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Cultivated Reef

Bella's 3g Pico


coachfraley

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coachfraley

Here is my daughter Isabella's 2.5g minibow. She was keeping a beta in it for a couple of years. The old guy croaked, so I converted it to a picoreef.

Equipment and such:
AC30 (sponge and pura pad for now)
Innovative Marine Skkye Light Utility LED light 6 watt
Aqueon 50watt heater
3-4lbs. liverock
4lbs. sand

Livestock:
Yellow Tailed Damsel
Zoas
Maxi-Mini Nem

Top Shot:
picoangle.jpg

Maxi-Mini (still moving around, in the shade for now):
maximini.jpg

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coachfraley

There is no fish yet, that is what I was planning...

 

Didn't even check the stocking guide (which I usually do). Guess I will have to switch to a goby.

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devilsadvocate
There is no fish yet, that is what I was planning...

ah. i misread. well i wouldn't get that fish. maybe a yellow clown goby, but they can be a little tricky to care for, but not too hard.

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coachfraley

I have a citron in my 40g that is kicking ass, nice and fat. Maybe I'll catch him and throw him in the pico. Getting the gobies to eat at the beginning can be a major pain in the ass.

 

Blenny just seemed like a good fit because he could nibble on algae too, but I should have checked the size requirement.

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devilsadvocate
I have a citron in my 40g that is kicking ass, nice and fat. Maybe I'll catch him and throw him in the pico. Getting the gobies to eat at the beginning can be a major pain in the ass.

 

Blenny just seemed like a good fit because he could nibble on algae too, but I should have checked the size requirement.

thats a pretty good idea.

i would stay away from blennies under like 7-10 gallons.

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As far as fish go I recommend-

 

2 Spot Goby (only 1.5 inches)

 

High Fin Banded Goby (2 inches)

 

Neon Goby (2 inches)

 

GL with the tank :D

 

-Wizzy :happy:

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coachfraley

Thanks for the comments and input. I'll check those fish out and see which one my daughter likes. I had talked her into the tailspot, so now I have to undo that work :(

 

Very pleased with the light so far. Color is great (I got the 14k), and the corals seem happy.

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Thanks for the comments and input. I'll check those fish out and see which one my daughter likes. I had talked her into the tailspot, so now I have to undo that work :(

 

Very pleased with the light so far. Color is great (I got the 14k), and the corals seem happy.

 

IMO, a Tailspot Blenny would be fine in your tank.

 

Just get a small one and that way it will grow more slowly in your tank (since your tank is small).

 

Someday you may have to take it back to the store (if it looks unhappy) but you can try it and see what happens.

 

HTH- Wizzy :happy:

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coachfraley
IMO, a Tailspot Blenny would be fine in your tank.

 

Just get a small one and that way it will grow more slowly in your tank (since your tank is small).

 

Someday you may have to take it back to the store (if it looks unhappy) but you can try it and see what happens.

 

HTH- Wizzy :happy:

 

Thanks for offering your opinion wizzy. I think it is interesting how ideas on stocking limits can change. I remember when I first got into the hobby, some people were against putting o. Clowns in a 12gallon...now it is fairly routine to see people putting them in tanks under 5g.

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Thanks for offering your opinion wizzy. I think it is interesting how ideas on stocking limits can change. I remember when I first got into the hobby, some people were against putting o. Clowns in a 12gallon...now it is fairly routine to see people putting them in tanks under 5g.

 

I think a lot of that is because filtration, techniques, etc have improved and now that water quality isn't an issue it is simply up to the aquarist to decide whether the fish are going to be happy in such a small space.

 

-Wizzy :happy:

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  • 1 month later...
coachfraley

So I haven't updated in a while, but my daughters tank is still up and running strong. Her 2.5 minibow was starting to look kind of shabby though (too many scratches to really see what was happening in the tank), so I picked up a new rimless 3g Mr. Aqua tank from Marine Depot. Tank looks WAY better than the old minibow, and you can really see all of the inhabitants now. My old AC50 crapped out, so I also changed out the filter and went with an AC30 this time. Still running a sponge and a pura pad. Changing a gallon of water a week.

 

I currently have 2 types of zoas, 1 type of paly, a frogspawn, and a maxi-mini nem in the tank. The critters are 4 hermits and a yellow tailed damsel. Here is the FTS:

 

3gfts01.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Tank is running great. I am actually getting better zoa growth in this tank than I am in my 40g system. Sometimes KISS really does work. I'm still just running a sponge and a pura pad in the AC30. I do a 1g water change every week, which really keeps everything clean. I will probably add some more zoas from my 40g soon.

 

3gfts02.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

Tank has been going strong for 5 months now. I've been surprised how well it is doing considering how minimalist the setup is. I am still just running a sponge and a pura pad for filtration. No extra flow, no HOB fuge. I've been doing a .5g weekly water change and rinsing the stock AC30 sponge. Change the pura pad once a month...thats it!

 

FTS:

3gfts03.jpg

 

3gangled01.jpg

 

3gzoas.jpg

 

meangreens.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well, I had some issues with my light. The suction cup on the utility light kept unsticking, and the light kept falling into my tank. Luckily it never shorted out! So I looked around online, and I decided to give the Beamworks 6x3watt LED fixture a try (aquatraders.com). The light seems to be brighter than the utility light, and it was basically half the price. Mounting bracket is way more sturdy. Here are some pics:

 

Light:

beamworks.jpg

 

FTS:

3gfts04.jpg

 

greenpalys.jpg

 

eagleeyes.jpg

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