nano build (easy DIY canopy)

surfn · Oct 30, 2006

just wanted to share some pics of a nano i built for my girlfriend about a year and a half ago.

the tank was a standard 15g AGA tank, w/ a 10g sump. it had a 175w SE light run on a magnetic ballast (XM 20k).

the canopy was my best effort so far at the time, as it cost under $20. (not including any new tools i needed to get). it was built from hand, using a hand saw and a power drill.

surfn · Oct 30, 2006

now, i had to think of a way to enclose the sides of the canopy so the fish couldn't jump out, but something that still allowed ample air exchange over the top of the water with any ambient air in the room. but i didnt want to add fans either, b/c of the small water volume of being a nano I wanted to limit evaporation to a minimum.

what i ended up doing, i got that rubber mush stuff that you can buy at walmart to line the inside of your kitchen cabinets. and i tacked those up over the sides. it blocked most of the light to prevent glare when at eye level with the light, but still allowed plenty of air exchange with the outside.

this is looking at the canopy from the back. i used that stuff to come up about half way to keep fish from jumping out, and keep the light off of the back wall of the apartment. also, the opening in the top allowed the reflector and the wiring from the SE mogul to hang out the back a bit.

surfn · Oct 30, 2006

here was the tank after it was completed. i built the overflow from a sheet of black acrylic (pretty good for my first attempt), this nano was also my first attempt at drilling a glass tank w/ diamond bits on my dremel. everything worked out great.

this tank was home to alot of zoas, a couple digi's, a small skunk cleaner shrimp, a small emerald crab, a small queen conch, lots of snails, and a black ORA clownfish for about a year.

sadly, this tank is no longer up and running anymore. we cracked the tank while moving it to our new apartment this past august. i knew i should have taken out the plumbing that was attached to the bulk head just in case it got "bumped". i noticed a small leak coming from the tank when we filled it back up. i scraped the paint off the back and found a crack that extended all the way across the tank coming from the bulkhead. DOH!

everything survived and is doing well in my zoa only tank. so my girlfriend decided it was best that i kept up with the running of the tanks, while she just looks at them and comments on what we (she) wants in the tanks.

i still have the canopy, and dont plan to use it anymore since it won't fit on a 30g cube. the canopy will fit on any tank that has a 24"x12" footprint (i.e. 15g, 20g-high AGA tanks). so if you want it let me know. i will sell it cheap. its kinda big, so i dont know about shipping, but we can look into it. its just collecting dust in my closet now.