.5 gallon pico bowl LED driven

[jnam]

So my 36 and my picotope are fairing well, I decided to give the sub gallon world a go. I got a sweet deal on a tetra beta bowl and it has some fantastic possibilities.

 

 

 

 

 

Lighting:

As you can see there is a small arm with a single 50mm LED in it. The wiring runs up from a battery pack in the base. I plan on scrapping the led and the batteries and using the arm to support a 3 LED array. The plan is to use 3 cree 3w LEDs 2RB and 1CW. They will be powered by a couple of pucks so I can dim them down as needed.

 

Filtration:

I dont know what I want to do here,

The first plan is to use a sump, I could drill the base and use a stand pipe in the center and a small fountain pump as a return. I would build a small cube as the stand for it. Heater and LR and some Macro would go in there maybe as close to a gallon as I can get and still preserve some asthtetics.

The second plan is to still use a sump but use an overflow of somesort to avoid drilling the fish bowl.

The third is all natural (flow becomes an issue though) heat would be provided by a mini hydor

 

I plan on using egg crate to create more bottom surface area for the rocks to rest and burry it in the sand.

 

So help me make a decision.

 

I have a couple questions

 

1. 3 3w LEDS too much?

2. Standpipe or overflow? if standpipe could i get some links to drilling glass

 

 

Thanks and Happy reefing!!

[thesmallerthebetter]

wow! great find man! that little bowl is rockin!

 

no way would 3 LEDs be too much, u cud keep anything in there with that kinda light.

 

as far as heating, scrap the hydor, they blow. get a little thermostat circuit and rig up a strip of "Flex watt heat tape" and hide it in the base. thats what i run on all my sub gallons with great success.

 

for flow rather than use a sump id do an external closed loop system and just hang the return and pick up over the side of the tank, right next to the arm, painted black to keep them hidden

 

u cud use a little maxi jet, or one of those little external pumps i have for sale over in the classified section (not to self promote, just as an idea).

 

i love that tank, if you cud send me a link to the model id love that. i wanna get one to add to the pile of projects that are sittin in my workshop! haha

[brandon429]

wow you are going to drill that this is about to get good! nice idea. +1 on the micro pump idea from smaller I can't think of an easier way to get current in there without sloshing things over the side.

B

[jnam]

Closed loop... that sounds awesome. Megosh I dont know what to do now. drill or closed loop... any resources on either that i could read over??

 

Betta bowl

 

^link for you smaller

 

this site says its .75 gallon but thats only when filled to the brim and I wont be running it that way =)

[doctaq]

maybe attach a canister filter to that but somehow cut the flow down, that could act as your sump too i guess.

 

i think 1 rb led would be enough

[mmelnick]

I'm just starting up a 1/2 gal reef too.

 

I'm going to run a 10 gal sump and 2BR LED's with 1 CW.

 

Here's the link.

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...p;#entry2866685

 

 

BTW I love that bowl!

[Mr. Microscope]

Beautiful plan. Just beautiful! Perhaps you could run a small pipe through the middle up to the top of the waterline for output. I'm concerned about the heat from the LEDs. You'll have to figure out a way to rig a heatsink into that arc.

[Mr. Microscope]

Perhaps you could find a pointed/cone shaped rock, drill a hole through that, and run the pipe through it.

[mmelnick]

Perhaps you could find a pointed/cone shaped rock, drill a hole through that, and run the pipe through it.

 

I went with DIY aragocrete for my 1/2 ga. That way you can customize it to the exact shape and size that you want. But you do have to wait a long time for it to cure in freshwater.

 

Check out GARF's "recipe" for aragocrete.

[jnam]

Leroy from gar is actually a friend of mine he has a piece that's cove shaped like mr microscope was saying that might work perfect if I go with a sump I will certainly use a central pipe as the overflow/standpipe and the return will come up over the back or centrally through the over flow I haven't quite got that one figured out yet. The arc will support a heatsink and fan

 

Question: is a fan absolutely necessary for 3 LEDs? Or will the heat sink be good enough? I know surface area is important

 

And two versus 3 LEDs may be the way I go... 1cw and 1rb we shall see

[rickjg]

You could modify the light arm to hold a LED MR16, like the one Evilc66 has been developing. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t&p=2744691

.

[jnam]

Ok decided to go with the small sump it will be less than a gallon but I guess it'll put me out of the sub gallon book... That's ok though this tank will be going to work with me and needs to be able to survive the weekend unattended. Heater will go in the sump along with ato parts. The base will hide the sump I plan on building roughly a 8x8x6 box for the base which will house a 7x7x4 inch sump bout half full will be .5 gallons.

 

Comments suggestions?

[doctaq]

ive run an led at 700ma with a heatsink about the size of a quarter of a coke can and it gets quite warm, like to the level id worry about shortening the lifespan of the led

[jnam]

Would 1/2" piping be ok for a drain on a pico this size?

[1105]

I'm using a 3/4" drain on my 3g Picotope with a MJ600 as the return pump going back up through the drain pipe and I don't have any issues with drainage. I've plugged one side of the drain pipe to see if that would cause a flood and the water level never changed and I'm getting pretty strong flow through it as well so I think 1/2" piping should be just fine.

 

If you're looking to run the drain back up through the pipe I would probably go with a 3/4" pipe for the drain so you can fit the return house back inside. I used 3/8" ID nylon tubing with a barbed/threaded 3/8" nylon fitting that is pressed into a hole in the drain pipe for the return. With a tank that size, having the return line inside of the drain pipe will give you a cleaner look and more free space inside of the tank.

[badfish816]

i think you would have some spot lighting with the lights that close to the water. you would have one blue side and one white side of your rock mountain. i love this idea though. that's what brainstorming is for. makes it fun. i say contact the professor. he would know what to do.

[jnam]

Got a couple things going on... Base is getting cut now to find the hole saw