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Rockpainter's pico


rockpainter

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rockpainter

Finally decided to do a thread! This is my 3 gallon JBJ picotope, started in July 2013.

Stock:
Nassarius, cerith, nerites, dwarf cerith, planaxias snails
Xenia
Duncan
Micromussa
Ricordea
Zoas
Montipora
Blastomussa

New today from Dr. Mac:
Pink zoas
Caulastrea
Blue blood sympodium

Equipment:
AC70 with Purigen, Chemi-Pure Elite and caulerpa
Coral Compulsion 14W PAR30 LED 18k
50W heater

FTS 3/11/2013
2iu3ifq.jpg

Micromussa close-up
25tl3xz.jpg

Back corner - montipora, blastomussa, sympodium (blurry, but he's not quite settled yet)
68se0z.jpg

You nano-reefers have been so helpful/inspirational to me! I'd love any advice or comments that anyone has!

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  • 3 months later...
rockpainter

AQUASCAPERS!

 

I upgraded my lil pico to a 5.5 gallon and I"m trying to work out where to put everything.

 

Here's what I have right now:

awzsk6.jpg

 

I am pretty confident about these final posiions (Monti, acro, micros, zoas, ricordea):

2vc82ut.jpg

 

This leaves: chalice, blastos, duncan, candy cane, sympodium

I'm probably just going to stash the chalice somewhere shady on the right side of the tank.

 

 

I'm not sure if I should keep my duncan where it is (it's not looking too happy, but I /did/ just move it) or move it to the shelf under where the acro will go.

 

If it stays, I'm thinking of putting the sympodium on the shelf and the candy cane on the rock below it. I'll put the blastos on a rock in the sand.

1j3i4j.jpg

 

If it move to the shelf, I'd probably put the candy cane where the duncan is now. Then I'd put the blasto on the rock under the duncan, and put the sympodium somewhere on the rock with the monti.

e9839g.jpg

 

And of course, if someone has a completely different idea I'm up for that too! I would only ask that the zoas stay on their rock.

 

 

 

 

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Mr. Microscope

Hello rockpainter!

 

I think the key to good aquascaping is understanding what corals look like as they grow from frags to colonies and anticipating the space they will need in the long term. That way, you can feel confident in placing them somewhere without having to move them later which slows down growth and can sometimes lead to a coral's demise. It's also important to take into account how aggressive the coral is. Some need a lot more space than others.

 

It's best to get rid of frag plugs if possible and get everything off of the sandbed unless it's a type of coral that naturally thrives there like fungia.

 

There's been a lot of bonsai style aquascapes out there recently and they look awesome, but even just a pile of rocks can look great if you have your corals placed properly and have your sandbed cleared of junk. So, don't feel like you need to get too fancy in order to have a tank that's TOTM worthy.

 

 

As for your tank, you don't have anything particularly aggressive. Just give your LPS plenty of space between each other and the rest can be pieced in pretty much anywhere. That acro should probably go near the top. Your blastos and acans can stay near the bottom. Zoas are also fine near the bottom and make nice barriers between LPS. I'd move that monti cap under the right side of the duncan so it's overhanging on the sandbed, but that's just me.

 

Good luck! I'll follow this thread and try to help you along the process.

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rockpainter

Hi Mr. Microscope! Thanks for your reply! I'll be getting rid of the frag plugs as soon as I decide final positions! I moved the acropora to the top of the rock last night.

 

The right side of the duncan is actually quite shady, so I don't think it would be a good place for the monti. Some of the duncans polyps are even shadowed, which is why I was considering moving it. I thought my current monti placement would give it more room to grow than a horizontal orientation.

 

I'll get some LR rubble for my micros/ricordea so they're not actually on the sandbed -- thanks for the tip.

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I too have a newly set up 5 gallon. To me Pico aquariums are the hardest to aquascape due to its small size. Bigger tanks have more space for better effects with the rockwork and coral placement. My personal opinion in Pico aquariums is to think of livestock as small as you see the aquarium if that makes sense. Don't use big corals like plate corals. Torch corals. Bubble corals. Leather corals. Anything that will dwarf the size of the aquarium. Instead stick to zoanthids, mushrooms, some branching sps like birdsnest. To me bonsai style rockwork and other fancy shapes make aquariums look unnatural and strange sometimes. U wont see that in the ocean.

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  • 2 weeks later...
rockpainter

I've been slowly gluing things down: the caulastrea and sympodium front and center -- I love the bright blue on the shelf. I decided to put my bluish zoas on the rock with the monti to spread the zoa love around. I still need to find permanent homes for my ricordea , blastomussa and chalice. Then i might move one of the micro rocks to the other side of the tank.

 

FTS:

kale1s.jpg

 

 

I realized I never mentioned in this thread that I had picked up a green clown goby! I've had him since early May. He's pretty cute.

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I think you should add another big live rock in the center. It would be a cheap way to make the tank look fuller and add the dimension of height.

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Mr. Microscope

Getting there! Just mount up the rest of those frags and let everything grow and fill in. Looking good.

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rockpainter

Thanks dafil! I agree the duncan rock (your red outline is actually 4 rocks) should be higher. I'll be on the lookout for something to hoist it up.

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rockpainter

I decided today to switch the blue zoas with the sympodium. The sympodium hadn't been looking super happy and the zoas were stretching way too high. I'm hoping the combined increase in light/flow will keep them low.

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