The Nano Vortech is a DIY project by NanoReef.com member thesmallerthebetter. Just when you thought the Vortech MP10 was the smallest Vortech in the world, along comes this interesting DIY project which shrinks the magnetically driven water pump to the same diameter as a quarter. Thesmallerthebetter made this pico vortech as part of the Pico Reef technology challenge on NanoReef.com and as you can see from the image above, the tank is coming along quite nicely. For a ‘tank’ with a volume of about one liter, it’s hard to use anything but a magnetically coupled water pump for water movement to prevent too much heat from being transferred but we hope thesmallerthebetter won’t take too much flack for following the (patented) design of the Vortech water pump to build his DIY project. As you can see, even a pico sized vortech takes up significant space in such a tiny pico reef but there’s really no way around it. Thesmallerthebetter’s entry to the pico reef challenge is still in the planning stages but with a custom pico vortech in tow and what appears to be a small LeColt LED spotlight for illumination, it looks like thesmallerthebetter’s tank will be a strong contender.
Disclaimer: although we are a strong proponent of fair use and DIY culture, technically patent law states one cannot make or sell any item which infringes on a patent. Although we’re no lawyers, this project definitely gets very close to that line.
