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Innovative Marine Aquariums

My Wally's World Pico-mini reef.


gupebreedr

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Tom Deco 2 Gallon pico tank and kit.

 

DSCN0707.jpg

 

Okay let me start by saying if your not familiar with this tank I might suggest you visit this thread to see how this all started.

 

 

 

Pico Tank and Setup @ Walmart.com

 

 

 

 

As promised, here is the beginning to my first pico tank. I'm not going to go into how this started but if you are interested see link above.

 

Here's the tank right out of the box:

 

DSCN07092.jpg

 

I've painted the back and set this big boy( LOL) up last night. Right now I'm using the stock light and filter.



Here's two shots of what it looked like this morning.

DSCN0711.jpg

 

More of a top view.

DSCN0712.jpg

 

I need to find some additional sand but want to find something a bit larger in grain size. I'm hoping that I can get some from one of the local LFS tanks as I don't need too much. I'll also add some additional LR. I've just set it like this to get the cycle started.

I'm not sure how I will proceed with this setup but I'm kinda partial to having a Clown Goby and some easy corals.

I know several others have ordered the same setup as mine so please feel free to jump in and share how and what you are doing with your tank. fingerscrossed

 

That's all for now but will update as things progress.

 

Over and out,

Rob

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Yes it does! I love it.

Looks like some decent flow from the filter, is that a sand dune in the front??

 

Cant wait to get mine and share pics!

I'm so stoked that a lot of us impulsively bought one

 

*I may grow Majano anemones in mine

 

Woogs,

 

Yeah, that little filter does put out some decent flow. Actually, I'm quite surprised for such a small unit.

I'm not going to say that my purchase of this tank was an impulse buy, I've been wanting one for a while but kinda thought it would be silly to buy such a small tank such as it is. After reading posts of what other peeps have used for picos I decided that this setup was not all that bad and especially at that clearance price. I was thinking about setting up a 5.5 gal but when I saw the Deco2 and all that was included I could not pass it by. hehehe

You know your idea for growing Majano's might not be a bad idea. Please post pics of your tank as it progresses. I think it would be very interesting to see what we all do.

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Looking cute! What did you use to paint the back side?

 

 

alot of people like to use "Krylon Fusion" to paint aquarium glass.

 

Good start on this great deal for a simple pico! itching for that cycle to complete yet? lol

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Looking cute! What did you use to paint the back side?

 

 

Thanks Metrokat. I used black, satin enamel spray paint, 3 coats. I took extra time to mask off the entire tank before painting as it was so small I thought that I could easily have issues with over spray. I think it turned out fairly well I just wish I went a bit further around the curves.

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Pretty cool, you've got me wanting one of these! It would be awesome if we could get like 25 people to get them and have a contest for the best one after a year or so. :)

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Pretty cool, you've got me wanting one of these! It would be awesome if we could get like 25 people to get them and have a contest for the best one after a year or so. :)

 

Neat Idea actually!

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Just bought mine! Pure impulse. It will be nice to have a reef on my desk, rather than running back and forth from my 29BC. I'm down for the contest. It would be great to see what everyone comes up with!

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Pretty cool, you've got me wanting one of these! It would be awesome if we could get like 25 people to get them and have a contest for the best one after a year or so. :)

 

Mitch,

Go ahead and get one, you know you want to. And yes it would be a great idea if we could have a little contest, I nominate you to be in charge of it. :) I think we've already got about 10 peeps that have ordered one.

 

Yeah this whole thing is gonna be sweet.

 

gupebreedr: Thank you for pointing out about spray painting around the curves more

Also, is this YOUR tank thread or can we all post updates/pics?

 

 

Heck yeah!!! Me too, haha

 

 

Heck no, anyone can jump in here, the more the merrier. As it was just mentioned, I think we should have a little contest to see what becomes of our tanks. :welcome:fingerscrossed:happydance:

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Go with Caribsea special grade reef sand if you want the larger grain size that won't blow around. I went with Fiji Pink in my 50g and regretted it every day, too fine with good flow for LPS/SPS.

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alot of people like to use "Krylon Fusion" to paint aquarium glass.

 

Good start on this great deal for a simple pico! itching for that cycle to complete yet? lol

 

 

The itch has not really set in yet as I have my other new nano that I'm stoked about too, but I'm sure it will soon. I was so excited that my two new baby clowns decided to host in my frogspawn. Gotta love the little boogers. LOL

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Looks great! Since so many people from here bought this tank...you all should do a contest tank with these. It would be fun to see who's turns out the nicest after 6months or a year...however long those contests usually last. Keep it all stock with a $ limit. Just an idea :)

 

Edit: Guess I should have read through all the posts first...:lol: contest already mentioned!

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Mitch,

Go ahead and get one, you know you want to. And yes it would be a great idea if we could have a little contest, I nominate you to be in charge of it. :) I think we've already got about 10 peeps that have ordered one.

 

Well I'm trying to save up for an ATO for my tank so I can't afford to start another tank now. I'd be happy to be in charge of the contest though!

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I ended up buying one as well. It's been delivered, but I have to wait for my parents to bring it up from Michigan next week (I'm Canadian).

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good find... looking forward to seeing the progress! If I wasn't on my 1st Salt tank I would have ordered 1 for that price but then again I can store it away for later hmmm... can u say hooked?! haha

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Micro-Reefs Aquariums

I am so looking to seeing the build on this pico. Your discovery on this price, prompted me to drive down the price on our 3 gallon pico kit.

 

Mike Guerrero

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I am so looking to seeing the build on this pico. Your discovery on this price, prompted me to drive down the price on our 3 gallon pico kit.

 

Mike Guerrero

 

Hey Mike,

Just wanted to tell you I went and looked at your website, Bravo. Great site and info. Do you make the acrylic tanks yourself or have some say so in their design????? If so, I might have an idea or two of a product idea that may be of interest to other pico owners....

 

Rob

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How are we getting a heater in this pico without modding anything?

 

 

Well, without doing any type of modding, this is the only thought I currently have for heating a pico.

Hydor mini heater

 

It could be place under the sand. The only drawback I see is this unit cannot be adjusted so you could have a problem with your tank overheating.

The other idea is that you could upgrade your filter to perhaps an AC50 ( not sure of the dimensions) and use it as a refug and a chamber to house a very small adjustable heater but you would have on remove or alter the stock lid.

If anyone else has any suggestions please feel free to chime in on this.

 

Rob

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Well, without doing any type of modding, this is the only thought I currently have for heating a pico.

Hydor mini heater

 

It could be place under the sand. The only drawback I see is this unit cannot be adjusted so you could have a problem with your tank overheating.

The other idea is that you could upgrade your filter to perhaps an AC50 ( not sure of the dimensions) and use it as a refug and a chamber to house a very small adjustable heater but you would have on remove or alter the stock lid.

If anyone else has any suggestions please feel free to chime in on this.

 

Rob

 

As working with geckos, they use this same type of heater. I have read somewhere that these:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00024BJZ...rce-full-site=1

 

Dim the actual heater themselves. There's an article floating around the Internet about this topic, but frankly it had worked with some people. Don't quote me if it doesn't work though - some pitching in my 2 cents.

 

Good luck!

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Thanks guys, it wasn't about which heater to use, but how to fit it in there without any modicfications. The question comes from earlier in the thread (this or the the original thread by the OP) where there is no extra cut out or anything to thread another wire for a heater.

 

If there is no easy answer then that sux.

 

Personally, I'm going to put it on a petmate heater. (A petmate heater is a big flat heater for a dog or cat bed that keeps them warm).

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