Mr. Aqua 12g Bookshelf Mod

Aros

Well-Known Member
BRS Member
First off, I wanna say this is an awesome tank for anyone who wants a nano and room to scape. The dimensions are 35.4 long 8.3 high and 9.4 from front to back. I bought this tank a few years ago to be a planted aquarium. First thing I did was drill two holes to directly attach a canister filter an inline heater. For me, keeping the tank clean of equipment is a very high priority.

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It has gone through many changes and this was right around the time I broke it down. A high tech planted tank is actually a lot more maintanance than a saltwater tank. I did 3 water changes a week and pruned twice a week. It eventually became too much work and I focused on my saltwater tank instead.

Fast forward a few months and I’ve got the itch to use the tank again. I was thinking just softies and a pair of clowns. I plugged the bulkheads and wanted to keep it really simple with just a heater, powerhead, power filter and the same light I had for the planted aquarium.

62f18b26b7123e72dbe3af559e734092.jpg


Filled it up and after about 2 days of looking at it of course I wanted to change it. I didn’t like seeing the equipment so I made plans to build in a compartment on the right side like a peninsula tank to hide the equipment and slide in a return pump. Also ended up getting a cheap led fixture on eBay that’s a ton brighter and a lot more blue.

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It’s the first time I’ve made anything like this but it’s actually pretty easy. I used a 12x12 piece of 1/2in black acrylic to make the wall and two baffles. It cuts very easy on a table saw with a good blade. For the slits in the overflow I drilled 4 1/4in holes and then used a router to get the lines. The hardest part is finding the return nozzle assembly. I was hoping I could buy it from Innovative Marine but they don’t sell the entire package. Just the nozzle and the elbow. Not the coupling that holds the two together. I was able to find an assembly on amazon. It’s smaller than I want but it works.

I upgraded the return pump from a stock IM 30L Nuvo to a jebao 1200 DC pump and it fits perfectly.

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Filled it up today and added an acclimation box with some Caulerpa and a piece of Marine Pure from my established 30 gallon.

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I also put in a frag with green plays as a water quality indicator. If this thing dies I know I did something terribly wrong lol.

It’s been a really fun small build and I’ve got something very special going in there soon.


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Nice looking mods! I am curious why you didn’t make the peninsula baffles and return to cover the bulkheads?

Nice clean handy work and I like the dimensions. Unique!


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The bulkheads would have interfered with the baffles and I didn’t feel like shaping the baffles. One of these days I might replace those bulkheads with a siliconed piece of glass.


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Cool. I had looked at that nifty bookshelf tank as the dimensions are quite interesting. I enjoy your canary palies.
 
Update!

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Got an awesome pair of Lightning Maroons in today and some random corals and rock from a friend breaking down his tank. A very simple but satisfying tank. Enjoy


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What's that light fixture that you're using? I saw you said it was an eBay one. Just wondering if you had any more info on them


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I think this is the one you are looking for! Still running.
 

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No, just the kids wall art..... over the years had a couple crashes, few fish jumped (hence cover), rock anemones even spawned, awesome tank. Ironically I was just thinking about upgrading to a larger size, if I do I'll let you know and send the tank back home.
 
No, just the kids wall art..... over the years had a couple crashes, few fish jumped (hence cover), rock anemones even spawned, awesome tank. Ironically I was just thinking about upgrading to a larger size, if I do I'll let you know and send the tank back home.
lol yeah please just let me know
 
First off, I wanna say this is an awesome tank for anyone who wants a nano and room to scape. The dimensions are 35.4 long 8.3 high and 9.4 from front to back. I bought this tank a few years ago to be a planted aquarium. First thing I did was drill two holes to directly attach a canister filter an inline heater. For me, keeping the tank clean of equipment is a very high priority.

6e40d52089a969c8c4d16929a7b8dd83.jpg


It has gone through many changes and this was right around the time I broke it down. A high tech planted tank is actually a lot more maintanance than a saltwater tank. I did 3 water changes a week and pruned twice a week. It eventually became too much work and I focused on my saltwater tank instead.

Fast forward a few months and I’ve got the itch to use the tank again. I was thinking just softies and a pair of clowns. I plugged the bulkheads and wanted to keep it really simple with just a heater, powerhead, power filter and the same light I had for the planted aquarium.

62f18b26b7123e72dbe3af559e734092.jpg


Filled it up and after about 2 days of looking at it of course I wanted to change it. I didn’t like seeing the equipment so I made plans to build in a compartment on the right side like a peninsula tank to hide the equipment and slide in a return pump. Also ended up getting a cheap led fixture on eBay that’s a ton brighter and a lot more blue.

1e7c4e6ab3df2dd7d7df6ec2c7af9580.jpg
63862e0c575656db9ea6ee95321492b5.jpg


It’s the first time I’ve made anything like this but it’s actually pretty easy. I used a 12x12 piece of 1/2in black acrylic to make the wall and two baffles. It cuts very easy on a table saw with a good blade. For the slits in the overflow I drilled 4 1/4in holes and then used a router to get the lines. The hardest part is finding the return nozzle assembly. I was hoping I could buy it from Innovative Marine but they don’t sell the entire package. Just the nozzle and the elbow. Not the coupling that holds the two together. I was able to find an assembly on amazon. It’s smaller than I want but it works.

I upgraded the return pump from a stock IM 30L Nuvo to a jebao 1200 DC pump and it fits perfectly.

dd651f2bd85e53a2f88d7ed8ad95b246.jpg
58b395747407d0b9f45bb5c5ba852cee.jpg
e624b0bad35d19effe57386c171c84f4.jpg


Filled it up today and added an acclimation box with some Caulerpa and a piece of Marine Pure from my established 30 gallon.

cdcc81594875cb018d0f1ddcacc84cdb.jpg
b49237cfb9f6d4bbe0b78b029d6f02a6.jpg


I also put in a frag with green plays as a water quality indicator. If this thing dies I know I did something terribly wrong lol.

It’s been a really fun small build and I’ve got something very special going in there soon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Where can I get one of these It’s beautiful
 
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