The Ex-wife Picotope

[cincyJames]

Well my wife just started a new job at the beginning of the month and asked me to setup a tank for her. I wanted something that was compact and clean, so i decided to go the route of a 5.5 gallon AIO tank. I divided the tank into thirds and installed a wall out of plastic. The display area is roughly 3.5 gallons and the sump area holds 2 gallons, but runs less then that. The setup will probably look similar to a few other tanks on here.

 

 

The sump area is divided into two parts. The water enters through the left side and is pulled through my homemade media basket. The top section will hold filter floss and chemipure and the middle area will hold some type of macroalgae. Then the water is pulled into the right half where my heater and return pump are housed. I originally had just a single outlet for the return, but it created a sandstorm, so I decided to split it.

 

 

The tank has roughly 3.5lbs of sand and probably 3lbs of rock. The rock on the bottom left was out of my 20H and the other two were just rock I had in the garage.

 

I also finished my light for my sump area today. I looked online for a light and they all basically were about $30, so keeping with the diy theme...

 

 

I used a car bulb so i could run it with 12v. I really didn't want to use a homemade 110v light in saltwater Anyways I hardwired it together and then placed it inside a piece of clear 1.25" tubing with 3/4" pvc endcaps and then sealed them with silicone.

 

I then viptied it to my media basket and added my macros

 

 

And I finally added some corals to the tank. They aren't in their a permanent spot yet, but will be soon. I plan on getting a yellow watchman goby and a pair of sexy shrimp this week. Then off to her office

 

 

Final costs

 

Tank- 5.5 Gallon Aqueon-$9.00

Heater- 50w Marineland Stealth Pro- $25.00

Return Pump- 190 gph from Harbor Freight (turned all the way down)- $9.00

Lighting- 18" HO T5 36W Current Fixture- (free from older tank)- $75.00 new

Sand- $ 3.00

Live Rock- free

Misc odds and ends $25.00

 

Total- Just shy of $150.00

 

Seems like a lot when you add it up and I probably could have bought a used biocube for less, but whatever. The DIY aspect of this hobby always seems to be way more fun to me then just pulling it out of the box and adding water. Plan on going with a yellow clown goby or maybe one small black and white clown??? Might let my wife decide since it is for her desk

[cincyJames]

My wifes tank has been at our house since I set it up in late September, so i could monitor new additions and really the overall condition of the tank. I also knew I was getting many items from a local frag swap for the tank, so there was no sense in taking it before then anyways.

 

I drained all of the water from the sump are and then drained about a gallon of water from the display. I put all the equptment in a 5 gallon bucket and left everything else-coral, fish and rock in the tank. Luckily my wife only works about 5 minutes from our house, so the move went rather smoothly. I only lost about 10oz of water in the whole process.

 

After about an hour of setup and cleaning it reached its Final Destination. It is a perfect addition to her office and has already become a focal point at work; with people stopping by daily to check it out. The best part is that my wifes boss and another colleague want me to set up tanks for their desks as well. Who knows maybe something that was there to add to the aesthetics of the room may add some $$$ to my wallet. I am really looking forward to this tank filling out. That is a great benefit to picos and nanos you don't have to wait years for your display to look full.

 

 

Stock List

Tails Spot Blenny

 

 

Red Leg Hermit

Emerald Crab

2 Cerith Snails

 

Zoas/Softies/Mushrooms

Bright Green Zoos

Fire and Ice Zoa's

Random Yellow Zoas with peach centers

SuperMan Bright Orange and Blue Rodactis

Whammin Watermelon Zoas

Eagle Eye Zoas

Emerald Sunrise Palythoas

White Pulsing Xenia

GSP

Unknown Purple Palythoas

White Pipe Organs

Kedds Reds

Tubbs Blues

Yellow Palythoas

Tyree Armageddon II Palythoas

 

LPS/ Misc

Pink and Green Hammer

Kryptonite Glowing Yellow Candycane

Red/Blue Candycane

Mini Carpet Anemone

Deep Purple Moni Cap- A piece broke off my original frag, so I glued it to the side to see what happens!? .

[.Newman.]

sounds good

[metrokat]

Following, I like all the DIY stuff.

[asting]

Very awesome! It looks fantastic.

I'm thinking about doing something like this in my dorm (same light, and aio concept) .

just for size reference, your back compartment is like 8*5, right? I'm looking to hopefully make mine smaller.

Also, You don't have a bulkhead or anything for the return, do you? just a hole drilled and the tubing passing through (because water tightness isn't crucial)?

 

Finally, did you just score the acrylic or what was your manufacturing process on the wall and compartments?

 

Thanks.

[jgpico]

sweet tank. I have been wanting to do a 5.5 gallon aio tank for a while now and this might give me the motivation I need.

[cincyJames]

Very awesome! It looks fantastic.

I'm thinking about doing something like this in my dorm (same light, and aio concept) .

just for size reference, your back compartment is like 8*5, right? I'm looking to hopefully make mine smaller.

Also, You don't have a bulkhead or anything for the return, do you? just a hole drilled and the tubing passing through (because water tightness isn't crucial)?

 

Finally, did you just score the acrylic or what was your manufacturing process on the wall and compartments?

 

Thanks.

 

actually im not entirely sure on the dimensions of the sump area, but i believe its about 5.5 inches from the glass. The tank is a standard 5.5, so not sure the exact dimensions. Definately hold 2 gallons though. The wall is actually not acrylic it is that plastic cardpoard stuff. You can find it at almost any craft store and it is alot cheaper then acrylic and you get a ton more. Yes there is not a bulk head in it either. The force of the water coming out is plenty strong even with the split.

[asting]

actually im not entirely sure on the dimensions of the sump area, but i believe its about 5.5 inches from the glass. The tank is a standard 5.5, so not sure the exact dimensions. Definately hold 2 gallons though. The wall is actually not acrylic it is that plastic cardpoard stuff. You can find it at almost any craft store and it is alot cheaper then acrylic and you get a ton more. Yes there is not a bulk head in it either. The force of the water coming out is plenty strong even with the split.

Oh okay,

so kind of this material?

Does the difference in the height of the water (implying a difference in pressure) make any difference on the first chamber? Does it seem like it's deteriorating or holding up? Finally is it just siliconed into place?

 

 

Thanks!

[cincyJames]

Oh okay,

so kind of this material?

Does the difference in the height of the water (implying a difference in pressure) make any difference on the first chamber? Does it seem like it's deteriorating or holding up? Finally is it just siliconed into place?

 

 

Yep exactly that stuff. the chambers run at the same level. The middle wall doesnt go all the way to the bottom between chambers 1 and 2. I ran the coroplast with the little chambers going form side to side and not top to bottom, so then water can only get in the few rows that are cut into and not the whole piece of plastic. Yes it is just siliconed in place. The most difficult part is fitting my monster hands inside the chambers to smoothe the silicone out, but it seems to be pretty good.

 

sorry it seems to be holding up pretty well. The only thing i could see being a problem with it is that over time it might become brittle, but also long as I am careful with it I assume it will last a while

[cincyJames]

Well this tank and I have been through a difficult 4 months. About 2 weeks after moving it to my wifes new office she decided that the best course of action for our family is a divorce. As of that point removing all traces of me from her office was the primary concern, so the tank had to go. Well I followed the same protocol as before, and without any casualties and only the loss of 10 oz of water, the tank was moved back to where it had been for the previous month and a half. The only damage to the tank from the two different moves within 3 weeks is that there is a slight leak around the top edge of the tank, but nothing a little extra silicone won't fix.

 

I really didn't add much to the tank over the last few months, just had way to much going on. One would say that I basically neglected it over that stretch of time. I still topped off evaporation and fed the blenny, but I probably cleaned it only 4 times since Thanksgiving, which in a pico should have been a disaster, but it still is going strong. I replaced the bulbs towards the beginning of February and I added some new inhabitants on Saturday.

My new blood red shrimp

 

My new sexy shrimp

 

There are not many times in life when you ask to show people a picture of your crabs!!!

 

Side view

 

Full tank shot with the blenny taking center stage

 

The last few months have been extremely difficult, and besides my faith in Gods plan for my boys and I, this hobby has given me a much needed release. I have come to enjoy this tank even more then my 20H for some unknown reason. I look forward to adding a few more corals to the left side of the tank and then watching it fill out. No more inhabitants and hopefully no more tank moves in the near future.

[leonel619]

nice nano! i like the diy fuge light

[cincyJames]

yeah for like 5 bucks you cant beat it, and it still is going strong!!!

[Woogalie]

yeah for like 5 bucks you cant beat it, and it still is going strong!!!

Sweet! Your tank looks really cool. Is that a mushroom in the first pic near the shrimps face?

 

Times have been a lil down and out for myself but in a different way as of late. When im in that funk, my reef is always there and my fish bite my hands to remind me im still alive.

 

Lookin good!

[cincyJames]

Sweet! Your tank looks really cool. Is that a mushroom in the first pic near the shrimps face?

 

Yeah its a SuperMan Bright Orange and Blue Rodactis. I got it at the cincy frag swap in september. Im hoping it starts to split and I can sell some.

 

Like I said it has been a rough few month, but I have more free time iguess to work on my tanks. Need to rename this thread the ex-wifes former office tank

[FireCorals]

Looks great! Love the DIY Fuge light!

[cincyJames]

Well woke up yesterday and all was well, but last night when I came home I couldnt find the sexy shrimp anywhere. Not sure if he may have been ambushed by the emerald crab or what??? Seemed to be doing pretty well together though idk

[cincyJames]

Well my sexy is still MIA, so I assume he is done for. In other news my Blood Red Shrimp decided to try on some new digs

 

Spotted a few nice zoas at the store yesterday I plan on adding to fill out the left side of the tank. Thinking about some teal and bright green button polyps??? Any other recommendations as to what might balance it out well?

[ecogirl22]

hmmm, tough call and what to put there. Can't be too tall or it will block zoa view and compete with the weight to the right side, but just flat shrooms won't give it enough weight.hmmm...... maybe some halimeda or other macro? LPS could work too....

 

(edit, saw he had yellow polyps already)

[cincyJames]

hmmm, tough call and what to put there. Can't be too tall or it will block zoa view and compete with the weight to the right side, but just flat shrooms won't give it enough weight.hmmm...... maybe some halimeda or other macro? LPS could work too....

 

Yep that is the problem I keep looking at. Contemplating just making that whole side into a zoa garder, but I also can see the side view walking out of my bathroom, so I have to consider something that will creep around the back side of the tank as well.