ExSmoker Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Welcome to build & thanks for following along! I started this build for something fun to do and because I am bord with the FW tank. Since this 6"x8" area is too small for a internal filter and I want to keep this clean as possable, the only filtering will be Quality Live Rock and Weekly Ro/Di water changes with D&D Marine salt. BioLoad will remain small also with just softy corals like Zoas, Pallys & Mushrooms ect. Plan is to blast rocks weekly and change 60% of water weekly after a heavy feeding. (Inspirational Guidance) My own experiance & that of my "reefing Buddies", Mr Albert J Thiel's new book "Nano Reef Aquariums" & lastly assistance from the masses of Nano Reef itself! I will keep track of the costs for this tank, but keep in mind that "some" of the larger/costly items, I have already had for over a year, just needed some re-freshing items... (FTS) Updated as of: Wednesday, Aug 28th 2013 Thursday, Aug 1st 2013 (HARDWEAR) Container: Clear Glass Cylinder Vase 6"Wx8"H Canopy: Folgers Coffee Lid Lighting: Water Proof SMD LEDs 2pcs 455nm Blue/ 2pcs 4500k White/ 1pcs 660nm Red strips. 30 leds tottal. Water movment: 2.5 Watt 200LPH/ 50GPH water pump. Thermometer: 6" Glass U shape ADA look alike. Refractometer: Quality ATC One. (Core Life Supprt System) Water Source: BRS 75GPD RO/DI unit Marine Salt: D&D Marine Salt. Substrate: Black Sugar Grain Sand 1" deep. Rock: 1-1/2 lbs Quality Live Rock from 180gal SPS system. (Foods) Reef Roids Powered Zoplan (Zooplankton Diet) live white microworm culture, as a source for amino/fatty acids & protein. (Possable Stocking List) 3 Mini Brittle Stars 3 Cerith Snails 1 Pom Pom Some Acans, Ricoridas, Zoas, random soft coral and anything that will like "low light" in general. Will allow the tank to "cycle" with LR for 2-4 weeks, then test out the tanks light levels with a mushroom + other soft corals to see how everything goes. (Weekly Water Testing) pH 8.00 Allways, as per other tanks Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 Salinity 1.024 (Cost of Pico thus far) Vase $7.00 LEDs $15.00 Thermometer $7.00 Water Pump $5.00 Refractormeter $30 Mini 15w Heater $15.00 RO/DI $200ish RO/DI Filters $30.00 100GPD Membrain $30.00 Black Sand - FREE Lighting Timer $3.00 D&D Salt "Frezzer Bag" FREE 2lbs of Live Rock $5.00 Custom Stand & Canopy (Canceled) Vertex Duplex Cleaner Mag (Canceled) Portable TDS Meter $9.00 On Order (Livestock) Red Titan Macro $10.00 Ditoms from the cycling are FREE Soon to be 100s of White Copods FREE Live White Mirco Worm Culture FREE Red Button Polyp Pallys Ricorida Mushroom Red Mushroom frag (Trade) Beige Pally frag (Trade) blue/yellow zoa frag (Trade) CUC Team Members: 3 quarter inch sized Blue Leg Hermit Crabs. Total $368.00 Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 Turns out that a Folgers Coffee Lid is the perfect size for this Pico... I spent 15min getting the lights rigged up and it works and was easy to use because they have 3M Tape on the back side... I am hopeful that these SMD LEDs will be good enough for softys and such. Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 Stocking list providing the lights are suitable would be a mix of Zoas, Mushrooms, Acans, Some LPS that like soft flow... Besides Coral-what types of inverts can someone suggest? What CUC would be good? Maybe some mini britttle stars and a few sand snails. Link to comment
Dark_ice Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 margarita snails nass snails a hermit crab or two. emerald crab any coral you listed will be fine, green star polyps and green star polyps like mid to high flow but can be in low flow. pulsing xenia is something awesome you can look into Link to comment
Egginis Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 I love cleaner or fire shrimps. They will find and eat any excess food in your tank. The clean other fish and add excellent color and movement to the aquarium. Because the are so light and nimble on their feet they rarely bother corals or keep them from closing up when walking across them. I also recommend porcelain crabs as they are reef safe and easy to take care of. They are filter feeders and move a couple of front arms with feather structures on them to consume food. Quite fun and interesting to watch. Bright Red Sea stars are also popular but do not seem to last very long in the aquarium. Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 Ohhh a fire shrimp would be awsome. A small baby one of course. Hopeful that the Diy filter and rock scape turn out nice. I also have some 10" long twessers to help with mantaining everything. Its leak testing right now... Can still pick it up when its full of water. Link to comment
bjbass Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Very cool. I have often wondered if those SMD LEDs would grow coral. I can't wait to see how this progresses! Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 Wait, just thought about this. the glass is very thin and wonder if it would be safe for ANY snails to be in here. One smack and its likely to break. How about: 2 Limpits 3-5 Mini brittle stars 1 fire shrimp as a CUC, or perhaps there is something missing. Thanks, me too actually. They are pretty bright already, but just incase I do have another 5pcs white and 4pcs blue strips ready to go. Very cool. I have often wondered if those SMD LEDs would grow coral. I can't wait to see how this progresses! Link to comment
llama roadkill Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 What about Collonista Snails? I am not sure if anyone sells them but look on frags and LR at your LFS and see if they'll give you any. I've probably got like 20 in my tank. Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 May end up with Collonista Snails in the tank from LR anyways lol Really wanna go with Ricoridas + Zoas (never had luck with zoas) Acans. colorful coals. My LFS always has 1000s of corals for $5.00 each. Well my LFS is actually a hobbyist himself and understands what it takes to grow coral and not just have them survive. Last time I went there, he had 4"x2" SPS "Frags" for $5.00 too... so tempting lol Must say no to SPS. Hopeing that the lid will cut down on evapration even tho I still need to figure out an ATO system... What about Collonista Snails? I am not sure if anyone sells them but look on frags and LR at your LFS and see if they'll give you any. I've probably got like 20 in my tank. Link to comment
llama roadkill Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 May end up with Collonista Snails in the tank from LR anyways lol Really wanna go with Ricoridas + Zoas (never had luck with zoas) Acans. colorful coals. My LFS always has 1000s of corals for $5.00 each. Well my LFS is actually a hobbyist himself and understands what it takes to grow coral and not just have them survive. Last time I went there, he had 4"x2" SPS "Frags" for $5.00 too... so tempting lol Must say no to SPS. Hopeing that the lid will cut down on evapration even tho I still need to figure out an ATO system... Where state do you live in? Hopefully Florida. The cheapest my LFS sells frags at is $15-20, but then again those are like 4 heads of Euphyllia and Ricordea. Link to comment
BeardedReeferLLC Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 What is your power source of your LED's? Pictures? Thanks. Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 12V Cell phone Charger I had laying around. Actually the 3M tape did not hold, so out came the 100% silicone GE brand. The lights came from Ebay $15.00 for 12pcs each strip has 12leds cutable ever 3rd led. What is your power source of your LED's? Pictures? Thanks. I live in Canada Where state do you live in? Hopefully Florida. The cheapest my LFS sells frags at is $15-20, but then again those are like 4 heads of Euphyllia and Ricordea. Link to comment
bjbass Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 12V Cell phone Charger I had laying around. Actually the 3M tape did not hold, so out came the 100% silicone GE brand. The lights came from Ebay $15.00 for 12pcs each strip has 12leds cutable ever 3rd led. I live in Canada Awesome. That is where I buy my SMDs too. Did you get 5050s? Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 No 50/50s I found them under SMD strip lights on Ebay. I emailed the seller and asked for Blue 455nm/ White 4500k & Red LEDs. Just had to cut the strips in half to fit under the lid. The color of the water looks Blue/Purple Awsome. I will post pics tomorrow of it. The 3W water pump is only 200L per hour and it seems to have enough current on it own for even LPS Now, should I smash up a 3bls of Dead rock and do a mock up of how to build the real LR? I am struggling on how excatly to make a "wall" for the filter area and keep enough space for coral. I want to try to create shelfs and some shaded spots with upper and lower light areas. Link to comment
Egginis Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Ricordia and zoanthid colonies will be perfect for your tank. My Nuvo 16 is stocked with both and I was able to slowly create a pretty nice and colorful display. Both are easy to care for and can tolerate higher nutrients in the water. Below is a picture of the tank. You will also notice the 2 fire shrimp which add super red coloration to the tank. Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 Nice tank, Thanks for posting. Ricordia and zoanthid colonies will be perfect for your tank. My Nuvo 16 is stocked with both and I was able to slowly create a pretty nice and colorful display. Both are easy to care for and can tolerate higher nutrients in the water. Below is a picture of the tank. You will also notice the 2 fire shrimp which add super red coloration to the tank. Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 Leak test overnight passed & the temp held steady at 25°c/ 77°F in the bedroom with no AC or Fans in the summer. Perfect! However the bedroom does get super humid at times. First post updated with photos. Aparently this vase only holds 4L or 1Gal of water when empty... This will be challenging... Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 Is 50GPH enough turn over for 1gal tank? maybe should use a better pump? but this one is only 2"x2" in size and space needs to be used usefully. Also its probable to small for a fire shrimp, sooo other then Sexy Shrimp maybe a single porcline crab or glass shrimp with some nice Ricoridas for it to host... Link to comment
bjbass Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 No 50/50s I found them under SMD strip lights on Ebay. I emailed the seller and asked for Blue 455nm/ White 4500k & Red LEDs. Just had to cut the strips in half to fit under the lid. The color of the water looks Blue/Purple Awsome. I will post pics tomorrow of it. The 3W water pump is only 200L per hour and it seems to have enough current on it own for even LPS Now, should I smash up a 3bls of Dead rock and do a mock up of how to build the real LR? I am struggling on how excatly to make a "wall" for the filter area and keep enough space for coral. I want to try to create shelfs and some shaded spots with upper and lower light areas. These sound better than the ones I have purchased off Ebay in the past. Do you have a link to the ones you got or can send me the seller name? I am going to look into those! Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 BJBass I will do my best to find the sellers name for you.. Does anyone have idea for building a mini hexagon or Cylinder aquarium stand? Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 19, 2013 Author Share Posted July 19, 2013 PM sent. These sound better than the ones I have purchased off Ebay in the past. Do you have a link to the ones you got or can send me the seller name? I am going to look into those! Link to comment
jestep Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Does anyone have idea for building a mini hexagon or Cylinder aquarium stand? Are you thinking a full height stand, or more like something that would go on a countertop? Link to comment
ExSmoker Posted July 20, 2013 Author Share Posted July 20, 2013 Counter top.. Are you thinking a full height stand, or more like something that would go on a countertop? Link to comment
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