10-gallon Cylindrical Nano?

Everyone,

Well, I have been a lurker for a while, and after posting a question about a Xenia eating Nudibranch last week, I thought I should go-ahead and post my other "problem".

I have recently dismantled a 10-gallon +/- cylindrical fresh water tank in the hope of making it into a 10-gallon nano-reef (It's actually the top of an old gas pump that I have been using as a fish tank for the last 15-20 years.). I have already setup a nice 20H and after one severe incident, wanted to try something that would be both technically and visually interesting. The tank (see the attached photo) is roughly 12x36. Unfortunately, this makes it just a "hair" too small for 2x18w light kits. It’s because of this that it looks like I will be stuck using 2x13w or even 2x9w. If anyone has a better idea PLEASE let me know. I would like it to be “all one piece”. So please keep that in mind also.

Even when I find a lighting solution that will fit my needs, I am still stuck with the dilemma of water circulation and filtration.

So, there you have it, my plea for ideas. Feel free to pummel me with them.

PS: Three other things to keep in mind while you pummel me with idea's.

As this is an old gas-pump, I do have 2 1/2 inch holes in the bottom of the metal casing, so I could potentially run pipes/hoses through the bottom of the tank. I was actually thinking about running a piece of piping through the exact center of the tank and then attaching rocks/corals to it.. but… *shrug*

I would also like the lights to be “inside” the tank. No clip-on’s or hangers! This will have to be a “semi” stand-alone tank.

Finally, I am basicly building this to keep mushrooms, ricordia, zoo's, polyp's, and/or a neon or green stripped goby.

Any idea’s you could send my way would be appreciated! (If I don't end up with anything good it'll probably be turned into a Jelly-fish tank... While some what blander then a reef tank, they are kind'a neet to watch.)

~R

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20H Nano-reef running 3 - 32w PC’s

(pictures coming soon to the members section)

Now thats a very interesting tank! I am thinking you probably cloud make it a nano, I would make a Coral/LR tower in the middle of the tank stacked up. It would have a great look to have a coral tower not sure about the fish though..also making a current from top to bottom would be tricky.

Cool tank!! I cant wait to see how it turns out. If you go with the pipe up the center approach you could drill holes in the pipe and use it to privide current throughout the whole column. I look foward to seeing pics.

jc

how tall is it? It might real hard to aquascape. Just thinking of the difficulty in getting my hand down to the bottom to reposition a coral.

BearNuts,

> Now thats a very interesting tank! I am thinking you

> probably cloud make it a nano, I would make a Coral/LR

> tower in the middle of the tank stacked up.

First off, THANK YOU for the complement on the interesting tank! Like I mentioned above, I have had it for a while and it has been used to hold everything from small Brim (sun fish) and Angels to tetra schools. I hope that I can make it similar to what you described (a large cylindrical column). However, we'll see! (Believe me - there'll be lots of pic's!)

The_Rocket,

> If you go with the pipe up the center, approach you

> could drill holes in the pipe and use it to provide current

> throughout the whole column.

I hadn't thought about using a central pipe to push through, that's an awesome idea, I will DEFINATELY consider that approach! That would make it much easier to add a refugium and skimmer to the system (Thanks also for the complements on the tank!)!!

Crakeur,

> how tall is it? It might real hard to aquascape. Just

> thinking of the difficulty in getting my hand down

> to the bottom to reposition a coral.

The tank is roughly 36" (+/- 6”) tall (I haven't measured it in a long time, LOL, just measured the top yesterday after looking at Helios 2x18's at the LFS). It will definitely be a pain to position the corals and stuff, so I “hope” I can get a well "thought-out" structure to start with... Even then, I am still worried about the amount of light that can reach the bottom of the tank. I will take measurements when I get off work and post them out here for everyone (Sorry for not doing that before. LOL. I just couldn’t wait!).

If I went with a center pipe design, I could "glue" the rocks together in small "doughnut" shapes so that I could take them out one layer at a time if I had to. I know “reaching” to the bottom, especially with the tank on my desk, is a REAL pain in the butt (not to mention dangerous – darn “wheeled” office chairs keep moving when I am standing on them)!

Everyone in general,

Thanks again for all of your advice! I am fairly certain that this tank will be moving down into my living room once it’s complete, so presentation / style is definitely a consideration here.

~R

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20H Nano-reef running 3 - 32w PC’s

(pictures coming soon to the members section)

very interesting tank! i have a couple of q's and comments. first, since it was a FW, did you ever treat with copper? not knowing the edges but i'm assuming they're silicone you will probably have issues if you ever used copper meds.

how about a mh? the depth really calls for one imo and you could maybe opt for some sps towards the top for some citron gobies. the depth also still allows for low light at the bottom (175W mh) for a different biotope like for seahorses or bottom dwellers. high water movement at the top and low at the bottom.

tiny, I was thinking the same thing. Low light corals on the bottom and high light corals on the top.

another thought, and I'm not sure if this could be accomplished but it might solve your aquascaping issue.

If you use a pipe down the center, and set up a base, in the tank, to hold that pipe, you might be able to lift the whole rock structure up and out of the tank for aquascaping purposes. This would be a heavy lift due to the rock attached to the pipe but it will allow you to scape the bottom of the tank without the need of rubber man arms.

I'm thinking a base that would sit on the bottom of the tank with a smaller hole cut into it that the pipe would slide into. you would then attach the rock to the pipe and "simply (hah real simple) slide the pipe (with rock attached) down into the hole so that it stays in the center. Granted, all that weight might be a ***** and the height needed to do this might make it impossible but I'm tossing ideas around.

I love the idea of using that tank for a reef. Real sweet looking and very different and original.

This idea is cool as hell. That thing only holds 10 gallons? How thick is it? I like Crak's idea with the center pipe. To build off that, maybe you can punch random holes in it down its length. Put a pump on the top, it would be like a giant vertical spray bar. Should take care of potential circulation problems throughout the entire water column (hehe, literally). Definitely keep us updated.

This would make an incredibly awesome seahorse tank, too. Maybe use just Tonga branch rock, anchored to the center pipe. You could have some macroalgae growing off of the branches to give the horses something to hitch onto.

Since looks of the hardware are a major consideration with this tank, I'd suggest a bell-shaped metal halide pendant.

Everyone,

Well I finally have the exact dimensions of this thing. The tank is roughly 26in high by 12in in diameter. So that puts the total tank volume at 3.145 x 6in x 6in x 26” = 2943.72in^3, 2943.72in^3 = 12.743376 gallons. It was significantly shorter then I thought. If I add the base and the top I come much closer to my original estimate of 36in.

Tinyreef,

> first, since it was a FW, did you ever treat with copper?

While I know I have used penicillin in the past, I am not sure about copper. Thanks for the heads up, I will probably go-head and replace the seal along the bottom of the tank!

Tinyreef / Gobies,

> how about a mh? the depth really calls for one imo and

> you could maybe opt for some sps towards the top for

> some citron gobies.

> Since looks of the hardware are a major consideration

> with this tank, I'd suggest a bell-shaped metal halide

> pendant.

Well, after the initial suggestion about MH lighting, I went ahead and took a look at “Hello Lights” to see what they had. I think that the MH pendant below would be an excellent choice (as a bonus, I would finally get to use my new arch welder to make a cool looking stand)

http://www.hellolights.com/17penfix.html

What do you guy’s think 10k or 20k? I thought I read somewhere that the 10k has a little bit “bluer” light. I like the look of a lot of Actinic lighting (I run 1 full actinic 03 and two 50/50 PC’s in my 20 H right now), but I would be willing to try something a bit lighter if anyone has experience with it.

Crakeur,

> lift the whole rock structure up and out of the tank

I like the “single structure” idea, but I think the thing would weigh a bloody ton. Add to that the fact that it will be on a relatively high stand (at least 36”), and I am not sure I could even remove it.

Satchmo,

The tank is roughly 1/4in thick all the way around. I will definitely keep everyone updated on the progress of this one. I can’t wait to see what the final results are... LOL

~R

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20H Nano-reef running 3 - 32w PC’s

(pictures coming soon to the members section)

I agree that metal halide lighting is the way to go. People are always talking about how metal halide lights seem to work better on deep tanks because they have better "punch"--they are able to deliver their light further down the water column.

I saw on another site somewhere (sorry i can't seem to find the link) where someone built PVC towers in their tank. Then, they used a masonry bit to drill holes in their live rock and thread it onto the PVC towers. They mentioned that the live rock was pretty soft and wasn't very hard to drill. It also made for a very vertical and stable structure.

Whoops! Forgot to mention. I agree, if you're ready to makde the effort, this would be an excellent seahorse tank.

Vandur, it probably will be heavy as hell. that's why we have wives. For the heavy lifting.

Great Idea!! I definitely want to keep up with this one

I like the pipe up the center idea. It can be a center overflow and have the return lines coming up through it. You can use the hose and fittings for drip systems and then attach a spray bar to a pump. This way you have a bunch of returns for water circ in the lower portion of the tank. This will probably need to have a separate pump though. Then have another pump return water to just the top area for your sps corals. Of course having two pumps like that you would need adequate flow from the center pipe.

Good luck and keep us updated!

Well.. if you REALLY wanna do the pipe up the middle, what could do is make sections, much like a tent pole. each pole would have a tappered end which would fit into the next pole.. then you could pull off the sections of rock one at a time..

pics plz / TY

cylindrical tanks are a PITA. try busting off a coral frag, or try to clean glass, or siphon substrate..... Let alone flip over snails.

have fun ...

good point on the maintenance pita of a cylindrical. i always get dizzy looking at them myself but they are kewl!

you can just get a wooden dowel rod from home depot for flipping snails. you can also use it as a disciplinary tool for the @#$&%* crabs!

this is cool!

Madness,

Argh!! Wish you knew that link to the other person who is doing the tower idea. I have found a few people who are “sort of” doing towers, but nothing that really fits my particular application, I hadn’t really thought of drilling “through” the live rock.. It would allow me to get some larger pieces in there, but I am not sure I would really have the same amount of room for corals.

I am not quite sure I am ready for seahorses, though I would LOVE to see some Pygmy Seahorses in a larger, sea-horse only setup sometime.. (http://www.seahorse.org/photoGallery/bargibanti.shtml)

Crakeur,

My girlfriend loved your comment, almost as much as I did. LOL.

DeskJockey,

Excellent suggestions!! THANK YOU! I had already figured that I would be stuck with two pumps to help get the flow right.. hopefully I won’t end up with a “toilet bowl” effect in the tank though.. LOL.

Xavier,

I think for this one I will be using “mainly” small sections of live rock made into rings. Either stuck together with BSI, or with cable ties run through holes in the live rock (probably the former, since I am not 100% sure I could use the ties where they won’t be seen.

Dave ESPI,

I will be posting pic’s of my new pendant MH, the detached base, the lid and the tank itself, hopefully tonight. I am saving the interesting plumbing job for a weekend project. If I don’t do it this weekend, I will probably build the final stand for it.

Raise,

THANKS! I hope that it will turn out good, and not just a huge wet spot on my carpet.

Everyone,

Thanks again for the great comments & suggestions!!! Before I leave you, please note, I will be posting a message in the Lighting Forum, to see if the 175W MH 10K bulb is really the right way to go or not. I personally think it is, but I have never actually done MH so I am unsure. Check back soon for updates!

~R

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20H Nano-reef running 3 - 32w PC’s

(pictures coming soon to the members section)

there are a bunch of people using the "drilled live rock" method for smaller nanos in europe. if you use a pvc pipe and put an airstone inside from the bottom you create an updraft tube providing current downward from the open top of the pipe (hard to explain - probably sounds like a load of crap but its amazingly efficient!) so the idea of a vertical spray bar/ubdraft tube would probably provide enough current throughout the tank.

and I second (or third??) the motion for a 175W mh pendant...

I'd be concerned about the metal frame. Didn't they have problems with those rusting and poisoning the livestock in the 50's, 60's, and 70's, you know, before AGAs or plastic and acrylic? Other than that, looks like it will be one hell of a tank! MH is the way to go for lights, probably create a nice shimmering effect on the bottom of the tank. Get some firefish or jaw fish, they live more"vertically". HTH

it would be cool if you could make the rails down the sides wider and just put pc's inside em. Then you dont have to worry about pushing light all the way to the bottom. The light would span the height of the tank.

You could also make your own live rock molded to fit your tank in a tower fashion. reefcentral has some cooling postings on the subject. My envious compliments to your project.

Smaug