Diggman's 2gal Pico

[diggman08]

hey guys.. in addition to my BC29 ive decided to plunge into this world of pico.. so here we goo.... my BC has been running for about 1 year ( thread in AIO)(diggmans BC29) im sure youve seen it.... ive had PROJECT RECOVERY TO the end of it now... it was negleacted for about 5-6 months.. but now it is on the come back... im trying my hardest to get it back right.. but i understand its gonna take a while... my gf loves the tank and it very interested in the world of saltwater.. its like a new language to her.. so i decided to buy a 2gal Pico for her to have fun with...(under my strict supervision and guidance of course) this will be my journal and i will have pics and experiences throughout...

 

i opened the Tom box set it up, put sand it, i went to plug the HOB filter in... the DAM thing does NOT Work... but thats ok i was gonna upgrade it anyway.. so ran out and bought a aqauteck 5-15( 100gph) it is so QUIET you cant here it at all... and the flow IMO is perfect.... im using ultrafine reef sand, tropic maine pro salt.(2.5lbs) and removed carbon media from fliter.. only filter floss in... i would have used established Rock and water from my BC, that would not be smart considering the state of my BC right now.... i am not going to upgrade the lighting,, i am rather impressed by the 13wtt one that came with it... i think the 3gal JBJ only has a 8wtt.

 

so some question for you guys while im letting it cycle.. ( adding lr this weekend..

how long does a 2gal pico take to cycle?

how long should a pico light cycle be?

im asssuming my water changing should be 1gal per week/ w daily Toppoffss?

What are you cleaning the acrylic with on the outside?? im using a toothbrush for inside..

what is the smallest heater i can find that might fit in the HOB?

is it really Neccisary to change my HOB into a fuge??

 

thanks guys.. im more exited about this pico than i was on my BC

[evilc66]

The cycle and the light cycle really wont be much different than your BC29 would be. The quality of the rock and the amount of die-off will set your cycle time. Could be a week. Could be a month.

 

I wouldn't go quite so much as a gallon for water changes. Stick to around 10-20%.

 

For cleaning the acrylic, most LFS that deal with acrylic tanks should carry the Novus line of cleaners and polishes. The are specifically made for acrylic and work well. Be careful using other chemical cleaners. They can fog, or even crack acrylic. Never use rubbing alcohol. Isopropyl is ok though.

 

Don't know how big that filter is that you got, but the smaller (10-50W) Tetra preset heaters might fit. You could also look at the Finnex titanium heaters.

 

Making the HOB into a fuge would be a good idea for a tank this small. Any help you can get making the water parameters stable is of benefit.

[diggman08]

thanks evil.... the HOB is a little bigger than the one that came on it... yeah i prob will do the fuge..im gonna take out all the filter media... put some LR rubble,chaeto, filter floss... and wala!. i want to do some sort of mod where i drill a tiny hole in the lid and put a while led light in there. to keep the chaeto healthy... does any one know if you change the bulbs on the Tom 2gal light.. i would maybe want to get a slightly more blue spectrum in there...

[evilc66]

Wouldn't bother with the LRR if the filter is only a little bigger than stock. Takes up too much room and won't provide any benefit. Just stick with chaeto and filter floss in there.

 

For the chaeto, you are going to need a fair bit more than just a single white LED to keep it healthy. You could do 3 white and 3 red. Make sure they are super bright to make it worth while.

 

From what I have read, I don't think the bulbs are replaceable on those tanks. Most upgrade to a different light like a Coralife or a Current USA. Some have added a second one to get more light. Another option to get more blue light in there is to add blue LEDs as actinic supplementation. There is a guy on ebay called MeasureExplorer that sells waterproof LED fixtures that could work fairly well to get a little more blue. Don't expect it to be dramatic, but you may notice the corals "pop" a little more. The LEDs should be able to overpower the 13W CF and make a little difference. I converted a cheap LED flashlight to a blue one with 9 LEDs and it works fairly well. I like shining it over the corals to see what colors come out (still running CF on my 4gal). I found a small porites colony on my LR as a result of this little toy.

[divecj5]

Damn, something else to subscribe to now Digg. Nice to see that you started up a thread for this bad boy. Better not see you ditch the 29 though and put everything in this

 

Looking forward to seeing how this comes along for you and your gf. I'm sure it will be awesome.

[diggman08]

ok well heres the deall.. i went to a Very Respectable reef shop Yesterday out of town... and as i walked in the door i noticed a 2gal Pico same as mine.... and it had a LID on it... arrrggg!!!! this is why i am so pissed

1. mine has lots of lil scrathes

2. my pump does not work

3. no lid

4. no manual.

5. i think it was a return

6. NO WORRIES CUZ I BOUGHT ANOTHER ONE>brand new everything works fine hehe

 

im talkin the other one back today.. and that aquatek HOB i bout from wallyworld..

 

also when i was there i went head and did it the right way.. i Bought Seeded Water, Awesome Carribean sand, and LR out of their 800 gal show tank! man i plugged the HOB in that came with this thing and i had to tone it all the way down it was blowing the sand everywhere.. so im not going to change it out... right a way i moddified it in to a Fuge,, it came out great... i took the stock filter cart's out.. and with a lil BC mod influence i cut all the floss off and took out the carbon,cut off the top quater and stuffed it with FF.. it fits perfect over my LR and CHaeto... im really lovin this tank.. first pics to follow..

 

i used a earplug to keep it off the tank a little and reduce vibrations

what a bag of chaeto.. i put a bunch in my BC also

 

check out my BC journal for updates also... i addded yet more troops to the CUA

[divecj5]

Awesome man....glad to hear that you ended up getting one that wasn't scratched and fully functional. That's kind of crazy that it seems like you must have gotten a return or something. Sometimes I guess it does pay off to buy local....just not always

 

So are you going to move some frags from the 29 over to this tank or are you going to start fresh with some new stuff? Do you and your gf have any plans for fish? Maybe a small goby would be cool.

[diggman08]

put another nice piece of LR in there and got a small green goby.

[diggman08]

just purchase a Current Dual 36wtt. 12" daylight/actinics w/white moonlights... big upgrade from the stock... i wonder if i can keep small ACAN frag under the new light???

[Matty1124]

hey nice tank... what are you planning on doing with your old light... im looking for one... any chance of selling it? let me know...

[diggman08]

well the purchae fell through with the new light... so it looks like its gonna be lil while till i upgrade... MATTY i think when i upgrade im gonna use it as a fuge light on my BC29,,, but if not yeah ill sell it to you..

[diggman08]

[divecj5]

hey Digg. This little tank is looking great. Love the look of the liverock any that little goby is awesome. I am seriously considering setting one of these up in the future. Just don't want to further succumb to this addiction

[diggman08]

thanks dive.. ha just do it,, its only 2 gallons...hehe.. i added few rics from my BC to the tank ive had forever, and a frag of the glove Polyps..ill get pics up... i remember when i bought these rics back when my BC was about 6months old.. i paid like $75 bucks i piece fot them from Zoanuts :0

[diggman08]

i did 25% water change the other day and clean the redish brown stuff off the glass and in the filter intake... im guesssing that was a mini cycle... but the next day its back and a little on the sand tooo... i was thinking of addding i tiny bag of purigen and maybe chempure elite.... is this ok for a PIco??? regardless im gonna wait a week or two more to see if its just a small cycle.. hopefully so and itll clear up on its own..

[divecj5]

I will for sure have to look I to getting one. What is an extra 2 gallons. Has your girlfriend gotten into it more?

[diggman08]

yeah she loves itt...it gets frustrating cuz i want to do stuff my way and she wants it her way..lol... o well i have my big tank project.

[diggman08]

so i just bought a Current Dual Satellite 36wtt fixture from Rehype.. i cant wait to get it in.. i also got Some Black Tahiatan Moon sand..

 

so here is my question.. my sand now that i have was seeded and established when i bought it.. so is there anyway i can preserve and pods and critters when changing the sand out... the Black sand will be in a bag dry..... what will be the best route to take when doing the switch?? do i need to wash the black sand first?? thanks guys... it sucks because my tank just cycled too.... o well its only 2 gallons

[Rehype]

so i just bought a Current Dual Satellite 36wtt fixture from Rehype.. i cant wait to get it in.. i also got Some Black Tahiatan Moon sand..

 

so here is my question.. my sand now that i have was seeded and established when i bought it.. so is there anyway i can preserve and pods and critters when changing the sand out... the Black sand will be in a bag dry..... what will be the best route to take when doing the switch?? do i need to wash the black sand first?? thanks guys... it sucks because my tank just cycled too.... o well its only 2 gallons

 

 

You should definitely rinse the sand thoroughly before adding it to the tank. It tends to have alot of dust.As long as your rock finished cycling you should be ok with swapping sand. If your worried about losing critters just add some cheato from your fuge to the main display(temporarily) and they will help reseed the new sand.

[diggman08]

ok thanks Hype... whats the best way to rinse the sand...

 

this is how i plann on doing it... take out the water and put in a bucket along with the Rock.. then rinse out the old sand.. put the new sand back in with the LR and poor the same water back in.....

[Rehype]

ok thanks Hype... whats the best way to rinse the sand...

 

this is how i plann on doing it... take out the water and put in a bucket along with the Rock.. then rinse out the old sand.. put the new sand back in with the LR and poor the same water back in.....

 

 

The way i do it is add the sand to a bucket then add water to the bucket. Stir the sand around with your hands to loosen any debis and dust. Then pour out the dirty water and repeat. Im really thorough when i clean sand so i tend to repeat the process until the water remains clear despite me stirring the sand around.HTH

[diggman08]

ok ill do that tahnks... did you ship today???

[diggman08]

Update pics coming this evening... the tank is doing good...all params seem to be leveling out and look good... calc is a little low.. so i put a few drops of Kent AB in.. see if it raises it any..

My rock is getting some nice dark green and red colors to it.. which willl hopefully turn Purple to coraline.. i also added a Emerald crab.

 

expecting the new lighting to be in this week

[divecj5]

Glad to here this tank is coming along for you man. Look forward to seeing some recent pictures of it and I'm sure the new light is going to look awesome on it.

[diggman08]

thanks dive..... im still on the bubble of adding the black sand.... the sand i have in it is really good and seeded full of benifial critters and what not... i hate to take it out and mess everything up... (the black sand is dry in bag) i may just save it for the BC when i set it back up..