rocksmom's Nano Box Powered PicO 5G - upgrade! #220

[gena]

Here's the pic of the cerameco rock. It's definitely "pico" sized.

 

 

At first I thought it was going to be too small, but I think with some sps pieces on top it will be perfect. I like that the bottom is flat since I'm going to go bare bottom. No place for detritus to hide. I do still need a couple small pieces of rubble for my acans though.

Great looking piece! I love the little peek at the rest of your home too . I was the same when we were house hunting here. The house we bought was the first and only one we looked at. It ended up being a pretty good choice.

 

Definitely give the TechM a try. Lots of people have had success with it .

[rocksmom]

omgomgomg omgomgomg

 

 

 

No more cardboard tank for me! I came home from running some errands and the giant smashed up box was waiting downstairs. Thank goodness Chris packs so well. I think a few trees sacrificed their lives for my tank.

 

I really am happy with the quality. I've owned ADA tanks in the past (freshwater planted/shrimp tanks) and this is just as good IMO, no hiding anything with that black silicone. I think the glass is thicker and I love how the mesh lid fits down inside.

 

I drilled my stand last night for cords and mounted my apex jr. inside. I think I'm going to run it without the display, I just need a longer ethernet cable to connect it to my router. The one that came with it was about 2' too short. Here's the inside of the stand:

 

 

That shelf is where the air pump will sit for the skimmer. The shelf below it will have the ATO resovoir, assuming I use one.

[Smithjm5]

Looks so good! I think I might pick one of these up...

[ninjamyst]

I have cerameco rocks in both my tank and love them, except the one in my Spec is a little too big. I also have the Tunze Nano ATO and just the other night, it pumped all the water from reservoir into the tank. This has happened over 10 times already. Annoying. Worst than topping off by hand. I dont even know why I bother setting it up again and hoping it wont fail.

[DaveFason]

Great start! Sorry to hear about everything but life will get better!

 

-Dave

[TigerLily]

Pretty tank! I'll be following along to see what kind of awesomeness you bring to it!

[gabe3eb]

Rockmom - looks great! I am in the same boat with my ordered 5g PicO and mini w/bluefish. I wont be around to set it up for another month, but I will live vicariously through your build in the meantime. Great idea with the Mr Aqua Stand.

 

The best ATO I have owned is the tunze 3155 (big one). This is the smallest tank I will have ever owned and initially looked at the nano osmollator until I hear the same reviews. I'm thinking of using either the 3155 or finding another suitable replacement.

 

Really excited to see your build pan out.

[aviator300]

I just read your thread on your 5 gal Pico and saw the pics.....IM SOLD.

 

I will be ordering mine next week..Maybe this tank will turn out to be a cult favorite like a higher quality version of the Spec 5. Please Spec 5 owners, no slings and arrows.

[JR!]

this tank, nom nom nom

[kimberbee]

AWESOME!

 

I'm following along now too!

[rocksmom]

Thanks everyone, I'm pretty excited. May have some more pics for you later tonight. I want to get my light on it and see it with my two rock options.

 

I have cerameco rocks in both my tank and love them, except the one in my Spec is a little too big. I also have the Tunze Nano ATO and just the other night, it pumped all the water from reservoir into the tank. This has happened over 10 times already. Annoying. Worst than topping off by hand. I dont even know why I bother setting it up again and hoping it wont fail.

 

It was actually one of your posts that swayed me. I was reading defendertx's thread about his 20g and he posted about his failing, and then you came in and said the same thing. Obviously not an isolated incident or user error if so many people are having it happen. I considered exchanging mine for the bigger version, but I don't really like supporting a company that sells such an inferior product. They have to know that people are having this issue. I might just stick with the JBJ since I have it and have never had a problem with it.

[rocksmom]

Like peas and carrots (or peanut butter and jelly):

 

 

 

Also stuck my Vidarock and Real Reef rock in to see which I like better. I thought I was going to like the Real Reef stuff better, but now I'm not so sure. I like the bonsai look, I'm just afraid my acans are going to look too big with the scale of the bonsai piece. Hmm. Opinions?

 

 

 

Sorry for the reflections. I should have waited until it was dark, but I was impatient.

[hey]

Like peas and carrots (or peanut butter and jelly):

 

 

 

Also stuck my Vidarock and Real Reef rock in to see which I like better. I thought I was going to like the Real Reef stuff better, but now I'm not so sure. I like the bonsai look, I'm just afraid my acans are going to look too big with the scale of the bonsai piece. Hmm. Opinions?

 

 

 

Sorry for the reflections. I should have waited until it was dark, but I was impatient.

 

The vidarock has my vote, once the thing is full of coral the scale of everything changes your hardscape becomes the coral and the shapes of your rock hardscape become greatly diminished. That being said the vidarock provides more room to place coral around the base and will also be easier to clean around aswell.

[ninjamyst]

vidarock +1.

[D3monic]

Yea vida +2

[JR!]

yeah the vidarock is sick. do that

[Alex B]

100% agree. Vida rock!!

 

If you add a colony or 2 of sps up there, it will top off this tank wonderfully.

Nice equipment selection and beautiful tank.

[aviator300]

VIDA ROCKS !!!!!

VIDA ROCKS !!!!!

[Smithjm5]

Vida rock, the tank looks so good, nice pics too!

[xiaoxiy]

 

 

 

 

[aviator300]

Looking very good. I have a question about your Vida Rock. I have considered trying it for a long time and I think i will use it on my new Pico 5 when it gets here but may i ask you where you purchased yours.

I can find the manufacturers website but havent been able to locate where to buy it..

 

Thanks very much for your courtesy: AVIATOR300

 

P.S. I think I'll start a build thread on "members aquariums" when i have more time but i lack a decent

camera right now..I suppose i could use my cell cam though.

[gena]

Looks fabulous! I also vote for vida rock. This is exactly what I plan to do in about 4 or 5 years. I love that bonsai look .

[rocksmom]

Wow, didn't think votes would be unanimous in favor of the vida rock. I went ahead and moved it into the tank from the bucket where I had started cycling it, which means the tank is officially wet! I feel like an idiot staring at an empty tank, but the tank/light/rock combo is so pretty I finished the wiring, got my storm controller programmed, and my apex jr set up. I won't have my mp10 until we move the corals in from the frag tank since it's currently running on there. ATO is still up in the air as well. I topped off about a cup in 24 hours, so that would be manageable by hand. A small pump controlled by the apex is still a possibility as well.

 

 

Looking very good. I have a question about your Vida Rock. I have considered trying it for a long time and I think i will use it on my new Pico 5 when it gets here but may i ask you where you purchased yours.

I can find the manufacturers website but havent been able to locate where to buy it..

 

Thanks very much for your courtesy: AVIATOR300

 

P.S. I think I'll start a build thread on "members aquariums" when i have more time but i lack a decent

camera right now..I suppose i could use my cell cam though.

 

As far as I know the only place to buy it is http://aqua-tecture.com/ That's where I bought my piece. I think premium aquatics sold it at one point, but they were having trouble getting shipments and stopped carrying it. I think aqua-tecture is actually the same company that makes it, but it's like their store front name. The nice thing is the pieces are all wysiwyg and they display them next to a ruler. You should definitely start a thread, and don't worry about the camera. I think the majority of pictures on here are from cell phones.

[aviator300]

I couldn't wait till the first of the week so I ordered the Pico 5 yesterday and got an E-mail from Chris letting me know my tank will be included in the second round of shipping in about 10 days.

I'll be using a "Coral Compulsion" PAR 38 20K as my light.

 

What is it about this hobby that causes grown men and women to act like little kids at the toy store.

OH, I almost forgot. Chris said that his new protein skimmers for the 5 and 20 gal tanks are almost ready to go.

 

Catch you later. AVIATOR300.

[rocksmom]

Geez, when it rains, it pours. My one boston Rocky, he's the one in the picture on page one, had a bump removed last week. Got the results today and it turned out to be a mast cell tumor. Doctor thinks he got clean margins, but he's getting a second opinion. Said we should hear from him in a day or two, then next step is off to the oncologist to determine if any secondary treatment is needed for the tumor and also to have tests done to see if it spread. Not sure what all that entails. He mentioned lymph nodes and radiographs of his chest and abdomen. Not sure what any of us did to piss off the universe so badly.

Looks fabulous! I also vote for vida rock. This is exactly what I plan to do in about 4 or 5 years. I love that bonsai look .

 

I don't think I could plan anything out 4 or 5 years in advance. I don't think I could wait 4 or 5 months.