Best set up for Zoo's.....

D

daaaaaan

In Memoriam
I will be returning to college in the fall....and I want a "portable" nano tank (well I guess "Pico" as I want it under 6 gallons).....because I will have to be bringing the tank home with me (on a 3 hour car ride) serveral times through the year.....so I want to be able to pic this tank up, with water and everything in it, and put it in the car.....(you konw what I mean)

But with this tank, i want to only keep a couple small inverts for the tanks health, but no fish.....I really only want to keep zoo's, and a lot of them......I have a good bit of zoo's already that im gonna put in the tank, but I want this tank to be prime conditions for zoo's go grow/thrive/and have great color....


I was thinking of the 3.18 NC 6 from nanotuners, or going with the "topless" viper model that uses HQI bulb (10k or 14k)

If I was to go for the hooded 3.18, which lights would be best for in the hood, out of their options.....or if I was to go with the HQI, which one would I want......

I the only reason I dont want to go with the HQI is because I wont be able to run acitinic, which I would like to, to give the zoo's colors.....


If you think both ideas suck, and you have a better one please feel free to let me know....but my main goal for this tank ir portability, and for some awesome looking zoos!
 
If you are going to make this tank "portable" then I suggest getting an open top tank to keep the water and lights/anything electric separate. I would also go with an acrylic tank as well because it is lighter and not as easy to break/damage during transport (Besides Scratches).

When building the tank I would setup the LR in the way you like and before putting water in, epoxy the LR to the bottom and all the rocks to each other as well so you have NO movement; then of course add sand/water. That's just what I would do anyway ...

If you want crazy colors on zoo's you should see them under a good blue moonlight ... it's exquisite!
 
Well since its only gonna be like 2-3 moves a year....I thought about epoxying the LR to the tank, but then it would be a PITA to re-arrange my tank to my liking (which I always seem to do, lol)....so its only gonna be like 4-5 LR with colonies on them, so im gonna place those in a rubbermade container before I transport them...so they dont get damaged by falling over, or scratch the glass....

But I am looking on more specifics on what type of lighting/water flow is best for the zoo's
 
I had 7" cube with a HOB, Micro Jet for additional circulation and a 50/50 13w PC which had my zoo's thriving... I don't think you need a MH at all. As for substrate just epoxy the sand in so you don't have to worry about that when you pick up and move. :)
 
JBJ also makes a 70W DE MH clip on Viper.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7554101#post7554101 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by daaaaaan
isnt the lowest Clip On MH a 150 watt? and isnt that TOO much lighting for a 6 gallon tank?
Click to expand...
 
I am in the same boat as you bud. I will be leaving for college in the fall and will be setting up a tank when i get to college. I plan getting a 12 aqua and setting it up on a roller type cart so that when it comes time to move it i can just roll it to the car and place it.
A word of advise if you are a new freshman like i am try to find out if there is a good LFS in the area. I am still wondering about this if there isn't one i dunno if i am going to set up a tank. Anyone have any luck/daring enough to try going all online with a tank?
 
trust me, no tank in college. i've been there done that and boy is it a pain lol

though i must admit my tank was 5 gallons. for portability, go 3 gallons and less. reinforce your bottom for easy carrying. if your dorms have an elevator then you can use a 6 gallon with a cart/dolley
 
When i was in college i had 2 70galls, a 20L and a 10 gal, the 20L and 10 were reefs. I paid for the stuff by using th 20L to breed ocellaris...you all can do whatever you are willing to put the work into...the positive was that in the dorms i didnt have to pay for electricity!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7556274#post7556274 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ezcompany
trust me, no tank in college. i've been there done that and boy is it a pain lol

though i must admit my tank was 5 gallons. for portability, go 3 gallons and less. reinforce your bottom for easy carrying. if your dorms have an elevator then you can use a 6 gallon with a cart/dolley
Click to expand...


A 10" cube would be a rock solid rimless 3 gallon tank made out of 1/2" acrylic... Easy to move without worries about cracking it, even full of water, and would be under 50 bucks in materials plus shipping for the tank. :) If you really want MH, you could throw a Viper 70W HQI clip on for 160.00 and it would rock!
 
I was thinking of the Viper Clip on MH just like everyone's mentioned ... only because you'll never get that gorgeous shimmer and spectrum from PC's. I second the notion of getting a cube! A 12" cube gives you 7.5 gallons and with a 70 watt MH will make it 9.3 watts/gallon ... I think that is pretty badass!
 
Ditto, and you could go with a 1/2" acrylic 12" cube for the same costs. :) Probably 75-80 bucks shipped. Just wouldn't be as easy to move... about 60lbs filled.
 
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