Has anyone ever used a mirror to build a tank?

[chrisfraser05]

I am planning a small breeding system for my impending arrivals of Bergia nudis and was going to go and buy a sheet of glass.

The tank is going to be reasonably small and shallow but with a few small chambers for ease of breeding/feeding and will have a large end chamber for growing cheato.

I have a few old mirrors in the garage which have no frame, the are purely mirror glass. I was considdering using them to make the tank instead of buying glass.

I thought this might help the light reflect in the cheato chamber and be something different.

Anyone ever tried it or think of any real problems?

[Lady Hobbs]

Mirror glass breaks far easier than tank glass. That would be my concern as well as stressed out fish seeing themselves.

[chrisfraser05]

It's going to be soley for breeding bergia nudi branches so the stress thing isn't an issue.

I see your point about the fragility. I may have to rethink.

The system will be a series of chambers no bigger than 6 inches each with the exception of the last which would be 12 inches square for growing cheato.

I might just use normal glass and line the cheato area with mirror glass.

[Cliff]

Chris, you have got me really curious about this set-up

Can I talk you into starting a journal ???

[MandyK]

Oh yes, journal! And I'm with Hobbs on this. If you still wanted the look, you could build a reg tank, and then incorporate the mirror onto say, the back. Of course your background would then be the reflection of the room, but it might be cool.

[Lady10Godiva]

I know this is supposed to be about saving money, but you could use some shiny mylar on the onside of your build to help reflect the light back into your setup.

[chrisfraser05]

I like how this idea has sparked interest :)

I will start a journal Cliff.

I have sorted out a supply of glass to make my small breeding units now for the nudis BUT I have convinced myself that I want to use the mirrors aswell so the last chamber, the area where my cheato is going will be surrounded in mirror to reflect the light and maximise growth of the said algae.

Live rock is a no no in this system for fear of introducing copepods or amphipod which may eat the nudis so it looks like I will have to use a combination of Bio balls and cheato.

My aim with this is to grow my 6 nudi branches into a decent sized population which I can then release into my reef and clear it of Aiptasia, then I intend to TRY to keep a sustained population of them in the garage for long enough to know my reef tank is clear of them for good.

If all goes well, maybe, just maybe I can keep going and turn it into a little buisness as Nudibranches are VERY difficult to purchase in the UK.

You never know how it will pan out!

[Cliff]

Could you add dry rock and let it become live ?

If you were to take some dry rock, scrub it but good, and soak out the nitrates it in dechlorinated fresh water, I would think the risks of introducing pods would be minimal.

If this works out, I would suggest you consider velvet nudibranches as well. They are flat worm eating machines and always hard to find. People are always looking for them, a least over here.

[chrisfraser05]

I had considered that but I'm not 100% sure. Certainly a piece of really porous dead rock might be worth adding.

RE the velvet nudis, I've not heard of that many people here having the problem, although I know some do.
I'm not going into this with a buisness head on but if it takes off it might be a small sideline worth looking into.

[GuppyAteMyDog]

i made a 2ft x 2ft x 1.5ft tank with old window panes and a mirror , it is holding well even though the glass of the windows and mirror were of different thickness