Mini Nano

[lukegegory]

As i have previously posted i'm making a mini nano. I'm using a 3 litre vase shaped tank for the nano with a 2-3litre sump. Altogether it will be 5 litres or 1.32 gallons.
I've constructed a small stand for the system, and painted it silver. the vase came pre-drilled and i've cut up and placed the pvc piping for the overflow, though its not glued in yet. I'll manipulate the live rock to cover up the piping. I'm using a small 250L/PH power head to pump the water back into the tank. I'm just using small rubber hosing to do this. So as you can see from the pictures its all put to gether to give an idea of what it will look like. Just need to glue it all up now.
I can't fit a flurescent over it so i'm using a UV globe. I've measured its luminosity with a light metre and measured its spectrum(spectrometer) it seems to be creating enough light(and the right types). Not sure whether to use a heater in the sump, I'll wait till i give it a fresh water run and measure temp.

In terms of livestock, i'm using just a few corals(soft)/polyps. Still have to do more research to find out which species will survive well with the sort of lighting and current i'm using.

[tims]

Welcome back greg.
looks like you have your work cut out for you.

UV globe? can you tell us more about that?

[capt2000]

welcome back!

[VWD]

Wow that is cool and I like the idea , Glad your in the build off.

[wharyat]

Welcome back. Sounds and looks nice.

[Loverotties]

Welcome back!

[lukegegory]

Thanks for those kind words.
Anyways the UV globe is similar to a regular light bulb but uses different materials. It fits into a regular light socket and emits good strong ultra violet light (aswell as other light frequencies), in other words it's thermoelectric, rather than a cathode tube.
Most people go by watts for lights for tanks which is cool, large tanks need heaps of light and tubes give a lot. But as its a very small nano i only need to supply enough lumenosity(measure of light) to sustain the coral. The UV globe provides enough so i'm just using that.

[Awestralian]

Have you used on of those lights on a reef tank previously?

[lukegegory]

No i havent, so it's a bit of a gamle. But theoretically it provides more than enough light for the corals needs. So should work ok

[1bigfish]

I just posted pics of my 1 gal nano. I had the same idea of adding a tiny sump in a little box under the tank. Being able to pick the entire system up and move it and removing the sump for cleaning and refill seemed pretty cool.

Good luck!

[lukegegory]

Gluing piping up on friday(have my final school exams finishing this week), should have a freshwater test by the weekend. Gosh its exciting, The Contest has officially begun!!!! YEWWW!!!!! Good to see so many knew entries on the closing days!

[Casey]

Wow love those little little nanos

[skeety]

Originally Posted by lukegegory

Gluing piping up on friday(have my final school exams finishing this week), should have a freshwater test by the weekend. Gosh its exciting, The Contest has officially begun!!!! YEWWW!!!!! Good to see so many knew entries on the closing days!

a-HEM!

according to MY calendar....it's Saturday now.

so someone owes us some progress pictures!!

[lukegegory]

Hey Guys sorry, been on holiday for last three weeks!!!!
I'll post pics tomoro, and should have live rock in there mid week!!!! Can't wait to get back into it!!!

[lukegegory]

HEY, sorry guys i'm so slack. I've either been working flat out or sleeping, last week was at schoolies, which is the australian version of spring break for school leavers!!. Well i'm back now and have the tank started.
I know it seems like there is too much live rock, not sure how much i'll keep, just keeping it alive. The tank is so quiet and runs smoothely. Now i just have to work out what corals to use.
You can't really see on the pics but there is an awesome cave in it. I'm so tempted to put a mini snowflake eel in, but in such a small tank i guess the poop would build up quick! Might find a crustacian to live in the cave instead.
the LR is very well cured, so i can put in corals whenever really.
The light seems to work well, plenty of it to keep the tank alive. Gonna test the water 2moro and wait till it's optimum.