My 2g tank

[Saltz Creep]

Marc,
I also played around with different power supplies on my nano's 12V PC fans. A lower voltage does produce lower rpms. On the canopy I've got a 9v AC adapter on a fan blowing out constantly and a 6v AC adapter on a fan blowing cool air in when the main lights come on. The tank stays at 78-79F.

 

[melev]

I guess I could see what the lowest temperature it reaches. :eek2: I removed the heater because the tank never got below 79.5 due to the internal circulation pump.

 

[bennerkla]

melev, what are your plans for lighting? Are you going to build a canopy for it?

 

[melev]

I can't even make up my mind where I want to place this tank. Once I get that figured out, I'll tackle the lighting as well.

 

[Saltz Creep]

OK.
I just got back from WallyMart and the $6.96 product containing an electronic ballast is called an 18" Undercabinet Portable Light and the UPC code is

003052770001

They had 24" ones also which may have electronic ballasts as well that are higher in wattage.

 

[melev]

Thanks!

I left the fan running for a while today, and the temperature dropped to 78.5F and I decided to stop before it got lower.

 

[melev]

Fresh images from the Pico today. How I can get so many pictures from a mere 2g is actually kind of surprising. Some were better than others. I hope you enjoy them.

(I tend to frame the pictures I like best... here are the rest.)

 

[melev]

Two blue legged hermits are in the tank for now. If they cause trouble, they are back in the main reef.

These are blue zoanthids that Tucker was eating. They will hopefully recover. The plate coral looms in the background from within its beaker.

Many ask if the pump is too strong for Casper. It appears he has made his own decision.

Some recovered Mean Greens are starting to regain their color.

 

[melev]

I like how some patches of zoos have mixed colors, like these.

This group has a lot of potential, don't you think?

I'm going to try target feeding this ricordia, because it has shrunken down quite a bit.

These are my xmas-zoos. Casper likes to grab onto them. I just like how they grow in the shape of a pine tree.

 

[selgado]

I ran it a second time, and the temperature came down to 79F. And this fan is running at 1/2 its rated speed I think. If the power supply only provides 6v instead of 12, it has to spin slower, right?

I use a fan from an old computer tower on my 10 gallon nano. I can't remember exactly what component it is from. I have it hooked up to one of those universal power supplies. You know the kind that have the voltage selector switch from 1.5 volts to 12 volts. RPM's are lower on lower voltages. I've had it on various settings for going on 5 months now with no ill effects so far. I think the most important thing is to make sure your power supply is not pushing more voltage to your fan that it is rated for.

Heres a couple of pics:

By the way, if you keep taking pictures of that sea horse, I'm going to be forced to get one. They are so cool.

 

[tekknoschtev]

Wow, those pictures are stunning. Its odd how full the small tank looks with what many would consider frags. The plate is looking better, and casper... well he's looking amazing as always.

i second the variable power supply, should do what you need pretty easily.

 

[melev]

For the past couple of days, I've been observing the tank's temperature now that I have a small fan being governed by a potentiometer. The tank stayed stable at 78.7 all afternoon with the lights on. At night, the temperature rises to 79.8F (no lights, no fan, just heat generated by the small circulation pump).

So it appears I can put the fan and the light on the same timer, to keep things stable each day.

 

[Knyght]

Hiya Marc, I was going to suggest a dimmer type switch for the fan, but looks like you beat me to it. For some reason I forgot to subscribe to this thread, got that all fixed up now. Unless I am not allowed here either :strooper: Had to go back and read 5 pages :bum:

Perhaps you have considered this idea. Since I believe that you really don`t want to get rid of Tucker, the pico may serve as a rescue tank for the terrorized zoa`s. Just a random thought that popped into my head.

:beachbum:

 

[melev]

Yeah, that is one of the reasons this Pico gets more and more full. :lol:

 

[TippyToeX]

Glad to hear the temp is nice and stable now Marc.

 

[melev]

Look who's making a break for it!! My current escapee.

 

[DerekW]

Funny...nature always finds it's way

 

[melev]

About an hour after I took that picture, it was in the front of the tank, in the right corner. It seemed happy to be out.

 

[melev]

This was funny. While I was trying to clean the front glass on the Pico today, I noticed an empty snail shell. I knew I put two hermits in there, so I figured one killed the other just for the challenge of it all.

While fanning the LR and zoos, I kicked up a lot of detritus and a few of my tiny zoanthid frags blew about. Since there was so much waste in the tank, I decided to grab on of my old HOB filters that was collecting dust in the garage, and use it to run a tiny bit of carbon and trap the floating particulates. Once that was running, there was more current in the tank, and things blew around again.

I was really having trouble getting one little zoo rock to come out from the back area, and finally nudged it to the front of the tank. I siphoned out all the waste on the base of the tank, and while studying it closely, I suddenly saw my patch of zoos walking across the front of the tank! Small blue legs immediately clued in me in that my empty hermit shell wasn't the result of murder, but rather because Mr. Hermit decided he liked the zoanthid-covered shell better. :lol: I don't know how those polyps will do as he travels the tank, but it was really funny when I realized what was going on.

Now that I know that, I bet the reason I couldn't get that little zoo rock from the back of the tank was because he was clinging to anything his little claws could grasp for dear life.

 

[Electrobes]

Thats awesome! You know Marc.. this does mean video-time...