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jfinch 
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 Topic: 10 Gallon Nano
Posted: November 20 2006 at 10:19pm |
I thought I'd post some pictures and a little info on a 10 gallon tank that I'm setting up for my office.
I liked the way Adam's tank looks with rock glued to the back glass so I thought I'd incorporate a similar look. But rather then use Weld-on 40 acrylic glue, I decided to use polyurethane glue. Polyurethane glue dries into a safe, inert foamy consistancy. And it's very very strong and will glue almost anything to anything. And it's fairly cheap.
All the necessary parts.
Squeeze out enough glue to wet the whole back glass.
Then spread the glue out across the whole back. I then added a little extra glue to the back sides of the rock and coral just for good measure. Set the rock where you want it to be and dump sand around the rock to hold it in place. The sand will support coral fragments and rock even at odd angles to the back glass.
Then the whole side is covered in about an inch of caribsea sand and allowed to cure over night.
After it's cured, I removed the sand and washed everything down with the sprayer on the kitchen sink. If your wife isn't as understanding as mine, you could use the garden hose  . (that dark line is just a shadow from the front edge)
Close-up of the fragments on the right side:
You can see where there is no sand due to not enough glue. I should have used more then I did, but it should look just fine after a few months coralline growth.
(Next is the lighting...)
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ewaldsreef
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Posted: November 20 2006 at 10:27pm |
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That is way cool. Makes me want to do one! Thanks for posting
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Contact me for professional aquarium maintenance and localy grown coral frags. [URL=http://www.aquatitranquility.com][/URL]
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aaaj
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Posted: November 20 2006 at 10:36pm |
That looks awesome! Thought to self "Now where can I fit another tank?" 
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Amber
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pictures of some of my frags at frags.org
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BrokeCurmudgeon
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Posted: November 21 2006 at 4:31am |
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Please keep us posted as the tank matures. Nice idea!
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Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. - Dante
Riverton, Utah
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Dion Richins
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Posted: November 21 2006 at 8:25am |
 aaaj wrote:
That looks awesome! Thought to self "Now where can I fit another tank?" |
You would be amazed at where you can justify puting one.
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: November 21 2006 at 8:51am |
Jon- ah too late! If I had known you were going to do this I would have sent you some photos. I did the same thing (different glue) but I put in a back wall across the entire tank, about 3 inches from the back. Made slits in the top and had a built in overflow. I really liked that idea for a 10 gal.
I think Jake has the built in overflow on his 10 gal tank in his living room.
Anyway that is way cool. I'm sure you'll love it.
Adam
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Suzy
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Posted: November 21 2006 at 9:08am |
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That is cool! A funky nano!
What fish are you thinking? I might know the perfect nano fish...
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jfinch
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Posted: November 21 2006 at 9:50am |
Adam, I actually thought about that too but I think it would take too much room from the display. I'm still in the thinking stages about how to keep the power chords (PH, heater maybe) hidden or looking nice.
Suzy... I still don't like seahorses  . Actually it's not that I don't like 'em, it's just that I don't/won't have the time to devote to 'em. I'm thinking a small occelaris, maybe a damsel and something like a rainsfordi goby. Or leave the damsel out and get a couple firefish. |
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fj40fax
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Posted: November 21 2006 at 11:52am |
That is exactly the idea I had for the new 90g for the bare bottom. I know Jim Perry did that with cement on the bottom of his big tank. Did you have any glue show through the sand? How long did you wait before applying the sand? How much did the glue puff up?
Fax
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Fax 318-3632
90g 2x250W 14kK MH
Sump, Fuge, G3, UV, O3, ACIII
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Adjustments and Massages for Frags!
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jfinch
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Posted: November 21 2006 at 12:06pm |
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Fax, I spread the sand right after I spread the glue. I used well dried sand so the bubbling/foaming was kept to a minimum (and if you stack an inch or two of sand on top of the glue, I don't think the foam can form as easy). You can't see any glue, it's all sand and there are enough bulges to make it look somewhat natural. If I wanted more mounds/ridges I'd mist the glue with a little water before adding the sand, only spread the sand about 1/2" thick and sprinkle more on as the foam pushes through. This would look very nice for a barebottom tank, if you're into that sort of thing.
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: November 21 2006 at 12:14pm |
Suzy wrote:
What fish are you thinking? I might know the perfect nano fish...
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Suzy,
I was thinking the same thing! Jon you should come to my place. I have two new frogfish that you should check out. They are the perfect nano fish.  Adam
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Suzy
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Posted: November 21 2006 at 6:26pm |
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I was actually thinking frogfish! Jon would not get any work done in his office if had seahorses in there. They are way too fun to watch!
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jfinch
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Posted: November 21 2006 at 6:50pm |
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Yeah... Birdworld has some really nice looking leaf fish too.
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jfinch
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Posted: November 24 2006 at 1:31pm |
Ok, now on to the canopy. I had a workhorse 5 ballast sitting on my shelf doing nothing so I figured I use it. It can power 4 36 watt compact flourecent bulbs. I didn't think I could actually fit 4 bulbs over this little tank so I decided to go with three 36 watt bulbs. That should be enough light. I'll show what I did through these pictures.
I started by building a box out of black 1/8" acylic. This is the top view (never mind the reflection, it's my 125 gal):
I didn't want the canopy to just sit on the top of the tank so I built in a couple stand-offs to elevate it above the top brace. The stand-offs are removeable or replaceable if I decide to elevate or lower it.
This is how the standoffs sit on the top of the tank.
With the acrylic work done, I needed a reflector. I got a small piece of relfective aluminum and bent it to this shape:
Here it is all put together with bulbs:
And lit up.
Here's a back view of the canopy/tank.
And finally the front view.
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: November 24 2006 at 3:47pm |
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Mike Savage
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Posted: November 24 2006 at 4:58pm |
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Lookin' good!
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jfinch
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Posted: November 29 2006 at 2:00pm |
Is 73F too cool for a reef tank?
What would you say is the lowest safe temperature?
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: November 29 2006 at 2:08pm |
I'd say perfect! I'd say 70 is a little cool, but I'd rather be at 73 than 83.
Adam
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chris.rogers
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Posted: November 30 2006 at 4:25pm |
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Really, Adam? 73F over 83F?
Curious, why is that?
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chris.rogers
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Posted: November 30 2006 at 4:29pm |
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Oh, and Jon...
No worries from the bulbs melting/twisting/contorting the acrylic?
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