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Fiction's 3g Picotope. (Back up and running!)


fiction101

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I had a 24g AP that I broke down 2 months ago and planned on going smaller, I bought a 14g BC but I realized that it was going to be just as expensive as my 24g so I sold it. Last week I decided on going down to a 3g tank, which is the JBJ 3g picotope.

 

Here are some tank specs:

12" 18w current usa satellite light fixture

AC70 filter with rubble rock and the stock filter pad

60 gph zoo med power head

4 pounds of live rock

25w stealth heater

 

fts-4.jpg

 

The tank just started cycling on Saturday with uncured live rock so I'm expecting a long cycle (it smells pretty strong at the moment). I plan on just stocking clove and daisy polyps and hopefully a small acan. :)

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Ditto. It looks much larger than it is, probably because of the perfect 'scaping. :D

 

Thanks. :)

 

The tank consist of only 3 rocks, so aquascaping was a breeze! :D

 

I was wondering if cycling goes faster in these smaller tanks?

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uhh it's not even summer yet but I'm already having heat problems, the tank is going over 83 and the lights aren't even on. At this point once the weather actually heats up all the way, I don't see how this tank will be able to survive the summer? What do you guys use to chill your pico's with? Would a micro chiller work?

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rotarymagic

you could probably ditch the heater... to be honest the powerhead and AC70 are probably more than enough to keep the water constantly warm. and 25watts for a 3gallon tank is pretty extreme IMO.. You'd be surprised too how much heat from the light stays in the water over night.

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you could probably ditch the heater... to be honest the powerhead and AC70 are probably more than enough to keep the water constantly warm. and 25watts for a 3gallon tank is pretty extreme IMO.. You'd be surprised too how much heat from the light stays in the water over night.

 

Ok, I'll give that a try. I also might ditch the power head, since the AC70 seems to be enough flow.

 

Close up shot.

closeup.jpg

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rotarymagic

Also can someone explain the need for an AC70 on this particular tank... I know its probably refugium related, but is the filter intake just basically closed to the minimum setting to keep the 3gallon from turning into a rapids situation?

 

I ran an Aquaclear 50 (200gph) on a 20long awhile back from my congo puffer (before I sold the guy to a friend after he saw it kill&eat red belly pacus and oscars the same size as him) and the situation was like rapids in a fast current turbulent river... I did run the filter at the max setting and put moss/algae balls in there to help with nitrate and phosphate control. From this experience it just seems like the AC70 on a pico is a disaster waiting to happen.

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The AC70 on a pico is recommended because it adds more water volume to the tank which is a big plus when your dealing with a 3g tank. Also you can place a lot more rubble rock and cheato in it then say an AC50. Mr Fosi mentioned that you can cut off the little marker that blocks the intake tube when you move it to the right to reduce the flow, I did this and it helps a ton you don't even have to switch out the impeller. Of course you can switch the AC70 impeller with a AC30 or AC50 impeller if you want, which is what most people seem to do.

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el fabuloso

Nice setup! :)

 

The AC70 adds extra volume and a good place to keep the heater out of the display tank. Personally I'm against using LR rubble so my chaeto has all the room to grow. When set at a minimum, the flow is just right thus eliminating the need for a powerhead.

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Oh boo! Sad to hear that! I was lookinf forward to seeing your bc14 come through. Good luck with your next project. how much did you sell that one for?

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Oh boo! Sad to hear that! I was lookinf forward to seeing your bc14 come through. Good luck with your next project. how much did you sell that one for?

 

I sold the tank and live rock for $200 (the sunpod wasn't included).

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fiction101

After a full week, my levels are zero for ammonia and nitrites with nitrates around 10. I was messing with my aquaclear filter last night and ended up twisting the impeller compartment off so water came gushing out all over my floor! Which meant I had to add new water to the filter so I guess I just did my first water change..I have lots of algae and diatoms around the rocks and glass now, so I bought a CUC, which consists of 1 nass snail, 2 scarlet hermits, 2 cerths and 2 astrea snails. I also loaded the filter with cheato. I'm not really sure how the water change will affect everything, since people always say wait a few weeks before changing any? I plan on stocking my first coral next week, I'm letting my CUC do their magic this week so everything should be clean by then. :)

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fiction101
how did you get your background black like that.. it looks good.

 

I used a whole can of Krylon fusion black spray paint. :)

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coral16keeper

wow! lol that must be a thick layer of paint :P i only used about half a can for my 20L

 

i just did it today ...should be running pretty soon :D

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fiction101

What about just getting a 5g tub and moving everything in to it for a couple hrs and then paint the back. It only takes an hour to dry completely.

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That can be done also. The vinyl can be done without taking the entire tank down though. And it's removeable if need be.

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fiction101

I finally added some corals yesterday, a daisy polyp colony and a blue snow flake clove colony that I broke up into a few peices.

 

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