Electronic Reef - Complete 1 Gallon Pico System

[customshopguy]

well thats not a very happy and exciting update. You should definatally just buy a 5 dollar timer for the tank. Corals need night time to rest and go through their life cycle just as much as they need the light.
--
Clint

[davidc]

Yeah I haven't had much time to worry about this thing until very recently. I'm about to aquascape it to the way I want and then get started with the electronics. Look for updates in about 2 weeks.

Originally Posted by customshopguy

well thats not a very happy and exciting update. You should definatally just buy a 5 dollar timer for the tank. Corals need night time to rest and go through their life cycle just as much as they need the light.
--
Clint

[rcclass]

If you can swing it, I'd like to see that skimmer! I want to build a maller skimmer for my 12 gal reef tank. Do you have any plans drawn up?


Thanks,

Roger

[davidc]

Originally Posted by rcclass

If you can swing it, I'd like to see that skimmer! I want to build a maller skimmer for my 12 gal reef tank. Do you have any plans drawn up?


Thanks,

Roger

It works fine, and it's very simple to build.

collection cup:
2 - 1.5" PVC endcaps
1 - 3" piece of 1/2" PVC
1 - short piece of 1.5" PVC
1 - 1.5" long piece of 3/4" flex hose

1) glue the short piece of 1.5" PVC into one endcap
2) drill a hole in the top of the endcap you glued and put 2 inches of the 3" piece of pvc through the hole and into the endcap and glue it (you might have to work with it to get the size of the hole just right). Seal it with some silicone from the inside.
3) slip the flex hose over the remaining 1" of pvc sticking out of the endcap. That completes the bottom of the collection cup.
4) drill a bunch of small holes in the top of the other endcap. This is the top half of the collection cup. It just slips onto the other half.

skimmer body:
1 - large clear rigid tubing like for undergravel filters and such (1"?)
1 - good airstone (i prefer wood - the smaller the bubbles the better here)
1 - air pump and flexible air line

1) flare out one end of the tube so that the hose on the collection cup will fit snugly into, yet still be easily removable. This will take some work. I used the handle of scissors to flare it out by twisting the handle into the end of the tube.
2) figure out how tall you want the skimmer tube to be and cut it. Mine is about 3" taller than the water. Cut large slots in the non-flared end of the tube to allow water in from the bottom.
3) poke a hole in the side of the tube a little more than 1" below the flared end. It should fit the airline tube tightly enough to not allow water to go out. Feed the airline through here and attach the air stone from the bottom so that the airstone is just above the slots you cut out.

4) put the collection cup on, secure the skimmer somehow, and hook up the air pump. done.


My skimmer just sits on the bottom and is wedged in place (hence the slots). Give it several hours to get going, and then cut the tube shorter or raise it somehow to adjust the skimming to your preference. For mine, the bubbles suck in enough outside water to keep a decent flow through it for the size of the tank.

Just pick a skimmer design and scale it down Be sure to keep turbulence and flow in mind, because I first tried a venturi this size and it was too turbulent to make foam.

I'll try to git a pic up soon.

[davidc]

Originally Posted by davidc

I'll try to git a pic up soon.

excuse my Southern LOL

[MyCockerIs4U2NV]

Hey, where in buford are you? I live in buford too, mind if I stop by someday and take a look at this thing? Looks awesome.

Tyler

[davidc]

Originally Posted by MyCockerIs4U2NV

Hey, where in buford are you? I live in buford too, mind if I stop by someday and take a look at this thing? Looks awesome.

Tyler

Near Hamilton Mill and 85. I'm closer to Dacula really.

It won't be ready for viewing for a while hehe
Let me get it looking nice again - good lights and better aquascaping. I'm just so busy lately that this tank gets neglected. At least the only creatures I have in it anymore are hermits and snails.

[MyCockerIs4U2NV]

Thats where I am as well. Right off Sardis Church. Let me know when you get it in good shape again!

Tyler

[davidc]

Originally Posted by MyCockerIs4U2NV

Thats where I am as well. Right off Sardis Church. Let me know when you get it in good shape again!

Tyler

Cool. You should check out GeoJoe's tank (or buy/trade frags from him), he is right up the road from us.

I'm in the cascade falls subdivision, he is between there and kroger

[AfAqua]

Nice post and some good ideas. Have you considered going for some sort of overflow to facilitate surface skimming, feeding directly into a built in skimmer and maybe using a black or dark blue divider?

[davidc]

Originally Posted by AfAqua

Nice post and some good ideas. Have you considered going for some sort of overflow to facilitate surface skimming, feeding directly into a built in skimmer and maybe using a black or dark blue divider?

There is an overflow - the divider is shorter than the rest of the tank. If the flow is too high, it overflows there in addition to flowing through the drains.

I have considered doing a built-in skimmer, and I would if I were to do it again. The problem with that is actually constructing it gets difficult with those tight spaces to work in. It's hard to get the cement to the joints.

I would have done a black or blue divider, but I couldn't find any local.

My main problem now is lighting. I need a drill press to drill the holes precisely enough to fit enough LEDs to make it work for corals. Or i could just get a 9" compact flourescent and be done with it. No dimming though. I haven't decided yet.

[AfAqua]

I know what you mean about tight spaces. I've recently built a 20g along the same lines as your 1g, and I had space issues.

Do you think the LEDS will give you the correct color spectrum. I'm really keen to use LEDS on my 20g but am concerned about color and intensity.

Keep posting, I think your concept would fly!

[davidc]

Originally Posted by AfAqua

I know what you mean about tight spaces. I've recently built a 20g along the same lines as your 1g, and I had space issues.

Do you think the LEDS will give you the correct color spectrum. I'm really keen to use LEDS on my 20g but am concerned about color and intensity.

Keep posting, I think your concept would fly!

Given the depth of a 20G, I doubt you'd get enough light penetration to make it work. Remember, in my little tank the corals are 7" away from the LEDs max. I plan to have them about 3" away when I get redo the aquascaping.

I'm not sure about the color spectrum, but I'm probably gonna give it another try before too long using many more LEDs. I still have plenty from an ebay auction

[AfAqua]

Yep, that's exactly the issue. My problem is compounded by the fact that I don't have space for MH and we don't get PC lighting in the correct color spectrum in South Africa either