Making a pico out of an old car battery.

[supersecretshinto]

After having recently finished my first DIY nano-cube, and begining to feel a twinge of that horrible empty feeling I get after a project involving my favorite hobby comes to an end, I have decided that I need another tank. The opportunity presented itself in the form of an old glass car battery purchased by my girlfriend from a garage sale. It was very clean and relatively easy to see thru when filled with water. It was obvious that this thing hadn't been a battery for many years and was probably living life as a change jar or flower pot. It's inner dimensions are 7.25" x 6.25" x 10.5" making it's capacity about 2 gallons. It is the last shape I would choose for fish but for inverts it should do nicely. I guess I'm thinking matching hood and base (not so big they detract from the jar itself) with all necessary equipment and a fuge. I have researched the glass and am convinced it does not contain lead. I figure if this jar made in the 20's it probably hasn't been a battery for the last 50 years. It's probably been washed on innumerable occasions during that time. I gotta believe that it's safe by now. So what do you think? My girlfriend informed me that, unlike the last tank, this one will be cheap and it will be simple. I think this was her way of saying "You better not drill any holes in this." (Which, of course, was the first thing I was planning to do.) I'd like to keep it as viewable as possible from all sides. Any Ideas on how I can do this without altering the jar?

[clifford513]

I don't know anything about drilling glass but I think it should be safe to use. That is one cool container. I think some sexies would look awesome in there.

[tinyreef]

..."You better not drill any holes in this." (Which, of course, was the first thing I was planning to do.) I'd like to keep it as viewable as possible from all sides. Any Ideas on how I can do this without altering the jar?

i assume you're meaning that you definitely want a sump or surface skimming of some sort but you want to avoid drilling and keep 4-sides viewable.

 

in that case, you might want to think about putting your sump/refugium overhead. let this battery tank (is it really that clear/clear enough?) be the lower portion of your setup. if you pump upwards and let the return hit just above the water surface, you're basically getting the same effects, just in reverse. this way you can drill/bulkhead whatever container you want overhead while keeping the "display" tank free and clear on four sides. hth

[supersecretshinto]

i assume you're meaning that you definitely want a sump or surface skimming of some sort but you want to avoid drilling and keep 4-sides viewable.

 

Exactly! I like your idea of an overhead sump etc. Wlould I be able to get away with using a container that wasn't completely transparent or wouldn't the cheato get enough light?

 

heheh...The glass is not clear-clear for sure! It is slightly curved on the flat sides creating a slight magnifying effect. The glass thickness is not completely uniform so some spots have a slight distortion or blurryness. The glass thickens alot in the corners and isn't viewable over a wider area than the seams of an aquarium. It also has many bubbles in it (look like white dots in the pic). All of these sound like severe defects but I kinda like the way it looks...like staring down into calm water. In general you can see pretty well but there is the occasional ripple or wave.

[tinyreef]

Exactly! I like your idea of an overhead sump etc. Wlould I be able to get away with using a container that wasn't completely transparent or wouldn't the cheato get enough light?

it could be completely opaque if you use a separate light (if you're doing a planted/algae refugium). or you could share a light with a clear bottom on the overhead sump. but i wouldn't suggest that for a couple of reasons though (nothing catastrophic just more difficult).

 

if it's just a sump for hardware (e.g. protein skimmer, chemical filters, chiller, etc.) then it could be completely dark.

[supersecretshinto]

With the sump/fuge mounted on top I can't resist utilizing the display lights to trim cost and effort. If it requires more maintainance or something I'm OK with that since it should be easy to get to being on top and all. What are the drawbacks?

[tinyreef]

well, the first drawback to trying to share light is the loss of that additional light onto the display tank. what was going to be reflected into the display is now allowed to go upwards into the sump/fuge.

 

second, you'll have to diy some kind of channeler or just enclose the fixture to avoid blinding yourself constantly.

 

third, the bottom of the sump/fuge will need to be cleaned often to maintain clarity. also, because of the light direction/source, you'll be limited in which algae to be able to use and you must be more vigilent in pruning it. it won't affect their health though imo (alternate light direction).

 

last, temperature will be a concern. the light will act like an additional heater when it's on. you'll have to directly cool the region. this temp increase may affect the livestock attempting to grow against the bottom pane of glass.

 

too many cons imo to use it.

 

the only pros i can really think of are saving the light (albeit at the cost of losing half for the display) and the "coolness" factor of an underneath-lit sump/fuge. hth

[supersecretshinto]

well, the first drawback to trying to share light is the loss of that additional light onto the display tank. what was going to be reflected into the display is now allowed to go upwards into the sump/fuge.

 

That's why I was hoping I could use a translucent container so not all the light would escape and the suff in the fuge would get enough light to live. Kinda like a greenhouse. But in that scenario we're talking about the sun, not a couple 10 or 20 watt fluorescent bulbs. Hmmmm...

 

Well, you certainly have given me alot to think about. Mr. Fosi suggested a closed loop in the DIY forum and now I think I may have to give that a second look.

 

Many thanks!

[SplitSequence]

Don't drill it. Glass becomes more brittle with age. Also, you should get some water in it, let it sit for a while, and check for copper. It's probably safe, but there are reasonable ways to make batteries out of copper compounds, and though they're not very readily available today, that means nothing to the state of things 50 years ago.

[supersecretshinto]

I was so worried about the possibility of lead that I completely forgot about copper! Thanks for the heads up. Also didn't realize glass aged....good to know!