Wine bottle reef

[distantfire]

I came up with this idea for a pico tank. The weather got bad and that slowed my progress. So bare with me while I deal with old man winter.

Today I took some wood and started building a stand for the bottle. I'll post more pic's latter when it's finished. Here are the specs on this project so far.

The Wine bottle holds almost a gallon of water.

For lighting I have a 18watt aqualight and I can suspend that over the tank. Or use a desk lamp with a screw in 50/50 coralife bulb.

For a heater I was thinking about trying the hydroset. But it might not be needed if the light keep's the water warm enough.

For water circulation a tiny HOB with floss/carbon and mini power head or a elite mini filter I don't know which yet. I'm open for suggestion's on water ciculation for this tank.

My goal is to keep this project simple. And take pictures as the corals grow over time.

[adinsxq]

poor gas exchange

[NanoClown]

ya as adin says, for this problem, i would just run my HOB filter with the top(cover whatever its called) off, it should help as with water will always be moving in the filter, and it will be exposed to air better

[Ryan_H]

for a stand i would just use 4 pieces of 1x2" in 2 X's with a piece connecting them.

[chrisstankevitz]

You wouldn't need a chiller, just keep the thing in the fridge!

[matt510]

top of the line rine carlos rossi.. yumm

[distantfire]

The slot I cut out in the bottle is 2 1/4" wide by 4 1/2" long. It was a test cut because I didn't know for sure. If the bottle was tempered and going to shatter right away on me or not. In order to have more gas exchange. I can make the slot 6" long and a little wider.

That's also a good thought Nanoclown maybe the cover could be left off for several hours at a time. Airbourne dust and anything that get's sprayed in the room. During the day could become a problem though.

My idea for the stand was to make something simple. Like a cradle for the bottle to sit in. So I took 2 boards and using my contour gauge. I cut the middle of the boards out the same shape as the bottle. I didn't want the bottle to accidently roll after being filled with SW. So I plan to glue the 2 curved boards directly to the bottom of the bottle. Now I just have to find one more board to fit between those 2. And then the stand will be ready to finish.

[avalanche1201]

you could also add a tiny airstone in a filter to help out

[supahtim]

cool idea... but do i see an aluminum cap on the top of the bottle?

 

Tim

[distantfire]

Avalanche your tiny airstone idea reminded me of pico's that use a uplift tube. Thank's for the memory. So far I'm still undecided on which filter to use. Because there are a few that would work. I've also thought about having a external pump. But that would mean drilling 2 holes in the bottom of the bottle.

And Supahtim your right that is the orginal wine bottle cap in the picture. I will be buying a differnt stopper to replace it.

[elchicodelgado]

Definitely an interesting idea but the real question is why on earth where you drinking carlos rossi??????

 

Also, the light may keep it warm enough when it is on but i'm assuming it will go off at some point and then your temp will most likely fall quickly. I don't run a heater on my 12g jbj but I have a mj1200 and i turned chamber 2 into a fuge w/ a light on at night so those keep the temp up. A simple hob filter will probably not accomplish that.

[Kogut]

You could still do an external and not drill. Just use mini PVC to do the inlet and outlet. That way you only need it to go in the openning. You could even loop the heater into the return line and save yourself. Having a heater is a must, IMO. It doesn't say on all the time normally, it just keeps the temp from falling (aka when your light goes off). Good luck w/ it and keep up posted!

 

~Connor

[avalanche1201]

Avalanche your tiny airstone idea reminded me of pico's that use a uplift tube. Thank's for the memory. So far I'm still undecided on which filter to use. Because there are a few that would work. I've also thought about having a external pump. But that would mean drilling 2 holes in the bottom of the bottle.

And Supahtim your right that is the orginal wine bottle cap in the picture. I will be buying a differnt stopper to replace it.

 

 

any time

 

even though im still quiet new at nanoing...so the "uplift tube" is new to me

[distantfire]

elchicodelgado I bought carlo rossi because it was cheap. And I wanted to make a tank out of the bottle. I like hiding my heater in the Hob but in this case I might have to try something new.

Kogut I also belive in having a good heater. In order to maintain a constant temp. in the tank. I have a couple problems right now though. {1} The heater that I wanted to plumb into the return line is to big. So that would need to be replaced. And {2} I need to find a small enough pump. That will give me a decent turnover rate.

 

Avalanche uplift tubes are simple to make. You just conect airline hose about a inch from the bottom of a rigid tube. I bend the top of the rigid tubing at angle to my tanks water surface. But using small 90deg elbows works just as good. And then connect the airline hose to a airpump. And walla instant water circulation in your pico.

[avalanche1201]

oo i got it i think...It just blows the air across the top of the water creating movement...simple enough

[distantfire]

Yeah the air forces water up inside the rigid tubing. And it flows out across the surface of the tank. It's pretty old school but they work very well on bare bottom tanks. Another way to do it is to drill a hole thru a piece of LR. And then run your airline down thru the hole in the LR. Any tank debri that ends up in suspenion. Will then get pulled out by your skimmer.

What I like about uplift tubes is the fact that they don't add any heat to your water.

[avalanche1201]

sounds like a nice simple solution for tiny tanks

[distantfire]

Yeah avalanche they work fine and there simple to make. If you have betta it will really keep him swimming.

I'm trying to avoid going with a hob on the bottle. Because I don't want to deal with the splash or the salt creep. I know I can hide a heater so that isn't a problem. I just want to figure out a new way to add floss. And carbon once in a while to keep the water clean.

[avalanche1201]

that will be an interesting design...Ill think about it and if I think of something good ill get back to you hope it all works out distant.

 

I worked in a Liquor store and my co-worker and I wanted to get a tank for the store but didnt want to pay.

 

Maybe if I work there again, or go back once im 21...I can offer this idea for them, I think it would be sweet

 

edit: that is..if its alright with you

[distantfire]

Sure it's ok with me. I think a wine bottle reef tank in a liquor store would bring in more customers.

I think a nice tank could be made out of a 6gal glass carboy. But the glass carboy's cost more money. And you would have to find out first if there made out of tempered glass or not.

I was in the mood to work on a pico that's why I didn't buy a carboy.

[Uploadead]

I tried this with a baby goldfish from my pond. It almost died withing 6 hours, even with filters and everything.(the goldfish lived in the end though).

[distantfire]

Uploadead the baby goldfish got stressed out. Because you took it out of your backyard pond. And put it in a bottle with a filter. I belive you would have had better luck using a betta. Because they spend a lot of time in small containers.

I never had any plans on adding a fish to my wine bottle reef. Because a fish would increase the bioload to much.

[Uploadead]

no no, I acclimaed it fully and even used the pond water anyway. It was eating well in the bottle, I put some weed in the bottle for it to hide in. I knew what I was doing. I know what you mean about stress but gasping at the surface is more likely lack of gas exchange, and with tropical water (especially marine), holding less oxygen than temperate freshwater. Are you using an airstone, I am interewsted in this How will you fit the rocks in?

[distantfire]

Uploadead last night I tryed making the slot longer and a little wider. In the process I managed to make the slot a little longer but not really any wider. The drilling is going slow even using my cylinder bits. But I'm sure that I can get the slot right if I take my time.

For the LR I've been planning to make ledges to set the corals on. I just have to break some LR up with a hammer. In order to get the pieces to fit thru the slot.

[Uploadead]

Strectch it like some people do with their ears

 

Maybe put a metal ball in there (the bottle's neck) and heat the metal ball or the glass to widen it?