dingusplease Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Hello all, I've been wanting to share the progress of this Pico for a while now, and hopefully receive some critique/comments! The short history and tank info: Started January 3rd, 2014, with 4lbs LR and ~1.5" live sand. Maintenance: - Weekly 10% WCs - Chaeto trimming - Freeze-dried/frozen brine and mysis every two or three days Equipment: 120w Chinese dimmable, full-spectrum LED panel Azoo 180 powerhead HOB fuge Tetra submersible heater Hydor ATO Stock HOB filter DIY led moonlights Stock: Too many corals to easily list, I can work on a comprehensive list if anyone wants to know, they shouldn't be too hard to identify in photos. Randall's shrimp goby Tiger pistol shrimp Skunk Cleaner shrimp Pom Pom crab Two sexy shrimp (male/female) Chaeto Three Nerites And finally, photos! Link to comment
andyl18 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Beautiful tank! I was wondering where you have the powerhead pointed and how many gph it pumps? I have the same tank and I'm having trouble figuring out a good place to point the powerhead Link to comment
cindyp Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 i had a 3g pico but just recently upgraded to an 8g. yours is wonderful! keep it up! ps. does the porcelain crab get along with everyone? i sort of want to get one, but afraid my tank is too small at 8g (with 2 sexies and 2 gobies) so wanted your take. thanks! Link to comment
dingusplease Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Thank you andyl18! I have the powerhead in the upper right section, with the jet creating agitation right across the water surface. Link to comment
dingusplease Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 i had a 3g pico but just recently upgraded to an 8g. yours is wonderful! keep it up! ps. does the porcelain crab get along with everyone? i sort of want to get one, but afraid my tank is too small at 8g (with 2 sexies and 2 gobies) so wanted your take. thanks! Thank you! I just started reading your tank thread- the tank looks great! With regards to the porcelain, I would say go for it, they get along with anything in my experience. Definitely no problem with gobies and sexies. Edit: as long as the tank is stable, tank size shouldn't be an issue with the porcelain either, they don't get particularly large and are filter feeders. Link to comment
cindyp Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Thank you! I just started reading your tank thread- the tank looks great! With regards to the porcelain, I would say go for it, they get along with anything in my experience. Definitely no problem with gobies and sexies. Edit: as long as the tank is stable, tank size shouldn't be an issue with the porcelain either, they don't get particularly large and are filter feeders. thank you for your quick reply! my tank is 10 weeks old. so not very established yet. i had a quick impatient cycle as i shifted things over from my 3g, so i think that helped. i lost a pom pom crab in my 3g because i got him too early. so i think i'll wait some months. Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Hey- cool little tank- nice diversity- that leather is going to take over. Doing a great job- everything looks happy and healthy Link to comment
cindyp Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 just watched your first video and really enjoyed it. especially the new critters my 3g def didn't look like that. ha! but it was an emergency tank converted from a tetra one, so wasn't ideal for saltwater, i think. Link to comment
acrab78 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Looks awesome man! Sweet little picotope. The leather on the left is nice.... Link to comment
erinwillett Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 i had a 3g pico but just recently upgraded to an 8g. yours is wonderful! keep it up! ps. does the porcelain crab get along with everyone? i sort of want to get one, but afraid my tank is too small at 8g (with 2 sexies and 2 gobies) so wanted your take. thanks! When I was an extreme newbie and had a dragonet and blue tang in my tank, a hitch hiker porcelain crab slashed them. I don't think it caused their deaths, but because those fish lay still at night it gave the crab fair chance to claw at them. Just my experience though. Link to comment
kylhcky Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 this tank is getting crazy Link to comment
dingusplease Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 just watched your first video and really enjoyed it. especially the new critters my 3g def didn't look like that. ha! but it was an emergency tank converted from a tetra one, so wasn't ideal for saltwater, i think. You might be surprised how beautiful SW creatures look up close! Even copepods and calcerous worms look interesting when you use a good macro lens! Looks awesome man! Sweet little picotope. The leather on the left is nice.... Thank you! I might have to frag that leather, it's been growing like a weed! this tank is getting crazy In a good way, I hope Link to comment
dingusplease Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 I'm planning on upgrading the lights soon, but can't decide whether to build a custom LED fixture or buy one. Would this work? Here are two I'm looking at (any thoughts?) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aquarium-Reef-LED-Light-Bar-12-inch-3W-LEDs-14000K-14-000K-White-1-ft-lighting-/281048130491?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416fc623bb http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aquarium-Reef-LED-Light-10W-20-000K-WHITE-120-Nano-Tank-Pico-Bio-Cube-20000K-/271179784180?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f23931ff4 Link to comment
tds0 Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Nice tank,love the colours where did you get that lid?? Link to comment
dingusplease Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 Thank you! I designed and laser cut the lid from clear acrylic - it works great. Please PM me if you want any more details, I can send the file or even the lids themselves if anyone wants one. Link to comment
acrab78 Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 What would you attribute the growth of the leather to? I have a small green toadstool that needs to get growing!!! haha Link to comment
dingusplease Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 My larger toad seems to like medium to high flow, and of course stable conditions! Moderate light works well and not messing with it by moving it around or fragging too much. I'm making a new 11 month time-lapse video of this tank, should be done very soon! It will be a "Part II" to the above time lapse that I made this past June. Link to comment
acrab78 Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 My larger toad seems to like medium to high flow, and of course stable conditions! Moderate light works well and not messing with it by moving it around or fragging too much. I'm making a new 11 month time-lapse video of this tank, should be done very soon! It will be a "Part II" to the above time lapse that I made this past June. Cool look forward to the video. Mine has just started to get comfy and has been extending good lately... Link to comment
dingusplease Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 How old is the tank? Glad to hear your toadstool is settling in, mine took quite a while to perk up after nearly being squished during shipping. Link to comment
acrab78 Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 It's like 2 yrs old... had ups and downs but I've been on top of maintenace and all for several months and everything is doing good... My toadstool is a new addition... little guy with nice green tentacles about the size of a fat thumb.... have only had for a couple weeks not expecting growth this soon of course, was just curious... Got mine for ten bucks so can't complain! :-) Link to comment
dingusplease Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 It's like 2 yrs old... had ups and downs but I've been on top of maintenace and all for several months and everything is doing good... My toadstool is a new addition... little guy with nice green tentacles about the size of a fat thumb.... have only had for a couple weeks not expecting growth this soon of course, was just curious... Got mine for ten bucks so can't complain! :-)How's that toad doing? I'm really having fun with this tank Since the last photo dump, I added a pistol shrimp for my goby, some sps micro-colonies, and...This overkill will-roast-my-corals-if-I'm-not-careful LED panel. 120w, full spectrum, dimmable, wider than my tank.Don't worry, I dimmed it near-off and will slowly increase it over the next couple of weeks. http://s346.photobucket.com/user/dingusplease/media/Dingusplease%203g%20Pico%20Reef/FD55CB71-475D-4AD0-BFD5-44A8C9092CF7_zpsw78j9kmu.jpg.html'>http://s346.photobucket.com/user/dingusplease/media/Dingusplease%203g%20Pico%20Reef/7F3A1275-7760-4F9C-8FEC-18D0167B271A_zps216s7qfe.jpg.html'>http://s346.photobucket.com/user/dingusplease/media/Dingusplease%203g%20Pico%20Reef/B876E61F-2E35-40B0-ABEC-A076F8D1C15C.png_zpsqxipp2j2.jpeg.html'>http://s346.photobucket.com/user/dingusplease/media/Dingusplease%203g%20Pico%20Reef/AA15E6F7-888A-4C48-A537-A8FB907233F2_zps9ptlia6e.jpg.html'>Thanks for looking! Link to comment
dingusplease Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 Nice work Thanks! Link to comment
dingusplease Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 I'm slowly cranking up the lights, they're at 25% white 28% blue, no bleaching. PE on the pocillopora is great Between Cobalt Aquatics coral food and Acropower, which would most likely help the sps the most, in terms of colors and growth? Link to comment
dingusplease Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 The $1 protein skimmer: http://s346.photobucket.com/user/dingusplease/media/Dingusplease%203g%20Pico%20Reef/CAE3F600-18A3-40D6-8BB2-CEE47BB5C3FC_zpsrwqnjymx.jpg.html'> - Old gravel vac - Plastic water bottle - Waterproof epoxy - Spare 1/2" rubber tube - Airline tube - Wooden air stone ($1) The collection cup is removable: http://s346.photobucket.com/user/dingusplease/media/Dingusplease%203g%20Pico%20Reef/45B85726-E4CD-4D00-9ACD-EF239B2780E3_zps6qxaafsg.jpg.html'> So far I've tested it enough to know it creates a nice foam head, but I haven't left it running long enough to collect protein. Link to comment
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