Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 Hi all, About 5 years ago I brought the legendary 72 gallon bowfront evolution to nano-reef, and after a two year break from the hobby I am back... I have always had a passion for smaller tanks and when the pico tanks opened it's doors to the reefing community, I was there and one of the first to jump on the band wagon... I built a beautiful 1 gallon pico many years ago and it's beauty was equal to it's tiny size, just a breathhold in ahh... Here she is back in 2005 With my love of that reef tank, I decided to build another and this is my story... Here are the pieces of my new pico.. Setting up the rock work... Additives plus filter media that keep my pico thriving... Reefkeeper lite perfect for such a small tank... Modifying the Coralife 18watt fixture with Reefkeeper moonlights... Very simple diy and it's ready... Hydor mini-heater is perfect... Concealing the heater into the AC20 is simple... Here is angle shot... Front view.. Close up view... More to come later.... Link to comment
Nemo Niblets Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 it's beauty was equal to it's tiny size, just a breathhold in ahh... The beauty was tiny too? I'm just kidding. That pico looked great but I think the new one looks even better! Link to comment
gregzbobo Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 Holy.............. just........NICE. Link to comment
Obsessed Reefer Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 WELCOME BACK! The tank looks awesome, as always. Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 The beauty was tiny too? I'm just kidding. That pico looked great but I think the new one looks even better! Thanks, Times change and so do your tanks... WELCOME BACK! The tank looks awesome, as always. Thanks for the welcome, I have always loved reefing. It was just a matter of time... Holy..............just........NICE. Comments are always appreciated... Link to comment
RyanR1212 Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 very nice.. i like those red acans Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 Hey Ryan, Yeah the Acans are nice, I've never had them before. I've always loved Blastos, the LFS was out. I have a Yuma on order, just stellar, I will get it next week, should look nice once it's in the pico... MG Link to comment
travisurfer Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 Wow, awesome pico. Where did you get the tank? Link to comment
ReefDreamz Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 How much rock did u use? How r u using the RKL?? Hows the flow off the AC20? Lighting ok for everything, including the acans? Overall, BEAUTIFUL tank!!! forgot to ask, how r setting up the light? Is there arms? Where did u get a 1 gal pico from? Link to comment
MizTanks Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 To think I was thinking of going bigger then my 8g now I gotta rethink my thoughts!!! Geeeeeez that is 2 beautiful tanks! Thanks for sharing. Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 Wow, awesome pico. Where did you get the tank? Thanks for the comments... I will be selling the picos very shortly online... My brother and I are test marketing all the bugs out of the pico before they go into circulation... Send me a PM if you just want the tank, but the whole setup minus the corals and RKL will go for under $199. I'm cutting a lot of corners to keep the costs down, but keeping the beauty of the tank in place. MG Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 How much rock did u use? How r u using the RKL?? Hows the flow off the AC20? Lighting ok for everything, including the acans? Overall, BEAUTIFUL tank!!! forgot to ask, how r setting up the light? Is there arms? Where did u get a 1 gal pico from? I use 5 lbs of live sand and only 1.5 of premium live rubble. I grow just the rubble under my Metal halides and dose my tank only with calcium additives. I'm very selective in all the rubble that I grow. The RKL is controlling my heater on channel three, light on channel one, and sump on channel two. The RKL moonlight attachment controls the blue lights as a POD to immulate the moonlight cycle naturally. The AC20 is the prefered filter fo this tank because of it's robust construction and ability to slow down flow during the night. I tried several other filters as you can see from the pic with the most cost effective in quality and workmenship being the AC20. The lighting is more than enough for this type of setup, my experience in the past is any more light and you will start prunning your reef much quicker, a good thing for some but a hassel for picos. The Acans are doing fine. The light rest on top of the Pico which comes with a glass top to keep evaporation to a minimum. There is no need to place the light fixture any higher on legs. The flush look is much more appealing than when the light is on legs. MG Link to comment
el fabuloso Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 Awesome tank! I remember seeing the old one when I was researching about picos way back when. Glad to see the new one is just as magnificent. Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 To think I was thinking of going bigger then my 8g now I gotta rethink my thoughts!!! Geeeeeez that is 2 beautiful tanks! Thanks for sharing. I have reefed, 72 gallons, 90 gallons, 12 gallons, 6 gallons and just love the 1 gallon pico. It's not for the beginner yet challanging enough for the intermediate reefer. Sometimes bigger is not always the winner. You just don't see too many 1 gallon picos, they have a very small footprint and I mod all cables to make sure nothing shows except the beauty of just the reef. MG Link to comment
BobbyL1212 Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 Holy Sack! That tank's amazing! Good going! Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 Awesome tank! I remember seeing the old one when I was researching about picos way back when. Glad to see the new one is just as magnificent. Fab, Coming from you, this is a great honor. Since coming back onto nano-reef, I'm just speechless with what you have created in your own pico and what you have given back to this community with your detail layout on keeping these magnificant beauties... I'm not just an avide hobbyist but also an Advanced Open Water certified diver that took off 2 years from the hobby to dive and explore the beauties of the reefs. I was mistifyied by how you can just explore one section of a reef and have seen it all.... That led me back to picos, just a small piece of the ocean is all one requires to experience the utmost beauty of the natural enviornment. Fab, thanks for inspiring me to come back to reefing, your thread was inspirational... Link to comment
evilc66 Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 I seriously thought that was a Finnex 4g at first. Nice work. Link to comment
travisurfer Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 I have reefed, 72 gallons, 90 gallons, 12 gallons, 6 gallons and just love the 1 gallon pico. It's not for the beginner yet challanging enough for the intermediate reefer. Sometimes bigger is not always the winner. I fully agree. I do enjoy fish and you don't really get to enjoy that with the small environment that a pico provides, but the 1.25g tank that I had setup was by far my favorite. The small footprint lets you see things in so much more detail as well as countless smaller organisms that would otherwise be lost to the eye in larger tanks. Link to comment
el fabuloso Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Fab, thanks for inspiring me to come back to reefing, your thread was inspirational... And thank you for inspiring me in the first place! When I was first looking at picos more than two years ago your tank was one of the few that inspired me to put more thought into the project and to look at it as something much more than a miniature holding tank. I seriously thought that was a Finnex 4g at first. Nice work. Inorite? That's what I thought too, I can't believe it's only a gallon. That may be something I might have to look into. Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted November 14, 2009 Author Share Posted November 14, 2009 I seriously thought that was a Finnex 4g at first. Nice work. Evil, Working on small tanks has been a passion for me, you sometimes miss some of the smallest critters that are often overlooked in larger tanks... Take for example the bristle worm and it's function in a pico. Just the other day I was cleaning my pico with my homemade papertowel ghetto chopstick held by rubberband. Totally effective on the sides of curved tanks, when I saw something odd... Odd because my Ricordea was closed for most of the day and I thougtht something was up. So I start to stare at the ricordea and notice that something is comming out from the center... I at first ignore it as digested food comming back out the exhaust. I continue cleaning and notice that the poop is moving more than normal, currents are pushing it one way and it wants to go the other way... So I shut off the sump pump and then the string of poop starts moving all over the place, what the heck? Is my Flordia Ricordea getting attacked by some evil worm? I reach in and pull out the small miniscule worm only to find out my ric has partially digested half of it... WOW!!! Priceless moments like this in a pico make you want to document it on film for National Geographic, okay, I'm being saracastic, but hey things like this are way over looked in larger tanks that I have had... Picos are just priceless... Evil, dude your LED's rock.... I might have to give you the dimensions of my tank to see about really small pico LED's... Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 uh=oh... fab has some competition... jk.... amazing lil tanks buddeh! Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 Hi all, Just wanted to share with you my new addition to my pico. My yuma came in, and I went to pick him up. He came with a baby Florida ricordea on the rock. I rearranged my yuma to be one of my show pieces in the front, and I moved the two larger rics on the left side of the tank. What do you guys think? Here is a FTS... Closer view of pico... Link to comment
SaltyTodd Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 I'm sure you know by now, but GREAT TANK!!!!!!!! Could you elaborate on how much you dose for such a small environment. Also, do you put the Chemi pure in a media bag in the filter? How often do you have to change the media? Thanks. Link to comment
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