cdalmost's Overpowered Picotope

[cdalmost]

Introduction

 

Welcome to my Unofficial Pico Methodology Contest entry build thread! I've chosen to enter this contest for a variety of reasons, but mainly for the challenge of maintaining a tiny system stable enough in which for corals to grow and thrive. Other big motivators are the ever-present desire to set up another tank (you know what I'm talking about!) and curiosity regarding new-to-me technologies, which I will explain in depth below. Furthermore, I do not have enough space (or enough flatmate-goodwill) left to set up another "full size" tank in my apartment, so the pico size is compelling.

 

Motivation

 

Lately I have been amazed by some of the systems featured as tanks-of-the-month on various (non-nano-reef) forums, namely those overgrown with dense colonies of subtly coloured SPS: the Acropora forests. After reading the information on their set-ups and seeing all of the complicated - and presumably expensive - equipment needed to keep those large tanks growing, I began to wonder how far "back to basics" I could go while still obtaining respectable growth rates and good colour. In Aquarium Corals, Eric Borneman lists six conditions that may be considered the bare minimum requirements for captive corals:

1. unpolluted seawater at the right temperature and salinity
   
2. active water flow
   
3. light
   
4. food
   
5. bicarbonate
   
6. calcium.
   

My goal is to maintain these six conditions stably and at optimal levels to provide for the growth and well-being of a variety of SPS, including Pocilloporids, Montipora spp., and Acropora spp.

 

Implementation

 

In keeping with my "back to basics" motif, my implementation will be simple. I have (as has everyone else) been influenced greatly by el fab's Pico Guide, so most of what I will do is old news to the locals. For completeness sake I include a full run-down, and comment on the differences between mine and a "typical" modded Picotope setup.

 

Unpolluted seawater

 

The tank, obviously, is a JBJ Picotope 3 gallon glass aquarium. I will be using IO Reef Crystals and maintaining a temperature of ~76F with a Tetra fully submersible 50 W heater. Salinity will be maintained with a DIY ATO, detailed below. I may or may not run mechanical or chemical filtration, depending on how the water looks when it is fully set up. Nutrient buildup will be dealt with mainly through weekly 1 gallon (30%) water changes.

 

Light and flow

 

The first new-to-me technology is metal halide lighting. I know that LED are the way of the future, and many of the tanks in this contest will be using them, but before I give in I want to see what all the fuss was about over MH. Man, they are bright! I went with the most inexpensive option I could find, the fishneedit.com 70 W fixture. I plan to replace the stock "20000K" bulb with a Ushio 10000K in the near future. Flow with be provided by an AquaClear 70 power filter (slightly modded) and two Koralia nano propeller pumps, providing a total turnover of approximately 760 GPH, or 250 tank volumes per hour. This may be excessive.

 

Calcium, bicarbonate, and food

 

To maintain high levels of calcium and alkalinity, I plan to use a two part solution and top off with a weak mix of Kalkwasser and vinegar, as in my BioCube, as detailed here. The second new-to-me technology is a gravity fed automatic top-off device, as detailed in other threads on nano-reef.com. I have space for a relatively large (2 gallon) reservoir to be placed slightly above the tank, on a bookshelf, allowing me to use the absolute simplest ATO design with no electronics and no moving parts. When I obtain the materials I will post some photos detailing the set-up process. Finally, I hope that the bacteria that process the vinegar will provide food for the SPS, because otherwise I don't really know what to feed them. Any suggestions?

[reef2.5]

cant wait to see how your "basic" method works

[cdalmost]

cant wait to see how your "basic" method works

 

Now that I've written it all down it doesn't seem as "basic" as it was in my head.

[rickjg]

Sounds like you have a good understanding of what it takes to make a reef tank work. A Picotope with 70W MH could work out great. Looking forward to seeing your entry.

[el fabuloso]

Two Koralia nanos in a pico? That might be a little too much. Sounds like a good plan though, and I'm glad my guide was helpful. Can't wait to see it come together.

[c_k_kuehne]

Nice build thread with a well thought out plan. Can't wait to see it come together.

[Sword]

Two Koralia nanos in a pico? That might be a little too much. Sounds like a good plan though, and I'm glad my guide was helpful. Can't wait to see it come together.

I have two K nanos in my picotope. No powerfilter though.

[cdalmost]

Sounds like you have a good understanding of what it takes to make a reef tank work. A Picotope with 70W MH could work out great. Looking forward to seeing your entry.

Two Koralia nanos in a pico? That might be a little too much. Sounds like a good plan though, and I'm glad my guide was helpful. Can't wait to see it come together.

Nice build thread with a well thought out plan. Can't wait to see it come together.

Thanks for the comments everyone! I too really hope it comes together as I'm planning. But for now we wait... I've ordered some "base rock" and the two-part kit from bulkreefsupply.com. (Why do they insist in calling it two-part when it's really three?) I'm going to be out of the apartment for a week over spring break, so no new corals until I get back, mid-March. Until then I've got to set up the ATO and test test test... aiming to have Ca, alk, Mg, temp, and salinity rock solid at these levels by the time I leave.

[cdalmost]

I have two K nanos in my picotope. No powerfilter though.

 

I think the power filter provides as much flow as the two K-nanos together, so what I have is very likely excessive. There's no harm in having them all on while there is nothing in the tank but water and a couple of pieces of live rock, but when I get my first frags I may scale back. A lot of books and articles emphasize that SPS (and all corals really) don't like being constantly blasted from one side. I've heard that Koralias aren't great candidates for "wavemakers" (i.e. being shut down and powered up repeated over a short period of time), but perhaps they would be okay run alternately 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off. I think the Coralife "single" Power Centre would be perfect for this. What do you think?

[el fabuloso]

You're definitely on to something. I actually thought about doing that before, having two powerheads and running them opposite of each other at fifteen minute intervals. Never got around to it though and my SPS grew like crazy anyway.

[cdalmost]

You're definitely on to something. I actually thought about doing that before, having two powerheads and running them opposite of each other at fifteen minute intervals. Never got around to it though and my SPS grew like crazy anyway.

 

Yes, thanks to your super-advanced "neglect" technique. It's too bad that, after a tank is set up, the best thing one can do is just leave it alone (aside from WC, feeding, and maybe some dosing): keeping ones hands out of the tank is the hardest part of reefing!

 

Aside from your killer LED array, what do you think were the major factors in having your SPS grow like they did? How deep of a sand-bed did you have in your pico? I'm trying to figure out what they ate...

[c_k_kuehne]

A lot of books and articles emphasize that SPS (and all corals really) don't like being constantly blasted from one side.

 

If you have 2 powerheads pointing in different directions in a small tank you will find your tank has very random water movement even without a wave maker.

[cloons411]

I love the idea of the basics. That is pretty much the same thing that I am going for. As for the mh, I loved mine, however it was over a 10g.

[cdalmost]

If you have 2 powerheads pointing in different directions in a small tank you will find your tank has very random water movement even without a wave maker.

Do they need to be pointed at one another, or do you think any directions will do? I currently have them both in the back right corner, on overtop of the other, one pointed towards the front and the other pointed towards the left. The movement looks very random, there just might be too much of it.

 

Regarding the "blasting", since the tank is so small, inevitably corals will need to be placed directly in front of the powerheads, and it is these corals I am thinking of "giving a break" with the 15-minute on/off cycle. However, being Koralias, this might not be necessary.

 

I love the idea of the basics. That is pretty much the same thing that I am going for. As for the mh, I loved mine, however it was over a 10g.

How did it work out? What were you growing in your 10g?

 

My ATO is in the works: build post forthcoming!

[Sword]

I have my two K-Nano's on opposite sides. One points toward the front middle and the other more toward the other. Good, random (as you can get without a wavemaker) flow.

[cloons411]

I loved the 70w. I would be using it now on my contest pico except I want to try my hand at LEDs. I kept everything except clams. I was just not experienced enough at the time otherwise I would have.

[fishieCJ]

I have that light over my biocube its a great light for the money.

[cdalmost]

Did the first tests of parameters today: Alk 3.7 meq/l, Ca 440 ppm, Mg 1310 ppm. Looking great, until I checked the salinity: 1.028. D'oh! This probably caused the other values to be a bit high. I'll test again in a day or two.

 

New additions: Stylophora frag and dwarf zebra hermits. Pics forthcoming...

[Angelynn]

Pictures?

[cdalmost]

New Equipment

 

Drip top-off

 

My top-off unit didn't turn out exactly as I planned. I bought a two gallon water jug and was planning to use gravity and air pressure to maintain the water level in the same way that an office water cooler works. Unfortunately, the jug is not rigid enough and the shelf on which I have placed it is too high above the tank. Instead I have attached a piece of eighth inch airline tubing and am dripping water in at a controlled rate. Initially it was difficult to adjust the drip rate, and I did not know at what rate to add replacement water, but I have since learned to control the rate precisely and found that a rate of about one drop every seven seconds is sufficient to replace water lost to evaporation.

 

Light and Flow

 

As discussed above, I am now using a Coralife dual power center to alternate the K-nanos. Now one is on and one is off at all times, and they switch every fifteen minutes. The other timer controls the fuge light, a "60 watt equivalent" daylight compact fluorescent in a cheap Home Depot reflector. It's quite bright - enough to melt the top layer of Chaetomorpha if it stops tumbling in the AC70.

 

The fishneedit.com bulb has been replaced with 70 watt Ushio 14000K. The new bulb is less blue than the "20000K" bulb it replaces, and appears to be a bit brighter. The Acropora frag loves it, while the zoas bleached a bit upon its introduction. As a precaution, I plan to shade the tank with some screen material for the first week after adding the new frags (see below).

 

Rockwork

 

After a bit of smashing an gluing I ended up with some rocks that I like. Sand has been added, but this is the most recent picture I have available.

 

 

Animals

 

Right now the tank has three dwarf zebra hermit crabs running around, the Acropora and zoas that can be seen in the picture above, and a small frag of rose Stylophora. Tomorrow afternoon many more frags are scheduled to arrive!

[Bill Nye]

New Equipment

 

Drip top-off

 

My top-off unit didn't turn out exactly as I planned. I bought a two gallon water jug and was planning to use gravity and air pressure to maintain the water level in the same way that an office water cooler works. Unfortunately, the jug is not rigid enough and the shelf on which I have placed it is too high above the tank. Instead I have attached a piece of eighth inch airline tubing and am dripping water in at a controlled rate. Initially it was difficult to adjust the drip rate, and I did not know at what rate to add replacement water, but I have since learned to control the rate precisely and found that a rate of about one drop every seven seconds is sufficient to replace water lost to evaporation.

 

Light and Flow

 

As discussed above, I am now using a Coralife dual power center to alternate the K-nanos. Now one is on and one is off at all times, and they switch every fifteen minutes. The other timer controls the fuge light, a "60 watt equivalent" daylight compact fluorescent in a cheap Home Depot reflector. It's quite bright - enough to melt the top layer of Chaetomorpha if it stops tumbling in the AC70.

 

The fishneedit.com bulb has been replaced with 70 watt Ushio 14000K. The new bulb is less blue than the "20000K" bulb it replaces, and appears to be a bit brighter. The Acropora frag loves it, while the zoas bleached a bit upon its introduction. As a precaution, I plan to shade the tank with some screen material for the first week after adding the new frags (see below).

 

Rockwork

 

After a bit of smashing an gluing I ended up with some rocks that I like. Sand has been added, but this is the most recent picture I have available.

 

 

Animals

 

Right now the tank has three dwarf zebra hermit crabs running around, the Acropora and zoas that can be seen in the picture above, and a small frag of rose Stylophora. Tomorrow afternoon many more frags are scheduled to arrive!

 

Just a quick question

 

I have a 70 w MH I am planning on using in my upcoming Pico. How high do you have your MH mounted above the tank and how are the heat issues?

[cdalmost]

Just a quick question

 

I have a 70 w MH I am planning on using in my upcoming Pico. How high do you have your MH mounted above the tank and how are the heat issues?

 

The bulb is eight inches above the surface of the water. I've had no heat problems due to the light, but then again, I am running topless. Check out my latest FTS to get an idea of how high that is.

[Bill Nye]

The bulb is eight inches above the surface of the water. I've had no heat problems due to the light, but then again, I am running topless. Check out my latest FTS to get an idea of how high that is.

 

 

Very slick. I am planning on running topless also...in either a JBJ 3 gal, Finnex 4 gal or Aga 5.5 gal. Not sure on which tank yet.

[rickjg]

April FTS. Heavy populated, just waiting for it to fill in.

Lookin' good ...

What's the SPS in the center of your FTS pic? Birdsnest or Bird of Paradise maybe?

[BigRok]

What happened to your tank?

I was hoping to see how your tank turned out.