werner Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 So I'm all hyped about nano tanks right now and decided to set one up. I've got a 5 gal running, but wanted something smaller. And cooler. I thought I'd share my progress with y'all. Questions and comments are most welcome I found the perfect glass (crystal?) bowl/vase thing at Winners. It looks really neat and there's little or no distortion from the glass. I love the thick edge. Some of the other ones out there have really thin, rippled glass which wouldn't look good when filled with water. It makes a pretty 'ding' sound so it may even be lead crystal. Not sure if lead leaching would be an issue or not. I know you're not supposed to store your liquor/wine in lead crystal decanters. The thing is only 7" tall and 6" across. I haven't measured exactly, but it should hold between 1 and 1.5 L of water. This makes it a pico tank instead of a nano (definitions vary, but a nano tank is usually <20gal, and a pico tank is <3gal.) This is definitely smaller. I tried to look up what was smaller than pico, and came up with "femto". Pretty lame- I'll stick with pico. I got some Flourite black for the substrate. I like the dark color- it should set the plants off well. Now I just need to find something for lighting. I'll probably go with a funky looking desk lamp of some sort. Not sure whether it will be compact fluorescent or halogen. I'll have to shop around and see what's out there. Potential plant list: Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba', Rotala walichii, maybe some moss? I usually prefer the Dutch style planted tanks, but this one will obviously be styled a la Amano. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happeboy Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 Not sure if lead leaching would be an issue or not. The lead does leach out but Im not sure of the rate, and so the declorinator may be able to handle it? I think lead crystal is not as common now too? Cool idea, and nice bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 So I'm all hyped about nano tanks right now and decided to set one up. I've got a 5 gal running, but wanted something smaller. And cooler. I thought I'd share my progress with y'all. Questions and comments are most welcome I found the perfect glass (crystal?) bowl/vase thing at Winners. It looks really neat and there's little or no distortion from the glass. I love the thick edge. Some of the other ones out there have really thin, rippled glass which wouldn't look good when filled with water. It makes a pretty 'ding' sound so it may even be lead crystal. Not sure if lead leaching would be an issue or not. I know you're not supposed to store your liquor/wine in lead crystal decanters. The thing is only 7" tall and 6" across. I haven't measured exactly, but it should hold between 1 and 1.5 L of water. This makes it a pico tank instead of a nano (definitions vary, but a nano tank is usually <20gal, and a pico tank is <3gal.) This is definitely smaller. I tried to look up what was smaller than pico, and came up with "femto". Pretty lame- I'll stick with pico. I got some Flourite black for the substrate. I like the dark color- it should set the plants off well. Now I just need to find something for lighting. I'll probably go with a funky looking desk lamp of some sort. Not sure whether it will be compact fluorescent or halogen. I'll have to shop around and see what's out there. Potential plant list: Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba', Rotala walichii, maybe some moss? I usually prefer the Dutch style planted tanks, but this one will obviously be styled a la Amano. Interesting project.... do you have access to those plants and moss? I have been into planted tanks lately for some reason... guess I dont have enough on my plate with just fish....NOT.... My plants are growing nicely with the co2 injection etc... Made things easier with good lighting and co2... before was always a struggle to grow some of the plants I was interested in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byte Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 (edited) Now I just need to find something for lighting. I'll probably go with a funky looking desk lamp of some sort. Not sure whether it will be compact fluorescent or halogen. I'll have to shop around and see what's out there. Single white LED lights are 3 or 5mm and can put out a lot of light. They also make a LED light cluster (3 bulbs) that put out about 3 watts and are about the size of a quarter. These 8 (single) LED lights in the photo are listed at 3000 mcd each. I did not want super bright LED's as these are for night lights. I have seen white LED's that put out 20,000 mcd. It will be interesting to watch your pico tanks progress :ml: Edited March 12, 2008 by byte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted March 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 There should be some kind of quick and easy lead test out there (for when the kids lick the old paint on the walls)- maybe I'll have a look around. I do have those plants right now, but this is always a great excuse to try new ones. LEDs! Hadn't thought about those. I almost bought one of those Solaris LED fixtures for my tank a while back. There was just the small issue of a couple thousand dollars and the pressing need for food and shelter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted March 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2008 After a bit of surfing, I found this little LED light. Looks like it will do the job and I can't complain about the price- $9! I really like that it's cordless, since a big old power cord would ruin the clean look I'm going for. I will need something to stick it to above the bowl, though. I had to look up the output spectrum for white LEDs to be sure they're suitable for plant growth and it looks like they'll work. There's lots of blue and not a ton of red, but this will hopefully contribute to more compact growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byte Posted March 14, 2008 Report Share Posted March 14, 2008 (edited) I had to look up the output spectrum for white LEDs to be sure they're suitable for plant growth and it looks like they'll work. There's lots of blue and not a ton of red, but this will hopefully contribute to more compact growth. There are many different styles and shapes of LED lighting. There are also lots of colors and even IR and UV. Here is some sites that has tons of different lights. http://www.superbrightleds.com/index.htm Look under Accent lighting--some are even waterproof. http://www.plasmaled.com/high_power_leds.htm Look for the 3 watt LED that looks like a round silicon chip with 3-1 watt LED lights soldered onto it... I have played with a few battery powered LED lights and either they are bright and the battery lasts only 10 hours... or they were very dim, and the battery lasted about 1 week... I have about 14 blue LED lights over one tank, but they are only 3000mcd each... The tank is way brighter than most lunar lights, but to grow with I would want big output LED lights 15000-20000mcd each. The bulbs can range from 100mcd to 20000mcd, so there is a HUGE difference. I see a big new bag of Flourite black in the picture... Was 1 bag enough? :smokey: Edited March 14, 2008 by byte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Ok- after much looking and shopping for lights, I think I have found one. I was going to order this LED bulb and stick it in a desk lamp. Then I thought I'd stick it in an upside down wall sconce mounted on an L shaped bracket (like a bookend) to shine down on the bowl. Instead, I went to Ikea and I found this cool little JANSJÖ light: It's a single bright LED and seems to light up the bowl pretty well. Once there are plants in there I'll be able to tell better if it's going to be enough light. I originally wanted the table lamp version, but there were none in stock, so I got the wall mount one. This may turn out to be a better idea since I can mount it to a wooden base next to the bowl- slightly reminiscent of the Tropica Aquacube's look. Now I just need to find the perfect pedestal base. There's gotta be some decor-cube-stand-thingy out there. I could just make one, but I'd have to clean out my workshop. For anyone interested in replicating my experiment, Ikea also has a pretty decent little glass vase that would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayen Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Oooh nice. Can't wait to see this planted. Any plans for fauna? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Any plans for fauna? I don't know if it's even big enough for anything?!?!?!? I could throw a couple shrimp in, but I'd be worried that they'd jump out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayen Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 Good point, if i did it ala ADA style, i'd definitely have some mossy twigs in there, but i just love the look of moss though =/ . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted April 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 An unexpected and wonderful find! I bought a really great piece of driftwood that is going to be the base for the bowl and light (Pier 1 Imports- $17 on clearance.) I thought it was plain old driftwood that was dyed, but it turns out it's mangrove wood, so I'm guessing that's it's natural color. It has a waxed finish on it- helpful to repel the inevitable water spills. I think mangrove is a hardwood? It seems to be strong enough to support the heavy glass and water. Here's approximately what the final setup will look like: Just ignore the rag under the bowl. There are several lumps and bumps that will need some Dremel-ing to get a level surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Excellent idea.... I bet this project s going to turn out very nicely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfishal Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 WOW this looks like it is going to turn out really nice! Cant wait to see the finished product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Great job, I can't wait to see the end product! Are you going to have parts of the plants emersed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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