SaltyGallon Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 ... Throwing my hat in the ring with a silly undersized AIO shrimp tank! I'm getting a new office at work and once the dust has settled I'm planning on setting up a small tank to house some sexy shrimp and soft corals - the theme will be "Mean & Green", with all corals being green, red, and super hardy! I haven't actually asked my employer yet but as they say, it's easier to seek forgiveness than ask permission haha... Tank Custom cut AIO wall and lid in 4mm and 8mm acrylic Custom 3.4L/0.9USG cube in 4mm opti-white glass 15x15cm square of purple yoga mat foam under tank Equipment Visitherm 10W heater Tunze 'Universal Mini' pump TMC iLumenAir v2 Nanolight Media Carbon/GFO Trusty filter floss Gnarly dry rock rubble scape Two mini egg-crate media racks Current stock Brittle stars Plenty of GSP Asterina starfish Mini dove snails Two sexy shrimp A baby turbo snail Interstellar discosoma Firecracker discosoma Metallic green rhodactis Green Codium fragile algae Ultra green velvet rhodactis A nub of neon green kenya tree Red Gracilaria mammillaris algae Ultra green "jawbreaker" rhodactis Mystery Tye Dye jawbreaker discosoma Radioactive dragon-eye, goblin's fire, and rasta zoas End of January FTS [Final!] End of December FTS End of November FTS End of October FTS End of September FTS End of August FTS End of July FTS End of June FTS End of May FTS End of April FTS End of March FTS End of February FTS Cheers, SG 18 1 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 20 minutes ago, Azur said: Throwing my hat in the ring for the 365 Day Challenge with something a bit silly... An undersized AIO shrimp tank! I'm getting a new office at work next week and once the dust has settled I'm planning on setting up a small tank to house some sexy shrimp and a few hardy corals... I reckon I'll go super small with it so as to alay any concerns my employer might have re power consumption/a glass box of water on my desk! Planning a nice hardy stocklist and cool little rock rubble scape... Might even go bare bottom if I'm feeling fruity! I haven't actually asked my employer yet but, as they say, it's easier to seek forgiveness than ask permission haha... Planned equipment - Tunze Universal Mini Pump 5024 - TMC iLumenAir v2 Nano 3w LED light - Visitherm 10W heater - Custom cut opti-white 3.4L/0.9USG tank - Custom cut acrylic AIO and thick lid - Tiny egg crate media rack Planned inverts - Two very sexy shrimp - A red leg hermit - Asterina stars - Mini brittle stars if I can find a few - Mini dove snails Planned corals (all mean and green!) - Plenty of GSP - Radioactive dragon-eye zoas - Papaya clove polyps - Neon green kenya tree - Hairy green mushrooms - Small green hammer, if stable (... big if!) Tank and kit pics to follow when acquired! 🙂 Cheers, Azur Bold bit is spot on mate. 👍 3 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 6 minutes ago, Ratvan said: Bold bit is spot on mate. 👍 Haha yes sir! They're health and safety nuts in my office so it could all go tits up in a few months... Heaven forbid a few plugs haven't been PAT tested!? 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 ... A little progress update! After a bit of thinking I've decided the tank's theme is going to be Mean & Green - I'll be sticking to green/red/hardy corals and am tempted to do something a little wacky with the back wall. Today I've cut and glued some mini egg-crate media racks and picked up some rock rubble from the LFS for some serious micro-scaping this evening. My display area is going to be a rather spacious 100mm x 150mm - yes you read that right, haha! The AIO section will be 50mm in width so everything is being measured to make sure it will actually fit. I've also picked up the bulk of the kit I'll need, I've gone for a... - VisiTherm 10W heater (it's bigger than I'd like, but it'll do) - TMC iLumenAir Nano v2 light (first impressions are good, super compact size) - Tunze Universal Mini 5024.04 return pump (it's tiny, about 45mm wide) - A cheap eBay return nozzle and 10mm tubing I'm still waiting on the tank to be finished before I can get the acrylic cut for the lid and AIO wall, but it's due to be done this week... Fingers crossed I can get a pic of the empty tank up (inc. a tasty treat) up before the end of the month! 🤞 Instagram account set up for easy pic sharing! 1 Quote Link to comment
ef4life Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 Mean and green, I like it. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
The Rainy Day Aquarium Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Looking forward to this one. Best of luck! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 6, 2020 Author Share Posted February 6, 2020 3 hours ago, The Rainy Day Aquarium said: Looking forward to this one. Best of Thanks mate, I've just been having a look at your pico haha! Given me hope that going so small can be done... How do you find the evaporation on your office tank with the acrylic lid?! 1 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Looking forwards to this, not seen many colour themed reefs before, well none that lasted anyway 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 6, 2020 Author Share Posted February 6, 2020 1 hour ago, Ratvan said: Looking forwards to this, not seen many colour themed reefs before, well none that lasted anyway I'd be chuffed if it made it through the year but there's always the possibility that my work will stick their oar in and say they don't like the tank... If we can cross that bridge then all should be fine haha! Currently got the freshly glued scape drying under my desk 😎 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 7, 2020 Author Share Posted February 7, 2020 ... Scape's dry! Here it is alongside a cut out of the display tank space with a Coke can for scale. Im hoping to pick up the tank this weekend or early next week, and then it'll be on to acrylic cutting. I also ran a little test of the TMC iLumenAir Nano light on a timer this morning (I think it's just a rebranded ZetLight) and it looks like the settings will default back to those previously used when it powers back up, so that's cool 😎 8 2 Quote Link to comment
The Rainy Day Aquarium Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 On 2/6/2020 at 12:00 AM, Azur said: Thanks mate, I've just been having a look at your pico haha! Given me hope that going so small can be done... How do you find the evaporation on your office tank with the acrylic lid?! Oh they can totally be successful little reef tanks! I've seen a few other ~1gallon tanks on here and they look amazing. Just be sure to keep up on water changes! 😊🌊 The acrylic lid helps with evaporation like we talked about. A lid is definitely recomended if you're not going to use an ATO. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
ef4life Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 I like that aquascape a lot, good job. What did you use to glue it together? 1 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 8, 2020 Author Share Posted February 8, 2020 21 minutes ago, ef4life said: I like that aquascape a lot, good job. What did you use to glue it together? Cheers mate, it's made out of three bigger rock rubble bits with some little feet added to them to make it seem bigger than it is. They're held together with a few good dollops of gorilla glue gel - the clear stuff with the green top 😊 29 minutes ago, The Rainy Day Aquarium said: Oh they can totally be successful little reef tanks! I've seen a few other ~1gallon tanks on here and they look amazing. Just be sure to keep up on water changes! 😊🌊 The acrylic lid helps with evaporation like we talked about. A lid is definitely recomended if you're not going to use an ATO. I think I'll go the thick acrylic lid route and ask colleagues to top off if I'm out the office for a while haha. Should I be worried about oxygen levels etc with a lid? 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 9, 2020 Author Share Posted February 9, 2020 ... Picked up the tank this morning! Pretty pleased with it, the build quality's great... Nice opti-white glass and bevelled edges. It's made by an eBay seller here in the UK - NACD Aquariums if anyone's interested 😎 Acrylic next week and then I guess we'll get her wet! Pic below inc the sauce for tonight's dinner haha. 6 3 Quote Link to comment
The Rainy Day Aquarium Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 @Azur I was out of town for a week and my coworkers topped it off for me. I came back and the tank was overflowing (they got a bit overzealous with the RODI water😅😬) and the salinity was below .75! Haha everything ended up being okay, but I would draw a line or something on the glass and/or get some one you trust to do top offs😅 With the lid I would cut some holes; just a few so there is still some gas exchange going on. I cut out a vent right above the filtration area in mine and it seems to do the trick. 👍 2 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 On 2/9/2020 at 5:54 PM, The Rainy Day Aquarium said: @Azur I was out of town for a week and my coworkers topped it off for me. I came back and the tank was overflowing (they got a bit overzealous with the RODI water😅😬) and the salinity was below .75! Haha everything ended up being okay, but I would draw a line or something on the glass and/or get some one you trust to do top offs😅 With the lid I would cut some holes; just a few so there is still some gas exchange going on. I cut out a vent right above the filtration area in mine and it seems to do the trick. 👍 Haha I've got a colleague who keeps a freshwater tank so hopefully he could be trusted with it! Thanks mate, that's good to know. I ordered some acrylic today, I'm gunna go for a few holes in the lid which should facilitate the ole gaseous exchange 😎 1 Quote Link to comment
This guy is extra salty Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 I’m following you on IG you got a sweet lil tank! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 11, 2020 Author Share Posted February 11, 2020 2 hours ago, This guy is extra salty said: I’m following you on IG you got a sweet lil tank! Thanks mate. It's a sweet lil tank but I'm worried it's too lil haha? Once I've got the acrylic next week I'll be able to sort the rear chamber gubbins out but I already suspect my scape is 10mm or so too big 😅 1 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 6 hours ago, Azur said: Thanks mate. It's a sweet lil tank but I'm worried it's too lil haha? Once I've got the acrylic next week I'll be able to sort the rear chamber gubbins out but I already suspect my scape is 10mm or so too big 😅 I love the size of the tank, and the scape you have put together. Very interested to see where you go with this 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 11, 2020 Author Share Posted February 11, 2020 4 hours ago, Ratvan said: I live the size of the tank, and the scape you have put together. Very interested to see where you go with this Hopefully it won't dissapoint then haha...! Time to get that chunk of rock cycling, I reckon. More pics next week hopefully 😎 2 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 Another little teaser photo before I silicone the AIO wall in place - tank, light, scape, extra groovy purple foam mat, and media racks on the right 🙂 7 Quote Link to comment
The Rainy Day Aquarium Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Glad to see another zetlight user. Tank is looking great mate! Excited to see it all come together. 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 52 minutes ago, The Rainy Day Aquarium said: Glad to see another zetlight user. Tank is looking great mate! Excited to see it all come together. Thanks mate, me too. Yeah it's kind of cheeky that light... We have a brand here in the UK called TMC who market this light as a "TMC iLumenAir Nano v2" and sell it for £35 (~45 USD) - but it literally says 'ZetLight' on the light unit? It just comes in a fancy TMC branded box haha... Is the Zet Light itself cheaper? Quote Link to comment
The Rainy Day Aquarium Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Haha yeah it doesn't surprise me that they come under different names. I think it depends on who you ask, but I got mine (zetlight branded) off of ebay for £19. Either way they are great little lights for softies and maybe some LPS. 1 Quote Link to comment
SaltyGallon Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 15 hours ago, The Rainy Day Aquarium said: Haha yeah it doesn't surprise me that they come under different names. I think it depends on who you ask, but I got mine (zetlight branded) off of ebay for £19. Either way they are great little lights for softies and maybe some LPS. Haha I've been stitched up then!!! I'm glad I bought this 'v2' though because (if I've understood correctly) the settings are much more customisable on this model? I bet, it kicks out a lot of light for only 3W! Update as of 13/02 - Scape now cycling in my other tank 🙂 Quote Link to comment
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