1G Cheap Pico

[VT Deadhead]

I saw this at Walmart the other day and thought it would made a good (cheap, $10 bucks) 1G pico. I salvaged a few pieces of rock, a blue legged hermit crab, and a partially dead (dying) zoa from my crashing 3G JBJ Picotope. The top-offs on the picotope were driving me crazy, so I wanted something that would fit on my desk .... and had a hood.

 

Anyways, the first one of these I bought had scratches all over it so I returned it for another. I modded the cover to make room for the HOB filter only to have the plastic crack when I got a little rough with the coping saw. So I bought another. I think I'm eventually going to swap the HOB filter for a Tunze Universal Pump Mini 5024.04. The tank plastic is so thin (maybe the thickness of a penny) that the HOB filter flexes the back wall. I'd prefer not to stress it.

 

The blue hood shown below is how the tank is normally oriented. I turned it around and I think it looks much better (less visual obstruction). I'm working on modding/painting the new hood. For the meantime, the lights are laying on glass cover. I'll be re-aquascaping as soon as my corals get used to the environment. They're a little stressed right now.

 

So far I'm liking the setup. Smaller water changes = less mess. The only problem is that it's hard to move stuff around in the tank without causing the water to overflow (chopsticks come in handy in this situation).

 

Hardware:

1G Aquaview Aquarium

40 GPH Pico Powerfilter (from picotope)

50W Tetra Submersible Heater

9W 50/50 CF Light (from picotope)

Glass Cover w/ chopsticks to support light

 

Inhabitants:

1 Green Zoa (dying or coming back to life ... I can't decide)

1 Purple Zoa w/ Greenish-White Eyes (recently purchased, barely opening)

1 Blue Legged Hermit Crab

1 Margarita Snail

1 Hitchhiker Clam (very tiny)

 

I looking for stocking suggestion (peaceful, easily maintainable corals with maybe some sort of shrimp).

 

Here are some photos after 8 days:

 

Don't be fooled "fish, gravel, plants, and ornaments not included"

 

Pre-modded Hood in lovely Marina Blue

 

Full Tank

 

Blue-Legged Crab Irritating Zoas

 

Green Zoas Post 3G Crash

 

I'll update this thread as I make improvements.

[Matty1124]

you should get a turkey baster and blow those zoas off they look like they are covered in something... this might keep the hermit from climbing on them and maybe they will open back up... looks like a good start to a nice pico though

[UCLA.irie]

haha - my roommate has that exact tank for his beta. $16 at petco. I'm interested to see it work out.

[VT Deadhead]

Yeah ... there is a lot of crap on the zoas. I did a freshwater dip on Sunday. I'll probably do the same in a few days (to make sure there are no nudis living among them).

 

My only problem now is trying to keep the tanking from getting too warm. Last evening it was hovering around 84 with the lights on. I'll probably have to get a small desk fan (although I'm not sure how that's going to work when the hood is in place).

[fraggle rockette]

Yeah ... there is a lot of crap on the zoas. I did a freshwater dip on Sunday. I'll probably do the same in a few days (to make sure there are no nudis living among them).

 

My only problem now is trying to keep the tanking from getting too warm. Last evening it was hovering around 84 with the lights on. I'll probably have to get a small desk fan (although I'm not sure how that's going to work when the hood is in place).

 

sometimes if you add an airstone to picos it helps to move the water a bit more, and the bubbles breaking the surface might just cool it down a degree or two. hth.

[wildernesstank]

huh

[sleepy]

sometimes if you add an airstone to picos it helps to move the water a bit more, and the bubbles breaking the surface might just cool it down a degree or two. hth.

 

Wont that create a protein skimmer effect- causing filth to accumulate on the surface?

[fraggle rockette]

Wont that create a protein skimmer effect- causing filth to accumulate on the surface?

 

idk- i use one on the other end of my frag tank- i have a HOB at one end and a airstone strip at the other. temperature stays regular, and never have seen surface scum except once when i removed the airstone to use it in a holding bucket while transferring livestock into my new 24g. i think as long as there is some other sort of filter (HOB etc.) it shouldnt be a problem. (plus it's kind of what most undergravels use anyway, and my LFS uses one or two in their 12g AP to "chill" it.)

[sleepy]

Good to know.

[Zer]

Definitely keep us posted. I was just thinking about trying a salt setup in one of those tanks, so I hope you have good luck with this.

 

I am still new to this, but I would assume this size of tank would be more for inverts and choral. I have some noob questions if you guys don't mind. What sort of lighting did you use and how does that integrate with the stock hood? Also, I have heard that there are types of hang on back filters that can be modified into a refugum (I only have a slight idea as to what that means), is that what you are using, and would such a setup be appropriate on this tank? Finally, what would a small setup like this tend to cost (initial investment and maintenance). Thanks and sorry for the thread-jacking.

 

PS, looks great so far.