TheCurriculum Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 Well I'm about a month out from getting my first saltwater tank up and running Will be getting the last of my needed Hardware @ the end of this month and the DIY begins early June!!! It started out as I saw a minibow-7 the local LFS and the guy told me about making it a saltwater tank! oh my I thought .. It just may be in my budget after all, and I can have it @ work I got online and found Nano-reef.com Two months of research later and here I am... If you are new here take the time and read old post; I have learned a ton of information that has already saved me money and headaches Just put the pic on a friends site hope this works X) Well I have since modified my plans and will do a minibow in the future. Two .75 gallon tanks .. Plastic oval tanks I'm only using one but if it yellows or gets to scratched I'll move everything into the spare The size is roughly 10x4.5x6.5, I don't remember exactly off the top of my head Once the spare gets too ugly I'll make or have made an acrylic or glass replacement. I'm going to set it up as you would a large reef ready tank. I don't want to worry about siphon lines over the back etc.... so a PVC pipe or tube overflow will be drilled into the bottom of the tank leading down into a sump in the stand, 2 gallon tank that will be baffled. This will leave me with about 1.2 gallons of water in the sump for roughly 2 gallons overall I will have bio bail in the second partition and a sponge separating section 2 and 3 for filtering and a small power head return in section 4 The power head will then return up the backside of the tank into a bulkhead near the top for water return For any new people on the board I said earlier that reading old post have saved me money here's an example how 18w (2 9W) light 90 bucks or a 13w 50/50 for 85 bucks @ the LFS (complete) ... WHAT? 2 much 4 2 little so I looked around here and their --- found... Bayco makes a 13w fluorescence that you can find at Wal-Mart .. got mine for $9.62 HelloLights.com 10Kactinic for 7.95 + a few bucks shipping add in the extra 18g wire + hood material and the total for my light setup is under 25 bucks! When I start the DIY I'm going to borrow a digital camera and be sure to document my ups & downs of the project Please post any recommendations on my nano setup.... Seems like this should work Side note I may add some of that old good algaelight in the sump if need be The tank will be stocked with the following 1" to 2" LSB Few choice pieces of rock let everything cycle, then adding one @ a time 2 small mushrooms 2 types of zoos 2 small ric After 2 months I plan on getting a small goby Then once I am positive I can tame the baby nano I'll go for a Minibow @ the house As far as the headline goes I have a backyard pond, well what's with the nano pond you say? on a pedestal you say? I took my deep birdbath around 20 gallons, 1 foot deep in the back and have converted this into a baby goldfish pond with a 3 stage filtration and plants... yes sometimes I have to much time on my hands on the weekend Just stocked it with a black moore and fan tail.... couldn't help it ... making a nano coral tank and thought well I had these ponds parts just sitting their and well... you know... had to have a fix Ok I just had to spit all that out... Just wanted to tell someone and why not you.... phewwww ok I'm done now Link to comment
cjm033 Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 why wouldnt you just do a 2 or 2.5 with a .75 sump??? you can keep alot more,Chris Link to comment
lizbeth Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 Neat idea.....but as a person with a whole bunch of tanks I would recommend you go with a bigger display tank. Say maybe a huge 2.5 gallon. The reason being that a .75 is really too small to do much with, and you really can't put a fish in it. Also in your sump you could loose the bioball, sponge and second partition. That will give you more room for a decent heater. If you want to run media put it in the first compartment. You will want the pump compartment as small as is comfortable to reduce the chance of flooding if the overflow gets clogged. I've got to run...more later! Link to comment
TheCurriculum Posted May 21, 2003 Author Share Posted May 21, 2003 I thought about doing the 2 or 2.5 (don't remember the specific size) but with my limited space and money to start with I was going to set it up the other way. I may still break down and do it...... (ahhh it's tempting) But what I do have is an old scared up Betta tank already has 3 glass dividers, hince the sump in the diagram What the .75 (betta tank) does do for me is allow me to use what I have on hand. Using the small tank I only have had to buy a ballast and new bulb, giving a huge amount of light considering the water size. I have almost everything else except maybe some wire and screws. I realize that I could have it better the other way, but money wize comes into play. If I want a tank now, DIY a neat little tank and prove to myself that the $$$ on the larger setups is worth it. I have also thought about just using the second tank as a sump ie drain into the other .75 and put a baffle before the return pump. My thoughts small main + large sump = extra water = cleaner water = happier coral = less stress on me and more enjoyment for all So I guess I now have a question? Would I get any benefit using the larger sump or should I just use the extra tank as the sump.....? I also think I have a little hex I may be able to use that.. hmmm. On the goby I figured a 1" - 1.5" max little guy wouldn't overload the system and still be ok size wise........ Oh what to do..... If I'm not carefull my cheap little DIY will soon start growing.... 2 gallon tank 20 bucks that's not bad, but then more lights etc... I will say I agree with the 2.5 over .75....I want the bigger tank but since it's @ work and my first tank I would still be pleased with the small coral count listed in the 1st post and a goby. The stocking cost for the .75 is around 8 bucks for the sand and rock..... goby? umm 15 or so bucks haven't really checked on him and small frags for lets just say 6 bucks a piece That keeps me right near 60 in stocking cost. upto maybe a 100 if I find a nice ric or somethings that I just have to have I have a 25 watt heater +others, multiple powerheads, wood scraps, plumbing supplies etc... Thk's again to everyone on the forum oh and to cjm033 and lizbeth for the post Oh and lizbeth don't worry I'm going overboard and skipping from the 2.5 to over 7g... when I go again that is. Thk's your comment made me laugh Geshhhhh sorry about the long post I'll try and keep it short ....**** I'm already doing it again .......... Link to comment
lizbeth Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Ok so pop another 25 bucks into it and get a 2.5 and another shoplight (or just use the 13 watt). Move the divider in the betta tank and you'd have a much better set up. I really meant it when I said you can't put a fish in the other tank, it's questionable in the 2.5. And BTW if money is really an issue maybe you should wait for a while...even small scale reefin' ain't cheap. Link to comment
TheCurriculum Posted May 21, 2003 Author Share Posted May 21, 2003 sorry didn't mean to make it sound to expensive for me... I have the money just wanted to know for sure.... I realized I never put what I was going to do with the wee tank..... Once I get a minibow or larger tank the contents would be moved their and we would turn into a hospital quarantine tank This way while I'm working everything out for the first time it will be less money (I'm here around 10 hours a day so no worries on keeping it up) Thk's for your concern as it did make me look at it again... that's why I posted in the first place... no matter how well thought out something is ... it just seemed that way .... having someone else look at it can make you see your own mistakes and room for improvement..... btw I just ordered two more bulbs from hellolights So I may just go ahead and do a 2 gal and the little guy for giggles.... A fellow coworker said he would buy the lighting off me if I decide not to use it Money, money, money, I have it to spend I just wanted to see if I would truly love it like I think I will before I drop $$$ on a larger tank I'm ok with up to 400 in a minibow for work I just want to know for sure 400 could easily get me the next RC airplane I want... so I just wanted to know 4 sure ... why can't I just reply in 2 lines? any who have a great day, Thk's again for you post, it's making me do some thinking that I thought that I thunk Link to comment
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