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2/14/2007 Update:
I updated the page today and included clickable thumbnails so that it will
load faster on slow connections.
12/31/2002
I'm on vacation this week and decided that my office needs
a nano tank in it so I have something to do all day instead of work.
The purpose of this post is two-fold. I am posting all of my pictures and
progress notes for public benefit, to share in my successes and failures, so that
we all may learn together. I am also posting the same information for my own
purposes of creating a journal for reference of thoughts, readings, progress,
etc. So, some of the things you read may not fully make sense to the average
reader, but rest assured it means something to me.
I dug around at the local lumber store for a piece of red oak for another
project a few months back and came across a piece of 1x4 quarter sawn with
beautiful waves in it. It wouldn't work for that project, but I couldn't pass it
up for $3. I found it in my wood racks and, with the addition of some other red
oak scrap, I made a stand and hood for my newly acquired 2.5 gallon AGA tank. I
was lucky to get a gift certificate for my LFS for Christmas this year and put
some of it to good use.
I learned a lot on the hood and base for my 5.5 nano. The hinges on this hood
will actually work (woohoo!!!). Taking the hood on and off to do anything in the
5.5 is kind of a pain.
Here it is after a day of construction and sanding. It's ready for the finishing
room.
 
Rough sketch of the future:
DIY drilled bottom for DIY overflow with integrated return
5.5 gallon sump/fuge - baffles from acrylic w/ cutouts for HOB type filters, ~5
lbs LR ~ 5 lbs southdown, seeded
Freshwater top off system
Underdesk cabinet to house sump and topoff system
~1 inch sand (southdown seeded with LS from 20 gallon display
2x13w PC lights 1 actinic & 1 6500 or 10,000k (haven't decided yet)
DIY mini overflow box - acrylic
Soft corals only - mushrooms and polyps mostly
Small clam - whatever I can afford that will do well under 10 wpg of pc at ~8
inches. There is a LFS about 2 hours from me that is supposed to be the place to
go
Maybe a small shrimp
1/1/03
Hood and base are now have a finish. Background has been attached to back of
tank. I had some left over plastic background, so I used that instead of getting
blue paint. My 5.5 nano I painted the back black, and it worked great, but I'm
not convinced I like black better than blue. This way I can change it later.
The finished look:
The standard 45 degree angle
Showing the interior of the hood. The corner brackets are rather ugly, but
form followed function in this case. Thinking about adding a self-storing prop
stick to hold the lid open, but want to mount the lights first and see if I can
still get my hands in the tank with the lid propped open only part way.
For the wood-o-philes
I prop'ed some mushrooms today, 5 blues and 2 greens, will
one day be in the 2.5. I also have some green buttons that I will be fragging
later this week.
To do:
Decide how I want to route the wires for the lighting and cut slot in back of
hood accordingly.
Design and build overflow box.
Redesign handle for glass top, will probably cut the glass clip portion off and
silicon the handle further back from the edge.
Decide on sump pump, design and build sump/fuge partitions.
Expenses to date:
$8.00* 3/4" Red Oak, Oak Ply, CDX Ply
$2.00* Corner brackets
$1.00 Spray Paint - White
$7.98 2.5 Gallon AGA Aquarium
$1.66 AGA Glass top for 2.5
$1.00* Blue Background
$1.99 Solid Brass Hinges
$.50* Polyshades stain/poly finish
$40.00* 2x13w "BookWorm" knock-off's
$1.49 Floating Thermometer
$15.00* 25w submersible heater
$7.98 5.5 Gallon AGA Aquarium (sump)
$2.49* AGA Glass top for 5.5
$12.00* ~3lbs small LR pieces
* = I already had, but if I had to buy new, this is what I would pay
Everything else used so far I already had and were not noteworthy or expensive
enough to justify typing out
(sandpaper, glue, etc.).
So far there is only one thing I would change. I would route a slot down the
middle of the sides of the hood so that I could flush mount the L-brackets
inside the hood. This will allow more clearance for the glass top and will look
cleaner. I would also use four of the flat brackets, not like the ones seen in
the photo. I would also make sure the brackets were square before use. I would
also have to shorten the supplied screws, or get shorter replacements.
1/10/2003
The actinic 13w light came from hellolights yesterday, and I installed the
bookworm type lights in the hood that were in the 5.5
I think we've all seen pictures of bookworms mounted in a
hood before, so I will spare you the picture.
The bulkhead also arrived and I am waiting for the shipment from Harbor Freight
for the drill bit. I asked for 2nd day air, and they shipped it ground anyway,
so I sit and wait. A heat gun is also coming, so I will be able to make the
overflow box. I'm happy I haven't made it yet, because the concept has changed a
few times since the start of the project.
1/19/03
I now have the bottom drilled and the overflow tube installed. The drilling
wasn't too difficult, but having a bit that is the correct size would make
things much easier.
1-3/4" hole
1" bulkhead
1" PVC Pipe (thin wall) with a custom 1-1/4" offset
1 PVC Adapter
In the future I will go with a slip fit bulkhead and won't need the adapter.
Here is the front of the tank with the overflow installed and testing for
leaks.... NONE!!
Top view showing custom offset in PVC and slots cut in the
top of the tube to act as a strainer
I have decided on a Mag Drive 1.5 for the return pump and
a 1/2 " flexible return line will run through the 1" drain. I will
wait until the pump arrives and is installed until I fine tune the strainer for
water level.
Next I need to design and build the sump and under desk cabinet.
1/20/03
Return line, T's, and nozzles installed:
Side view. You can just see the coil of return line at the
left edge of the photo. I will trim it to length during final assembly.
3/8" flexible tubing runs up the overflow into a
modified T. I heated it up and bent each nipple at 45 degrees. From there, more
flexible tubing runs to T's with one nipple cut off and stuck into silicone to
both position nozzle, and to seal off one end. It went better than I thought.
The green clips are just to hold the ends until the silicone dries, and I will
trim the cable ties at the same time.
I accidently bought black silicone instead of clear, but it won't show in the
end, so it's no big deal. I was going to buy the small tube of clear at one LFS
I was at today, but it was $5.99 and the big tubes at another, more distant LFS,
is only $8.39.
1/28/03
Finally got around to making the base and giving the outside a coat of black
paint. It will go under the desktop and house all of the "ugly"
components. Here are the results:
 
Expenses:
$19.27 wood and hardware
2/1/03
One step closer to being done. I went to Lowes and got them to cut me two pieces
of glass. One 8x9 and one 8x8.75. I could have cut them myself, but Lowes will
do it for free and if they break it, I don't have to pay for it. I used my
diamond grinder bit to round the bottom corners so I didn't have to disturb the
bottom silicone seal in the tank, and to fine tune the overall fit. Once that
was done I ground off all of the sharp edges on the top for safety. I attached
the shorter baffle 4" from one end with silicone and did the same with the
taller baffle, 2.5" from the other end. 4" just fits a mag drive 2
return pump, and 2.5 inches is just about the minimum width that I could still
get my hand down into to seal. 3" would have been better, but I wanted to
leave as much fuge space as possible. I wanted to set it up in its finished
location this weekend, but right now I'm having an attack of lazy and am not
sure it will happen.
sump/fuge drying:
Testing the overall system for waterflow. It works great.
Expenses:
$4.07 glass baffles for sump
$3.29 medium tube of silicone, although small would have been enough
2/09/03 - Setup Day
I finally got everything together (almost) and dragged everything into the
office. Now I have something to waste my day at work doing. Here are some
pictures right after setup:
Still very cloudy. but all systems are a go. The cabinet is doing exactly what I
want it to do, hiding.
 
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