bpimm

I've been thinking for a while about building a Nano and I have been enjoying reading the tank journals people have been writing about their projects, so today I decided to start the Nano project and see if I can pull off keeping a journal on the project.

I have a 1 Gal hex that has been sitting around several years; it belonged to my grandmother before she died so I would like to turn it into something nice.


I found that the black trim just slips off so I decided to do a rimless open top tank.


My plan is to have some kind of circulation pump to stir the water, and I don’t really want it in the tank, so I think I will mount it under the tank, plumb it through the bottom and hide it in a base that the tank sits on.

I had an idea to make the base out of a piece of a log for the look of driftwood; fortunately I had some scrap rafter tails from the house I’m building that should work.


I trued up one end of the log, and then cut a 4” section off of the end to make the base out of.


ThenI cut off a 4" peice to make the baseout of.



I then marked the outline of the tank on the end of the log and remarked it ½” inside the first mark for a line to hollow out the log, leaving enough material to cut a notch to sit the tank in.


I used a large drill bit to remove most of the material then cleaned up the edges with a chisel and gouge. At this point I decided to go ahead and cut out the entire center and not have a bottom in the base.





The log had a split in it so I had to epoxy it together. So that’s it for tonight until the glue cures.

Ajax

Looks like a cool project! Keep us updated.

raven_wilde

Yes, very cool indeed... the tank itself looks just like my very first tank!... from way back in the day! Are you sure it's only 1 gal? Mine was 2, and the dimensions look similar. I could very well be wrong though.

bpimm

Thanks, now that you mention your old tank I don't think I have ever measured mine, I just assumed it was a 1 gal. I'll measure it today. Maybe I have twice the tank I thought I did

Brian

bpimm

It Measures out to 1.8 Gallons, Cool.
Brian

trenac

Very interesting project you have going. I kinda like the rope look around the base. Do keep us updated

bpimm

The rope was to clamp the log together while the epoxy cured. but now that you mention it that could be a good look.

Update:

This morning I cut the notch for the tank to sit in,


A little sanding and it is finished for now.


This thing might look ok when it's done.


Now it's on to equipment, I don't want anything showing inside the tank, so I could use any suggestions for a micro pump and some way to heat this thing.

until next time
Brian

Jimbo205

Do you live someplace that gets cold in the winter? Or are you keeping this 1 gallon tank someplace that has a warm steady temperature? Are you going to keep this someplace that has natural sunlight from a window or are you keeping this in your basement or someplace very dark? What type of tiny creatures or fish do you want to put in it?

Check out
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...n-hex-npt.html and let me know what you think of the ideas in it.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y13...Hex060613a.jpg

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/g...1055_thumb.jpg

The last one has no filter, no heater and no light fixture. Just an idea.

But you are also very handy and very smart and could do anything 'high tech' that you wanted.

But they say with 'low tech' you can go on vacation and come back and everything still looks great. I am trying to learn how to do that myself.

I love what you have done with your project so far, and look forward to what is next!

T-Bone

how about Taekwondodo's nano canister filter idea?

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...or-a-nano.html

If you found a container small enough, you could house it in there I think, maybe. A little modification and it would probably work, you might even be able to get away with putting a heater inside the canister. Just a thought.

John P.

Since your "stand" is hollowed out, it would be interesting to run bulkheads from the bottom with a mini sump system using one of those tiny powerheads and some sort of container to act as the sump/filter.