Pics of plumbed 24oz. CubeReef

[brandon4291]

This was a detailed picture of the first femtoreef, the design that led to the femtoreef II, the betta hex reef. Just found this pic today...

This was a very stable little system and was built from the tiny plastic craft boxes you can buy from Michael's crafts. I spent the better part of a weekend rounding up miniature parts for the linked system(s). Home Depot had some makeshift bulkheads, and a tiny minijet 404 pump moved water between the two cubes. This design will process quite a bioload, the scaling uses a high ratio of consumers to producers...
Brandon M

 

[Desolas]

That's pretty cool. So how do you have it setup to move the water between the two tanks? Does it outlet into one, and draw from the other? More information would be cool.

What all are you keeping in it?

 

[wombat1]

brandon429,
When are you going to publish a book on how to make these great tanks :wink: ??

 

[Anonymous]

24 oz? Sheesh now I have to do the shot-glass reef, 3 grains of sand a pebble of LR and a mysid shrimp :wink: with a 400W Ushio over it :mrgreen:

 

[Mac1]

24 oz? Sheesh now I have to do the shot-glass reef, 3 grains of sand a pebble of LR and a mysid shrimp :wink: with a 400W Ushio over it :mrgreen:

LOL! But where will you put the Actinics?

- Mac

 

[Bubafat]

That is so not 24 oz. Just look at the size compaired to the microscope sitting next to the thing. I'm not saying it isn't great and beautiful...but there is no way that is 3/8ths of a gallon.

 

[tinyreef]

those are 24 oz. each. you can tell from the galaxy light. i've got a 48 oz. of similar size but it isn't remotely comparable to brandon's more established systems.

i still like the femtoreef the best but i'm waiting for the yoctoreef! :wink:

 

[ems3411]

I have to agree that there is no way that is 24 oz... think 20 oz. Coke or Pepsi... Just can't be.

I agree they are awesome micro reefs.. I love the way they are connected to each other. I think it is so cool to see the under 10 gal reefs.

 

[Freedom75@work]

Brandon

very nice. Where did you get the cubes at and is there any life in it. I would be very intrested in setting one of these up in my office

John

 

[brandon4291]

sorry for the delay in reply,

and that microscope is a sears 6" tall mini-model

yep maybe its more than 24 but not much, each cube is about 12-13 and thats without counting displacement of a few ounces...need to fill into a beaker and snap a photo for checks...

life was a xenia frag, 2 gsp mats, and a candy coral for starters. life from this reef was transferred into the Lee's dual beta hex reef which had more current but less reliable sealing.


better pics coming soon, after work, and even one of the femtoreef I have never put on the web before, it was the secret to the current in the model and how to install the powerhead inside the betta hex. the improvement off this design. me personally, I wouldnt use this design at work. thats what I was trying to do as well, and it just wasnt as easy as the mini75, thats a good one for a work desk.

b429

 

[MarkO1]

You should get another microscope... in the event someone else wants to see it too.
_________________
BMW R1200C

 

[brandon4291]

--

 

[brandon4291]

maybe I should have put it up against a regular sized one as well MarkO...

rhseng this thread is definately inclusive of any system that is measured in ounces pics when you can! would love to know some specs of your pico as well and what you are dosing, frequency etc. they are terribly fun aren't they :twisted:

this is the only pic I have of the cube system. But it can be found among the small plastic boxes of Michaels crafts for a quick comparison...the ones that are about 4.5 inches tall. well on that note, here's something for the math inclined to consider.

what is the fluid volume in ounces of a plastic box 4.5 inches tall x 4 inches wide x4 deep. figure a sand bed displacement of two inches worth of water, and add to that another two for front-cube LR displacement, and Ill bet theres roughly 24 left over... I dunno.

lemme draw it up on art, brb

b429

 

[brandon4291]

Ive tried saving it a few different ways, this is as clear as it gets.

pretty simple design, tends to run hot with the light and the powerhead running, so a fan was on continuously. Then when it got cold, it would drop so the fan had to be turned off. That is the chief reason I went to the Mini 75 design, the smallest I can see that will house a digital heater.
That is, until someone invents a 3 inch digital contact glass heater. Just wait, its a matter of time. then the betta hex reefs will surge forth///

Even though this reef had probs with temp and circulation, it did show the ability of a plumbed pico refugium to handle unskimmed N compounds--3 to 8 ppm continual nitrates.

 

[tinyreef]

thanks for the invite, here's a pic as requested. but it's embarassing to post next to your tanks.

i know exactly what you mean about temp problems tho. that's my main concern. daytime temps are fine but night time temps are governed (for me at least) by the ambient room temp.

water flow is via modified closed ug updraft. i need a cerith to clean up a bit too. i'm dosing b-ionic daily (4 drops/each), iodine (more frequent of late), and coral-vite weekly. it's not sealed all that well so i still have some evaporation, only noticeable over a week.

i just removed some taxifolia that i think may have been inhibiting the corals (all propagated frags). they're opening much better lately. they've been 'ok' but i haven't seen any appreciable growth (my health gauge).

btw, 1 cubic inches is equivalent to: .004329 gallons (US). that's how i calculated my total volume (48 oz.). i guess water-wise it's around 32 oz. (?)

 

[brandon4291]

rcsheng your tank definately looks nice! you have a fine stand and wooden canopy as well I see, that will complete the look of the tiny system when you are through. how long have you had it? one thing I bet you'll agree on: isn't it funny how fast you dose by feel in these reefs rather than just testing all the time? the polyps either open or they do not...after a couple weeks and some careful observation of the LR growth and diatom/microalgae levels a steady-state can be found.

ps Tom from Inland: I thoroughly read your site's article on the construction of that linked system in your front window--huge project that was. was going to give you two thumbs up next time I saw you

b429

 

[brandon4291]

rcsheng after I took another look at your tank it dawned on me how small it was by looking at the galaxy light above it--I see what you mean I am LMAO now that I think about what you said earlier. if you are a galaxy light owner it is easy to find scale where needed! What kind of aquarium is that you have there? if its glass you are *lucky because all my small ones have been acrylic and I prefer glass for coralline removal.

 

[brandon4291]

--edit pic double post

 

[brandon4291]

indexed to a medium coke from Rosas, a fine eatery here in Lubbock.


there is some element of shock involved when viewing pico reefs up next to average household objects for scale--it still works on me rcsheng! so I know it has to take the others at least a few views until it hits them

example one: at first glance the subconscious mind would rather believe this is some form of graphics manipulation or trickery as opposed to a blatant attempt to keep LPS and SPS coral alive and well in a Lee's dual betta hex.

:twisted: b429

 

[tinyreef]

there's the femto i love! :wink:

yeah, 'tests' are definitely by 'feel'. draw out a couple of test samples and that's your water change. lol i always try to photo a comparison, bottle, pen, a quarter, etc.

actually, i practice 'feel-test' on all my systems. i'm such a lazy bastage! but the animals can tell me quicker than any tests, the actual conditions of each tank. no worries of test expiration or error. i'm a doser so i get to see the chemical interactions day to day. of course, pH tests are kept close and i use floaters for the sg.

haven't done anything on the pico yet tho. i suspect the salinity is on the high side and pH on the low from the conditions tho. hmm, i'll have to address it i know but i'm setting up another office nano. 4th one in 4 years (only one crash from salinity skyrocketing tho) the others were just changes of scenery.

the tank's a glass betta tank i got off eBay. i thought your double tank was the same. they have single and doubles on there all the time.

btw how do you clean the tank walls? toothbrushing creates so much turbulence, a couple of frags still haven't attached. :?