Jgpicos Pico

[jgpico]

oh trust me i want to set one up--just don't need to be spending the money on one right now lol. i started with a 1.6 gallon pico 5 years ago and have worked my way up to a 40B. i miss my little desktop tank though.

lol i actually went in the total opposite direction. Istarted with a 75gal, then a 14gal biocube, and now a 3 gal pico. Then i purchased a 2.5gal for my girlfriend lol. They are slowly getting smaller and smaller. I am just amazed with the smaller tanks becuase you can get so much diversity of life in there and you can watch it for hours. With the larger tanks i found that i missed alot of things.

[.Newman.]

your next step should be that ~0.3gal USB desktop tank thing made into a reef lol! (I actually have plans for that one if i ever get it)

 

Thanks! I am just a beginner like you, so dont take much of what I say as real expert advice or anything like that haha.

I'm just rying to help out

[jgpico]

Thanks newman ill take that usb tank into consideration, i wonder if steviet would make a skimmer cup for that puppy lol i think the smallest tank i would attempt would be this small little betta cube that my girlfriend has her betta in right now. Its a sweet little rimless cube that im not even sure the exact water volume but it is sweet.

[jgpico]

So i have checked the chems in my tank for the past 8 days and they are all at proper levels now.

ammonia-0

nitrites-0

nitrates-0

ph-7.9

I plan on waiting about a week more to start putting anything in the tank. I have decided that i am going to do 1-2 red striped gobies, 2-3 sexy shrimp and some assorted corals. please let me know if that is a good stocking list. Also what would be a good cuc? On a side note i am very happy with the new hydor pico evo pump that i just put in the tank 2 nights ago. I used a piece of lock line to make it a 2 direction flow. It has really helped eliminate the whole "sand storm" effect from the ac70 and i can actually keep the sand at the front of the tank. Im waiting to see how mr. microscope likes the rotation device on his pump before i decide to try it or else i will just leave it how it is. Here are a couple pics with the pump, let me know what you think. I know this thread is pretty boring at the moment since it is still empty but i still enjoy getting some feedback, especially on my stocking plans. thanks

[DulcyDoll]

Good idea using the lock line. I feel like I really need to order one of the evo's..need more flow and every powerhead I have is too big.

[pj86]

Looking really good. Sounds like a good stocking list. If you can get a male/female goby that are paired, that would even be better but not 100% necessary, they would share the space more than 2 same sex fish. CUC you can get 2-3 astrea snails (for the rock and glass), and 1 nassarius snail (for the sand), and a hermit or 2 if you like hermits. I would try to stay away from the large turbo snails or anything that is large, they will knock things down from your rock work. What corals do you plan on getting?

[jgpico]

Good idea using the lock line. I feel like I really need to order one of the evo's..need more flow and every powerhead I have is too big.

To be honest i wasnt sure if i was going to like it when i was buying it but i actually love it. I have 2 of the hydor nanos and they are just too big and take up so much room. This pump isnt exactly the smallest but it adds a lot of flow and as you can see with a little diy you can make it a very useful pump.

[jgpico]

Looking really good. Sounds like a good stocking list. If you can get a male/female goby that are paired, that would even be better but not 100% necessary, they would share the space more than 2 same sex fish. CUC you can get 2-3 astrea snails (for the rock and glass), and 1 nassarius snail (for the sand), and a hermit or 2 if you like hermits. I would try to stay away from the large turbo snails or anything that is large, they will knock things down from your rock work. What corals do you plan on getting?

Thanks pj86 i really appreciate your advice on the stocking list. Any idea where i can look into a mated pair of red striped gobies? That cuc list is what i was thinking. Does the fact that i have used mainly base/dry rock change what i should get? the only reason i ask is because i havent seen really any growth of anything on the base rock just on the live rock. I know that eventually the base rock will start to foster live bacteria but should i wait until then to add to my cuc? As far as corals that i plan to do im not 100% sure i guess i just plan to go with the flow. I definitely want to do some ricordias, zoas, some sps and whatever else catches my eye. Definitely have to find some darth maul zoas since i collect darth maul stuff lol but other than that dont really have any must haves in mind.

[pj86]

For CUC you can purchase a few (1-2) at the beginning and then build up as you need more. Make sure to get a good combo though, some like to be on the rock work more and others literally live in the sand.

[PinkDamsel]

Thanks, its actually a DIY fixture. made it out of some 1/2 inch conduit an extension cord and a pvc elbow. really cheap and works great. it also holds the weight of the bulb and i can put it at whatever height i need it at. I really need to get a good camera my phone doesnt do it justice

 

I've been admiring this fixture, but what are you using for a base, and can you adjust thet height or did you mean you chose the height since you're the one who made it?

 

Gentlemen are arriving soon for the holidays who might be prevailed upon to DIY for the damsel ....

[jgpico]

I've been admiring this fixture, but what are you using for a base, and can you adjust thet height or did you mean you chose the height since you're the one who made it?

 

Gentlemen are arriving soon for the holidays who might be prevailed upon to DIY for the damsel ....

The fixture is actually attached to the back of the stand with a couple c clamps. If i want to adjust the height of the fixture all i have to do is loosen the screws and pull the fixture up or down. I love the outcome of this fixture, when i had the idea in my head of what i wanted i wasnt sure how it was going to look or work...but i love it. If you have any other questions about it just pm me and i can go a little more in depth on the fixture. Thanks

[jgpico]

I finally have diatoms!!! I never thought that i would be this happy to see my tank covered in brown! So my next question is when should i start to put in my cuc? Also when should i do my first water change? I know that i should wait for the diatoms to start dying off....right? On another note im doing a poll to see what fish you think i should do. I dont know how to start an actual poll so hopefully enough of you read this and give me your oppinions. My choices are between my original choice the red stripe goby and the second choice is the tiger goby. I would love to do one of each but i am going to roll with pj86's idea of trying to do a mated pair so they share the tank more. Please let me know what you think. Thanks guys/gals

[.Newman.]

I vote trimma gobies, definitely bright reds that go very well with a reef tank. those fish actually become visible in your tank when they move around. tiger looks like he'll blend with the rockwork.

 

 

I would start the CUC with either a hermit or a snail or two. as long as all readings are acceptable and stable for a few days. try a water change on the day you get your CUC. youre going to be using tank water to acclimate them for a while so just replenish with new SW. youll basically have to do this anyway

 

You dont have to wait for diatoms to die, not only do they keep nitrates lower, they are the major food source for the CUC youre buying. otherwise you must feed your CUC dried seaweed if theyre herbivores and shrimp pellets (or variant) if they're carnivores only.

thats my opinion, others will probably disagree

[jgpico]

Do you think i will actually ever be able to find a mated pair? The more i think about it the more i start to question where and how the hell i will find a mated pair and how much it will be...Anyone have any advice or luck with any online or lfs with getting a mated pair? come on lets keep these votes coming! Thanks newman, you da man!

[.Newman.]

no clue, sorry dude. I have never even seen a pair of them on liveaquaria's diver's den section...

[pj86]

Sometimes depending on the LFS they order several fish of the same type. I have seen neon gobies pair up that way. They will be hard to come by, but just ask around you are bound to find a pair of gobies in the right place.

[PinkDamsel]

The fixture is actually attached to the back of the stand with a couple c clamps. If i want to adjust the height of the fixture all i have to do is loosen the screws and pull the fixture up or down.

 

Aha! The old "put-the-tank-on-a-stand-that-can-be-clamped-trick"! Alas, there's nothing clampable around my desk, or I would indeed copycat you.

 

If you have any other questions about it just pm me and i can go a little more in depth on the fixture.

 

Such chivalry, I love all you guyz! Am enjoying following along on your thread.

[jgpico]

Thanks pink damsel i appreciate your interest. This thread should start getting a lot more interesting since i am finally able to start putting stuff in the tank lol.

[will46r]

Kind of the thread pattern I've noticed in reefing Hellos followed by long cycle induced pauses.

[jgpico]

lol i know right. with a little bit of bull####ting and asking/answering questions. I realize that you all dont enjoy looking at my rocks as much as i do lol. im just happy im at the end of my cycle so i can get some stuff goin!

[jgpico]

So i woke up this morning and pretty much all of my diatoms are gone. I didnt even get a cuc in the tank i was planning on getting my cuc on tuesday but should i cut back on what i was planning on getting since the diatom bloom has pretty much gone away? Do diatoms usually just disappear overnight?

[.Newman.]

perhaps. you should cut back. you dont need an algae CUC if there is no algae.

is another type of algae starting to grow in your tank?

add one CUC member to keep your tank's bioload growing.

[jgpico]

I did see that there is a green alge that is starting to grow on one of my rocks in the tank. It doesnt really look like the usual gha that i have seen in some other tanks but it is starting to grow more. I tried taking a pic of it but of course it didnt turn out great but maybe you can see what im talking about. So since i do have some kind of algae growing what part of my cuc would you recommend starting with? My hermit, my nass snail, ceriths? on a good note i have tons of pods running all over my glass. I got home and there are tons of them!

rock covered in coraline and now some green algae poppin up

powerhead full of pods

[.Newman.]

copepods. have you seen any isopods or amhpipods yet? those tend to come later in the tank's life, sometimes in pop blooms Isopods are IMO the most interesting. they have many little legs and look like a flatter clear version of pillbugs you see in leaf litter. sometimes theyre neon green too. they crawl around, have two very thin mantis like appendages up front that cannot be seen when theyre in normal mode but they extend them to fight rival isopods and a fight between those little guys looks really cool.

 

anyway enough of my randomness, I cannot see the algae youre talking about, sorry...

[jgpico]

Lol i cant see the algae in that pic either newman lmao i realized that once i posted the pic and was too lazy to delete it. At least you can see how purple it is, im hoping the coraline will spread. Im already seeing more purple spots throughout the tank. Im going to see if i can get a better pic of the algae for ya. i also still need to get the damn aiptasia before i start stocking, still thinking of the best attack strategy.

hopefully someone can see the algae im talking about a little better...