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Est. 2/6/14
Current FTS: 4/13/14

fts123

 

 

 

 

Welcome!
This thread is dedicated to my pico coral tank. I have wanted to setup a coral-specific aquarium since reading about Ecoreef Zero over on Reefbuilders. The opportunity presented itself when Mike of Micro-Reefs had a holiday sale on his 4.3G AIO system. I call it "Acrophoria". As of today the tank doesn't deserve such an elegant name, but my goal is to get it there and I hope you will join along for the ride.

tank

 

I am not a huge fan of acrylic tanks personally, but for a product handmade in the U.S. I couldn't resist the price. Mike provided great customer service and was swift to replace the first tank which was damaged during shipping. The cost of the build follows:

 

Stuff:

-Micro Reefs 4.3 Gallon AIO +shipping = $90

-14w Par30 Bulb and clamp= $90

-AutoAqua ATO $150

-Airstone skimmer and pump= $18

-hydor theo 7w heater= $18

-Loc line= $5

-Digital timer=$14

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~$395 in equipment

 

Maintenance:

-electricity= less than $1/month

-water change= $3/month

---

~$4/ month in upkeep

 

This is my first AIO aquarium, and I really like the surface skimming provided by the overflow and that no additional power heads are needed to create flow. The primary means of controlling the water chemistry is through one-gallon water changes every 4 or 5 days. One modification I have made to the tank was to change the bulkhead so that I could install a loc line flow nozzle. I am overall satisfied with my purchase from micro-reefs, but a little disappointed at how susceptible acrylic is to warping and bowing. The entire build has cost $400 in equipment, and the tank is holding around $100 in coral.

 

Cor

 

More on the way...

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Fts

 

Here is a current FTS. The Acropora frag was added to the tank on February 6. I got a good deal on the coral from a local reefer who claimed it to be a "Tri-color". I am certainly no expert on Acropora. I attempted to acclimate the coral to the light using a piece of mesh fabric to dim the lamp. Being that there is no live rock or sand in this system I saw no point in cycling the tank instead relying on the activated carbon, minimal feedings and large water changes to keep nutrient levels in check.

 

The frag isn't looking as good as when I received it, it has begun to bleach a bit and the polyps don't look quite as healthy. I am not surprised at the coral displaying signs of stress and would like to outline the two areas where I think I need to make the most improvement.

 

1. For starters I've been purchasing my water from the LFS, which upon testing I was shocked to discover is mixed to a SG of 1.023. This is for the water they label for reef usage and the only reason I can think of that they would mix it so low is to increase profit. Stabilizing the salinity to 1.025-.026 is one of my short term goals with the system, and I would like to add an ATO.

 

2. The par38 bulb I'm running features 12 bridgelux led's run at full power (3w), 4 of which are blue. I feel that I am getting sufficient par to grow acro, but the bulb isn't presenting the full spectrum necessary. I would like to switch to a 14w full spectrum par30 bulb from coral compulsion.

 

I keep the temp. at 80F and feed the tank 5ml of DT's Phytoplankton weekly. The light is on for 7 hrs a day. Any suggestions you might have about optimizing this system to host acropora are welcome. Also, does anyone know which species this is? How about making my pictures larger?

 

closeup

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Keep up the nice work, and remember that PATINECE is key in PICO'S! :P

 

Thanks Mike, you keep up the nice work too!

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Nice to see another microreefs pico. So whats the plan? Why no live rock or sand?

I have the same tank and am just Finishing up the cycle, it has been over a month. Patience is definitely key. I too plan to add an ato because of the crazy evap. Im at almost 1 gal a week top off.

Following!

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Nice to see another microreefs pico. So whats the plan? Why no live rock or sand?

I have the same tank and am just Finishing up the cycle, it has been over a month. Patience is definitely key. I too plan to add an ato because of the crazy evap. Im at almost 1 gal a week top off.

Following!

 

Thanks Dramad1!

My 10 gallon macro/softy system has a sandbed, LR, algae and plants to replicate some of the biological cycles of the ocean. This project is almost completely opposite in approach. Instead of focusing on the benthic habitat as a means of filtration I am doing 100% water changes twice a month and using activated carbon and a small skimmer to suppress nutrient levels and maintain water parameters. My hope is that this practice will emulate open-ocean water chemistry. I think of it like a frag tank, but with the intent of eventually hosting a single, mature colony for display.

I just ordered the 18k vibrance par30 from coral compulsion, which is less than half the wattage of the par38 I am running now. I think I might have been cooking the frag a bit. The new bulb will offer a more complete spectrum of light and should give me more of an actinic "pop".

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Nice to see another microreefs pico. So whats the plan? Why no live rock or sand?

I have the same tank and am just Finishing up the cycle, it has been over a month. Patience is definitely key. I too plan to add an ato because of the crazy evap. Im at almost 1 gal a week top off.

Following!

I just installed an ATO on my MircroReefs 4.3. I went with the AutoAqua Smart ATO, I am pleased with it, the top off is precise, in tank portion is very small, the only thing I have to say bad about it is that the wall wart is too big/poorly designed and it blocks the adjacent outlet on a power strip.

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thesmallerthebetter

for lighting blues and whites are all youll need for acropora, maybe a single True Violet for coloration. the jury is out on "full spectrum" led lighting in that those wavelength included in a commercially available fixture are minimally used by corals.

 

i run 7W PAR30 over a 5" deep tank and its 4 RB, 2 CW and 1 TV led...all driven at 1w. i have good color and growth on MOST acros and montis after they acclimate to the tank (if they acclimate).

 

i do love the no rock no sand approach. i was talking with some people lately about doing something similar, just a single acropora colony (in this case a deepwater) in a small tank with just mechanical filtration and letting it just dominate the tank...ill be interested in seeing how this goes.

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I just installed an ATO on my MircroReefs 4.3. I went with the AutoAqua Smart ATO, I am pleased with it, the top off is precise, in tank portion is very small, the only thing I have to say bad about it is that the wall wart is too big/poorly designed and it blocks the adjacent outlet on a power strip.

this is the one I plan to get. I have one on my 34g cad. It was super simple to set up and comes with everything you need minus water storage container.

 

20140220_192423_zpsp13i3pup.jpg

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this is the one I plan to get. I have one on my 34g cad. It was super simple to set up and comes with everything you need minus water storage container.

 

An ATO is definitely my next purchase for this tank. That Auto Aqua kit looks about right for the money, also nice considering I don't have to run any chords into the tank.

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So this is the skimmer I am presently using:

 

skimmer

 

It cost less than $10 on ebay, shipped from China. I had to cut off those little plastic loops that the air hose runs through in the photo to fit it in the first overflow chamber. The cup is larger than the opening so I have it as low as it will go, which is still too high off of the water to produce any skimmate. Being that it is in the first overflow chamber which pulls water down the bubbles are battling the current, and the smaller ones escape from the bottom of the skimmer. I am no expert, but judging by the mist hovering about the tank this isn't so much a skimmer as a micro-bubble factory.

My main goal in adding the skimmer was to provide aeration to the tank with the secondary benefit of removing some junk. It seems I have succeeded in aerating the system a little too well and would like to explore my options. Do you guys think any skimmer in a system this small will likely result in micro-bubbling? I like the designer air stone driven skimmers, particularly for an application such as this, but the Gnome Glass guy is MIA and Mame isn't shipping to the US (that I know of). I have a friend going to Tokyo this summer and I'm tempted to have him go to the Mame store for me.

Any recommendations you might have for simple air stone skimmers are welcome. The chamber is 3"x4", 10" deep holding 8.5" of water.

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you can order a mame skimmer from them. just email them takes 2 weeks to get here. ive ordered a few times from them

Oh, thats good to know!
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I just swapped out the lime wood diffuser that came with the skimmer for one of better construction. The bubbles being produced are much finer and are creating a lot more lift than the previous one. I have decided the mist in the tank is not the result of micro bubbles, but of dust from the activated carbon. I rinsed the carbon with 2 gallons of DI before putting it in the tank and it still clouded the water!

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you can order a mame skimmer from them. just email them takes 2 weeks to get here. ive ordered a few times from them

 

Exactly where is this? I am interested. Reading/skimming through the topic again I am unable to figure it out.

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WC Day

 

IMG 2329

 

The plastic dome allows me to drain the tank almost completely without emersing the frag. 1 frag enter, 1 frag leave.

 

IMG 2328

 

One of my goals with the large volume WC's and the heavy mechanical filtration is to be able to feed the coral regularly without developing nutrient related problems. I am new to keeping SPS and any SPS and/or acro-specific foods you might be able to recommend from personal experience would be helpful.

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thesmallerthebetter

it is worth noting that you can build a mame like skimmer with a water bottle and a limewood airstone that is damn near equally efficient as the mame....

 

also LOVE the "Acro-dome" for water changes haha. genius

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I might be stupid for not getting it... But how exactly is the water not spilling out the bottom of the cut off bottle top when you drain the tank?!? Atmospheric pressure can't be holding it down all by itself right?

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I might be stupid for not getting it... But how exactly is the water not spilling out the bottom of the cut off bottle top when you drain the tank?!? Atmospheric pressure can't be holding it down all by itself right?

 

As long as the water level in the tank doesn't drop below the rim of the dome it will hold water. I think it is considered a siphon.

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neat.. so is that the only thing you're going to have in the tank? I'd be worried about lack of nutrients..

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New toy!

 

IMG 2452

I received the 18k "Vibrance" par30 form Coral Compulsion today. The bulb is about half the size and wattage of the par38 I was using. This light's colors are incredible! Now that the skimmer is working and I did a WC yesterday, the water is crystal clear, no more carbon dust. I think I'm going to start supplementing AcroPower.

IMG 2457

 

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