< 1 g pico?

[wheresnemo]

I was looking into turning those little critter cases you get from the LFS into a pic, has anyone successfully turn one into a saltwater container? If so, I would love to see the information on it, powerhead?filter? etc.

If not, then how about a 1g pico. I was looking to put one on my desk at work. So saving space is a must.

any and all suggestions I will take.

[paneubert]

This one is cool...

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...hl=coffee+maker

[RBuddha]

[fishbabies]

i've made a few picos out of glass vases i got free from work. use a glass drill to create a discreet hole for airline tubing for bubble circulation. azoo makes a small palm filter, coralife makes a small 50/50 light set called the aqualite mini and azoo makes a titanium heater about the size of a sharpie. the round tank is the latest and is powered by bubbles and a cheap light and has done well for 4 months. the round tank has a 7" diameter footprint and the square 8x8"

 

[saltman123]

Those tanks are sweet!!!

 

What are you water changes like? 25% daily/weekly?java script:ShowHide('qr_open','qr_closed');

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[fishbabies]

thank you. i use a 16oz bottle to do water changes so that's just under 15% once a week. sometimes twice a week if i am paying a lot of attention to feeding the sun coral....which gets a feast once a week.

[saltman123]

Those tanks are truly amazing! Make me want to get one going tomorrow!!!

 

So did you basically drill a small hole in the bottom or lower side so you could fit an air line tub through the glass and into the tank? Did you use a air stone, or some other way of breaking up the air?

 

I am interested to hear as much detail as you can give so I can consider it.

 

So the tanks do well with just 1 water change a week, and no filter other than the bubbles moving the water? That is impressive.

 

DETAILS PLEASE:)

[fishbabies]

thank you...the round tank uses bubbles only. a hole was drilled about an inch from the bottom on the back side and rigid tubing leads to the center of the tank. from there, airline tubing leads to an airstone. from the airpump to the tank there is a flow control valve. the filtration is provided by the live rock and sand. it is not a fish pico so that is sufficient. if i got a goby i might supplement with an azoo palm filter. my experiance is that matured filter mediums constantly change the waste processing bacteria (biological filtration) and ammonia levels go up and down. you can combat this by removing the filter medium until it dries...few hours... and then return it to the filter. i would do that every 4 days or so. that keeps the filtration purely mechanical and chemical so that your biological filtration load is not constantly going up and down with filter media changes. bubble movement works best with small tanks and with corals that do not require high flow.

[saltman123]

Do the Xenia pulse in that small square vase tank?

 

The Blood/Fire shrimp does ok in such a small tank? Do you feed it at all?

[fishbabies]

the xenia do pulse and double in size every month...as well as the shrooms. the fire shrimp does very in the small space...doesn't hide as much

[saltman123]

I think you are motivating me to build my own little Pico:)

 

Does the tank do much better with the azoo palm filter? I realize that to add an azoo filter it has to be the right shape too. Won't work on a rounded vase. If the filter seems to make a pico that much more successful I will go for a squared shape container.

 

Now I want a Pico!!!

[fishbabies]

the azoo fits on my 7" diameter vase...it is a very small filter with flow control....the thing with a round vase is the alice in wonderland acid trip distortion that goes on at the sides...but i like it

[fishbabies]

pics of the undergravel plumbing and how the Azoo Palm Filter fits well on the round vase/tank

 

 

 

the azoo filter is emrpt cuz it is not in use

[NanoClown]

do you ever see bubbles with the air filters?

[saltman123]

Great pics with even more detail. I didn't think the azoo was going to fit on the round, but I can see that it does. Do you use the azoo on the round at all?

 

Is the second picture down showing how you drilled and put the air line tubing up the middle? I think that is a picture of the square vase if I understand correctly.

 

I might try to score a mini square one first.

 

PS - How the heck do you clean the glass? Does it get lots of growth and algae on it?

[Argent]

that's great! I love it - reminds me of my quart pico.

 

Might see about something like this myself - with another airlift tube setup like my quart had.

[fishbabies]

thanks....yeah the square vase is a different but shows how the rigid tubing is sequred with silicone in the middle of the tank to keep it from moving. the square vase is a 6" cube . I also had an 8" cube. no algea problems...a little light dust on the sides sometimes thta the snails take care of

[NanoClown]

azoo makes a titanium heater about the size of a sharpie.

where can i find this heater online?

[saltman123]

This heater looks ideal...

http://www.petstore.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=HD10401

[fishbabies]

here's the small azoo

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...p;N=2004+113767

 

[NanoClown]

perfect for my next projet! thanks!

[hisc1ay]

Sweet. These threads are great! I definitely want to get a tank set up on my desk at work, and I want to 1-up everyone with a Betta. I think a mini-reef will 15-up them!

 

-j

[saltman123]

What are the setup stages like?

 

Do you have to start with sand and rock and let it cycle? Did you use established rock and just break it up into small pieces?

 

Then how long did you let it run before you added anything?

[fishbabies]

in a tiny pico it is very unlikely you will be able to have a fish. cycling is mostly for the benefit of fish.....to build up the bio-filter load. I have always started right off with a big chunk of rock(s) with shrooms, live sand and hermits and snails. when the shrooms seem to be expanding and multiplying, then you may try and add things like crabs, shrimp, featherdusters, and hardy corals like zoos, button polyps, candy canes/trumpets, starburst polyps, etc. i never buy live rock because all the coral i buy comes attached to rock and picos are too small to constantly be moving rock and coral in and out. Shroom rock always has tons of critters and biological filter things. If you have a 3 gal pico or <, by the time you find all the right coral to fill it up, say 2-3 months, you may be ready to add a tiny goby or something.....the health of all your coral and critters will let you know if it's time.

[saltman123]

That makes sense. I will do as you said starting with the Rock, Sand, and after a few days add in some mushrooms. Once those look happy i'll add nicer zoa's and some critters. From there I'll add a shrimp.

 

I am excited to start a pico soon