Project: Fish n Chips

[Waynerrr]

My case project for the last couple of months, nearly finished...

And a video:

 

[Waynerrr]

Gold * for Monkey Puzzle

Motherboard behind the fish tank. More pics to follow...

 

[Waynerrr]

I can remove the case front by using two paperclips pushed through holes in the top to release the catches. The floppy drive is a fake, it's just the fascia. I left the hole there to check the water level but may cover this as it's a bit bright with the light coming through:

I have cut a window in the chassis to remove the tank more easily when required:

There is a 70mm hole in the top panel with a feeding tube down to the tank - stops food falling on the cathode lights and the condensation tray.

The front panel has four switches control the code cathode lights. There are 2 white strips, one above the tank and one behind which illuminates the motherboard. There is also a blue one on top which is a nice mood light, looks really cool actually with just that on. I also had a black light but having 4 lights drawing from a 12v power supply seemed a bit much and one of the inverters blew - shame because it looked good.

 

[Waynerrr]

wont the water be too warm for the fish.?

The water is heated to 24 degrees (hence the reason I'm not water cooling the PC ). The thermostat will keep the temperature at that level however hot the PC gets.

 

[Waynerrr]

thats sick !! looks so good for a cheap case too

Thanks, the computer was an old work throw-away. Normal colour is beige so I sprayed it Anthracite. Look black I know.

That is pretty damn awesome. Just one thing I'd say, next time you mod something make sure you cut it nicer.

The only thing not cut well is the tubing that lines the case window. As I said this is 95% complete, one of the things left to do is tidy that tubing up. It's a bugger to slice on your own.

I'd be Pi$$ed if I were the fish and I could only swim in 2 dimension But does look very cool. Wonder if I could fit one on the side of my Hoojum cubit3

The tank isn't that thin! Outside measurements are L 330mm x W 105mm x H 220mm, the glass is 5mm think, you do the internal maths.

Thanks for your comments guys. It was great fun building this. I could have made it easy and had a dummy computer but really wanted to see if this would work.

 

[Waynerrr]

Nace fishcase, how much would that set me back if you was to sell it.

People have asked me before if I would sell it. I reckon £400-£500 purely for the effort it's taken to build! The actual amount I have spent is roughly £250-£300 (not including the computer). I wouldn't sell this one but building another wouldn't take me that long now I've built one already.

After the weekend I'll post the full build details, you could always have a go yourself.

 

[Waynerrr]

What are the dimensions of the tank and is it filtered at all?

It does look very nice tho i have to say. Id have maybe stuck neons in there instead of guppies tho

The tank is L 330mm x W 105mm x H 220mm which is roughly 7l, although the water volume is actually 6l. It is filtered, you should be able to see in on the left of the tank. If I make another one I may use an under-gravel filter to allow more space inside. There is also a bubble wall at the back that looks pretty cool and serves to oxygenate the water as well. The pump is a bit noisy so I don't have it on a lot.

I was tempted by the Neon Tetras but they're such an obvious (boring?) choice. I wanted a Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish) but he would kill the Guppies, plus I don't want to overcrowd the tank, it's a pain to keep the ammonia and nitrite at the right levels as it is.

 

[Waynerrr]

Thanks the replies. I've been away over the weekend and only had time to read them now.

The thermostat will only stop the heater heating the water to 24 degrees. The pc will keep on heating it and you will end up with dead fish. Sorry but i am not a fan of these things. The temps will be all over the place when it should be constant. 6L is a ridiculously small amount of water and will not help at all with water stability. The larger volume of water you have the more stable the conditions (temps/nitrite/nitrate etc) will be. 13"x4.5"x8.75" is a joke. If you want to keep fish then go and buy a proper tank.

I appreciate the tank is small, however I did consult the aquarium shop before going ahead. I even took in a 1:1 scale cardboard model of how it would look so they would be sure. I was told I could keep a lot more fish in there but I don't intend to go above 5. According to various stock calculators the tank is big enough for fish this size. I am keeping a close eye on them and they do not seem distressed. I assure you I am a lover of all animals and if I thought this was in any way cruel I would give them a better home.

They are lyretail guppies if i am not mistaken. Tropical fish need a constant temperature of between 23 and 25 degrees although this varies between species. A tank in a computer is going to go way above that. Water is a good conductor of heat which is why watercooling exists. The inside of my case is usually a minimum of 26 degrees and that's with 5 fans. Fish tanks in a pc are a ridiculously bad idea. Probably against the cruelty to animals act as well. It is also widely accepted that a fish tanks should'nt hold less than 10lt of water. Was the tank even cycled?

I will not be using the computer a lot (if at all now). I was going to get rid of my laptop and use this instead, however the spec isn't that great and a step down from what I'm using already.

The water was treated for 10 days before I added fish and correctly cycled. Ammonia is 0 and nitrite levels are 0.25 appoximately. Just about to do another test after this reply actually.

When did you think to do this?

Joked about the idea years ago. When I saw a piece on the Overclocked Orange (and case modding as a whole) I decided to go ahead and see what was required, turned out not a lot so I did it.

Wow that looks really good. Nice work . How are you dealing with the condensation that comes out of the tank though as that could cause a problem? :S

I made a condensation lid that fits over the tank, all fish tanks have them to some degree.

How much would you charge to make me one

I'm not sure I could charge to be honest :s There's the matter of electricity and water being about 5 inches apart. I'll do a full run through as I kept a journal when I was building it.

wow really liking the look of this, did you make the mini fish tank yourself or get it made somewhere?

Local aquarium shop made it for me. In theory it isn't too hard to make yourself but for £22 it was worth getting someone who knew what they were doing to make it.

Also, where does the HDD go? Whenever I've seen it in a case its in the lower front section.

HDD is stood upright next to the motherboard. It's worth mentioning it is on rubber feet to reduce any vibration getting to the fish tank.

 

[Waynerrr]

I am sorry if you don't think this is a good home for these fish. As I said, I was advised that these conditions were more than adequate for the fish in this tank. If I feel that the fish are becoming stressed or the water unmanageable I will re-home them. Also, if someone were to see the tank in person (because photos and videos do not make the actual size clear) and say that it were too small I would also do something about it.

I welcome comments on the project itself but I have taken note of the critique regarding the well-being of the fish and would like to leave that matter there. If the moderators of this forum think this project is in someway morally wrong then I would have no qualms in it being removed.

 

[Waynerrr]

I understand what you are saying but I have spoken to several people in this store. One guy did show some concerns about the size but didn't abject to keeping a small number of hardier fish, but would prefer I kept snails and shrimp etc. Three other guys (including the store owner) do not have any concerns and are also fish keepers themselves, not just regular sales staff. They have given me other sound advise, e.g. not keeping a Betta male with the guppies as he'll most likely kill them because of the flared tail fins.

The store in question is also one of the biggest in Europe, not a small pet shop. http://www.thegoldfishbowl.co.uk/index.php?pg=149


Stocking density calculator from Practical Fishkeeping website
We would recommend keeping up to 2"/5cm of small to medium-sized fish in your system. However, this requires care and thought for the type of fish being stocked.

 

[Waynerrr]

I'm not going to use the computer, I will continue to use my laptop. Also, I am returning the guppies tomorrow afternoon and getting some white clouds and shrimp.

 

[Waynerrr]

Watch out for the shrimp, they can be a bit nippy - I had one who had a nasty habit of sitting on bogwood and waiting for neons to swim past. He'd grab them with one pincer and nip their fins wih the other.

Sounds cool - nature at work They're only the little ones. I would love some of the bigger ones, dancing or cleaning shrimp for example but again the tank size is an issue. Apparently guppies don't notice when they're getting eaten... Careless.

 

[Waynerrr]

My apologies if I have read this incorrectly but you should always cycle a tank. If you don't it can be very cruel since high levels (or any level in fact) of nitrite (not necessarily nitrate) can and will damage / kill the fish.

I'm fairly sure Matutu was taking the p... But you're right, always needs doing. When I replace the fish this week I will be cycling the water again.

Ha, beat your edit

 

[Waynerrr]

I am learning so much about fish here.

lol, welcome to the fish forums

Here's the tank inside the modified chassis. This window was cut to allow the tank to be removed more easily for cleaning a restocking etc.

You can see the motherboard with the low profile fan, barely sits any higher than the RAM. I can't recall the user's name who gave me a list of fans to check, I'll look them up and give kudos when I write up the report.

 

[Waynerrr]

Thought I would just update this.

I decided to try and use the computer but found after a couple of hours the water temperature would creep up to 80c/30f (from about 75c/26f) - not outside the comfort range for a Betta (which I have in there now) but enough to cause concern. I have been experimenting with different fan arrangements but space (and airflow) is obviously limited. I have had great fun with this tank/case since building it but it will most likely become a display piece. I can power the fan off the spare 12v point on the CC inverter to give it the effect of working.

Anyway, I am going to build another one! I have recently been experimenting with 'nano' tanks. This is basically a well planted small tank with very small (nano) fish and invertebrates. A different system for lighting is required, however because I don't intend this to be a working computer I can get rid of the PSU and IDE drives (just leaving the fascias), leaving room for a proper lamp. Watch this space

Some final pics: