Idea for a half gallon tank

[dlux5life]

Hey Guys-

So I have been toying the idea around taking some spare parts and building a cheap half gallon fish bowl / reef. Consider it to be a super pico.

This would be in the office which would get daily tops offs during the week. I am not sure how the tops offs would handle during the weekends. I'll need to look into some sort of top off solution.

CA + Alk / Mag would be handled through frequent water changes.

For the flow in the tank, I was thinking I could use a Toms Aqualifter and daisy chain three of their pre filters together. One would be mechanical filtration, one would be carbon, and the other would be GFO. They pump has a turn over of 3.5 gallons per hour which would be a good turn over rate of a half gallon bowl. I don't know if there would be a power head that is an option, though don't know if it would be needed.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Tom_Aquatics_Aqua_Lifter_Suction_Pre_Filter_Accessories_for_Aquarium_Overflow_Boxes-Tom_Aquatics-OE1140-FIOFOA-vi.html

I have a small LED unit that I was going to use for lighting. I am not sure about fish in the tank. It is likely too small and I don't know if I would feel comfortable with any in there. Maybe a few snails. It would likely be a barebottom to make cleaning easier.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[mrclam]

I dont remember where but I believe I heard that the aqualifter pumps dont do well if run continuously with resistance (mechanical filtration and carbon). Something to look into.

 

[Ellabug]

Here are some ideas from a reefbuilders post a few months back: http://reefbuilders.com/2012/11/14/nano-reefs-part-2/
I particularly like the single coral tank and have thought something like this would like stunning on a dining room table or office desk. If you click the individual pictures it will take you to the original stories with info about set ups, maintenance schedules, equipment, livestock etc.

For a half-gallon, I agree I would not do a fish. I think it is just too small for any fish to thrive, even the smallest of the gobies. You could do some small inverts though. Google fish bowl reefs and you might come up with some stuff too - I remember hearing about a trend with these awhile back. You could also check out the nano-reefs forums for ideas.

Let us know how this turns out!

 

[dlux5life]

So I pulled the trigger and purchased three aqualifter pre-filters. I figured for the 15 bucks it would cost me, it would be worth the investment. I'll use one for mechaninal filtration, one with some rox carbon, and the other for gfo. I have two aqualifter pumps at home that will be used for this. The bowl is currently occupied with a beta and some plants that I will be bringing back to a fish store. It has some java moss and a bannnana plant in there now.

I am likely going to start it off with a couple soft corals and get a shrimp. Next phase is testing the flow from the aqualifter and developing top off for the weekends. This weekend I hope to get the rock structure built for the few corals I will be putting in.