Polymate3D
Active Member
Hello and thanks for checking my next Pico build!
The intial posts like before will cover the design side, and then it will progress into the running of the tank.
The focus is to improve Pico reef aquariums by making them easier and more cost effective.
At the heart of the build is this custom made board. It deals with the heating, pump and lighting. Future designs add cooling but that will be the focus of the next one once we have established this works even better than in the 0.7L Test.
It sits in the base with the 1.7L IKEA jar placed on top where it fits snuggly. The heatsink is capable of generating up to 4W of heating which will be enough for this size aquarium. Later builds will focus on pushing this up to 7/8W for a 1 gallon or larger build.
The board powers everything using a standard 5V, 2.1A USB charging plug that smartphones and tablets have now used for years. Cheap and cheerful!
There are 2 switches. 1 either side. The left one enables a Pump override which delivers 100% power, which is very aggressive but would help stir up detritus before a water change. This is exactly why it is switch operated.
The right one turns the LED light ON or OFF. This covers 2 LED's, although this build is looking to originally run a single LED.
The LED in question is a 20,000K cold white LED with a peak at 450nm. I will be using my Seneye Reef to capture data before corals go into the aquarium.
The failure point of the original 0.7L build was my little one pulling the thermistor out which was taped to the back of the aquarium. The new one replaces the thin wired, resin bead thermistor with a thick wire, glass bead design which is also housed in its on housing. The wires cannot be pulled out.
This will then make direct contact with the aquarium on the back with thermal tape.
I still need to fit the pump and the LED into the lid, but here is an idea of what this Pico aquarium will look like:
NO cables go into the aquarium, which allows a tight sealing lid to be fitted, preventing big salinity swings.
Any questions / feedback, feel free to fire away. This is a ongoing development and I am using the hands on personal experience to shape the board, pump etc.
The next post will likely focus on the tweaks to my pump design and what I am looking to add to it.
- Paul
The intial posts like before will cover the design side, and then it will progress into the running of the tank.
The focus is to improve Pico reef aquariums by making them easier and more cost effective.
At the heart of the build is this custom made board. It deals with the heating, pump and lighting. Future designs add cooling but that will be the focus of the next one once we have established this works even better than in the 0.7L Test.
It sits in the base with the 1.7L IKEA jar placed on top where it fits snuggly. The heatsink is capable of generating up to 4W of heating which will be enough for this size aquarium. Later builds will focus on pushing this up to 7/8W for a 1 gallon or larger build.
The board powers everything using a standard 5V, 2.1A USB charging plug that smartphones and tablets have now used for years. Cheap and cheerful!
There are 2 switches. 1 either side. The left one enables a Pump override which delivers 100% power, which is very aggressive but would help stir up detritus before a water change. This is exactly why it is switch operated.
The right one turns the LED light ON or OFF. This covers 2 LED's, although this build is looking to originally run a single LED.
The LED in question is a 20,000K cold white LED with a peak at 450nm. I will be using my Seneye Reef to capture data before corals go into the aquarium.
The failure point of the original 0.7L build was my little one pulling the thermistor out which was taped to the back of the aquarium. The new one replaces the thin wired, resin bead thermistor with a thick wire, glass bead design which is also housed in its on housing. The wires cannot be pulled out.
This will then make direct contact with the aquarium on the back with thermal tape.
I still need to fit the pump and the LED into the lid, but here is an idea of what this Pico aquarium will look like:
NO cables go into the aquarium, which allows a tight sealing lid to be fitted, preventing big salinity swings.
Any questions / feedback, feel free to fire away. This is a ongoing development and I am using the hands on personal experience to shape the board, pump etc.
The next post will likely focus on the tweaks to my pump design and what I am looking to add to it.
- Paul
