pico vase gear

[An Bollenessor]

Hi all

 

Since about half a year, I am the proud owner of a small (5.5 gallon) nano (see this thread). I am still figuring things out but it is fun. I'd like to start a pico vase now too. I'd like it to have a lid (no daily top ups) and to use weekly feeding followed by a complete water change (so also different from the nano, still working out this aspect, see thread). I have not found a suitable vase yet and am not sure what size it is going to be but I was wondering if you had any tips regarding equipment.

 

flow: I see most people use air pumps. What would be the minimum vase size to use the smallest types of circulation pumps? (I have a hydor pico evo, is there an even smaller one?)

 

light: a separate lamp stand is an option or one or a couple LED lights in the lid. For the latter option it is probably best to DIY but are there any off-the-shelf options?

 

heat: thermostat heaters all seem so big, a heater combined with a timer seems dangerous with varying RT...would an option be a canister filter with inbuilt heater? No need for filtration but it could take care of flow and heating (it would be ideal to stick a LED in the canister filter and add Chaeto for nutrient removal and even for mechanical filtration....)

 

rock: I'd like to create a rock mount that I can lift out of the vase for easy cleaning. Maybe by attaching them to a stick on a base. Or perhaps rocks can be attached to the lid....

 

curious to hear your thoughts!

 

 

 

[Weetabix7]

I've used this pump with good luck in the past on Picos, it has adjustable flow: http://premiumaquatics.com/products/tunze-universal-pump-mini-502404.html

 

I saw something recently at a Petsmart that might work, I'll see if I can find it.

I think the canister filter idea has potential, I'm interested to see what others think about that.

 

I've seen really small heaters for sale recently, basically betta bowl size, but they aren't adjustable, they have preset temps.

Also, I think the removable rock mount idea is a really good one, you should try it!

[Beer]

You can pick up controllers from Amazon for less than $20 that will let you run a heating and cooling circuit. The recommended enclosures are too small though, so you'll need to find something else for that. 120V supply with two relays. You can get some now that read in F instead of strictly C. The cooling circuit can be a wall-wart power supply with a computer fan.

 

I've got a Marina submersible Betta heater in my pico now, which is about a gallon of water total (yes, I have a sump on a half gallon tank) and it works pretty well. It is a bit on the lower side temperature wise, but it is difficult to find an adjustable heater under 50W. I think Neo-Therm makes one, but it was around $60 last time I checked a few years ago. I have also used the DeepBlue 15W heat stik. Some people have had issues with the heat stik, but of the three or four I've used in various tanks, I haven't had an issue. They worked out well for me. It is a glass heater, so I think most of the bad reviwes were from people that didn't handle them properly, but insisted they knew what they were doing and didn't abuse them. The Marina has a plastic casing, as long as you don't keep it plugged in while it is not submerged, you are fine (same goes for glass, it's just a little less forgiving of rough handling. You don't really need to baby though)

 

I've got one of the Hydor pico 100GPH pumps (maybe one of the smaller ones) throttled down a bit and it works well and isn't very loud. Some pumps will add extra heat, like the one I use to mix water (don't remember the brand). If ambient is 70F or higher, that pump will over heat a gallon of water in the mixing bucket, so keep that in mind. Some of the smaller AIO tanks have some really small pumps, if you can find one of those. You may be able to get a LFS that sells them to order one as a replacement part. I was struggling to find a source a few years ago.

 

There are a bunch of screw in type bulbs available. Unless you are looking for something totally custom or really like building your own projects, it will probably be cheaper to buy something that is prebuilt. I picked up some cheap ones off EBay that shipped direct from China. I think one was 5W and the other was 15W. I wasn't sure what the ideal option was. The optics are a bit narrow, but not too bad. There are local manufacturers/vendors now that have affordable options. There are a few that are sponsors here too. You'll be looking for PAR15/20/30/38 style bulbs. You'll need an idea of what size/shape container you'll be using as well as what you want to grow in there before you decide on what bulb to go with. Power and lens angle will be determined by the depth and spread you need, intensity and color spectrum will be determined by what you want to keep.

 

 

 

I like the sigle mass rock structure for cleaning, just don't make it one solid chunk. Personally I don't like that look, you can really tell the tank is small. Breaking up the rock and gluing/puttying it back together to create something that scales nicely to the vase will produce something much better looking.

 

Putting everything into an inexpensive canister, like the Sunsun or Tom's Rapids mini, hides the equipment and frees up tank space. I like that idea. You could definately make that work.

[An Bollenessor]

Hey Weetabix7 and Beer,

 

thanks for your thoughts! I've been doing some more thinking/googling.

 

I like the option of an external light fixture and an external canister filter for flow with inline heater for a 'clean' look.

 

Feeding once a week and then a complete water change would preclude the need for filtration/sump. Using small rocks glued together and to an acrylic rod (Beer: I was not thinking of one massive rock!) would make it possible to lift out the rock and completely clean the vase (could keep bottom bare or use thin layer of sand that could be washed every water change). Would need to be pretty solid though, perhaps also using fishing line. Substrate hanging from the top would be even cooler; it would be more 'natural' maybe to use mangrove root instead of rock. Of course checked out Carnation tree coral Dendronephthya but maybe not!

[Beer]

Those are pretty crazy looking.

 

 

I'm not convinced mangroves are super useful at nutrient export since our nutrient levels are so low. There are cool and definitely bring a different component to maintaining your tank, but the last time I looked into it, people weren't really seeing any results (at least not the ones who were actually documenting and keeping logs of their feelings, water changes, livestock, and test results). You need fairly intense daylight spectrum lighting (they are tropical/subtropical) and require frequent misting to maintain high humidity. I think with the limited nutrient density in a reef tank, growth is so limited that you don't see much of a benifit from a nutrient export standpoint.

Not to say that they don't have value in an aquarium, but if you are relying on them for nutrient export, you might find yourself in trouble; or at least no better off than just doing water changes. I think cheato or some other macro might do better for you. Especially with such limited feedings.

But if you just want to grow mangroves because they are cool, then by all means, go for it. I have freshwater planted aquariums (I'd never do a fresh water tank without plants) and they are lots of fun and are very rewarding. Combining that aspect with a reef tank sounds like a fun challenge.

[Weetabix7]

I agree w/Beer regarding mangroves.

 

I've always loved the way Carnation corals look, but have also always heard they were very difficult to keep healthy in captivity. I never tried them for that reason.

 

What were you thinking of as far as an external light fixture?

[An Bollenessor]

Hey,

I was not very clear, I meant a mangrove root, not a live plant. It would purely be a substrate to attach hanging soft corals too. There are some threads on using wood in reef tanks; there is the risk of tannin release. Better it is to beachcomb for a nicely shaped small piece of wood (not supereasy here). Then find a way to attach it to a lid (will need an external lamp). Red chilli corals look cool....

[Beer]

Wood is frequently used in planted tanks. A lot of times people try to avoid the tannins purely for aesthetic purposes even though there a many benefits in planted aquariums, other than the reduced light penetration. It will pull the pH down, so it's not desired in reef aquaria.

 

Boiling usually helps draw out the tannins. It may take a few cycles in the pot depending on the type and size of the of wood and the volume of water in the pot. Not sure what the tannin levels are mangrove roots, so I couldn't tell you how much effort it will take to clear that up. When the water is clear, drop the wood in some RO and let it soak for a week or so. Test the pH before dropping the wood in and after a week see where it is. Maybe repeat the process with salt water to see if it pulls it down, or just do salt from the start. Might be a little more effort, but could definitely be worth it to get a totally different look that also aids in maintenance since it would help with removing the rock work (or negate the need for rock work).

 

I'd be a bit weary about grabbing driftwood from the beach, you never know what it has possibly soaked up. Sewage runoff, oils, farming/lawn runoff (fertilizers- nitrates, phosphates, pesticides, etc.). Granted you don't actually know where the store bought stuff is collected, but it usually comes from more remote areas and I'd imagine they do some sort of testing as those businesses would run into some serious financial troubles if a ton of tanks got wiped out from contaminated driftwood.

[An Bollenessor]

Hi Beer, I have had planted freshwater tanks before, I would expect problems with yellowing if the water using roots (apparently lowering pH is not such a problem in seawater). If I could get hold of properly 'grayed out' driftwood from the beach I would not worry about pesticides or nutrients as it must have been in the sea for quite a while (still would boil it though). I am in Cornwall in the UK and there are good westerly storms at the moment, even found some bivalves (jewel boxes) from Florida, so hope there will be some driftwood also!

[Beer]

Just be careful boiling the driftwood, do it outside if you can. You never know what is going to be released. What ever is vaporized will be directly absorbed into the bloodstream in your lungs. People have been sent to the ER and killed pets boiling stuff from their tank.

[An Bollenessor]

Hey Beer, thanks for the warning; I'll be a bit more careful then! Have not had time to go out, hopefully tomorow if the rain is not too bad. A friend of mine found a live young loggerhead turtle here in Cornwall, things have been washing up!

 

I am a bit disappointed what equipment is availble really. There do not seem to be small, external canister filters with inbuilt thermostat heaters. A canister filter + inline heater is not very cheap. Sticking a 5 inch heater in a pico vase is not ideal....is there a market for a custom external canister filter with inbuilt heater + inbuilt LED to grow chaeto? This would take care of flow, filtration and heating in one go...

 

Anyway, as soon as I have found my hardware I'll start a new thread!

[Beer]

Check out the Tom's Rapids mini filter.

They are fairly inexpensive and have a clear case. There is a divider to separate the chamber into two sides so you could grow macr on one side and run some media on the other if you wanted (water changes are cheap and easy on something that small, media isn't really necessary most of the time). It's intended to run on up to 20g freshwater tanks. I want to say it's in the 60gph range.

You might want to use something different than what comes on there. The intake and spray bar might be too big scale wise, but they are easy to modify and shorten. You may want to look into glass lily pipes. You'll probably have to create some reducers to go from the stock tubing to the diameter tubing for the lily pipes since the lengths that would fit your needs are also going to be a smaller diameter. But they would look nicer if you can make they work.

[An Bollenessor]

Hi all,

 

still exploring options. Might try to build a acrylic pico tank. I would like to have lights in a hood, to prevent too much light spill' but especially to be able to use a cover to prevent evaporation. I want to go LED, and use a strip rather than a square format. I have only found the tmc aquabeam aquaray 600 as an option but could use something smaller, any suggestions? (So I do not want to have hanging or clip-on fixtures and an exposed aquarium cover w salt creep etc).

 

cheers M