kate2118 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 I decided to start a pico about a month ago after following El Fab over the past 5 months. I ordered a 3gal Picotope from Dr. Foster & Smith on Thursday night and it was due to arrive the following Tuesday. It's only Saturday morning, not even 2 days later and look what arrived at my front door! After I filled it with water to leak test it i brought it downstairs into my garage so i could paint the back: I coated it a few times so it will be a little while before its dry enough to set everything up. For those of you that don't follow my 25gal thread I suppose I should list my set-up: 3gal Picotope AC70 Fuge Mod 50w Stealth Heater Rio 50 Powerhead StevieT's Underwater 10W Double Light DIY Auto Top-Off Digital Thermometer Nimble Super 5 lb. CaribSea Live Sand I'm off to the LFS to get some live rock... I'll post more pics when I get back! Link to comment
danimal1211 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Nice start Kate! I really like the 25 gallon as well. What are your stocking plans? Link to comment
gena Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 hi kate...exciting, congrats! i would like to get one of these at some point so i will be following along with great interest i too get my inspiration from el fab! Link to comment
kate2118 Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 Nice start Kate! I really like the 25 gallon as well. What are your stocking plans? My plans include LPS (GSP, Rics, Shrooms, Zoos, Blue Cloves, etc.) and a Yellow Clown Goby. This may change down the road but for now that's my plan! I'm off to aquascape! Pics to follow! Link to comment
kate2118 Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 So here's my tank's new home: And here's what's going in the tank: I picked up a little over 5 lbs. of live rock at my LFS. After fiddling with it for awhile this is what I came up with: From the Top: I left a nice sized open sand bed because i know i want to fill it with Rics and what not... Then I added the sand: And just for kicks I threw the light on there for now: It will take a few hours to clear up. I'll post more photos when there's actually something to see. Link to comment
addicted2reefer Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Awesome job Kate. Another beautiful PICO is born. Thats cooler than a polar bears toenails... Welcome to the best addiction. And that is a hot bonsai tree ! ! Link to comment
bruce922 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Nice job Kate. Make sure you keep us updated with pics. I like that set-up and have actually considered getting one myself. Have fun stocking it. Bruce Link to comment
kate2118 Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 It's getting there... I'm hoping to get a jump start on my cycle. In addition to the fully cured live rock and the live sand, i filled the tank with water from my 90g that's been up for 1 1/2 yrs. I'll start testing tomorrow to see where I'm at. There won't be much to see over the next couple of weeks so I probably won't post any updates until I actually have one. As soon as my cycle ends I'll fill you all in with my next move. Thanks for following along! Stay tuned! Link to comment
kate2118 Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 man.... i'm so tempted to put stuff in this thing. I MUST RESIST! Link to comment
nanoty Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 Meh, what's the worst that could happen? Link to comment
kate2118 Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 Meh, what's the worst that could happen? you're supposed to talk me out of it! Link to comment
el fabuloso Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I see a fabulous pico in the making. Link to comment
kate2118 Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 I see a fabulous pico in the making. why thank you! Link to comment
addicted2reefer Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 man.... i'm so tempted to put stuff in this thing. I MUST RESIST! HAHAA yes we all felt that before. patience remember good things come to those that wait. its tempting , I am in the same spot as you, waiting to make sure water is top of the line before adding anything. must be why someone made this site, to keep your mind off it and help you resist... Your pico is looking great ! Link to comment
ajmckay Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 Do you know how long the rock was cured for? As long as you didn't leave the rock out of water for too long you should be good to start adding things really soon. Of course there will be some adjustments needed to your bio-load so you may or may not see a small peak in ammonia, but honestly you're probably good to go... Since your rock was cured your tank won't "cycle" in a traditional sense since the bacteria are already there... You just have to wait for the bacteria to grow/die off to adjust to your current bio-load. Add a couple snails or something to slowly increase the bio-load. Then just be really careful to add things slowly maybe 1 or 2 things per week at most. Looks good I hope you have a lot of success with it! Link to comment
kate2118 Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 i know i won't see any ammonia with this set-up. i went through the same thing with my 25g. i still want to wait at least a week or two before i add anything. i grabbed a small feather duster that was in my 90g and threw him in. i might pick up a CUC this weekend depending on what they have in stock. i know that everyone always talks about the evap on such small tanks but i never realized how much it would be. i haven't worked out all the details of my ATO so i have to top off my hand. i should probably get that figured out this weekend... i'll keep you posted! Link to comment
ajmckay Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Cool.... Looking forward to it! Link to comment
millerman Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Sweet! I'm so tempted to try a pico now. Maybe when my corals outgrow my tank. Definitely following this thread. Congrats! Link to comment
kate2118 Posted April 19, 2009 Author Share Posted April 19, 2009 Ok guys, here we go! I just scored an awesome deal on a 12" Current USA 36W Dual Satellite Fixture. To celebrate i ordered an awesome Yuma and some Blue Cloves! I also ordered some nassarius snails since my LFS doesn't carry them regularly. Should be here Monday or Tuesday... I'll post pics! Link to comment
eddiecorrea Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Very cool. Looks great. I love the Mac in the first pic lol. Im a Mac guy. Link to comment
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