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Official NOOB.. starting 2 gal pico...


Steeltowndubber

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Steeltowndubber

HI All,

 

 

 

Well I've finally set up my first ever salt water aquarium... I've had various sizes of freshwater setups for the past 20 years or so...

 

So here are the details and some pics...

 

2 gal tank with HOB power filter... using some live rock rubble in the HOB... black and white sand, IO salt, 3 lbs of live rock in the tank... with a 9 watt PC clip on light...

 

I'm planning for some blue legged hermits, a few snails, and perhaps a skunk shrimp...

 

I set it up yesterday (Dec 30, 2005) and i've already seen one pod and some other thing that I have no idea what it was...

 

Water details...

SG 1.022

Ammonia 0.25

Nitrites 0

Nitrates 0

PH 8.0

 

 

 

And the pics... sorry for the bad quality of pics... still learning how to use the new digital camera....

 

IMG_0133.jpg

 

IMG_0134.jpg

 

IMG_0144.jpg

 

IMG_0138.jpg

 

IMG_0143.jpg

 

IMG_0147.jpg

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Steeltowndubber

jfish - yes, my GF got it from Petcetera for Christmas for me... I need to silence the motor on th HOB though... it is noisey as hell... If i can't get it to quiet down a bit them I'll be upgrading to a AC20, which would also give some more flow...

 

I was given a suggestion of a Neon Goby for this little tank..., any thoughts on that? I'm satisfied with only having a few hermits, snails and perhaps a cleaner shrimp in it if the addition of a small fish would be too much of a bioload...

 

I would only like to keep some zoo's for coral...

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try a clown goby (yellow, green, black, coral, there all the same) or even a catalina goby if your temp is 76 or lower. i have the same filter on a 2 gallon hex pico, which actually only holds 1.6 gallons, so with the 16 gph filter i have a 10x per hour circulation rate. it works just fine. if you can though, i would recomend the ac 20 instead.

 

jfish - yes, my GF got it from Petcetera for Christmas for me... I need to silence the motor on th HOB though... it is noisey as hell... If i can't get it to quiet down a bit them I'll be upgrading to a AC20, which would also give some more flow...

 

I was given a suggestion of a Neon Goby for this little tank..., any thoughts on that? I'm satisfied with only having a few hermits, snails and perhaps a cleaner shrimp in it if the addition of a small fish would be too much of a bioload...

 

I would only like to keep some zoo's for coral...

 

the motor is noisy because there's probably a small piece of lr or other debris in the impeller.

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Steeltowndubber
try a clown goby (yellow, green, black, coral, there all the same) or even a catalina goby if your temp is 76 or lower. i have the same filter on a 2 gallon hex pico, which actually only holds 1.6 gallons, so with the 16 gph filter i have a 10x per hour circulation rate. it works just fine. if you can though, i would recomend the ac 20 instead.

the motor is noisy because there's probably a small piece of lr or other debris in the impeller.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

So i've silenced the motor and increased the amount of water that is in the tank...

 

Params as of today are:

 

Ammonia .025

Nitrites 0

Natrates 0

PH 8.2

SG 1.022

Temp 76-78

 

Hurry up cycle!

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Steeltowndubber

Would a shrimp/goby pair be pusing it?

 

Param's update...

 

Ammonia .25

Nitrites 0

Nitrates 0

PH 8.2

 

SG 1.022

 

During an evaporation top up last night I noticed a lot of exoskeltons from pods floating around. I would imagine this is from shedding or perhaps a die off of pods?

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Steeltowndubber

Quick up date... I upgrade the HOB to an AC20 over the weekend. The flow is so much better than the HOB that comes with it. I might take a piece of LR out of the tank and place it up in the HOB to free up some space in the tank.

 

Now I would like to add a second clip on light fixture to increase the amount of lighting i have....

 

A friend of mine has a small mangrove plant and asked if I would look after it for a bit till he gets his tank back up and running... so I've added it to my tank for the time being...

 

No change in water params...

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Very nice setup. Your tank is the exact same one I am using.

 

I really like your rock work, it is so tough to have nice aquascaping in such a small space.

I am guessing you are also in Canada. Keep us updated on your progress.

 

What kind of heater is that? I really like how low profile it is.

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Steeltowndubber

I'll update with new pics tonight when I get home from work...

 

Outtafocus - Yes I'm from Hamilton, Ontario, where abouts are you from. The heater is a 7.5 watt Hydor, it doesn't have a control to set the temp it just keeps the temp steady, about 2-3 degrees above room temp. I'm probably going to switch it out for a small 25-50 watt unit if I can find one small enough to fit in the AC20.

 

Rich

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I always wondered about those little heat pads. Im sure there is some type of thermo fail safe to keep the thing from boiling over your tank though...

 

You may want to consider a Thermofilter if you have the space in a back corner. Its a powerhead, filter, & 50W adjustable heater all in one. Im very currious about your evaperation rate and salinity fluctuation before/after top off.

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Steeltowndubber

Sorry I haven't updated with pics yet. I've been working crazy hours and by the time I get home, the last thing on my mind is to pull out the camera. I'll update on the weekend with pics.

 

Quick question - which would be a better idea, running the foam block that came the the AC20 or running filter floss? I'm looking to get rid of some particulate matter in the water column.

 

Thanks,

Rich

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NaughtyCashew

Nice pico!

 

Nobody said it, so I will

 

The shrimp/goby would definately be pushing it. The shrimp alone would probably undermine all your nice rockwork, not to mention you would need around a 2-3" sandbed to keep the little guy happy. That might be too much space devoted to sand for a nice pico like yours.

 

Keep the pictures coming!

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Steeltowndubber

Update with pics...

 

Sorry it took so long...

 

Please disregard the cloudy water. I changed my rock work around a bit... You'll notice the upgraded HOB and I've upgraded the heater to a Hydor Theo 25 watt.

 

I don't know if it's me or my test kit but it doesn't seem like I had a cycle.. this tank has been set up since Dec 31st or 30th, I can't remember, and my Ammonia has only been at .25 and it is now at zero and my Nitrites and Nitrates have not registered anything at all. They are also at zero and have been since day one. I test the params every evening after work and before I do a top up. My ammonia level has now been at zero for the past 3-4 days. Tomorrow I'm heading to the LFS to have them test my water for me so that I have some the compare my tests to.

 

so with out further delay... here they are.

 

Anyways, enjoy.

 

IMG_0233.jpg

 

Full tank shot.

IMG_0230.jpg

 

Hermit #1

IMG_0236.jpg

 

Hermit #2

IMG_0244.jpg

 

A close up of my friends Mangrove that I'm holding for him...

IMG_0239.jpg

 

And lastly a Pseudochromis miniaturepinscher after lights out..

IMG_0242.jpg

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