Salt's 3 Gallon Picotope

[The Salt]

Hello Nano Reefers!

 

After working on a 60 gallon build for many years I ended up moving to a much smaller place and I decided to downgrade to a 29 gallon lagoon. Shortly after purchasing the aquarium off of a local reefer I found out I might be moving yet again. I decided not to set it up after all, again. If I’m lucky this move I will be buying but I wont know until later next year.

 

After 4 years of not having an aquarium and seeing Gena’s sale thread including a 3 gallon picotope I had to get it. On my break from reef keeping I started my own online community tailored towards reef keeping and marine conservation. I started sharing my picotope build there but to be honest the community is still very new making it pretty lonely. So I decided to share my build here as well.

 

You guys were awesome when I shared my old build here. I hope you all are still as inspiring as ever!

 

Best,

Salty

 

Here I go! Day 1 I cleaned up the picotope and added a new coat of paint to the back. I had some live sand and some dry rock so I decided to get stareded right away.

 

Here she is stock with the fallowing:

• 3 gallon glass aquarium, 11-3/4" x 8-7/8" x 8" tank
• PC Clamp-on Lamp fixture, 9W 50/50
• 40 gph HOB Pico Powerfilter

 

[The Salt]

Hey Gang!

 

Hang with me and I'll try to get us up to date as much as posible. The fist thing I did after I got it up and running was upgrade the stock Pico Powerfilter 40(gph) to a Eheim Liberty 100 (2040) bringing it up too 100(gph).

[The Salt]

I have a small stockpile of reef gadgets in the garage that I have picked up used over the years. It just so happened I had a Nova Tec iceprobe from another project so I decided to retro fit to the new filter. It's a little bulky got it keeps everything nice and cool.

 

[The Salt]

Next I was super lucky and found a new 'Innovative Marine SKKYE Light - Clamp 18 Watt LED' for the great price of $40 here on on NR. I also picked up a Rio 50 on ebay for $10 shipped. The add-ons for the pump were needed to direct the water but they were way to bulky so I trimmed them down a bit. Oh, and I added some cured live rock from the LFS

 

[The Salt]

Here are a few more photos and a video. The water really booggies now and all without moving the sandbed.

 

 

 

 

 

[BRN]

Cool stuff, just getting into picos myself they are super fun!

[BRN]

really like the skky lights

[The Salt]

The picotope was fully cycled by day 24. I'm currently on day 40. I started slowly stocking the tank. Below is a list of the current tank inhabitants as of today. The attache video is from last weekend, I'll work on a new one soon.

 

Fish

• 1" Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris ) X1

Clean-Up Crew

• Super Tongan Nassarius Snail (Nassarius distortus) X1
• Astraea Turbo Snail (Astraea tecta) X2
• Sexy Anemone Shrimp (Thor amboinensis) X2

Coral

• Oregon Duck Zoanthid (Mixed Colony)
• Eagle Eye Zoanthid (Mixed Colony)
• Argent Orange Zoanthid (Mixed Colony)
• Radioactive Dragon Eye Zoanthid (Colony)
• Orange Ricordia Yuma Mushroom X3 'Orange & Green' _{^{3 more babies growing}}
• Magicians Paly (Palythoa) X2 _{^{3 more babies growing}}
• Red & Green War Coral (Favites pentagona)
• Knopia Polyps (Knopia sp.)
• Bicolor Ricordea (Ricordea florida) 'Orange & Green'

Nems

• 1.5" Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemone (Stichodactyla tapetum)

 

 

[The Salt]

Cool stuff, just getting into picos myself they are super fun!

I agree! This has been lots of fun! The only thing I dont miss is how humid the LFS gets, especially in the summer. So far I have been keeping it cheap and sticking with the $10 frags but I have found some great deals.

 

really like the skky lights

For $40 I couldnt pass it up. I'm really happy with it and it looks great.

[BRN]

40 bucks!?!?!?! LOL. Are you going to put a skimmer on it now that you have a fish in it? I would recommend the mame skimmer 3. im going to put on in mine.

[The Salt]

Looks great BRN!

 

I haven’t decided on using a skimmer yet. I’m stopping at one fish. I currently do water changes once a week and things are running smooth. I’m doing just under a gallon so its super quick and easy. I’m not adding any supplements. I’m hoping using Red Sea Coral Pro and doing weekly water changes will keep me going for a while. So far, its been good.

 

I know its crazy but I have been toying with the idea of drilling the pico and using a small sump. I really wanted to keep this one simple but I have a hard time doing that. Having the extra space to hide the iceprobe would be nice. With the right return pump I could probably do without a powerhead in the tank as well. It’s very tempting!

[BRN]

Looks great BRN!

 

I haven’t decided on using a skimmer yet. I’m stopping at one fish. I currently do water changes once a week and things are running smooth. I’m doing just under a gallon so its super quick and easy. I’m not adding any supplements. I’m hoping using Red Sea Coral Pro and doing weekly water changes will keep me going for a while. So far, its been good.

 

I know its crazy but I have been toying with the idea of drilling the pico and using a small sump. I really wanted to keep this one simple but I have a hard time doing that. Having the extra space to hide the iceprobe would be nice. With the right return pump I could probably do without a powerhead in the tank as well. It’s very tempting!

to sump or not to sump, that is the question. I wanted to keep my pico simple, so i decided not to. When i saw this all in one unit for 50 bucks i knew it was the right tank for me.

Check out picosavvys pico if you need some inspiration sump wise - http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/363142-my-rembrandt/

 

Your tank looks great keep it up!

Mine is a crab tank btw. ive changed the scape since so it doesnt look so artificial. PS - MOAR pictures and videos i really love your tank.

[The Salt]

to sump or not to sump, that is the question. I wanted to keep my pico simple, so i decided not to. When i saw this all in one unit for 50 bucks i knew it was the right tank for me.

Check out picosavvys pico if you need some inspiration sump wise - http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/363142-my-rembrandt/

 

Your tank looks great keep it up!

Mine is a crab tank btw. ive changed the scape since so it doesnt look so artificial. PS - MOAR pictures and videos i really love your tank.

 

Nice AIO, post some new photos soon! Savvy's build is great too, lots of fun add-ons. I forgot how much more addicting this is when you have water in the tank. I'm still on the fence about the sump. I think I'll end up waiting to see how it does without.

 

I really want to start working on my 24" x 24" x 12" Mr. Aqua again. That wont be set up until after I move again but I already have some great stuff for it. I got a Ecotech Radion XR15 Pro from a job I did for an online retailer and a MP10. It's the most expensive piece of equipment I have invested in next to the APEX.

 

I think the next upgrade for the picotope is going to be a DIY moonlight or upgrading the Skky. I want to see if I can replace one of the whites with a UV but I’ll have to open it up and see what kind of LEDs it uses to see if it can be done.

 

Thanks!

[JR!]

what a cool build. really into this one

[The Salt]

Bicolor Ricordea (Ricordea florida), and

Radioactive Dragon Eye Zoa (Zoanthiniaria sp.)

Knopia Polyps (Knopia octocontacanalis), and

Orange Yuma (Ricordia yuma)

[The Salt]

3 Gallon Picotope, Day 85

 

Hello Gang!

Sorry I haven't updated this thread lately. Let me get you updated. Our clownfish went carpet diving a while back. I added a yellow Clown Goby but I couldn't get it to eat so I returned it to the fish store after a week in hopes they would have better luck, I tried all kinds of food with out luck. I have had clown gobies in the past without any problem. After doing some research I find it is not uncommon for them to not adjust to captive living. Make sure you insist to see your possible fish purchases eat in the the store. I took from granted everything would be fine based on my past experiences.

Next I had a bit of an amphipod outbreak. Without anyone to eat them in the tank it became a real problem. They started to stress the corals to the point they weren't opening. I went with a Ruby Red Dragonet (Synchiropus sp.), not a great pick for new or smaller aquariums due to its need to feed on pods. The amphipod problem went away real quick but so did the Dragonets food source. I have been adding tiger pods for him so he is still eating but I will be looking into a refugium soon. Pods are not cheap folks.

Outside of the above issues things are doing great. I have been adding coral and have had some great growth on the Favia and Palys. I do a 1 gallon water change a week. If I use meaty food of feed the coral I might do another 64oz in the middle of the week. I have been using Red Sea Coral Pro salt. Below is the current livestock. I will only be keeping one fish in the tank.

Invertebrates:
Sexy Anemone Shrimp (Thor amboinensis) X2
Dwarf Zebra Hermit Crab (Calcinus laevimanus) X1
Emerald Crab (Mithraculus sculptus) x1
Astraea Turbo Snail (Astraea tecta) X1
Margarita Snail (Margarites pupillus) x3
Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemone (Stichodactyla tapetum)
Maixima Clam 2”

Coral:
Oregon Duck Zoanthid (Mixed Colony)
Eagle Eye Zoanthid (Mixed Colony)
Argent Orange Zoanthid (Mixed Colony)
Rasta Zoanthid x2
Radioactive Dragon Eye Zoanthid (Colony)
Orange Ricordia Yuma Mushroom X5
Orange Ricordia Yuma Mushroom X1
Magicians Paly (Palythoa) X5
Pink and Brown Paly (Palythoa) X3
Chalice “2
Red & Green War Coral (Favites pentagona)
Green Pineapple Brain Coral (Favia sp.) 2”
Mystery Acropora 1”

Fish:
Ruby Red Dragonet (Synchiropus sp.) x1