Rea Rea's Tiny Treasure (Deskmate 4.8gal)

[Admonition]

Full Tank Shot

08/11/23

​

Aquarium Specs
Tank: Eshopps Deskmate 4.8
Stand: Wood cabinet in living room
Sand: 1.5lbs of Carib-Sea Special Grade Reef Sand
Rock: 3lbs of dry rock
Lighting: Innovative Marine Skkye Light (taken from my old Nuvo 16 from years ago)
Heater: Jager 25 Watt
Filtration: Stock filter sock
Salt Mix: Tropic Marine Pro-Reef Salt

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


So when the wife says please "buy me a small tank for my desk", you just have to oblige right?

I've had my eye on the Eshopps Deskmate for a little bit now and decided to take the plunge after my wife asked for a tiny tank. I have a lot of left over items and equipment from my current tank (IM Nuvo Fusion 40), so I got to work on picking through my parts bin and making this one happen. I picked up the tank, a Jager heater, and a bottle of Dr. Tim's One and Only from Bulk Reef Supply. The sand I already had from my previous build, so I went ahead and washed about 3lbs of it (the wife wanted very minimal sand) and only ended up using about half of what I washed. The rock was a single piece of Reef Saver's Foundation I had left over, which I ended up splitting into two halves to make the two 'foundational' pieces of the rock structure. Then I took some leftover dry rock I had, and using the thin superglue and rockdust method to fuse the pieces together, I made the rock sculpture you see before you. I had a lot of fun making the structure, which only takes up about half the height of the tank itself.

Once I got my delivery from BRS I leak tested the tank (spoiler, it passed =P), and dropped everything inside. I'm running the tank with its stock filter sock and pump for now, although I see a lot of people upgrade the pump. So far I do not have any issues with it (and it'll be a bit before I try and add softies) so I'll leave it be. I'm not sure how I feel about the filter sock though, it doesn't actually seat fully in the bracket because of the water 'pull'. I may try 3D printing a filter cup or just ordering one from Kraken Reef and seeing how that goes. Speaking of Kraken Reef, I love the lid of theirs I have for my 40gallon tank, so I went ahead and grabbed one of their lids for this little tank as well and it fit perfect!

As far as changes I've made from the stock equipment, I went ahead and changed out the light. The stock light was fine and I know some people have had no issues growing softies with it, but I had two leftover Innovative Marine Skyye Lights from my IM Nuvo 16 from yeeeeeears ago and decided to slap that bugger on there. It surprisingly fit without issue and actually came to rest directly over the center of the tank (lucky me). Additionally I added that Jager heater I mentioned earlier, however sadly the one I ordered was a dude and did not function. Luckily BRS's customer service is awesome and they shipped me out a replacement that should be here soon! As soon as I get the heater up and running (trying my luck with an Inkbird heater controller too), then I'll move forward on cycling the tank with Dr. Tim's and ammonia.

I think my potential wish list of equipment will be some sort of filter cup with floss instead of the sock (unless I can get the thing to seat correctly), an Auto Top-off (maybe a Tunze nano?), and an upgraded pump if I find the need.

As far as the plan for this tank, the idea is one (maybe two) small nano sized fish, inverts/snails, and a softies across the rocks. I'm definitely open to suggestions for fish if anyone has suggestions given the small size of this tank.

Anywho, here's to hoping for success!

 

[blaxsun]

Some small seahorses or pipefish would be cool in that.

 

[Lavey29]

Some small seahorses or pipefish would be cool in that.

Or a hippo tang according to some on here.

 

[blaxsun]

Or a hippo tang according to some on here.

Or 3... lol.

 

[Admonition]

Some small seahorses or pipefish would be cool in that.

I’ll have to look into the pipefish, never thought of those and have no knowledge. Thanks for the suggestion

 

[Admonition]

Or a hippo tang according to some on here.

Or 3... lol.

So ya’ll are saying my plans for a school of yellow tangs is a no go? lol

 

[blaxsun]

I’ll have to look into the pipefish, never thought of those and have no knowledge. Thanks for the suggestion

Pipefish and seahorses can go together (similar requirements with low flow/feeding).

 

[blaxsun]

So ya’ll are saying my plans for a school of yellow tangs is a no go? lol

You run afoul of the Tang Police at your own peril!

 

[Lavey29]

So ya’ll are saying my plans for a school of yellow tangs is a no go? lol

It is a cool looking little nano and I like the screen top you have for it which is a smart addition.

 

[Admonition]

It is a cool looking little nano and I like the screen top you have for it which is a smart addition.

Thanks! I definitely wanted a top for this tank, but it doesn’t come with one. So I ordered this lid from Kraken Reef and I love the way it looks

 

[Admonition]

So dumb question? But I have never had an acrylic tank before and I was wondering if I should be worried about running a heater close to the acrylic walls? I currently have my Jager heater near the rear wall (due to the suction cup mount) and about half an inch off the bottom. Is this an actual concern or am I over thinking it?

 

[Admonition]

So the replacement heater from BRS arrived and I let it sit within the tank to get acclimated before officially turning it on. Then I plugged that sucker in and let it rip. After a few hours it finally turned off at 82 degrees (confirmed across two glass thermometers and a digital probe). So I went ahead and recalibrated the heater to 82 degrees and then turned it back down to 79 degrees. Here's to hoping that it keeps steady at this temperature and all it needed was a simple calibration out of the box. Assuming that goes well, I'll setup the InkBird I grabbed from Amazon tomorrow as extra redundancy as the glass thermometers will not be a permanent fixture. Aaaaand once I can get the temperature stable, I'll toss in the Dr. Tim's and ammonia and finally start the cycle.

 

[Admonition]

So this weeks update brings new things. Looks like my heater is off by a degree from what the dial is pointed to (and I can’t calibrate it further). But that’s okay, because it is keeping the temperature spot on at 79 degrees so I won’t be messing with it any further. I have not set up the InkBird yet but the goal is to have it up this weekend. With the temperature stable I went ahead and added the Dr. Tims and some ammonia, so bring on the cycle!

I also decided to pickup an ATO. I’ve been having to add about a cup of top-off water twice a day to keep up with evaporation. It’s not terrible but I wanted a way to make sure I never missed a top-off, not to mention I’ll need a solution when we eventually go on vacation. I debated between the Tunze nano as I’ve had their full-size for years and love it, and the ReefBreeders Prism. I ultimately got the Tunze Nano and hooked it up tonight. It was very simple to setup and surprisingly fits absolutely perfect in the return chamber. I’ll put some pictures below in case anyone else is debating for themselves and are curious about the fit.