Sammy33's 5.5 Gallon Nano Reef Bowl

[sammy33]

History

This will be my 3rd nano reef setup in as many months. I set up a 6G in December, a 10G in January and now this 5.5G for February. I think I have the reef spark again!

 

Idea

I really love, love, love the various reef bowls and reef jars I have seen floating around. @natalia_la_loca has inspired a few nano reefers...me included! I wanted to set up something similar to her reef bowl. Not certain on the stocking plan (thinking brains in a jar) but here is my equipment list and setup so far:

 

• CYS EXCEL Large Glass Bubble Bowl (H-12 W-13, ~5.5 Gal.)

• HIRO AQUATICS 12W Nano Reef Pro LED Light and Stand

• ZKSJ Mini Aquarium Wave maker 530GPH

• hygger Small Aquarium Betta Heater 10W

• Zoo Med MagClip (for heater)

• 1/4" Silicone Tubing (spilt lengthwise for a gasket)

• 1/4" Round Plexiglass Sheet, 8 Inch Diameter Clear Acrylic Circle (lid)

• ~5 lbs Carib-Sea Special Grade Reef Sand

• ~4 lbs Carib-Sea Life Rock

• Fritz Tubo Start 900

 

 

This is the cover arrangment I came up with. Hoping this acrylic disc and bowl gasket combo keeps evaporation in check. I even used a custom slice of silicone tubing to seal up the gap for the cords a bit better. You can also see the reflection of the LED configuration on the Hiro Aquatics light. Interesting spectrum it produces with a focus of around 12k leaning more towards a purple hue than blue.

 

I tried to hide all the equipment behind the reef. The tiny little 10w betta heater and what appears to be the  world's smallest wavemaker/powerhead made things much easier. I attached the heater to the bowl using a magclip. The ZKSJ wavemaker is not much bigger than the mag clip. The flow is pretty good and relatively moderate with it set to full blast rated at 530gph. They make a more powerful one at 790gph that is the same size as this one. Might have to order that one and see if I can get the flow rocking a bit more. These are DC controllable so I can always turn it down if too much flow. 

 

My old nano magnet cleaner does not work so well on the curve of the bowl. I am due for an upgrade. Any recommendations for a good (tiny) magnet cleaner that might work better?

[natalia_la_loca]

Looks amazing, I love the clean look of the plexiglass lid! I did a lid like that for my freshwater planted tank and it works really well. 

 

Re: magnet cleaner, I have a Two Little Fishies Nano Mag that works pretty well for weak biofilms, but it can’t really handle coraline…for that I haven’t found anything better than a piece of razor blade on a hemostat.

 

Standard advice to get a temperature controller if you don’t have one already. Mine has outlasted several heaters (and alerted me about their failure every time)

[colormegone]

Wow.... Another fine reef bowl gonna happen. Sweet!

[sammy33]

Here is what I am getting for flow with the 530gph wavemaker. Me thinks this is paltry flow for a reef aquarium. 

 

 

 

I am hoping the 790gph version provides more water movement. It should be in tomorrow. I also ordered an Inkbird Temp controller and a Magfloat Mini Round. Thanks @natalia_la_loca for the suggestions. I double checked my temps with my digital thermometer and the heater's built-in controller is off by 4 degrees. 😮

 

[natalia_la_loca]

yeah that does NOT look like 530 gph 😅

 

good move on the temp controller! Aquarium heaters just suck. I actually just installed an Inkbird on my planted tank after discovering that the heater was overheating by 3 or 4 degrees.

[Bluelobstor]

Looking good @sammy33! That wavemaker looks interesting I may have to check it out. Anything in particular you are looking to put in there? I know you mentioned brains in a jar. I ended up getting the inkbird as well and it will control a chiller as well if you ever had the need. The lid looks nice as well.

 

I like the idea of cutting a slit length wise on the tube. I had done that to mine but the lid wasn't raised high enough for the cords.

[sammy33]

This is more like it! This is the "790gph" version of the ZKSJ Mini wavemaker set on gyre mode at 50% power. It is actually moving the sand around in several areas now so this is more like a high flow situation. It comes with 3 different front caps with different dispersal patterns - narrow, medium and wide. I am using the medium here as the narrow is too direct and the wide really blows the sand excessivley. Strong little water mover!

 

I am returning the "530gph" version. The "530gph" version would be pretty decent flow on say smaller 2.5G tanks by the way. They are both super tiny pumps and not very expensive. 😎👍

 

8 hours ago, Bluelobstor said:

Anything in particular you are looking to put in there? I know you mentioned brains in a jar.

I am starting to lean towards SPS so maybe more of a sticks in a jar vibe. I have kept SPS before so I am familiar with their demands. My PAR (photosynthetic active radiation) seems in range with this light. I used to have an Apogee QMS meter long ago and have been looking into getting another one. In my research I came across the Photone app for measuring PAR on your phone. Seems to be legit based on my experience. I can only measure at the top of the water but here is what I am getting for PPFD (photosynthetic photon flux density) using the Hiro Aquatics 12w Nano Pro LED:

 

Top center of tank / 5.5" from light / 100% power                       

 

Top center of tank / 5.5" from light / 50% power

 

Here are some general PAR guidelines for reef tanks:

Soft corals (low light): 50–150 PAR

LPS corals (medium light): 50–200 PAR

SPS corals (high light): 200–400 PAR

 

This gives me some 200+ PAR on the sand at half power after 50% light degradation at 12 inches. ☀️☀️☀️

[Bluelobstor]

5 hours ago, sammy33 said:

 

This is more like it! This is the "790gph" version of the ZKSJ Mini wavemaker set on gyre mode at 50% power. It is actually moving the sand around in several areas now so this is more like a high flow situation. It comes with 3 different front caps with different dispersal patterns - narrow, medium and wide. I am using the medium here as the narrow is too direct and the wide really blows the sand excessivley. Strong little water mover!

 

I am returning the "530gph" version. The "530gph" version would be pretty decent flow on say smaller 2.5G tanks by the way. They are both super tiny pumps and not very expensive. 😎👍

 

I am starting to lean towards SPS so maybe more of a sticks in a jar vibe. I have kept SPS before so I am familiar with their demands. My PAR (photosynthetic active radiation) seems in range with this light. I used to have an Apogee QMS meter long ago and have been looking into getting another one. In my research I came across the Photone app for measuring PAR on your phone. Seems to be legit based on my experience. I can only measure at the top of the water but here is what I am getting for PPFD (photosynthetic photon flux density) using the Hiro Aquatics 12w Nano Pro LED:

 

Top center of tank / 5.5" from light / 100% power                       

 

Top center of tank / 5.5" from light / 50% power

 

Here are some general PAR guidelines for reef tanks:

Soft corals (low light): 50–150 PAR

LPS corals (medium light): 50–200 PAR

SPS corals (high light): 200–400 PAR

 

This gives me some 200+ PAR on the sand at half power after 50% light degradation at 12 inches. ☀️☀️☀️

I like the waves your rocking. I'm considering getting one instead of airline but will keep airline for now. Keep us updated on how well it works. 

 

You think the app is accurate for par? I downloaded it and I think I have a par meter somewhere, if so, I can compare the 2. 

 

SPS are cool haven't kept them before but I may try a couple monti's and a stick or 2. I'm  looking forward to what you can do with this bowl. I like the light and the purple rock as well. Will definitely be following along.

[sammy33]

Inkbird controller came in! Great call @natalia_la_loca! I have it set for 76F with 1 degree differential and 79F on my heater. I secured the temp probe with a mag-clip. I have the cables bundled together and tied off to the light support to reduce the spaghetti effect behind the bowl. I also added an evaporation marker (blue tape) so I can keep track of when I need to top off the bowl.

 

I think this little reef bowl is all set in tems of equipment. It amazes how clear the glass/water is and combined with the light refraction, it really has that magical crystal ball vibe. 🔮

 

Here is a full room shot with some of my other aquariums.

[sammy33]

On 2/16/2024 at 9:38 PM, Bluelobstor said:

You think the app is accurate for par? I downloaded it and I think I have a par meter somewhere, if so, I can compare the 2. 

 

It seems to be acurate-ish. I researched the app a bit and some report it may be off by 5-10% but at least it gives you an idea of where your lighting is at. Some of my freshwater lights are insane with the PAR they produce so I have been tuning them down a bit to help control hair algae growth.

[Bluelobstor]

1 hour ago, sammy33 said:

Inkbird controller came in! Great call @natalia_la_loca! I have it set for 76F with 1 degree differential and 79F on my heater. I secured the temp probe with a mag-clip. I have the cables bundled together and tied off to the light support to reduce the spaghetti effect behind the bowl. I also added an evaporation marker (blue tape) so I can keep track of when I need to top off the bowl.

 

I think this little reef bowl is all set in tems of equipment. It amazes how clear the glass/water is and combined with the light refraction, it really has that magical crystal ball vibe. 🔮

 

I really like this last picture. It's definitely going to be a nice bowl. I didn't even think about it. I need to zip tie my cords together and I should mark the bowl like you did for evaporation.

 

If I'm reading correctly, you have your heater set to 79 and the controller set to 76?

[natalia_la_loca]

Looking great! Glad the temp controller is working well. Good call on the water level marker and the cord organizing, I do that too.