mb7 nano tank

[Nano_Steve]

alright, well while i wait for the weekend i have been drawing up plans for the 2.5 and the mb7 and here are some of the prelim. drawings for the mb7 stand/canopy combo.

-steve

ps dont make too much fun of the drawings, elipses are friggin hard to draw! :P

[captexas]

Looks pretty cool. Can't wait to see the real thing. If it turns out well, you could probably make and sell setups like that.

[Nano_Steve]

a guy already does and im getting alot of my ideas from him.

http://home.earthlink.net/~reefcanopy/

his prices are out of my budget for this project, even though this project is out of its own budget :P

-steve

[1salt]

I'm catching fever, (nano fever)

[Nano_Steve]

it burns so good doesnt it :P

im drawing an exploded diagram now so i can get some carpentry feedback. ill try to get it done within the hour, if not then tonight it will be up for sure. so carpenters get out your pencils :P

-steve

[lax]

steve- instead of doinong it out of would, have the whole face of the stand/canopy covered with aluminum sheet, no ribbige, that'd freggin rock your socks off!

[Henry]

Steve my friend Jeff made that same canopy. I'll ask him to post some pics of it. If I remember correctly it came out pretty good.

[captexas]

That hood looks really nice, would love to see how it is made to curve like that. If I did a nano, I think it would be a bow front, seem to look better than a simple rectangular tank.

LOL, Daniel, I hear ya on nano fever. I started thinking . . .I've got a 10g tank sitting out in the garage, extra powerheads, hang on power filter, squids, and I could steal the 96watt PC off of my fuge for my main tank . . .

[Henry]

Chris the magic of steam and water help the wood to bent. Plus the wood is really thin.

[Nano_Steve]

chris, the front curved piece of wood is only 1/4 inch thick and you let it soak for a couple hours in water then take it out and let it sit in the sun. ive heard that it bends to the perfect radius that is needed for a minibow!!!

lax, u gotta make a drawing of what you mean!!! that does sound really cool!

henry, thatd be great if i could get some info on it, i hope to start construction next week and im in the middle of drawing up an exploded diagram of what exactly im talking about, i should be done in a couple of hours so check back tomorrow :)

-steve

ps guys thanks a heap seriously, i was really havin a hard time deciding whether i really wanted to switch back and all this great conversation and excitement has totally made my mind for me :D

[Nano_Steve]

ah forget it, i hate my perfectionism sometimes. i start to draw up the plans and i worked for an hour to draw just the **** tank! :P i have it all on paper so i have what i need to make the tank, sorry to those eager to see better diagrams.

anyways, does anyone know if 1/2 inch plywood can be warped by the water/sun method? if so this will make my design perfect and i can get to work this week, otherwise ive hit a roadbump.

-steve

[captexas]

hmmm, not sure 1/2in. would work. It might, but I imagine it would take some work to do. I saw a deal once where a table saw (may have used a dado blade on it) was used to cut grooves in a piece of wood from top to bottom along the entire length so it would flex due to less material being there. The depth and width of the grooves would take some experimenting with.

I would think it would need to be quality wood so that the differernt layers don't split apart once it flexes from the moisture and then dries out.

[Nano_Steve]

well ive given it some thought and it really only needs to be a 1/2" square dowel so im sure i will be able to bend it enough, besides the radius of the bow on these little bowfront is really big so it isnt that much of a curve. i think if i soak and dry 2 or 3 times i should get the desired effect.

im going to check out a local hardwood dealer here tomorrow to talk with them about pricing and whatnot. i had purchased two 4'x8' sheets of 3/4" birch plywood and since its layered and too big for what i have planned for it now im going to return it and buy a smaller quantity of solid wood instead. since im going with solids i might even think about a routered edge but that is a decision to be made once ive started construction :P

-steve

ps chris, i know what youre talking about, much the same as it is to take small strips out of cardboard to be able to bend it on itself. the reason i ask is this curved piece will be a filler for a gap between the outter edge of the canopy to the tank so as the canopy and stand match. its going to be an aesthetic addition so hopefully i will be able to make this look as nice as possible.

[lax]

steve- dude, what in the heck are you doin with 3/4" ply, are you building a tank? 1/4" ply will support plenty enough weight for just a mb7. people allways underestimate the strength of wood.

-nathan

[Nano_Steve]

lol, i thought i put that in my post but i guess not, i bought the 3/4" to build the stand for my 33 corner tank that is now a debunk project as i am now putting all energies, and monies, into the nanos :)

-steve

[Nano_Steve]

what do yall think about me putting a check valve on the return line? does anyone have experience with these, do they work well?

-steve

it will go inline in this order: pump-ball valve-check valve-sqwd-tankreturns

[Yano]

What are you using to make these drawings?

[Nano_Steve]

ive been using a mac version of paint called graphicconverter for most of them, but i was trying to use flash mx to draw a better schematic when i got frustrated with my perfectionism and gave up :P

-steve

[Yano]

ahhh I see.

[Nano_Steve]

alrighty folks, a little update. i have all the plumbing parts except for 4 modular elbows and a sqwd, but i do have the pump!!!! :)

im going to get some glass cut for the fuge today and hopefully will be able to have the fuge finished tomorrow. ill make sure to take some pics with my aunt's camera so i can document the whole process.

if anyone knows where i can get the elbows or the sqwd please let me knoW!!! :D

-steve

[Nano_Steve]

alright, just finished constructing the sump. here are a few pics.

-steve

[Nano_Steve]

this is the idea i came up with yesterday. it allows me to minimize the amount of raw timber i have to use and it makes it alot "cleaner" than the earlier design. lemme know what yall think! :D

-steve

[Nano_Steve]

newest development, i just got a sqwd!!! thanks a heap greg!

here's the "scorpion" return system i will have on the new tank. :D

-steve

[Nano_Steve]

josh,

lol, yeah i made the chamber a BIT too small(and by a bit i mean i can barely fit the darn thing in there :?) i will have a float switch in there so evap wont be that huge a deal, ill just have to put up with the dang return pump switching on and off all the time.

-steve

[360Reef]

Steve,
Glad I could help out with the SQWD. One observation, you are going to lose alot of flow with all of those 90 degree elbows you are using, I would ditch as many as possible and go with some sort of flexible tubing. I have always setu pall of my SQWD's with flex and have been happy with the results. Just my 2 cents. Otherwise looks great! Can't wait to see it.

-Greg

[Nano_Steve]

johnny(TAXMAN),

holy crap man! you werent kidding about those fans pushing some serious air! they arent really that much louder than the single one i have on the 30 tank, or at least not to me.

im totally gonna throw these both on the mb7 dude!

for those of you who are scratchin your noggin, johnny traded me some MASSIVE fans about a month ago. i got around to rigging one up and this thing runs off of 115 volts! just plug it into the wall and go! im gonna hook them up to a volt regulator to be able to slow them down, do you think these will burn out doing that johnny?

thanks, steve

hell man! i doubt with this much air being moved that ill even need a chiller!!!

[Nano_Steve]

greg,

im hoping to cut down my flow as much as i can, that mag5 is way too powerful for this small a setup but i wanted to get it so i can leave my options open for future larger tanks.

-steve

[Nano_Steve]

got the overflows in today (thanks dan)!!! gonna start drilling the wholes after i post this and will put the overflows in after that. ill be sure to take lots of pics for everyone :D

also here's a pic of those fans i was telling yall about. these things are monsters!!!

-steve

[Nano_Steve]

done and done! sheesh it only took me like 3 hours but the dang thing is in!!! whoop!

i used my trusty dremel and check out how much it wore down my bits!!!

-steve

[Yano]

hahaha, awsome! :-D

[Nano_Steve]

hey tim,

lemme know some more about that surge idea you had. ive been thinking about it but i cant seem to put a picture to the concept.......actually i dont think i understand the concept either :P

-steve

[mhaynes01]

hey i saw that 7 gallon tank today.

[MikeDeL]

Hey Steve what did you use to make the baffles with, glass or plexi glass? I just bought a tank to start building my sump.


Thanks,
Mike

[Nano_Steve]

i used glass i got cut up at lowes. i just used some silicon II to put them in. they hold but i dont know how well they will hold under water movement. hopefully ill get this project up and running by the end of next week so i can see.

wish me luck, steve

[Ram_Puppy]

Steve, I have looked at the lable of Silicone 2 before (If I remember right) it says specifically "NOT FOR AQUARIUM USE" don't know why, but from what I can tell on the product, it stays flexible longer, this may mean a different, and less safe chemical composition for your critters.

[Nano_Steve]

hmm.....ive used it before with just about every aquarium ive redone. ive never had any bad effects from it. the only thing ive noticed is it takes awhile to dry. i noticed that aquarium use thing also but its the only stuff that ive ever found that comes in a handy tube and doesnt cost 5 bux a tube.

-steve

[Ram_Puppy]

experieince is the best teacher, so I would say if you haven't had problems with it, then no big deal.

[Nano_Steve]

yeah, well i saw the stuff that lowes and home depot sells especially for aquariums and they want about 5 dollars a tube(hand sized tube) for the stuff whereas this silicone II costs maybe 98 cents. im all about wanting the best care for my animals but buying something that i really dont see that big a difference in? i think thats one corner i can cut ;)

thanks for pointin that out though! im sure that someone might have tried this and it make their water quality off the wall so its good to point this out for others if they ever want to do something like this. :)

-steve

[pilot_bell777]

You're a CRAZY reeferhead Steve!!!! :-) I think that it is going to be awsome. Let me know when you are finished, I would love to see it.

Go Wild Man Go!!!!!

:-D

[Nano_Steve]

well just snapped a couple of pics of my room and the tank.

http://www.maast.org/albums/xien2000corp/fulltank1.jpg

http://www.maast.org/albums/xien2000corp/lights1.jpg

http://www.maast.org/albums/xien2000corp/return1.jpg

http://www.maast.org/albums/xien2000corp/room1.jpg

http://www.maast.org/albums/xien2000corp/room2.jpg

http://www.maast.org/albums/xien2000corp/tank01.jpg

http://www.maast.org/albums/xien2000corp/me_and_mah_tank.jpg

oh yeah, and the stand is a custom job made by myself and my great friend jimmyD!!! it stands 41" tall and is set on top of a newly refinished chest of drawers that i keep all the supplies in.

in the corner i have a teclima micro chiller for heating/cooling and a dehumidifier to keep the intense evap out of the room's air so as not to make more mold.......yack!

-steve

THANKS A TON JIM!!!!!!!! ^_^ couldnt have done it without ya buddy!

[dan203]

PERFECT SETUP!

[Nano_Steve]

hey thanks dan! i figured id get a lot more responses than just one cuz it seemed i had a bunch of people interested but maybe once i really start getting some good growth and the colors all return ill post more pics, but thanks again for the reply! alot of work went into this and its not over yet, still have lots of wiring and whatnot to do as well as some minor plumbing changes, like i need to get a standpipe in there(this thing is loud!) =P

-steve

[SaltyJim]

Hey Steve...looks great!

So, now that this project is over, what next? Teardown and rebuild, or mass assembly?

Jim

[Nano_Steve]

lol, dont remind me about moving for christmas break just yet. in all actuality i made this setup specifically for that purpose, easy and quick teardown and rebuild. it only has 2 pieces of rock in there and all the plumbing easily comes apart and the whole thing without the tanks only weighs about 20-25 lbs so its easy enough for a guy like me to haul it off up and down 3 flights of stairs(ugh)

-steve

[SaltyJim]

Just leave it for the next tenant. That gives you an excuse to engineer another :grin:

Jim

[Tim Marvin]

Sweet! Glad to see your up and running again! I want to see it with the halide on.... How is it doing heat wise?

[Ram_Puppy]

great to see it! nice!

[JimD]

Looks great with the paint on it. Cool little project. Dont give away our secret to bending wood without water! lol! :-)

[mhaynes01]

love it, it so neat and tidy, cant wait till i go to college so i will have a excuse to get another tank just like that one and do all those wonderful "DIY's" man cant wait

[Nano_Steve]

pic of tank with halide on!!!

http://www.maast.org/albums/xien2000corp/tank_halides.jpg

-steve

[witecap4u]

So what did you end up using for the chiller return into the tank?

[Nano_Steve]

i went with your idea and found those black sprinkler attachments. they work really well and fit PERFECTLY!

-steve