Nizzmo's 2012 Nano contest Entry
 

I thought I would try something truly unique with my build, because I'm really new to the hobby and don't have much skills yet haha... I found my old gumball machine from when I was a kid, and I have converted it into a 2-4 gallon nano aquarium.

There are some major challenges I'll have to overcome to make this a success. Firstly, the top of the gumball machine is aluminum. This means I'll need to coat it several times with an acrylic paint/sealer so it doesn't touch my water. Secondly, the tank is SUPER small. My stocking choices will be very limited but this also leaves open a lot of cool inhabitants that people neglect because of their tiny size. Lastly, in order to make the tank look sleek and professional looking I'll need to find a way to hide all the wires and power bar ( I'm thinking inside the gumball mechanism )

I've decided on Current-USA Trulumen LED lights for my tank

http://www.current-usa.com/aquarium-...s/lunar-lights

These LED's have a very small profile and are inexpensive ( $36 shipped to mailbox in the US) The LED's will be glued to the inside of the top and the cords will be snaked into the machine somehow :lol:

For water movement I have a couple really small in-tank filters that fit perfectly in the tank. They should turn over the water more than enough times.

For this build to work, I'll need to carefully watch water parameters, do water changes often and not go on vacation for 6 months >_<.

Anyways, will update with pictures when I remember.... Thanks for reading.

Lmfao - Good Idea on the gumball machine, is it made out of acrylic or glass ?

Acrylic. I had to put a piece in the bottom to seal it, but she holds water!

sounds like an interesting idea im cant wait to see it:)



edit** changed the title to nizzmo's 2012 nano contest entry so everyones builds have the same header:)

Really a gum ball machine..very unique..when you gunna up load pics of this build

Great idea, can't wait to see pic's!

This is going to be a very interesting build. I can't wait to see how you execute this.

**** Update! The LED lights were purchased today and should arrive in 3-5 business days. 1 set of white, and 1 set of blue + transformer.

Stocklist :

1 Sexy Shrimp

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...35&pcatid=1135

1 Halloween Crab

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...39&pcatid=1639

1-2 Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit Crab

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...04&pcatid=2604

1 Clown Goby

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...41&pcatid=1441

OR

1 Ocellaris Clown Fish

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...755&pcatid=755

Corals :

Mainly Zoas and mushrooms. Looking to cover the rock in carpet like coral.

a post has been made in all the contest forumns regarding contest rules via the timeline, everyone should read this post as there seems to be some confusion.