebay (HK). Link to comment
ma_sha1 Posted April 24, 2008 Author Share Posted April 24, 2008 Small update: I plan to frag some SPS from my big tank into this vase & possibly add a clam, but first I have to complete the light upgrade. I moved my 70W MH 14000K from my big tank over to the vase tank just to see what's the level of light I needs, it turns out to be way too bright. My eyes started hurting after watching the tank for a few minutes. What's the point of having a tank & I can't even look at it? The front viewing part of the tank is only about 1.5 gallon, so 70W is out. I could do a 35W HID but I already did that to my other pico, it's time to create something new, also hopefully cheaper. I have a plan drummed up to do a 50W MH this time. This has never being done to my knowledge. So stay turned & wish me luck. I will be out for a business trip for a week, so I won't be able to get on it right away. However, I am ordering all the parts & plan to get on it as soon as I get back. I even changed the title of my thread in anticipation of success. Hope I am not being over confident. Link to comment
badwhiskey Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 what brand of skimmer is that?? Link to comment
ma_sha1 Posted April 24, 2008 Author Share Posted April 24, 2008 what brand of skimmer is that?? This is a no name ebay skimmer. Runs on 1" wooden air stone. Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Those skimmers used to be sold under the name "Sanders" Link to comment
evilc66 Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Got anywhere with that 50W MH yet? Link to comment
lemmy_01 Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 That is very nifty. I hope it works for ya. Link to comment
ma_sha1 Posted May 3, 2008 Author Share Posted May 3, 2008 Got anywhere with that 50W MH yet? Almost there, Just got back from a trip, only had one evening to work o it: Cut to fit fixture from an antique stainless steel stripe light (ebay) It will be wrapped into Carbon Fiber fixture when done. Bulb is in, has it's own tiny German polished aluminum reflector, got two fans for this project: I was able to fit only one fan in. There's room for two, but it's too hard to cut open the stainless steel. I wish it was aluminum. The fan is 13 cfm, hope it's enough. Last one: Complete in side shot. A metal piece is put in between the fan & the bulb to block direct radiation path, there's only 1" distance between the bulb & the plastic fan, I was afread the plastic fan could melt. A piece of glass (from a 99 cent picture frame) was put in to shield UV. More importantly, it blocks the heat from the bulb & provide a air flow channel to direct the air to come in from left side, go over the bulb then exit the fan. I've seen guys put in 4 fans on a 70W DIY hood & still couldn't control the heat, which has more to do with poor air flow design. My previous 70W MH DIY also have just one fan, but it's 20CFM & in bigger fixture. This tiny fixture has an internal space of just 3"x7". The Ballast is ordered & should be here soon. I also ebayed two 12V wide angle 1W Blue LED to be put into the space on the left of the MH bulb for Actinic night viewing. Link to comment
SeeDemTails Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Super cool! Where did you find the bulb and ballast? Link to comment
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