DRLenox Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Hello all, About a month ago I had the idea of using the box that my watch came in for a PICO tank. At first I entertained the idea of custom acrylic (still might go that route) but today I found this square vase that is the perfect fit. Here is the start of the build: (QUESTIONS TO FOLLOW) This is the box before taking the hinges apart. After de-hinging. The vase I jacked from my mom. And all put together. I threw in some leftover sand and the coral sculpture I made after my tank crash for fun, no water yet. Now for the questions, I have some ideas for the lighting and filtration but wanted to open it up for suggestions from you guys. I plan to keep Zoas, Shrooms and a sexy shrimp. The hard part with the lighting is how small the space is, 5.5" X 5.5" X 1.5" with a useable diagonal of about 6.5". Hope to hear some ideas/comments. Thanks in advance. Link to comment
doctorreef Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 This looks like it will be a really cool tank! What were your plans for lighting? Link to comment
Solarflare8806 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 read up on some the forums for led lighting. they're small and won't emit too much heat but will give you good output for something this small. Link to comment
Hans Dorn Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 This would be a good candidate for LED lighting IMO. You'd need about 4 1W LEDs for some bright light in this little tank Regards Hans Link to comment
DRLenox Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 Thanks for the quick response. LED it is. Now for filtration. I was thinking of just running a powerhead and letting the LR handle the filtration. Just plenty of water changes and a low bioload. Is this possible? Link to comment
GregH Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Drlenox, A few years ago my wife got me a little desk top water fall decoration. The pump in it would be perfect for something this small. It was about the size of a zippo lighter and was submersible and quiet. You may look at some of the department stores for something similar or search online for a pump like that. Love your idea for a pico btw. Greg Link to comment
Prowland Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Yes it is possible. You should look into the surface skimmer attachment for your powerhead. Test the water and do the waterchanges and you should be golden. What kind of beer is that in the pic? Lastly... shorten your sig! Link to comment
lakshwadeep Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 What kind of beer is that in the pic? Mothership Wit organic wheat beer Link to comment
DRLenox Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 You should look into the surface skimmer attachment for your powerhead. What kind of beer is that in the pic? Lastly... shorten your sig! What powerhead is small and has the surface skimmer attachment? Or can I DIY? As already answered the beer is Mothership Wit, by New Belgium. Yeah I think your right sig is a little long. Link to comment
yankeereefer Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 something very similar owner is a gal named sadielynn from nano-tanks.com I think that she posts here too Link to comment
DRLenox Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 Thanks YankeeReefer, Checked it out, almost identical. very cool. I think mine is a little smaller. I'll have to put a thread up on nano tanks to get her input. Link to comment
DRLenox Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 I've, got a question regarding the LR I am going to put in this tank. The LR is out of my 9g and there are tons of little critters and a few dying zoas on the rock that I don't want to loose. So i'll acclimate the rock before placing it. Could this possibly negatively effect my cycle or future stability due to little die off? Link to comment
DRLenox Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 Also if anyone knows what kind of store would sell 1w LEDs or know of one in the Denver area, thanks. Link to comment
DRLenox Posted February 27, 2008 Author Share Posted February 27, 2008 BUMP, Sorry bored in class. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 I don't think you are going to find 1W LEDs in retail stores very easily aoutside of flashlights. There are many online retailers that will sell them though at very good prices. DealExtreme sells out of China, but they have good prices and ship for free. They just take a long time to ship. Link to comment
reefnewbee Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 This is just my 2 cents. From the pic that I see, I would take out the sand you have in now and put in live sand. Put in water from your 9g and add the LR to it. The LR will be used to that water, and nothing will die, and tank will already becycled. For pumps, I agree with GREG, you can find low powet compact pums in decoration water falls. The tank looks great, update us as this project comes along. Link to comment
DRLenox Posted February 28, 2008 Author Share Posted February 28, 2008 Thanks evile66 reefnewbee, thats a great idea, didn't think of that. Is LS absolutely necessary for this to work. I know LS is better but can I still avoid a cycle with the sand I have? (I don't want to buy a bag of LS and only use a cup or so) Link to comment
phil121 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Check out the user MeasureExplorer on ebay. They sale all kinds of cool led lights ready to use. There is a very good chance you could find something there and they are not expensive. I plan on ordering from them for some LED's for my BioCube8 to turn the back into a refugium. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 He uses just 5mm LEDs. If you put enough in there, you could get decent lighting for that tank for softies. Link to comment
phil121 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 He uses just 5mm LEDs. If you put enough in there, you could get decent lighting for that tank for softies. I didn't really pay much attention to the size, I was kind of in a hurry. But good point. Link to comment
yankeereefer Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Check out your neighborhood auto store (pepboys, advance auto, etc.). Link to comment
DRLenox Posted February 28, 2008 Author Share Posted February 28, 2008 Thanks to everyone, I am going to try and get this tank up and running this weekend. I'll post pics as soon as it settles. also still need to know about using "non-live sand" with LR and water from my 9g. Will it still Cycle? Link to comment
pfc.miller Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 yes it will still cycle. The sand will become live from the rock eventually. Just make sure you rinse the sand in RO water first to clean it. Link to comment
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