PSYS Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 I was the same way... I got mine all filled and set-up on a Saturday, too. I hated removing that damn Picotope label! ugh. It took a lot of elbow grease... I'm taggin' along, too! Make sure you post pics and bring us all along for the ride on Saturday when you start setting it up. Link to comment
becact Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 The logo will be quite easy to remove with a razor blade, no chemicals needed (this type:) That's also why you should put all parking stickers, etc, on your rear window instead of the paint, because they are easy to remove with a razor. Also, may I suggest NOT making an expenditure speadsheet! You'll be sorry you did before too long! Link to comment
iSherm Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Cool! I'm starting up a JBJ pico myself. I have pretty much everything you posted on your screenshot listed on Big Al's so it'll be interesting to watch this thread. Although, I think I'll keep the label on mine just to give props to JBJ for such a cool tank. You know, I actually spent less (including shipping) on the items by shopping around. It took longer to get the items but I probably saved $100-150. Happy Reef-keeping! Link to comment
fallenlordz Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Isn't it crazy how adhesive that sticker is? I remember removing mine ... what a pain. Tagging along on your thread ... My sticker came right off with razor - left some residue, just used some goo gone. Gone in less than 30 seconds Link to comment
Sword Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 used rubbing alcohol myself. Worked well enough. I'm thinking of picking up live rock from a few different shops to get more of a diversity. There is one shop (Aquarium Finatics for the Orlando reefers) that has LR with tons of macro on it. Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Oh boy Saturday is the big day. I be waiting to see another pico started! Link to comment
spanko Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Gonna tag along here, interested to see some of the local Florida rocks in a pico. Link to comment
Sword Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 Well, it has begun! So far it's been stressful (being my first try at Saltwater and all ) but I have succeeded in mixing the salt+water, checking the salinity with my refractometer, and have made my first purchases! Sorry the pictures aren't fancy - took them with my iPhone and a shaky, nervous hand My Live Rock, covered in macro. Hoping it'll grow in. I sorta like it. A view from above. And the sand! Going to go buy the other two rocks and a small powerhead. Thanks for reading, guys! Link to comment
PSYS Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Wow... rock looks like it has a lot of life on it. Link to comment
becact Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 I saw that rock at Aquarium Fanatics, it sure is hairy! I'm sure you'll get tons of hitchhikers on it Link to comment
Sword Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 I saw that rock at Aquarium Fanatics, it sure is hairy! I'm sure you'll get tons of hitchhikers on it I hope so I drove all around Orlando, looking for decent rock, and was hard pressed to find any. Finally gave up and grabbed two rocks from Aquaria Studio (in Waterford) and called it a day. Also added a Koralia Nano. Still cloudy - pics to come in a few. Also, just to annoy me, my AC70 decided to get stopped up by sand. I think I want to get all the stress and heartbreak out of the way today so I don't have any later on Link to comment
Sword Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 Will have to get my girlfriend's camera cable to upload pictures from her camera. I think I have the rockscape the way I like it. Haven't noticed any hitchhikers yet Link to comment
d'Espresso Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 cant wait to see whats the out come.. yippy skippy! Link to comment
fallenlordz Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Thats one nice looking rock! Link to comment
Sword Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 Here's some more shots from my phone. Not as visually stunning as they came out with her camera, but they will do for now. Link to comment
Sword Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 Came home from work and my AC70 was stopped. Second time it has done this already. Reminds me why I went with Emperor/Penguin powerfilters back in the day. There's no sand within 2-3" of the intake. When I cleaned it out, there was hardly any grains in there. Going to give it another chance before I decide to explode it with a sledge hammer. Link to comment
Sword Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 Had to unplug my heater. Not sure what's up with it, but I have it set to 78F and it's heating the water to 85F. When it's unplugged, the water drops back down to 78-80F. Link to comment
becact Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Be sure whatever thermometer you're using is accurate. My coralife digital was off by 2 degrees, so I took it out in favor of a dyed-alcohol style. Also, a lot of the temp settings on the heaters are off. They will heat to a consistent temperature, but the temp may be off from what it says on the dial of the heater, so you need to play around with it to get the right temp for your tank, ignoring what the dial reads. Finally, make sure your thermometer is not right next to the heater! Link to comment
Sword Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 I have the Coralife Digital Thermometer as well. It's measuring ~77F now with no heater. Was at 85F with the heater. I moved the probe all around the tank to make sure it wasn't just a hotspot somewhere. Going to "calibrate" it with a cup of icewater to make sure it's reading accurately. Link to comment
becact Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I would check its accuracy against a mercury thermometer or a cooking probe thermometer. The probe thermometer and the mercury both read the same, about two degrees over my coralife. A cup of ice water will not be 32*F, if that's what you were thinking . Link to comment
Sword Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 To calibrate an analog food thermometer, you stick it in a cup of 1/2 ice 1/2 water. That is supposed to give you a 32F reading. Link to comment
becact Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I am sorry, you're correct. A water/ice mixture will maintain 32*F until all the ice has melted, assuming the water was fairly cold to begin with and they are given some time to come to semi-equilibrium. I remember in physics doing the problems to see whether a water/ice solution would reach 32 before the ice melted, depending on the volumes of ice and water and the temp of the water, I must have been thinking of that when I posted. But in real life if you use a fair amount of ice it will definitely reach 32 . Link to comment
Sword Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 After doing an icewater test, which the thermometer passed, I'm sort of weary about putting the heater back in. The tank is hovering around 74.5F. It shouldn't get much colder than that here in Orlando for the next 8 months or so. Link to comment
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