Rich's 5G mini bow nano

[TheBeak]

Build Begins - post 1
LED lighting installed in hood - post 20
Tank filled, lights running - post 29
First foam in skimmer - post 62
Rock/sand in tank - post 78
Koralia Nano pump installed - post 89
Coral frags in - post 97
Added a fish - post 130
DIY ATO installed - post 135

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Starting with one of these, a 5g minibow:



We had this running for some time as a fresh water, and tore it down a while back. I decided to build it into a nano as a daddy/daughter project last fall, and Santa brought us some of the parts last month.

I have gutted the hood, and pitched the filter it was running.

I plan:

LED lighting. have one of these coming (a current powerbrite, will be here day after tomorrow), but will be using it as a DIY platform if I'm not satisfied with the output (it uses 1w luxons, but bigger K2's should fit in their place.) It should fit into the existing hood. tight, but should fit. (ill make it fit )



We have this skimmer/filter (a Rio nano skimmer) a little cutting on the back of the hood and it fit just fine. I have it running now with just fresh water in the tank to observe flow. I have removed the carbon media cartrige, and may leave it out:



I'll be plotting a powerhead as i observe the flow. probably a powersweep PS10, to help agitate the water.

I have a little 15w old school glass tube heater, but ill probably ditch that for something else. need something tiny to avoid short cycling it.

I'm working with Richard at Tampa Bay Saltwater to get a micro package together, I'm tampa local so this should be a great solution.

Last time I did a 5g was nearly 20 years ago with an all glass 5 cube (remember those) it had a wood airstone powered pico skimmer, and a hagen aqua clear mini. It was fish only, as there was no lighting available at the time that wouldnt boil the water in a 5g.

This one will have no sump, or other external. Completly desktop. (do i get a cookie for even trying one this small?)

I'm really excited about this... Was going to start a build thread anyway, so why not here

I'll start snapping some "actual" pictures as soon as the lighting gets here and i start that install.

[know-it-all]

let me know how the skimmer works
I was eyeing it up earlier today

and welcome to the build

[VWD]

Welcome and Good Luck!!!!

[dobejazz]

Welcome to the Build Off!

[miniwhinny]

Welcome to the build off. Looking forward to seeing your little ocean get going.

[fish.freak]

I am interested to see what that light can do. I was thinking making a strip of the star 3 luxeons.

[DarthOcellaris]

Welcome to the build off I was planning on using one of those mini-bows later this year for my daughter's room and one for my son's room...Now i get to see what they can really do before I try it

[TheBeak]

Freak, AFAIK the K2 TFFT's are the current top dog form luxeon as far as single diode units (and are available in a star configuration if you find that easier to work with), but there are other really bright LED's out there. The flashlight guys over at candlepower forums have been playing with this stuff for way longer than we have. I get lots of good LED intel lurking over there.

Looks like the K2's are rated to 130 lumens each at 1500ma, as opposed to the 45-60 the 1W luxons put out at their max rated current. both can be pushed harder, but then they start making lots of heat. (not halide cook the fish heat, internal heat is really hard on LEDs, they die if they get too hot) For a short run in a flashlight, no biggie, for continuous duty in a light hood- probably an issue.

There are also the luxon rebels, these are really small, and are showing up mounted three at a time on a single star. thats 300 lumens out of a single star. wow, but there 30+ bucks a piece, too much $ for me to just buy to play with...

If I feel this little guy needs more oomph than the 4 X 1W's, I'll start a separate thread on my mod mission. If nothing else, this unit gives me a housing to work with. I have a flashlight with a 3w luxeon in it, and shining that into the tank looks promising. I think aesthetically it will be more than fine, will it grow anything will be the question.

[Phishnoob]

Looks great!!

[TheBeak]

Thanks for the welcome guys...

know-it-all, the little Rio is running fresh water through it right now. seems to flow pretty much like any other small power filter, but concentrated through a much narrower spillway. It's rated at 100 GPH, and I believe it. It's louder than most power filters, you can really hear its little needle wheel churning away. (about the same noise volume as a really small air pump driving a single air stone.) Obviously I can't speak to its ability to pull a nice foam (or comment on bubble-in-tank issues) until i get some salt in there, but my initial response is really positive. There is an adjustment for water flow speed, air intake volume, and internal water level. It comes with a floss/carbon cartridge in it, post skim (though I'm not sure where to even get a replacement). while i may use the chamber the cartridge was in to dangle in absorbative materials as i feel they are needed, i will probably just leave it empty most of the time.

I'll keep ya posted.

[fish.freak]

Just checked them out, I should step up and see what 10 K2s can grow on my nano.

[Loverotties]

That skimmer works better with a airstone added.

[TheBeak]

Originally Posted by fish.freak

Just checked them out, I should step up and see what 10 K2s can grow on my nano.

The 10 K2's by themselves arnt a big cost outlay, but factoring power supplies and other "stuff" (you'll want to mount them on a heat sink of some sort) it wont be super cheap. (but what is in this crazy hobby...) still way cheaper in the long run than anything else, and fingers crossed no chiller.

go for it, sayeth the rich... let me know how it looks

note that luxons (including the K2's) are bin coded for color temprature. even for the "white" ones were looking at, there are only a few bin codes you really want. the trick will be finding a dealer that will let you choose what bin you get, otherwise its a bit of a die roll...

worst case on color is you end up in the 6k range, which is still basicallly daylight, but not as blue-white as the 9K-10k that are at the top of the range...

[fish.freak]

i was thinking of using an old coralife pc fixture and maybe adding a fan.
do you mount the k2 the same way to the heat sink w/ epoxy?

[Wiskey]

This one will have no sump, or other external. Completly desktop. (do i get a cookie for even trying one this small?)

Yes,.. feel free to raid the Kitchen at your leasure

Welcome to the buildoff! Looks like a really neat setup.

Whiskey