1.8g GloFish Blow Pico Build

[brad65ford]

Hi Guys, Will totally post pictures shortly, i'm not fully finished with the construction just yet.

 

I'm basicly going to use the stock blue lights but use a Innovative Marine 3 watt white lights I had laying around. Goal is for no pump just air stone but there in lies the problem. How to have an airstone with out the salt creap or splashing of the bubbles bursting? I have an idea to create a tube and then something like a half cone around the top the will capture the floating bubbles but don't know if it will work. Anyway if anyone has any suggestions it would be most appreciated.

 

Brad

 

[brandon429]

the key is fitting an inner diameter lid

 

or decreasing flow with directing tubes like you are thinking, but if you want the flow associated with the stone you have to leave it unrestricted.

 

inner diameter lid, not one that rests on top will solve it. I run a full on airstone with id lid

[brad65ford]

the key is fitting an inner diameter lid

 

or decreasing flow with directing tubes like you are thinking, but if you want the flow associated with the stone you have to leave it unrestricted.

 

inner diameter lid, not one that rests on top will solve it. I run a full on airstone with id lid

Wow the man himself, thank you Brandon for the response! Its a tricky subject and you surely know more about this subject them most.

 

Do you feel as though I can get away with just an air line with slow flow bubbles and no pump? I understand your idea about the inner lid , didn't think of that but it makes sense. Hummm more work to do the air line but it surrely would help with evaporation too.

[brad65ford]

Here are some pic's of the setup so far. I have some dry rock drying from the epoxy creating a small structure.

[brandon429]

Wow! I did a planted tank in one of those marine seems tricky due to lid issues

 

I thought it was a square tank...fitting an id lid in that seems tough

 

Truly I can't envision how to get viable airstone in there with that shape

 

 

But I still have an alternate

 

Lab stirrer from aquatic-Eco.com

Obviously with no heat, but build a false floor of pass through plastic grating half inch off the floor of that container. Stack LR on top of that grating but under the grating is the ceramic stir bar that whirs around and circulates the tank. Your container sits in the lab stirrer base

Just brainstorming! 70 bucks you have a cable free, splatter free circ system for a tough shaped little pico

[brad65ford]

Brandon, trying to find what your referring to. Do you have a link?

[brandon429]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/200722104865?lpid=82

 

 

something a little less I stole this from my college bio lab last summer and am selling it at full price on fleabay with no common courtesy to remove stains on the sale pic would work

 

you literally set the pico on this, and a one inch ceramic bar, harmless and tiny, whirs around magnetically driven, variable rate, it will absolutely work as a circulation method in tanks prob up to three gallons when set on high. actually it can be too powerful, you'll be on the lowest setting... this is cable free circulation for your tank. these even have a heat setting but Id not use that. you'd never catch me using non thermostat heaters in a pico. Id even use one in that tank above. if it didnt submerge all the way, nbd Id stack it with rocks coming out of the top of the tank if needed to hide it. mini volcano style or something.

 

but Ive had this idea above since about 2001 and never put it to use, a lab pico

[brandon429]

id go to a craft store and get crochet plastic screening.

 

cut round to fit leaving a half inch gap between bottom of glass bowl, where ceramic rod is, and floor.

 

reinforce creatively

 

stack lr on grating floor since no sand, use smaller bits of lr to fill it in. it w look fine

 

turn stirrer bar on low, instacirc.

 

it will be rotary current, first in pico reefing and it doesnt matter which direction, it'll work just fine in such a small space. rotary current man. you'll be the mazda of pico reefs.

 

now you figure topoff control which can easily be hamster bottle and dont skimp on lighting and we're at a party. every pico should have something thats just outstanding, not in line with avg tanks. this is a good reliable circ method but id go heavy on the lights, nothing cheap but a good par 30 brand nice and high up would be my choice. boostled actually. regardless of name brands I think when something is uniquely exceptional in a pico build, vs avg, it will give the tank an edge in the game of longevity. that exceptional factor doesnt necessarily involve higher than average cost, but when it comes to lighting I see the cheap stuff have issues but no boostled or quality par 30 ever let anyone down.

[brad65ford]

interesting i've never thought about actually moving the tank itself for creat a swirling effect LOL.

 

Ok I hear you on the lights, i have a few par 30 and 38 lights on stand by if needed. My biggest hurtle will be the top like you mentioned.

If there was a lip i was going to use shrink wrap and a rubber band but that will not work for this type of tank. I really like the idea of using a airline/stone for movement for multiple reasons, just need to figure out the top. I have a buddy that has a laser and can cut arcylic very easly. Might ask him to cut a perfect size circle and add 4 hook/bars so it will not fall in.

 

How air tight is your vase setup?

[brandon429]

not tight its just restrictive good point

 

the major benefit is total capture of hard driven bubbles and it can still be done on your setup. air is probably the best thing you can run a pico with, its not a compromise. you know how we bubble water samples for hours to gas off co2 so you can get accurate ph and co2 retention readings? thats 24x7 for years in an air pico

 

air current destratifies better than a powerhead does, but in containers this small that really doesnt matter. in lakes simply nothing beats standard air upwelling.

 

Ive never seen any reef animal mind literally being bathed in bubbles its whole life. Im not using fish however. that may have a reported downside in some threads, but so did big water changes and thats the only thing ever shown to work long term in micro reefs anyway. we're all kinds of opposites.

 

I still like the idea of fitting that for an inner diameter lid it would solve so much. I get air leaks around mine, something has to vent that positive pressure but when fitted, with zero ATO mechanism, your reef will go longer in between topoffs and swing of .023-.024, reasonable for a pico over a few days, than a 200 gallon reef.

 

total evap control

 

you run the reef on high setting usually, so that you are forced to topoff about every other day. this is the right average command for speed of circulation, gas exchange, and resulting evap etc.

 

but when you leave for a vacation, we have amazing power now. select lower air setting on your variable air pump, just a little over a light trickle. will keep reef alive, now goes for 4-6 days same range

 

no reef can do that. you literally dial in your *chosen* evap rate when using an inner diameter lid, airstone reef. it is vastly more stable and preferable to pump driven setups but they have their advantages as well.

 

 

lastly, the power punch combo

 

Cichlidmania26 is a friend of mine on youtube. The man went crazy on reefbowls and innovated another simple amazing idea Id have never thought of.

 

for limited runs, he was away TWO WEEKS, you can even attain that in an ID/Air setup I had no idea

 

he temporarily hangs in a small rio powerhead for bulk circ

 

air is turned down to a real trickle, barely enough to refresh the air under the lid. you have to work with the setting. he leaves his 1 gallon reefbowl alone for two weeks sometimes at a range of .023 to .025, still acceptable and something we'll wind up doing on a water change mistake more times than once.

 

air driven has so many inversions, its sick man.

 

inner diameter lid for your little sphere:

 

build plastic ring mini, like those long distance aerobee frisbees, the ring frisbees. its a ring as w the same circumference as the inside of your bowl at the top 1/2inch down mark, and about a quarter inch thick. this is the lip you are envisioning as I see it. or just acrylic tabs like you mentioned, doesnt matter how you hang the lid its a funnel back down into the tank.

 

you'll have to be creative to size the lid, but something is out there. some squat plastic dish in some way will do it, you are almost there man. I could have that ring drawn up and scissor cut out of the side of a storage plastic dish in about 1 min.

 

there is no size restriction on this type of design, the smaller you go the better the degassing benefits get and the better your water chemistry will hold pH throughout the diurnal cycles. you could do a quarter gallon true long term sps reef like this, it just might happen one day

[brad65ford]

Love it! you have been extremely positive and i thank you for this. Ok its settled air driven it will be, already spoke with my arcylic guy which is going to order some 1/4" sheets and cut a perfect circle to fit. Already have an idea for recessing this lid down some, hopefully I can get the dia just right. Will then add a small slit for the air light or just drill a smaller hole and put the airline tight etc...

 

There will be no heater since our climate and room temperature stays at 74-78 all year round.

 

LED lights are good to go for the time being.

 

I really need to find some of my old pico BB pictures to share with you guys, think they are on my old computer

[brad65ford]

Ok,, well its done lol not really done by any strength of the imagination but the live rock and water has been added. Haven't purchased real reef rock in over 14 years wow its been a long time. Been doing the dry rock for a while now I wanted full bio diverisity with this same of a tank.

Had enough rock to start another pico here are photo of both systems.