First Post! First Nano!

[Jester75]

Been lurking around the forums for a few weeks now reading and learning and decided to make my first post and try my hand at a nano tank. I just built the tank itselft last week, its .250 acrylic sides and bottom with a .125 acrlylic lip on the top. It holds something like 3.3 gallons. Here are some pics of the tank.

 

 

 

I just today finished building a hood for this thing. I havent totally decided on the lights yet partially due to not really knowing what would be best for this size tank but I was thinking of putting 2 of the 13 watt PC fixtures from hellolights in it ( looks like they should easily fit, 1 actinic and 1 6500k). May not be able to see it in the pic but there is a piece of .125 acrylic inside the hood to protect the lights. Here are some pics of the hood....

 

 

 

And of the two together.......

 

 

 

So waddya think? Any tips or suggestions are more than welcome as this is my first trip down the "nano" road.

[jeremai]

That's hot. What are you planning on stuffing in there?

[Jester75]

Thanks and to be perfectly honest, im not 100% sure yet lol. More than open to suggestions as to what would be good to keep in something this size with the amount of light that i will be able to put into it. Could maybe put some zoo's out of my bow in it if they would do ok.

[jeremai]

Thanks and to be perfectly honest, im not 100% sure yet lol. More than open to suggestions as to what would be good to keep in something this size with the amount of light that i will be able to put into it. Could maybe put some zoo's out of my bow in it if they would do ok.

Well, I'll be tagging along, but I've never had a tank that small, so I cannot help. Check out the entries from the pico contest, though - a ton of great ideas there.

[johnxboi]

well arent you talanted! wish i had that kind of craftsman ship.

 

 

lol. but nice though, and good luck wit hthe build. looks like its already off to a good start!

[clifford513]

Welcome to NR! That is an awesome tank. I really like the lip inside the top. Hood looks great as well. What did you use to seal the hood?

[Jester75]

Thanks!! I haven't sealed it yet but the inside will get a coat of Killz first and then get a topcoat of enamel Gloss White. The outside will be stained with Minwax Water-based Blue Hawaii, here is a color guide ( http://www.minwax.com/products/woodstain/w...based-color.cfm ) with a top coat of Gloss Polycrylic clear. I was also thinking about using the White water based stain from Minwax or a Gloss white enamel on the trim for a two-tone look but I'm not sure how that would look. I wanted to use the Deep Ocean color but the hood is made of oak and turns the stain a darker shade which didnt look good on the sample.

[Fishfreak218]

to nano-reef.com

thats a nice size tank.. i love the look of the tank..i suggest some sort of cool anemone shrimp... JMO

[debbeach13]

Welcome to NR that is a sweet tank. As mentioned look in the pico forum you will get some great ideas. Good luck, keep us posted with pictures.

Debra

[shivametimbas]

i'd make a base for it also. looks great so far. good work.

[Jester75]

Thanks for the encouraging words!! I have been thinking about that and the filtration that will be used for this thing and I think I have came up with some good ideas. I think im going to build a 3 ft tall pedestal for this tank with a tall narrow door in the front and open in the back. Also, thinking of drilling the bottom and putting some kind of bulkhead drain and intalling a black DIY acrylic overflow in one corner. Then have that drain into a similiar sized sump sitting in the bottom of the pedestal. Havent got the particlulars such as pump size and what not worked out yet but I will keep you all posted. Today I am going to start staining the hood. Will get some pics up when I get done with that!

 

BTW, does anyone know where to get black acrlic cheap? Everywhere I have looked that stuff is waaaay more expensive than the clear.

[Mini_GBR]

i would do a 5-10 gallon fuge underneath, a 70w or 150w MH lamp along with the 2x13w pc's, enless you plan on doing a fish only tank Nice hood, and im sure the stand will match great. You could also do an above hood water return for a seemless return without any powerheads in the tank, similiar to what Calvin415 did ( http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...opic=64930&st=0 ) and I sorta did. Only my 2 cents

 

For the black acrylic you could always just use the clear stuff you have and sand it lightly and then spray paint it black using the Krylon Fussion paint.

[Jester75]

Well, here is the Island Blue(45) stain from Minwax. I really like this stuff, goes on good and stays close to the color from the samples. I've decided to paint the trim on the hood and the stand (when I build it) gloss enamel white.

 

 

 

 

 

You cant really see the woodgrain much in the pictures but its there and looks nice!

[clifford513]

That looks really nice! I have toyed with the idea of a colored stain as opposed to a natural finish. That makes me want to try it for sure.

[Jester75]

Thanks alot Clifford! Just picked up the lumber to build the stand with. Its going to be about 36" tall and will hold a 4 gallon sump inside. Its also going to be painted to match the hood. Going to get started on it tomorrow after I paint the trim on the hood High Gloss White. Will post more pics then!

[clifford513]

Thanks alot Clifford! Just picked up the lumber to build the stand with. Its going to be about 36" tall and will hold a 4 gallon sump inside. Its also going to be painted to match the hood. Going to get started on it tomorrow after I paint the trim on the hood High Gloss White. Will post more pics then!

Your welcome, mad skills! I can't wait to see it.

[Jester75]

Ok, here is a small update! Got to working on the stand this afternoon finally. Got the frame and the shelf for the sump installed. The sump looks like it is going to be 8X7X9. Going to start skinning this thing tommorow after work and get to work on the door for the front.

 

Here is the frame work....

 

 

 

And a lil preview of how it will look with the tank and hood....

 

 

Next I gotta figure out what pump to use in the sump on this thing for some decent flow. Any ideas?!?!?!

[RP Beesh]

look good

[distantfire]

On my 2.5gal tank with external overflow. I'm using a quiet one 1200 pump with 1/2" ball valve. The quiet one put's out 294 gal's per hour minus head loss. It has a 1/2" output but you can neck it down to use 1/4" hose line and run a spray bar. There are a lot of great pump's to choose from. And I'm sure other's will chime in with sugestion's. I bought the QO 1200 because it was cheap. It had the right amount of water flow I was looking for and I wanted to try it.

[Jester75]

Well what I was hoping to do was build a small 2x2x2 overflow to go into the center just big enough to fit a 1/2" bulkhead into the bottom and drain into the sump, then coming out of the sump back up to the tank, putting a T in the line and run it up to 2 more 1/2" bulkheads on the back of the tank with some fittings on the inside of the tank to spread out the flow. All being plumbed with 1/2" of course. Does that help out any as far as my plans go? More pics of the stand coming soon.........

[Jester75]

Ok, here are some more pics of the stand. I got it skinned today after work and got the holes for the sump area and the utility area routed out.

 

 

Here is a closer pic of the sump section with what seems to be a new inhabitant.....

 

 

And a more open shot of both areas....

 

 

Going to start working on the door next, which im dreading and then putting the trim on.

[bighop]

Just because I had the problem, I'm throwing this out there. I built a 36" tall stand for my 8g jalli, The stand's footprint is about 10"x14". When I put it all together, the tank with water made the stand really top heavy. It would have tipped over really easily. I had to attach mine to the wall with some shelf brackets, they work, but it would have looked better if I had planned for this. Mine is on carpet, so that's at least part of the problem. Just thought I'd let you know so you could plan for this if needed.

[Jester75]

Thanks for the advice bighop, that had crossed my mind. Im hoping that since this thing will have another 3 gallons of water inside the stand (the sump) about halfway, that the extra weight will stabilize it. Here is a tiny update. Havent had much time to work on this thing due to work and all but I got the homemade door made today. Man, this trim was a pain to cut without a mitre saw, lol. Will start working on the sump and overflow/plumbing this next week with a lil luck. Anyways here are some pics of the door....

 

 

[Jester75]

Another small update for ya's. I finally got the sump finished. Its going to be just over 2 gallons and turned out rather nicely (the edges haven't been routed yet BTW)...

 

 

And here it is sitting inside the cabinet...

 

 

After OK'ing it with the misses, I am going to order all my bulkheads and return pump next week. Decided to go with the Rio 600 for the return. I should end up with about 130 gph when it is all said and done.

[Carinya]

Wow. Looks great. I'd definitely consider bracketing it to the wall due to that "inhabitant" I saw in one of the photos. She looks like a prime suspect for tank tipping over activities. (not to say she's not well-behaved, I just have a toddler & a preschooler & know that tank wouldn't last long upright in our place)