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H20's Pico Reef (pics)


H20

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H20's Pico Tank

 

 

I have been running an Aquapod 24g for awhile now and have liked it so much, that my wife bought me a Pico tank for my birthday. I always thought my next tank would be 100g, but I went backwards, :lol: . I am putting this Pico tank on my desk, and think it will be fun to have it right in front of me to watch for hitchhikers, and the crabs, shrimp, etc. I plan on keeping mostly softies (mushrooms, zoos, and ricordea), and might even try an LPS like a small frogspawn head to see if the lighting can handle it.

 

I was between the JBJ Piotope and the Toms Deco Kit 3. I ended up going with the Toms Deco Kit, for the better lighting, 18w vs JBJ's 9w, the better filter, 80gph vs. 40 gph, and I felt more comfortable with the acrylic here near my computers vs. JBJ's glass that could more easily break. We found a good deal on the whole tank kit online for $39, and it comes with everything you need to get started. :D

 

So, the tank is: Tom Deco Kit 3 gallon, 80gph adjustable flow filter, 18w 50/50 lighting (14K actinic and 7400K daylight). I added a Theo Hydor 25w heater, and a Coralife Digital Temp with probe. I do not plan on upgrading or modifying anything on it right now, as I just want this one to watch for fun. The majority of my time and money 'tank-wise' will go toward my AP 24g.

 

 

 

Here are some pictures:

 

 

Kit in the box:

 

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It comes packed nicely:

 

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The space on my desk:

 

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Bare tank:

 

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Lighting:

 

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Filter and Pump:

 

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Cloudy after adding Carib-Sea Live Sand:

 

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With Top on:

 

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With Light and filter added on:

 

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Cleared up the next morning:

 

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Next Steps:

 

 

I decided to put a plastic mat under it to catch water drippings, etc, since it is on my wooden desk. Found a plastic chopping mat at Bed, Bath and Beyond that worked perfectly.

 

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I added my Theo Hydor 25w heater.

 

 

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The Heater was a little tall, so I had to put it in at an angle to get the lid on the tank. Also, I had to dremel a notch out of the acrylic top to have a place for the heater cord to exit the lid.

 

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I had bought one of those little 'stick on the side' strip thermometers, but as I was about to stick it on, I felt like it would obstruct my view from some portion of the tank. I opted to not put it on, and got a Coralife Digital thermometer with a little probe that I stuck inside the tank on the back wall.

 

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My first Rock:

 

 

The day after I got my tank set up, I went and got a one pound piece of rock. I realize that I need more rock, but I wanted to start small, as many corals come attached to rock, and I wanted room to grow and add rock/coral.

 

 

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I was doing a tank cleaning and water change on my 24g yesterday, and had to trim my chaeto. I did not want to throw it in the trash, so I opted to ball it up and toss it into my Pico in the corner.

 

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The new project as it sits so far right now.

 

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Nice start. That rock makes the tank look huge!

 

Ditto. Keeping the rock work from taking over the tank will make it appear larger. Good interior design concepts here. I'm keeping my eye on this one.

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looks like thats gonna be a really nice tank for you...i hope it all works out in the end...il probably be following this thread...i love watchin tanks grow :)

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Hey I saw you have your cheato in the sand and just thought I would suggest putting it in the filter after removing the stock filter pads. Thats where I had mine and it worked great. It gets plenty of light in there to grow and prosper. I used to have mine in the sand until it took over the tank (literally, over the summer when I was working and didn't get to spend much time with my tank it grew until it took over half the tank) I decided after that to put it in the filter because it keeps it somewhat contained.

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lookin good h20, do you plan on adding any inverts?

 

 

Yes, some dwarf hermits and some snails, and a shrimp or two. I was thinking about some little Sexy Shrimp, as they are so small. I even have thought of adding a mini brittle star. It has been running here on my desk now for about a week. I haven't even tested the water yet except for S.G. Thought I would give it a couple of weeks, but I probably won't have much of any cycle, since the little rock I added was already cured at the LFS. But I am going to be checking my numbers over the next week, then probably add some inverts.

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That is sooooooo cool. Where you find it for $39? I googled it but couldn't find it that cheap.

 

 

Drs. Foster and Smith website had it on sale for $39, but the sale ended on Dec. 17th. Maybe they will run it again sometime soon.....

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Added a coral:

 

 

I have had this coral in my aquapod 24g for a little while, and its coloring wasn't doing so hot. I think these metallic green mushrooms need lower light, and my 108w in the 24g seemed to turn them mostly brown. I decided to try out this branch rock with the mushrooms on it in the Pico to see if the lower lighting would green them back up. Seems to be working so far, as their coloring is starting to come back. It is a neat little branch rock, with metallic green mushrooms, and one big 'true blue' mushroom on it.

 

 

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You can see the metallic green color starting to really come back on this one in particular.

 

 

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I also fragged a tiny ricordea head that was trying to grow under a big ricordea in my 24g, but wasn't progressing because it could never get any light being under the other one. I scraped it off the rock and put it in the Pico, and it wedged itself into the hole in the rock that you see in the center of this picture. We'll see if he makes it. He is the little blue and orange baby ric hiding in the middle of the picture, in a hole.

 

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Tank as it stands now:

 

 

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Inverts added:

 

 

I added a few inverts today. I guess I should have mentioned in my previous 'coral added' post, that my little tank had cycled. Ammonia and others are at '0', and my SG is at 1.025.

 

 

I added into the Pico today 2 dwarf zebra hermits, 1 cerith snail, and 1 astraea snail. I am going to leave it at that for a little while and see how it goes. Actually, I added the cerith last night after he was attacked by a hermit in my 24g, so I put him in the Pico to let him recover from his battle, and heal up. He buried down in the sand, and I hope to see him again. Added the rest of them today. I decided to go with the dwarf zebra hermits over the other types that are available, as they are herbivores as opposed to most other hermits being omnivores. Maybe my snails will survive a little better in this small environment with this being the case. I also added in a couple of loose shells for the hermits to move up into to as they grow.

 

I may add some zoa frags from my 24g next.

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