Tony
Staff member
I'm sure you guys have seen my "Who's Into Saltwater" thread, and this is a spin-off of that tank. I plan on setting up quite a few tanks from frag tanks, to quarantine tanks to emergency quarantine tanks (for fish), and then another one for coral quarantine (because there are parasites that can get on them and kill your whole tank). Well, that is all well and good, but those tanks are not going to be pretty, only functional.
I want something else that is small, but functional, and that maybe, just maybe, I can sell for a decent profit if I can get things worked out on them. I'm talking about setting up an entire tank, water, salt, sand, rock, pumps, heaters and so on for less than $500. Let me put it into perspective for you. My 90 gallon reef tank alone was that price. And that is ONLY the tank. Not the stand, canopy, lights, controller, pumps, powerheads, sump, sand, rock, water or anything else. So $500 for a tank is a bitchin price.
As some of you may have also read and seen, I have started playing around with some acrylic. It started out just wanting something to build a custom sump that will fit my tank better than the one that I have now. Well, I needed to practice with something, so I decided to create a 12"x12"x12" nano cube just to see what I can do and how it would turn out. You can see that tank in the picture below.
In that picture, remove the pieces that are still blue (protective covering) and that is what I ended up with. The pieces that are blue were supposed to be a hidden over flow compartment.
Well the day after I took that picture, we took it outside and filled it up with water thinking it would leak like no other. Guess what, it held water even with the crappy seams. After 24 hours, it was still holding water even though the wind was blowing the water over the top of the tank. So, I brought it inside and filled it up with water that would roughly match that of a reef tank (about 80ºF). After a day with a pump running in it, there were still no leaks.
Guess what the wife did... She had been out fishing that day and brought home a crapload of minnows. First words out of her mouth, "can I put those in that tank?". Ugh, I had other plans for it lmao. But I agreed just so they would not die in that nasty water they were in. That was Saturday night, and the little *******s are still alive in that tank.
Well that gave me an idea. Why couldn't I build a nano tank that is about the same size or just a bit smaller, put an over flow in it, build a very small sump to go under it, and to build a custom stand and canopy to hold the sump, tank and lights.
There is going to be a lot of research and trial and error in this one, but I know I can make it happen. The issue I'm going to run into is finding a pump that is small enough to fit in the small sump and have the power to push the water up to the tank which is going to be about 2'. This is not that far, but you have to realize, my 1200gph pump on my big tank has a max head of about 13'. My over flow alone will hold more water in my 90g than my whole nano system will hold. So the smaller you go on the pump, the lower the head. And the higher you put the head, the less flow you will get.
Like I said, this is going to take a while to plan out and get going, but I think I can make it work. I will need to get some black acrylic for the back, but that shouldnt' be that hard. I have a small piece, and I may design the tank around the piece that I do have now. Black acrylic is much more expensive than the clear stuff. So I have to use it wisely.
So, now that we know what the tank will be made out of, now we have to decide on what we are going to do with the stand. Remember, this is going to sit on a desk. So it can't be too high to not be able to see when sitting down. But not so short that you can't fit a sump in the stand. Also, I need to decide on what kind of wood I want to use. I'm really thinking Oak, but I may go with something else if I can find it.
Then there is the issue of the canopy that is going to cover the top of the tank and house the lights. Do I want doors on the front of it or do I want the whole top to lift open? If the whole top opens up, then the lights will hit me right in the face. And if you have ever looked into 3w LED's, you know just how bright that can get. So, I'm really thinking the doors is the way to go here.
Then, we need to figure out if we want to attach the stand and canopy together. Meaning, you can only see this tank from the front, and not from the sides or the back. I will still need to make the canopy removable so that I can clean out the over flow, but that is only a monthly thing if that. I have yet to clean out my over flow in the 90 and it's been 3+ months. I really need to do it lmao.
Then there is the lights. I am pretty much set on what lights I want to use. I have some Cree LED's from my last DIY LED lighting kit, and I think I can wire up 8 of them (minimum on an LED driver) and put them over the tank. But, that may be over kill on this little guy. I may have to find a way to drive them without the driver and only use 4 LED's. Or see if they make a driver that can only do 2 that is dimmable so that I can connect it to my apex and control the lighting schedule.
So as you can see, this is in the concept stages. Just the stand alone will take a lot of thought. From what kind of design, to the color. I'm really thinking of doing something elaborate with this one. I mean, I have the wood working tools to make just about anything, so why not take my time and make it right. Making the tank is going to be easy. Making the sump is a little harder, but making the stand and then putting it all together to work correctly is where it's going to get damn hard. Oh yeah, and then there is the fact of how in the hell am I going to return the water to the tank when it's pumped back up there. Standard PVC or do I want to use the outlets like I have on my 90?
There will be a lot more to come in this one. I think I will start off by making the tank and sump, then designing the stand around it.
Stay tuned, this is going to be a lot of fun. And if you have any suggestions, let me know. I would be interested in hearing them.
I want something else that is small, but functional, and that maybe, just maybe, I can sell for a decent profit if I can get things worked out on them. I'm talking about setting up an entire tank, water, salt, sand, rock, pumps, heaters and so on for less than $500. Let me put it into perspective for you. My 90 gallon reef tank alone was that price. And that is ONLY the tank. Not the stand, canopy, lights, controller, pumps, powerheads, sump, sand, rock, water or anything else. So $500 for a tank is a bitchin price.
As some of you may have also read and seen, I have started playing around with some acrylic. It started out just wanting something to build a custom sump that will fit my tank better than the one that I have now. Well, I needed to practice with something, so I decided to create a 12"x12"x12" nano cube just to see what I can do and how it would turn out. You can see that tank in the picture below.
In that picture, remove the pieces that are still blue (protective covering) and that is what I ended up with. The pieces that are blue were supposed to be a hidden over flow compartment.
Well the day after I took that picture, we took it outside and filled it up with water thinking it would leak like no other. Guess what, it held water even with the crappy seams. After 24 hours, it was still holding water even though the wind was blowing the water over the top of the tank. So, I brought it inside and filled it up with water that would roughly match that of a reef tank (about 80ºF). After a day with a pump running in it, there were still no leaks.
Guess what the wife did... She had been out fishing that day and brought home a crapload of minnows. First words out of her mouth, "can I put those in that tank?". Ugh, I had other plans for it lmao. But I agreed just so they would not die in that nasty water they were in. That was Saturday night, and the little *******s are still alive in that tank.
Well that gave me an idea. Why couldn't I build a nano tank that is about the same size or just a bit smaller, put an over flow in it, build a very small sump to go under it, and to build a custom stand and canopy to hold the sump, tank and lights.
There is going to be a lot of research and trial and error in this one, but I know I can make it happen. The issue I'm going to run into is finding a pump that is small enough to fit in the small sump and have the power to push the water up to the tank which is going to be about 2'. This is not that far, but you have to realize, my 1200gph pump on my big tank has a max head of about 13'. My over flow alone will hold more water in my 90g than my whole nano system will hold. So the smaller you go on the pump, the lower the head. And the higher you put the head, the less flow you will get.
Like I said, this is going to take a while to plan out and get going, but I think I can make it work. I will need to get some black acrylic for the back, but that shouldnt' be that hard. I have a small piece, and I may design the tank around the piece that I do have now. Black acrylic is much more expensive than the clear stuff. So I have to use it wisely.
So, now that we know what the tank will be made out of, now we have to decide on what we are going to do with the stand. Remember, this is going to sit on a desk. So it can't be too high to not be able to see when sitting down. But not so short that you can't fit a sump in the stand. Also, I need to decide on what kind of wood I want to use. I'm really thinking Oak, but I may go with something else if I can find it.
Then there is the issue of the canopy that is going to cover the top of the tank and house the lights. Do I want doors on the front of it or do I want the whole top to lift open? If the whole top opens up, then the lights will hit me right in the face. And if you have ever looked into 3w LED's, you know just how bright that can get. So, I'm really thinking the doors is the way to go here.
Then, we need to figure out if we want to attach the stand and canopy together. Meaning, you can only see this tank from the front, and not from the sides or the back. I will still need to make the canopy removable so that I can clean out the over flow, but that is only a monthly thing if that. I have yet to clean out my over flow in the 90 and it's been 3+ months. I really need to do it lmao.
Then there is the lights. I am pretty much set on what lights I want to use. I have some Cree LED's from my last DIY LED lighting kit, and I think I can wire up 8 of them (minimum on an LED driver) and put them over the tank. But, that may be over kill on this little guy. I may have to find a way to drive them without the driver and only use 4 LED's. Or see if they make a driver that can only do 2 that is dimmable so that I can connect it to my apex and control the lighting schedule.
So as you can see, this is in the concept stages. Just the stand alone will take a lot of thought. From what kind of design, to the color. I'm really thinking of doing something elaborate with this one. I mean, I have the wood working tools to make just about anything, so why not take my time and make it right. Making the tank is going to be easy. Making the sump is a little harder, but making the stand and then putting it all together to work correctly is where it's going to get damn hard. Oh yeah, and then there is the fact of how in the hell am I going to return the water to the tank when it's pumped back up there. Standard PVC or do I want to use the outlets like I have on my 90?
There will be a lot more to come in this one. I think I will start off by making the tank and sump, then designing the stand around it.
Stay tuned, this is going to be a lot of fun. And if you have any suggestions, let me know. I would be interested in hearing them.
Here I was looking in to this thread expecting to see a tiny RC Abrams or Leopard or something. 
