Pauls Picotope - 3 Month Update

[Phuntoon]

Paul - thank's for posting, beautiful tank. Rock work is really cool.

 

I'm buying one too - you should get a commission from JBL.

 

Any spikes in your water parameters so far and if so how did you resolve?

 

Thanks!

Be sure to post pics and progress when you get your picotope up and running.

As for my parameters going whacko.....none to speak of. I just do a 1/2 gallon water change every week religiously. I don't dose anything because I don't want to make things more complicated when they don't have to be. Lately, I've been running carbon for one week, then one week off, just rotating it like that. As long as you keep up the maintenence, there shouldn't be any issues.

 

Oh wait.....I do dose. It's called scraping algae off of the glass.

[Reverse Logic]

Oh wait.....I do dose. It's called scraping algae off of the glass.

 

Wow then I guess I dose every day. I'm so proud of myself!!

 

Any suggestions for getting into the front two curves of the picotope? Once I make the 2.5 minute drive to the LFS for some tiny snails it probably wont be a big deal but right now it's annoying me. The old fingers holding a pad just feels wrong.

[avalanche1201]

how about...the ol' "fingers push the pad against the glass so it doesnt fall" method?

 

I dont think u can use a magnet b/c of the bend..or u could get a pad on the stick from ur LFS

[Phuntoon]

Any suggestions for getting into the front two curves of the picotope?

 

 

Here's my little arsenal of algae scrapers. I use standard skewer sticks for these. I cut up an algae scraper sponge into little squares. You know the kind that's smooth on one side and rough on the other. Just stab the skewer sticks through the little sponge squares and tada.....mini algae scrubbers! I have a smaller one for the easy stuff. For the algae that needs more leverage to get off (and for the corners), I have the slightly larger one that I stabbed a few times through. I used to use a credit card and my hand to scrape the large easy to get to spots but it created too much turbulence and sloshing around in the water. So same deal for these too. Got a few skewer sticks, an old credit card I cut up, and a rubber band wrapped tight. Works awesome! All of these little scrapers and scrubbers really get to those hard to reach spots. I've lately been only cleaning the front though. The coralline algae has really started to take off on the powerhead and glass and I'm gonna let it grow. (quarter is just to show size reference)

 

 

[Phuntoon]

I've decided to move my Xenia to a different piece of rock. It's always been in danger of being knocked from it's perch up top by hermits and I don't wanto to have to worry about it anymore. I got a "Y" shaped piece of dead coral that will fit in the same spot as before but more secure. It fits nice and snug like a puzzle piece. Besides, I've been wanting to do some controlled Xenia spreading anyway. So here's what I did......

 

Here's the Xenia in the same spot and on the same rock it's always been on.

 

Moved Xenia and rock it was on down to the sandbed next to the Y shaped piece.

 

After it attached, I waited until most of the Xenia had "walked" onto the new piece, then I cut the Xenia "bridge" so a bigger chunk would be left behind to grow.

 

Here's what's left on the old piece of rock.

 

Here's the Xenia back up top in the spot it was used to.

 

 

The entire process took a little less than a week.

[Reverse Logic]

Here's my little arsenal of algae scrapers.

 

So apparently when it comes to complex ideas of aquarium running I usually am a step behind. When it comes to thinking cleary and simply, as in using skewers, rubber bands, credit cards, and pads, I farther still. (were you a writer on Macgayver?)

 

Good ideas thanks for the pictures.

 

You're my Picotope hero.

 

-Reverse

[Phuntoon]

(were you a writer on Macgayver?)

 

Good ideas thanks for the pictures.

 

You're my Picotope hero.

 

-Reverse

 

I only wrote on the first 2 seasons.......kidding!

 

I'm just here to show the progress of my picotope, share teqniques I've come up with, and the experiences that I'm going through. I'm trying to keep it simple stupid for people just starting out and try to give creative suggestions for others that have been in the hobby awhile. I'm happy to help.

 

I've been working on a pretty major change in regards to my picotope. There will be an update on that in the next few days......

[Reverse Logic]

I only wrote on the first 2 seasons.......kidding!

 

I've been working on a pretty major change in regards to my picotope. There will be an update on that in the next few days......

 

Macgayver was a cool show but Stargate SG-1 is better.

 

Major changes ehhh . . . are you getting rid of the the stock parts? I want to go at least six months with all of the stock stuff before I start upgrading. It seems like everyone else upgrades, that's why I like yours, it's still bone stock.

 

Looking forward to the changes . . . i think.

 

-Reverse

[Phuntoon]

---9w Lighting Experiment Complete---

 

The experiment was to see how well things do with just the stock 9w light. I've come to the conclusion that almost everything does just fine. I say almost because there were 2 corals that were starting to suffer. My Ricordea started to shrink considerably and began to look like a cup or a cone as it appeared to reach for more light. My Acan Lord was also suffering a little bit. The main head was slowly dwindling away even though I spot feed it every day. It had even sprouted a few more baby heads but overall, I think LPS in general need more than just 9w. All the other corals are doing great with no signs of adverse reaction with the 9w lighting. Things aren't very fast to grow but still had a lot of growth overall. Recovery from stress and injury I think could have benefited from a stronger light as well. I had a yellow polyp get a large portion of it eaten by a huge amphipod (I witnessed this) and it probably could have recovered if it had the chance to recover quicker. It ended up withering away. Keep in mind, if it weren't for the Ric and the Acan, I would still be running the 9w. I didn't want to ever have to upgrade, but I like all of my corals (which is why I bought them) and refuse to let even just a few suffer just to prove a point that you can keep anything with the stock light, even though those very few were not fairing well. So unfortunately, I've been forced to upgrade. With all that said, now it's time to have some fun and get some much quicker growth!

 

 

The cheapest place I could find for the light I was looking for was www.petsolutions.com. I ordered the Current 12" satellite 1x18w w / lunar light which was on sale for $34.99 from the regular $44.99. What they actually ended up sending me was the Current 12" dual satellite with 2x18w lights. This fixture is normally priced at $99.99 which I got for $34.99.....woohoo!! So I'm going from 9w to 36w! That's more than I ever wanted on this tank but what the heck, I'll roll with it. I guess it was meant to be. At least this way I'll have a dawn and dusk since the actinics are on a separate switch.

 

 

Now it's time to acclimate to the new lighting. With such a big jump in wattage, you can't just slap the new fixture on. You risk stressing, bleaching, or possibly killing your corals. I'm going with the "hang the light and gradually lower it" method. I didn't want to have to deal with screens or shorter lighting periods. I wanted to keep it as natural as possible.

 

Now I had to build a light acclimation rig. I had an old pole that was perfect to hang the light from. My bass guitar case was luckily the same exact height as the dresser in this room. I strapped the guitar case to the aquarium stand (which is a covered bass amplifier) and layed the pole across the top. I strapped the pole down on both ends so it's nice and sturdy. I used regular old rope to make a harness for the actual fixture. Another rope tied to the hook of a black bungee cord will hook onto and hold the elevated fixture. I wrap that around the pole a few times for grip, then tied the other end to a full 5 gallon jug that I use for water changes on the octopus tank. I used a small yellow bungee cord for safety in case something fails (knot coming loose etc.). What could be more catastrophic than a powered lighting fixture falling into the tank? I have 3 timers set up for my new lighting scheme. I used to have lights run from 12 noon til 10pm. Now, the lighting schedule is:

 

Actinics: 12:00pm - 10:00pm

Day lights: 12:30pm - 9:30pm

Lunar light: 10:00pm - 12:00pm

 

Every day I would undo the knot on the 5 gallon jug and give a little slack, slowly lowering the new fixture day by day. I gave it a week of doing this before the mounting legs finally touched down onto the top rim of the tank. I think the corals experienced zero stress and showed no signs of shock with this acclimation method. My Ricordea flattened back out and expanded the way it always had before.

 

the acclimation setup (with old light still on):

 

about midway through the process:

 

...and we have touchdown:

 

top view of the fixture:

 

 

 

The tank ran from a constant 78-79 with the 9w to 80-81.5 degrees with the 36w. This is a little on the high side but still within a safe range and everything is still happy. If it climbs much higher though, I could be in a little trouble. During summer, heat will be an issue big time even if I only still had the 9w. Instead of dealing with fans blowing across the top of the tank, or floating frozen water bottles filled with RO water, I think I'm going to invest in one of these. (this product description is taken off of the manufacturers website)

 

CL-85 Thermo electric heater/chiller

 

Perfect for desktop nano tanks. Automatic switch between heat to chill.

Recommended for tanks up to 12 gallons.

Refrigerating capacity 85watts.

Power consumption 120watts.

Required flow 80GPH Min/160GPH Max

8.5"Long 10" wide 7" High

Excellent in both fresh or saltwater

Digital control your desktop reef tank environment to within plus or minus 2 degree F.

 

 

 

These run a little over $200 but I think it's well worth the lack of stress you'll have in the hot summer days trying to keep the tank cool. You can even take out your heater and save it as a backup cause this thing heats and chills.

 

 

It's really cool to finally see the glowing flourescence of my corals under just the actnic light. Just as cool to sit late night and watch the shimmering effect the lunar light gives off and watch the amphipods do their best work as they scurry around all over the place after all the corals have closed up. I've even noticed a few new hitchhikers I never knew existed. I always wondered what those couple of long leg looking things peering out from my LR were until I finally saw it out in the open under the moonlight.....a brittle star.

 

actinic full tank shot:

 

lunar light (is actually a little bit brighter than the picture shows):

 

 

Like mentioned before, I never wanted to have to upgrade, but at least now I have way more options when it comes to adding more livestock which would require more lighting than before.

[xmen0075]

Beautiful Tank!

 

Would the new lighting accomodate a healthy clam?

[Phuntoon]

Thanks!

 

I think it should be ok. JackJack7 who also has a picotope thread on this forum has been successfully keeping a clam under an Odyssea 24W fixture.

[saltyd4wg]

Looking very nice- love the light upgrade

If you get the CL-85, be sure to let us know how well it works. I am going to be setting up a Tru Vu 6 with a Current 36 watt Lunar light fixture in the canopy and also worry about heat when warmer weather comes so I would be interested to see how this product does. Thanks

[Reverse Logic]

Now I had to build a light acclimation rig. I had an old pole that was perfect to hang the light from. My bass guitar case was luckily the same exact height as the dresser in this room. I strapped the guitar case to the aquarium stand (which is a covered bass amplifier) and layed the pole across the top. I strapped the pole down on both ends so it's nice and sturdy. I used regular old rope to make a harness for the actual fixture. Another rope tied to the hook of a black bungee cord will hook onto and hold the elevated fixture. I wrap that around the pole a few times for grip, then tied the other end to a full 5 gallon jug that I use for water changes on the octopus tank. I used a small yellow bungee cord for safety in case something fails (knot coming loose etc.).

 

Ok I guess I made the Macgayver comment too soon . . .

 

Well I wish you continued success but I have bad news . . . you're not my Picotope hero anymore. Now you'll fade into the background of people with stuff I wont be able to afford or implement in the near future. Of course I still read it all . . .

 

I do, however, appreciate the details on running the stock lighting. Very useful thanks.

 

-Reverse

[saltman123]

That Pico is Nice!!!

Awesome documentation too!!!

 

I am curious to know how that CL-85 chiller does. I was considering buying it for a 12 gallon and was told it was questionable for a tank that size, and definitely not considerable with a MH light. I don't have MH yet but it is on its way.

 

I may start building a pico soon. Yours Rocks!

[WaterWorldAquatics]

What kind of filteration were you running in the filter?

[Diskusting]

nice tank, very clean.

[Phuntoon]

Although I still come here everyday and read all the other posts, it's been quite a little while since I've updated, so here it is. I haven't bought any new corals but just been letting the ones I have grow and grow some more. I really got bitten by the reef bug building this pico. Much of my time since the last update has been setting up a 29g reef after my Octopus finally passed away. I haven't neglected this tank one bit though. I still maintain my religious water changes, spot feeding corals weekly etc. The only slight bummer is that I'm battling a little cyano outbreak at the moment. I opened the powerheads flow valve a little more and that should fix it cause it's only showing up in a few dead spots on the sand and a little on a rock. I don't want to add any chemicals to kill it as you should always find the problem to fix things so they don't keep coming back. I still don't dose or supplement anything because water changes will fix just about everything! As far as coral growth, there has been lots. The superstars have been the red zoos and the Xenia. The reds have gone from about 10 polyps to more than 30. The xenia has gone from 1 stalk to 7 total. The Acan Lord has also done well going from 1 head to 17. Also, Yellow Polyps have even more than doubled. Since there's rock close to 3 sides of the tank, I've only been cleaning the front glass. That means the coralline algae has been left free to grow on it's own. It's all over and covering the left side almost completely as well as my now entirely "purple" powerhead. The only 2 corals that never showed absolutely any growth are my green zoos and my ricordea. For that reason, after the most recent pictures, they have since been moved to my 29g and have never looked happier. I think they've been dreaming of metal halide for a long time and have now reached heaven. Boy I gotta tell ya, after having seen what my corals look like under metal halide as compared to the power compacts......I'll never have anything but halide again on a tank except for the PCs I already have on the pico. Metal Halide is clearly very superior. I've also moved over one stalk of xenia since I have a few to spare. Besides the little cyano outbreak, the tank has stayed very healthy and will keep doing so as long as you don't neglect it and take any problems that arise one step at a time finding the source as opposed to quick fixes. I still run carbon one week with it and the next week without it. I had been considering a mini chiller but realized I don't need one. A regular desk fan sitting next to the tank is all you need. On warm days I only need it on low pointing it actually halfway off the tank. One day when it hit about 100+ degrees in the room the tank's in, I worried and put it on high directly facing the tank. It cooled it way too much and the heater couldn't keep up! Glad I caught it before it dropped below the mid 70's. Since then I've only needed to keep it on low, pointing the fan usually half on half off the tank. I rotate it depending on how much "blowing power" I need to drop the temp that particular day. Ok blah blah blah right, now I think it's time for some pictures.

 

 

Here's some before and afters:

 

Red Zoos (actually I think these are palys)

 

Now

 

 

the Xenia has become way more "fluffy" and pulses a whole lot better since the upgrade from 9W to 36W.

 

9W

 

36W

 

Single stalk

 

Most of the stalks

 

 

 

Acan Single head

 

shot from top so you can see all the heads (feeding on Mysis)

 

 

Xenia clump left behind from when it moved onto another rock.

 

now

 

 

Coralline Growth

 

 

Full Tank Shots:

 

The Beginning - 9/26/06

 

End of Last Year - 12/5/06

 

A Month Later - 1/12/07

 

Another Month Later - 2/11/07

 

Recent - 6/19/07

 

 

 

Well That's it for now. I think I've covered everything, but if not, let me know and I'll be glad to answer any questions. Thanks for looking!

[Joe b]

Great tank! I too have the pico. 36 watt lighting and I don't think mine looks as big as yours. Great aquascaping!

[Phuntoon]

Thanks, that's really what I was going for....the big tank look. I decided to buy a lot of small rocks that I could puzzle piece together into a formation. I went for the crescent moon layout so corals could sit on rocks on all 3 sides but also have a "cove" for corals on the center in the sand. If I had just 2 or 3 large rocks, I don't think I could have aquascaped it the way I want. The other benefit of smaller rocks is no 2 corals share a rock. They're each on their own and can be moved if need be without disturbing each other.

[chaostactics]

You have such an awesome little tank here

[acerole]

I love the setup. How do you keep all the Live Rock stable? Is it glued together or something?

[TheUnfocusedOne]

where did u get all these corals from?

[Phuntoon]

I love the setup. How do you keep all the Live Rock stable? Is it glued together or something?

 

No glue. I just spent a lot of time in the beginning with hands in the tank, sweat dripping off the forehead, trying to get it just right. I had the idea of how I wanted it, but getting it to fit just right was time consuming and challenging. I was finally able to get the pieces to fit like a puzzle. I can bump the rockwork at any angle with no collapsing.

 

 

 

 

 

where did u get all these corals from?

 

Here's the list of everything in no order of purchase:

 

 

---Mermaid Aquarium---

 

Live Rock

Live Sand

Ricordia

Acan Lord

Red Zoanthids

 

 

 

---Aquarium Concepts---

 

Xenia

 

 

 

---Atlantis Aquarium---

 

Aggregating Anemone

Yellow Polyps

Briareum

Green Zoanthids

Green/Brown Button Polyps

Pipe Organ

 

Chaetomorpha

 

 

These are all local from 2 to 20 minutes away from my home.