El Fab's Pico Reef: 2007–2010

[Lalani]

Happy Anniversary!!!

[got2envy]

Happy Anniversary!! congrats and def TOTM

[el fabuloso]

Thanks guys!

 

I've commemorated this milestone by adding some candy canes in my tank. I found a nice piece with five heads and sits in the back of my tank for now until I find a permanent spot for it.

 

 

When I add corals to my tank it sometimes takes me a while to figure out a good permanent spot for it so I'll keep it in a secluded area for the time being. The last thing I want to do is stress out a new coral by constantly moving it and stress myself out in the process.

 

On another note while I was busy digging around in the back of my tank, I found a mystery bivalve attached to a piece of rock. It's thin and about half an inch in diameter. Does anyone know what the heck this thing could be?

 

Edited November 5, 2008 by el fabuloso

[E36 328i]

Great tank. Congrats on the TOTM.

 

As for the bivalve, on my live rock sitting in my pico I strangely have a bivalve which looks exactly the same. Although mine is just the shell (it is almost entirely encrusted in the live rock and no longer living), it is the same shape, color, and approximate size as you said. Weird.

 

El Fabuloso, I've got a question for you on the HOB refugiums in a pico:

Did you cover the intake tube at all or use anything to shield it? I just set up my pico two nights ago, and I never seen anything explaining what to do or what not to do concerning the intake tube. Obviously the little extensions given with the AC70 will not work in a pico (too long).

 

I was a little concerned about running with an open intake tube, for you see, I have visions of a fine snail and hermit slurry being formed if one or two decides to go up the mysterious flow tube and become AC70 blender fodder. I was thinking of maybe using a small mesh bag over it (although that would probably look ghetto). Any ideas/pointers?

 

THANKS!

[el fabuloso]

Thanks for the comment!

 

The bivalve is pretty neat and even responds to light, I just wish I knew what it was. It also makes me wonder what else lurks in my tank that I don't know about.

 

As for the AC70, what you need to do is trim down the the intake tube (the part that goes in the tank) so that you can attach the extension tube with the safety guard.

 

 

 

Let me tell you though, the safety guard doesn't really stop things from getting sucked up and blended in the filter. What's amazing is how they survive this ordeal and I'll often find feather dusters, mushrooms and Xenias growing in the fuge.

[E36 328i]

Ah, so you did trim it. I figured the intake tube would crack or something. I'm thinking if I trim it down I will use a hot knife to melt it off. That's cool about the animals living through it. I was worried that maybe the slurry would kill the tank in short order if something does get sucked into there.

 

Hrmm...

[el fabuloso]

Cutting it is actually not that hard. I taped off the edge I wanted to keep and used a serrated knife to trim it off. It really is amazing how much stuff can survive through the impeller.

[dorito]

Hi, I REALLY love your pico, it's awsone

I'm new and addicted to this, I hope that one day my 25g will look as nice one day. I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of coral is the green one on top, its really nice looking, I don't know how to tell what kind of corals are just by looking at them yet.

[el fabuloso]

Thank you! The green coral you're referring to are green star polyps (commonly called GSP). They're fairly easy to to take care of although they can be very invasive and can easily overrun other corals near it that are passive which is why a lot of people keep them on the sand and away from rocks. Don't worry, it won't take you too long to learn about all the different coral names and terminilogies.

[dorito]

Thank you! The green coral you're referring to are green star polyps (commonly called GSP). They're fairly easy to to take care of although they can be very invasive and can easily overrun other corals near it that are passive which is why a lot of people keep them on the sand and away from rocks. Don't worry, it won't take you too long to learn about all the different coral names and terminilogies.

 

 

How do you keep yours from overrunning other corals and does it have to be touching other rocks in order for it to spread? I have a nice piece of rock the is high, flat and does'nt touch other rocks, so I thought this would be a nice place for it. What do you think?

[Sexy Shrimp]

It's good on the sand. Then as it spreads you can break bits off it and swap/sell it

[el fabuloso]

Exactly what L34NN3 said. Putting it on the rock isn't too bad but you have watch it carefully and sorta plan ahead for it.

[el fabuloso]

The Great Pico Avalanche

 

My emerald crab has been knocking things around the tank like a rhino and last night I came home to find everything in my tank completely knocked over! The Blasto was face down on the zoas, the Monti cap on its side, the candy canes were in the sand and my big top rock was on top of the galaxy and the plate coral. Luckily no one was hurt.

 

I spent two hours last night playing coral Jenga and trying to get things back exactly as it was. The corals and the shrimps were not happy and neither was I. The crab has been exiled to live in the fuge for a while.

 

The problem is I never anticipated an avalanche to happen in my pico so I never bothered gluing things down. Frags are glued to their specific places but larger pieces are balanced securely on top of rocks so that I'm free to move them around in such a limited space. This has never been a problem until now.

 

This top-down shot shows how my tank is laid out:

 

 

Another factor is that my corals have grown a lot so some of them don't quite fit the same way. The monti cap for example has grown so much to where it's almost hard to position it without its edges touching the glass or the GSP. So in a way this disaster was a good thing as it has made me rethink my aquascape and what I need to do to secure things down to prevent this from happening again.

[saltman123]

Darn those crabs! :)jk

 

The more I see your tank, the more I want to start one. Fighting the urge.

[Lalani]

You just need a bigger tank..

[clownfish1124]

Do what sdt is doing, new design! she took out her cap, now it's time for you to take out that gsp or sumthing and get sum more coralz! or upgrade like lani said...

and get rid of that crab!

[el fabuloso]

The more I see your tank, the more I want to start one. Fighting the urge.

Do it! What are you waiting for? You know you can't find the urge!

 

You just need a bigger tank..

Quiet, you!

 

Do what sdt is doing, new design! she took out her cap, now it's time for you to take out that gsp or sumthing and get sum more coralz! or upgrade like lani said...

and get rid of that crab!

I'm beginning to consider redesigning the tank altogether. I'm not looking for too drastic of a change though, just something that's both functional and maintains the aesthetic integrity of my tank.

[Lalani]

So there will be a change? Hmmmmm....

[tangboy]

Lookin' Good

[danktank]

i only have one thing to say Fab a mi me encanto sorry if i conjugated it wrong my Spanish is a lil rusty. YOU sir have inspired me ive always had a little 1 gallon bow front Betta tank and Ive now decided to turn it into a miniature version of your tank ( minus the big annoying crab and the sps as well as a few other things)

 

it too me about 2 hours to read all 16 pages but man was i happy to do so. CONGRATULATIONS on everything you've accomplished and best luck for the future.

 

- Henry

 

p.s. i cant wait till you unveil you big project

Edited November 15, 2008 by danktank

[el fabuloso]

So there will be a change? Hmmmmm....

Yes, change is good.

 

Lookin' Good

Thanks!

 

i only have one thing to say Fab a mi me encanto sorry if i conjugated it wrong my Spanish is a lil rusty. YOU sir have inspired me ive always had a little 1 gallon bow front Betta tank and Ive now decided to turn it into a miniature version of your tank ( minus the big annoying crab and the sps as well as a few other things)

 

it too me about 2 hours to read all 16 pages but man was i happy to do so. CONGRATULATIONS on everything you've accomplished and best luck for the future.

I'm glad I was able to inspire you! I think a 1 gallon tank can make a nice pico. Don't forget to add a sexy shrimp or two (or three). I can't believe you spent the time to read a year's worth of thread! Muchas gracias y buena suerte a ti tambien!

[adolfo425]

This is an awesome tank. One day I hope to have a tank like yours. Full and growing healthy with colors.

 

 

I am thinking of sexy shrimp in my pico as well I have a 1.8 gallon tank all in one setup they might look good in.

 

I have included a picture of what my pico looks like.

 

Adolfo

 

[clownfish1124]

fab forgot to put the accent in también

[danktank]

i was thinking about 2-4 sexies but prob 3 even though i dont like odd #'s that much eccept multipuls of 5

[el fabuloso]

This is an awesome tank. One day I hope to have a tank like yours. Full and growing healthy with colors.

 

 

I am thinking of sexy shrimp in my pico as well I have a 1.8 gallon tank all in one setup they might look good in.

Thanks, Adolfo! That pico looks nice by the way. What kind of light do you have on it and I'm guessing that's a custom tank? How long has it been running? You should start a tank thread if you don't have one already.

 

fab forgot to put the accent in también

¡Muérdame!

 

i was thinking about 2-4 sexies but prob 3 even though i dont like odd #'s that much eccept multipuls of 5

Sexy shrimps apparently do better in odd number groups. How they keep count, I have no idea. I had three to start with but never replaced the one that died so I'm down to only two and they've been doing just fine. So I'm not sure if there's any truth to that rule.

Edited November 16, 2008 by el fabuloso