My .094 (11.83 oz) pico reef

[Melbourne]

Hi,

I decided to post up a log of a experimental tank I'm setting up.
Its a pico tank aproximately 11.83 oz empty. I'm basing it off a plastic tank kids toy called Antworks.

Tank dimensions 6.5"x 5.5"x 1.25" - the tank volume calculator does not calculate the volume correctly. I measured the tank volume and it came out to 450 ml.

Challenges of such a small tank are stability and circulation.

Circulation is via a custom airlift that I built.
Water will be kept at ambient room temperature to avoid the need for a heater. Water changes will be 100 % at a yet to be determined interval.

Pic of Antworks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/antworks_led-glowing.jpg

Pic of the tank cleaned up (removed logo and Ant food gel)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/350ml_reef_tank.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/350ml_reef_side.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/350ml_reef_1.jpg

Pic of custom airlift running - provides tank with a nice slow circular flow. The airlift directs the water out to the right. Flow is controlled via controlling the air going into the lift (via adjustable valve inline with air pump).

Tank is sealed with a lid with a small hole for the rigid airline which feeds the lift. The clear lid itself is sealed with a teflon gasket to keep evaporation down.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/pico_airlift2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/pico_airlift.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/pico_airlift3.jpg

[Melbourne]

Next step was the wrap the airlift in liverock to both serve as filtration and hide the airlift itself. I wrapped it using liverock rubble and epoxy and super glue gel.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/air_lift_with_rock.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/air_lift_rock2.jpg

Next pics coming soon.

[calvin415]

With a sealed lid how will you have any gas exchange?

[Melbourne]

Hi,

Its not a perfect seal - there will still be gas exchange however I'm not sure if it will be enough. The main source for evaporation and gas exchange is going to be through the hole I drilled for the rigid airline.

[Melbourne]

Shot of tank with airlift + additional liverock + sand.

Water is still cloudy due to sand and I scratched the left side of the tank getting the airlift in.

The flow is interesting the watch with the sand in now. Periodically the airlift will pull in a few grains of sand and shoot them out the top.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/femto_fts_03_21_06.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/femto_03_21_06.jpg

Size of tank compared to 9 volt battery
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/femto_battery.jpg

[silver17jo]

What are you going to keep? It does look interesting!

[aural]

i think he should put a powder blue tang in there.

[sullyfish]

very interesting set-up. As for inhabitants might I suggest sexy shrimp

[jent46bow]

Humm, intresting I like your idea but do you truly think you can do such a small volume? And the idea of a SW aquarium at room temprature, not sure how well that will work. I would think about drilling the bottom and going to a modified canister filter that contains carbon, and a heater. Then have the return go from the canister to a valve (to turn down the flow), and then back into another hole that is drilled in the bottom. You can keep your airlift (great for gas exchange) but this would provide more volume, more flow, filtration, and a heater. Plus if you had it on a desk where you could drill a couple holes it could make a very sleek, and clean looking setup. Just my suggestion.

[Melbourne]

Tank update

The cycle has finished - bit of diatom that still needs to clear up then I will look at stocking. Sand bed is starting to get colonzied since I see little worm tunnels now. Added in a bit of bubble algae for coral and two zoa polyps.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/FTSpico4-5-06.jpg

Not sure if I will be successful but so far the tank has been able to sustain some level of life at the pod / macro level.

[tripstank]

Wow.. Looks great!

[markandkristen]

def. do halides for lighting. just kidding

so thats less than a 12 ounch coke can

[markandkristen]

so a 50 gallon bag of salt should last you oh ...about a lifetime

[1SickReefer]

whats your electric bill on thast bad boy!!

[aural]

i'm guessing about $2/ year. :)

[mr pink floyd]

hahaha id walk around with it in my pocket to show people, be liek yea i got a 1 gallon.. .you wanna see it?

pull it out of pocket haha

you should put some zoos and yellow polyps, maybe gsp if its a tiny frag, yuo can try tp grow it on the wall maybe?

but it would take over in baout 2 days haha

[Cutiewitbooty]

wow that is so cute lol I'll tag along :D

[mr pink floyd]

hehe it looks liek a claymore!

[Melbourne]

Thanks,

Tank update - added in a micro blue leg to help clean up the tank a bit. I also placed two Seachem Matrix Carbon balls behind the macro algae on the right, and one small ball of Phosguard. I found the Seachem Seagel product worked well in my 2.5g so I thought the added benefit of some chemical filtration would not hurt this small tank. Another nice thing about matrix is that its not suppose to effect PH and its not dusty like normal carbon and the round compact form makes it easy to place/replace on a periodic basis.


FTS 04-08-06
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/FTS_femto_04_08_06.jpg

Little hermit at work
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/micro_hermit040806.jpg

A days progress
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/hermit_good_job_04_08_06.jpg

Macro rock also holds the Seachem Seagel
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/macro_04_08_06.jpg

Hermit's Mount Everest
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/arch_04_08_06.jpg

Picture of a Seachem Matrix Carbon ball next to air input for tank
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/GAC_04_08_06.jpg

[Cutiewitbooty]

are you going to add some more LR?

[navyav8tr]

very cool. I think this is the only tank my wife would like. Small, quiet, and not expensive.

[Melbourne]

Thanks,

No plans to add more liverock beyond maybe a small piece or two attached to coral additions. One the challenges of such a small tank is maximizing the water volume and having enough liverock for filtration.

[spline9]

Sweet little conversion you have here. Excellent idea with the airlift.
I've seen these kits before and considering the width, scraping coralline may be a pain.

I have a Red Sea AquaVase.
http://www.aquatichouse.com/tanks_files/CandyBlue.gif
It's also less than a gallon. It's home for 3 sexy shrimp, a hermit, a small urchin, a handful of bristleworms, and a bazillion pods. Been up for over a year now. Unfortunately the urchin tears up the plastic.
Interetingly enough, I dont do maintenance very often and things are thriving. Just keep an eye on the temp. :D

[kaserpick]

very interesting idea

Thumbs up!
Kaserpick

[alien9168]

This is very cool!

What else do you have planned for this tank?

[mr pink floyd]

http://thirdraildesignlab.com/d_20_claymore.gif

[Andrew]

Wow. A regal tang might look good in there as well as a clownfish. ;)

[alien9168]

Why not put some frogspawn coral in there, or some small hammer coral... THat would look amazing! -- not that it doenst already! ;)

[M.Doshier]

I say put some small colorful shrooms in the tank!

[alien9168]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7146751#post7146751 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by M.Doshier
I say put some small colorful shrooms in the tank!

:smokin:

Sou do I ;)

[Melbourne]

Thanks, yes mushrooms are a good choice. The tank is too narrow for a LPS like a frogspawn but I can probably frag a tiny Candy Cane to fit in there. Going to have to search my larger tanks things I can take tiny frags of to place in here.

[alien9168]

you could get nano size frogspwan. I dont think its too small, but mushrooms would probably be best in a tank of this size.

[hooterhead]

some GSP would be nice.

[sandlot13]

awesome idea! makes me want to do something like that! how exactly does your airlift work? do you have any pictures that explain it better? just curious in case i wanted to do something like this sometime. thanks!!!!

[Melbourne]

Thanks,

I received a few questions about the tank and I'll try to answer them.

The airlift is based off this design
http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquainfo/air_lift.html

My airlift is just a very very small version of that design using rigid ID tubing and plastic airline tee's. Basically a Lee's aquarium plastic airline tee is on its side so that the bottom of the T is pointing to the left. The top is used to feed the output line which is made of rigid plastic airline tubing that is bent at the top to direct the flow out to the right. The bottom of the T is used to feed in the air to create the bubbles that will move the water out of the lift. That is fed by another rigid airline tube which comes out of the top of the unit as seen in the picture with carbon.

The tank is currently lit by an Azoo Galaxy light which is a 13w clip on PC fixture. I'm using a standard 50/50 bulb. I do plan on replacing the galaxy light with a nice 13w desk lamp which adjustable arm - I just haven't had time to find one I like.

The air exchange is done via small gaps in the hole I drilled for the rigid airline and also via two small breather holes at either end of the lid.

As for corals, they need to be extra small and not require a ton of flow. The tank is super narrow - to give you an idea of how narrow I'll try and take more pics today.

The airpump that is used to power the lift is just an old tetra airpump I had - I placed an air flow adjuster on it so I can tune the flow of the airlift. Too much air and the airlift will just bubble, too little and not enough flow will be generated.

Hope I answered them all.

[keener1830]

That tank is ausome I love that idea coolest thing I have seen in awaile. Good luck with it please keep us posted :)

[StashuDave]

I'd love to see like 3 mushrooms in it, it'd fill the entire bottom, cool idea.

[supernareg]

lets see the tank again, but full view with the lights included plz, and the thickness / width too :)

how do u plan to keep it heated at nights? specially winter? (although we passed winter... )

[alien9168]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7160984#post7160984 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by supernareg
lets see the tank again, but full view with the lights included plz, and the thickness / width too :)

how do u plan to keep it heated at nights? specially winter? (although we passed winter... )

i'd like to see the lights too! :)

[Melbourne]

Tank update

Took a FTS and a side shot with the Galaxy light . You can see how narrow this tank is - that is a standard 9 volt battery.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/FTS_04_12_06.jpg

Side shot
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/side_04_12_06.jpg

I don't have a good solution for heating - tank is just too small for a standard heater so for now ambient temperature. If the tank is still going strong by winter I'll think of something. Remember this tank holds less water than a 12 oz can of coke.

I added in a few tiny frags, even the tiny ones look huge in this tank. A small mushroom that I added to the airlift itself, a single polyp of Anthelia and 3 Orange zoa polyps. Tank still needs to settle in a bit more before I add much more. Water changes are done with a turkey baster - very quick and easy.

[schiavonir]

I'll bet that light provides all the heat (if not more) than you need to keep it warm in the winter. I guess night will be a problem though.

Here's a wacky thought - if the light heats it enough during the day, at night you could put a box over the tank and inside the box, put something that generates heat, like a wall wart or cable-TV amplifier or something. Then you'll have a little "room" with it's own little radiator keeping the tank warm.

BTW, cool experiment. You need to update your signature to say "371.094 gallons SW reef".

[impur]

Or you could go with one of those flat heaters they use for reptiles. Just sit the tank on top of it, should heat it nicely.

Linky (http://www.zoomed.com/html/under_tank_heaters.php)

http://www.petco.com/Assets/product_images/9/9761230008B.jpg

[NANOFOOL]

any close ups of the corals???:blown:

[hypermikie]

I hear the way GSP grows you could just cover the bottom... Like its own little yard.:)

[mshollenberger]

Place it on top of a nano electrical blanket :)

[alien9168]

The glass is pretty thick for a tank that size :D

[MHannon]

I was thinking about what fish you could put in there, and the only thing I could think of, that would fit in a tank that small is, if you aclimated a couple of guppies to salt water, that would be pretty cool, and they are small. I did a couple in my nano, it only took a week. My hawkfish ended up eating them though.

[evil_monkey]

any updates?

love to see how its working out

[vanmo92]

nice.

[supernareg]

any updates for pics melbourne? i want to see :)

[supernareg]

any updates for pics melbourne? i want to see :)

[sandlot13]

UPDATES!!!!!!!!!!!

[Daemonfly]

Stick with cooler water species of coral & inverts & you should be fine.

Also, for a tank that small, LED lighting is deffinately an alternative.

[Lacrosseboss18]

haha lookin good

[PRESTO2345]

Interesting ideas, but man that's like the worlds smallest SWT...

[Dakafall]

any chance this beast is still running or any new pics?

[Reef5]

Nice and cool experiment any more pics

[dangpride]

thats freakin sweet! keep up the good work

[Zero-2-Sixty]

Rule #1
anyone with a tank this cool must update often :-D

[LionfishFinatic]

I agree! UPDATES WE NEED UPDATES!!! anywho this is an awesome tank, can't wait to see the final outcome!!!!

[Dakafall]

UPDATES!!

*starts to gather a mob to find you* :p

[fishes2889]

I think hes gone guys......

Steve

[motoxracing782]

how is that little tank doing?

[AVALover5498]

He posts such a cool tank and then leaves.:(

[roushboy2857]

This is awsome! Updates?

[Melbourne]

I was overdue for an update :)

I took this tank down due to a few design flaws.

1 - the airlift tube was too small and prone to clogging with bits of rock / sand.

2 - the narrow tank made for a nice size but too hard to clean.

The little tank has lived in my sump for the past couple of months. I took it out to compare to the new tank which hopefully addresses the short comings of the previous one.

New tank next to old tank
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/old_pico.jpg

New tank compared to a 12 oz can of soda
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/12ozpico.jpg

The new tank holds about the same amount of water but utilizes a closed loop for circulation. I will build a DIY inline heater for it. The tank has a much better footprint for aquascaping and the bulkheads enable me to have more options - I can easily add in a sump.

New tank specs - 5.5" long by 2" deep by 3" high. Tank volume 0.1 gallons.

Closed loop / two bulkheads (located in corners) using an Aqualifter pump to provide roughly 3 gallon per hour circulation in tank. Lighting is by a 27W PC desk lamp.

[Melbourne]

Here are my other larger pico reefs. They consist of three 2.5g tanks all drilled and plumbed into a 12g sump. Additional circulation in tank is provided by 3 Mini Tunze pumps controlled by a Red Sea Pro wavemaker. Autotop off is done via a Aqualifter pump controlled by a dual float switch. Skimmer is a Deltec MCE600. Sump also contains a Phosban reactor and some additional live rock rubble. Heating/cooling is from an external Azoo thermoelectric heater/chiller.

Lighting used from left to right (2x13w,1x18w,1x18w) all PC.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/2-3.jpg

[InvaderJim]

Very cool.

[m1enbo1]

those picos are looking very nice. whats in the middle pico? how long has each of them been set up for?

[Melbourne]

The 2.5g's are all from a 2.5g I started for a contest on another website. That was about a year or so ago. The middle tank is the newest, the left is the oldest having been setup from the contest tank. Right tank is just a few months newer than the left. Each tank contains 1 fish, different kinds of hardy damsels. Left tank has a Yellow Belly Blue Damsel (Pomacentrus auriventris), the center has a Talbot Damsel (Chrysiptera talboti) and the far right has a Three Striped Damsel (Dascyllus aruanus). Corals are a mixed reef - everything from mushrooms to various types of montipora. Fish will eventually go into my sump on a larger tank when they get too large. My kids like the small tanks since they are at their height and they can see everything close up.

[Jadams]

very cool tanks Melbourne! I think the 3 2.5g tanks all plumbed together with the same sump is a very cool idea! Great work!

[MrMexReefer]

Melbourne, any shots of the plumbing? I actually had thought of doing something like this before, and lighting like 4 of them in a row with a Tek Fixture or something... but wasnt sure if those 2.5 tanks could be drilled. A look at your plumbing would be helpful :)

[Melbourne]

Thanks - I'll try and take some pictures this weekend of the plumbing. To drill the 2.5g tanks you just need to go slow and build a template since the glass is very thin. I drilled each tank with one 1/2" bulkhead and use over the tank returns. For the .1 g tank I used model airplane fuel line bulkheads since anything else would be too large.

[oOBrieOo]

That was a cool concept. Too bad it didn't work out. I really like the overall look of that little tank.

Have you tried these as a heater? For something that tiny you'd do best hooking it up to at least a dimmer to control the heat output, but its an idea.

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_heaters_hydor_mini.asp?CartId=

[Melbourne]

Thanks, I thought about those but the problem is even that heater is too big . My solution is to build a DIY inline heater module out of PVC or maybe just buy the Lifegard unit and run it with reducers.

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=RB5151

[murfman]

You could always do like I did with the substrate and epoxy it to the bottom of the tank. Very nice, love the thinking outside the box.

[Melbourne]

Here are pics of the common sump setup as requested.

Back of 2.5g drilled using .5 bulkheads with slip fittings and over the top returns.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/back.jpg

Sump with ball valves on tee's to tune flow and MCE600 and Phosban reactor.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/melbourne0/sump.jpg

Not much to report on the .1g pico tank. Compared to the airlift design I get much less evaporation on this tank. I've only had to top off a tiny amount of water once so far.

[MrMexReefer]

Very Cool melbourne. You got me thinking of all sorts of things :)