My 250ml Reef Tank

[UncommonSense]

I was wondering how small could a reef tank possibly be.

I built a 240ml (operating volume) glass rectangle, as a 1:12 scale model of a 180g tank a while back…

My LFS wanted to turn it into a functional tank for fun, so I went down the rabbit hole on how one actually moves water in a tank so small…

Long story short: impeller pumps, even tiny ones, are out of the question… micro peristaltic (or possibly even piezoelectric) pumps (usually 3-5V DC) however, might be viable…


If you feel like diving down that rabbit hole, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to build a micro filtration system around one of these micro pumps, moving ~5-20ml/min of fluid! (As an added bonus, it would likely consume less space than an air stone!)

 

[MossyFroggyLove]

I built a 240ml (operating volume) glass rectangle, as a 1:12 scale model of a 180g tank a while back…

My LFS wanted to turn it into a functional tank for fun, so I went down the rabbit hole on how one actually moves water in a tank so small…

Long story short: impeller pumps, even tiny ones, are out of the question… micro peristaltic (or possibly even piezoelectric) pumps (usually 3-5V DC) however, might be viable…


If you feel like diving down that rabbit hole, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to build a micro filtration system around one of these micro pumps, moving ~5-20ml/min of fluid! (As an added bonus, it would likely consume less space than an air stone!)

Oh wow! Just WOW. That really just sparked up my imagination. Thinking that rectangle is a much better shape than a narrow jar. Huh, might try at not only making a micro reef tank but also try building my own micro tank and experiment with mini electronics. I am sure i have some scrap acrylic pieces lying around.

 

[UncommonSense]

Oh wow! Just WOW. That really just sparked up my imagination. Thinking that rectangle is a much better shape than a narrow jar. Huh, might try at not only making a micro reef tank but also try building my own micro tank and experiment with mini electronics. I am sure i have some scrap acrylic pieces lying around.

The dimensions are 15cm x 5cm x 6.25cm, it was constructed from a few scrap 6mm glass strips I cut to length! — you could probably have a local glass cutter do something similar for your project at minimal expense!

If you aren’t already familiar, watertight acrylic solvent welds aren’t a trivial feat! — I learned a LOT of tricks from this acrylic fabrication thread which may benefit you too:

Acrylic Fabrication Q & A

I am very active on a similar mega-thread elsewhere but I couldn't find an active one here on R2R. @Troylee started the Acrylic 101!!!!! thread a while back, but it doesn't look like he's very active here anymore. Maybe this thread will suck him back in, he has great advice. SHORT CUT LIST...

www.reef2reef.com

(Capillary method would work decently for thinner acrylic in this extremely tiny application!)

— it’s also worth mentioning that various sizes of acrylic and glass capillary tubing exist, if you also want to create cute scale plumbing!

 

[MossyFroggyLove]

Nice. Thanks to you, I just got a brand new idea in my head. What if i scale down an ordinary 3 foot AIO tank. 1 foot=5cm. I think it would be much easier to maintain. And if I really am able to do that, then i might just scrap this one since the maintainence is quite high for this. But not sure yet.

 

[UncommonSense]

Nice. Thanks to you, I just got a brand new idea in my head. What if i scale down an ordinary 3 foot AIO tank. 1 foot=5cm. I think it would be much easier to maintain. And if I really am able to do that, then i might just scrap this one since the maintainence is quite high for this. But not sure yet.

6:1 scale would make the filtration compartments more viable to construct (physical space constraints) especially if you just silicone it all in vs. solvent welding…

You’d want to use extremely thin acrylic or polycarbonate, given that wall thickness of the material adds up very fast at this scale! (my “scale” 180g would have had 7.2cm thick glass panes if it was scaled up directly 12x from the 6mm glass I used!)

Though, at this scale, it might make more sense to do something more akin to a traditional “closed loop” for filtration… basically using a pump to suck water out of the tank through a wall or bottom, and pull it through a filter of your preference, then push it back into the tank!

 

[MossyFroggyLove]

6:1 scale would make the filtration compartments more viable to construct (physical space constraints) especially if you just silicone it all in vs. solvent welding…

You’d want to use extremely thin acrylic or polycarbonate, given that wall thickness of the material adds up very fast at this scale! (my “scale” 180g would have had 7.2cm thick glass panes if it was scaled up directly 12x from the 6mm glass I used!)

Though, at this scale, it might make more sense to do something more akin to a traditional “closed loop” for filtration… basically using a pump to suck water out of the tank through a wall or bottom, and pull it through a filter of your preference, then push it back into the tank!

Yeah, seems possible. I will start a new thread on that if I'm really doing it

 

[MossyFroggyLove]

Okay, good news for me....bbuuuutt....... i dont know if its good news for you guys... . I have taken down that 250ml reef tank jar. I think i have a much better idea. I will give you guys a clue to what i am planning. I am going to order some acrylic and silicone tonight.