A salesperson at my LFs offered me 250 dollars when I showed them my new DIY tank.

[Saltz Creep]

I had looked at the 12 gallon JBJ nano, but because it was too large I decided to make my own. The person who offered me 250 dollars is an LFS employee who had set up and stocked a 12 gallon JBJ as a display in the store and thought it was inferior to mine. He said (and I totally agree) that the 12 gallon JBJ has less than half the actual lighting and only 1/3 the actual structural filtration of my tank, and because my tank is only 5.5 gallons that translates for the JBJ to be around 4 times less lighting per gallon and 1/7 the filtration capacity.

 

[chrismunn]

if anything, i bet it was fun (and satisfying) to build.

i wish i could figure out thoes filter dynamics though! thats pretty cool. i biult my own nano from the ground up, and its got me so giddy, i dont wanna drill it! ( well the real reason is i cant afford it )

in my opinion, ide rather design the tank, asthetics, & components myself, rather than go out and buy it. i wouldnt buy the pre fab untill i realized my creation has failed! hahaha.

saltz creep thats pretty sweet there, now all you need to do is get a petent and put it into production. then you can give that nano building company a run for thier money....

 

[GSchiemer]

...saltz creep thats pretty sweet there, now all you need to do is get a petent and put it into production. then you can give that nano building company a run for thier money....

Yeah, as long as he can retail it for $99.

 

[mikeatjac]

I agree, the filteration on his tank has to be better than a nano. I have a nano at the office and it is pain.
I job, it is fun to make something your self.

 

[GSchiemer]

I agree, the filteration on his tank has to be better than a nano.

The JBJ nano and even the Marineland nano tanks have flow-through compartments for chemical filtration. In addition, the fans, ballasts, and other electrical components are protected from damage and shorting by the saltwater. The exposed ballasts, fans and associated wiring on this DIY nano would make me very nervous. I do think the DIY nano tank is more attractive than the pre-fab nano tanks, but I question how well the wood will hold up over time.

 

[bonerfortuna]

I think you did a great job Saltz Creep. The only suggestion I have is replace the bio balls with live rock rubble or you may eventually get a nitrate issue. Either way kudos to you ! Peter

 

[MeuserReef]

I wonder if a small protien skimmer could be in the next model? Would this be overkill? Im imagining that the bio-load per gallon would still be pretty close eh? A skimmer would be pretty much a necessity for a clown and an anemone huh?

 

[Drewpy]

i say a yellow head jaw fish-- give 'em a sand bed and watch him bob up and down all day

 

[BloBBeBo]

A teeny tiny skimmer! OMG! How cute would that be. One of you fancy-schmancy DIY people should invent one of those for a tiny nano. (I'm too lazy..)

 

[NGuay]

Great job. So where are the new pics? :thumbsup:

 

[Saltz Creep]

Here are some new pics. They're not great quality, as my digital camera is actually an excellent video camera which takes crappy still photos. The tank is still pretty bare as I am financing all live stocking for it through xenia trade-ins

Dawn actinic

Daylights and actinic on.

2 x 18w 7000/10,000K and 1 x 18w 420nm/460nm, all powered by 3 Wallymart $6 ballasts. 54 watts total, around 10-12w/gal.

Livestock so far:

1 Diadema dottyback
1 Banded coral shrimp
2 different zoo frags
Xenia
1 GSP frag
1 green Florida Ricodea polyp
4 astreas
1 orange Turbo
1 fighting conch (yes, I know...)
1 scarlet reef hermit
1 orange-claw hermit
3 blue-leg hermits

 

[tekknoschtev]

Holy freaking crap! That looks amazing!

 

[melev]

That looks great. What temperature are you maintaining? Day and night, please.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Wow! Amazing little tank!

 

[MeuserReef]

Excellent job creep.. Any worries about salt creeping onto the ballasts and such?

How difficult is it to maintain a Nano reef? I understand that the larger the volume of water, the easier it is to keep the water parameters in check.

Does NANO = Difficult?

Thanks
-Josh

 

[Saltz Creep]

Thanks for the compliments.
Temperature is 78 at night and 80 during the day. One fan runs constantly to keep condensation out of the hood and off of the lights. The second fan kicks on with the lights to help remove heat. Evaporation is about 1 liter a day! You can see the 1 gallon top off jug (automatic) to last over my 3-day weekends away from work. Phosphate is near undetectable because of the phosphate removal pad I'm running in the drip tray. Nitrate is running about 5 but doesn't seem to be getting higher because of weekly 2 gallon water changes. I'm thinking of replacing the Bio-balls with LR rubble to help with nitrates as BonerforTuna suggested. No salt creep on ballasts because they are not over the tank water but over the filtration area, also there is an acrylic splash shield under them. BTW, the lights are way warmer than the ballasts. I think nanos in general are difficult because the small water volume isn't a cushion if something goes out of whack. On the other hand, a 2 gallon water change is easy and is almost 50 percent.

 

[bdogfish]

I would hold my head up high and be dam proud to say, I built that myself. Great job and attention to detail. Just my two cents....

 

[finding nemo]

Beautiful tank Salt.
Don't let anyone tear you down on it.
Store bought are just that, glass squares with plastic rims.
So what!!
This is a work of art built out of love.
You can be very proud of it, and now that we see it full of water with the lights on. I want one!!!
More pictures as you add stock to it ok?
Very very nice.

 

[2hi4u2c]

Could you tell me how you finished the wood to get that look?? By the way SWEET nano! Alan

 

[Saltz Creep]

I was surprised myself that the wood came out that way. It's some generic wood known as "whitewood" used for hardwood molding. The stain is MinWax Red Oak. Over that, about 4 coats of spray polyurethane.