My first pico! Dymax IQ3 now 5 YEARS OLD!

[henZa]

Great tank! This is something for me to aspire to as I have a similar set-up... Only problem is I will need to buy everything I want to put in so might be a bit slower going before it starts to look really nice

To increase the flow on mine I am thinking about buying a tiny pump and sitting it on top of the other one in the return chamber.

Be interested to see what else you do with yours. Good luck!

[Freemind]

Do you mind telling us more about your LED lights? What are they and where can you buy them online?

[andrewkw]

Do you mind telling us more about your LED lights? What are they and where can you buy them online?

 

I don't have a par meter so i'm really not sure how much they output. They are 1.6 W each and have 28 bulbs on each fixture. When I just had one fixture the palys were reaching for the light but with 2 they aren't. I'll still probably add a 3rd light fixture since that will still put me at less then 5w for lighting.

 

The colour is about 12k maybe 14k but I'm just guessing. It's white but not yellow.

 

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/StoreCatalog/ct...=12&offset=

[henZa]

Do you mind telling us more about your LED lights? What are they and where can you buy them online?

 

One of the ones there actually comes in the Dymax IQ3 kit but you can buy them separately (I am about to order another one) as well. It is called a 'Dymax Robot LED Clip Light'. Some online retailers stock them, but eBay seems to be the best bet - although even on there they are not a cheap unit at around AU$30!

 

Specs that I can find:

• 28 LED
  
• 6Volts 1.6W
  
• Dimmable
  
• Adjustable
  
• Low operating temperature
  
• White light*
  

*No colour temp info available but some have guessed them at around 12,000~14,000K, although one eBay listing says 6000K - but not likely!

 

Not much extra info on the product page over at Dymax's website either.

[Freemind]

Thank you for the lighting info!!!

I'm going to do a 3 gallon cube and don't want to do a DIY LED project.

[andrewkw]

I've emailed dymax twice asking for par numbers but they have yet to reply. I guess i'll send them a 3rd email.

[andrewkw]

The mangroves seem to be fine without a direct source of light on them. They get some sunlight and both are starting to sprout 2 more leaves. I started them both in this tank with 2.

 

Here are some more pictures I've added a few more things after the latest water change. I only want to put my hands in the tank a couple more times. Everytime I try and add something I end up knocking something else and in the small tank its really hard to add corals. Also adding corals so small presents its own challenges. The zoos I added yesterday have not opened likely due to stress as they got a little crushed when I was attaching them. I ran out of glue so I was using epoxy and in situations like this glue is much better since the corals are so light.

 

I've also noticed there are lot more copepods in the tank now. I'm guessing the yellow goby is eating them he doesn't seem overly interested in feedings. I am feeding the tank a tiny amount of frozen brine every 2 days, just in case he does need some food that he can't hunt.

 

 

I wanted some more colour and since I'm unlikely to find a blue coral I can stick in here I cut off a piece of sponge from my main tank

 

 

It was exposed to air for about 1 second but seems to be okay.

 

bluish purple mushroom

 

another top down of the palys added last time

 

regular white xenia, doesn't really pulse but adds some movement to the tank

 

 

I did add some other zoos and palys but they have yet to open. If they don't open by next weeks water change I will remove them, but they are making progress so I think by tomorrow they should be open.

[andrewkw]

copepod city on the walls of the tank

 

[henZa]

Ahh. So that's what those little guys are :-)

[Rince]

I am going to be getting an IQ3 to make a small setup for my bedroom.

 

However, I am keen not to have to place plants in there for filtration, so what else might work? Would LR fragments and a bag of charcoal do the job?

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

[nosm]

Amazing lil setup you have going!

[Mr. Microscope]

Looking better and better. Get some of those plugs out of there if you can though.

[henZa]

I am going to be getting an IQ3 to make a small setup for my bedroom.

 

However, I am keen not to have to place plants in there for filtration, so what else might work? Would LR fragments and a bag of charcoal do the job?

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

 

I am currently running my IQ3 with the stock sponge and floss and a big piece of nice cured LR. This seems to working okay along with a small bit of macro algae growing at the back of the tank. I might change this setup later down the track but for the moment I am just doing weekly water changes to export the nutrients that don't get chewed up by the algae.

 

Ideally I want to put a mangrove plant it the back as this would soak up nitrates a lot better :-) ...but we will see!

[andrewkw]

So things are still going well into week 6. I guess when the tanks a year old it's considered a success, but the first success is that there does appear to be some growth.

 

 

 

Still looking at adding a 3rd LED fixture. Waiting to see if I can get one with blue lights in it but another white wouldn't be too bad.

 

The chalice at the bottom has lost some colour so I've moved it to the top. Now that my yellow clown goby is eating cyclopeeze the corals should get some food too. I'm feeding him every 2-3 days along with a .75-1gallon water change every week usually the day after a feeding if possible.

 

Here are some more pictures

Glued some clove polyps to the back wall

 

 

 

 

 

 

mangroves are sprouting new leaves quickly.

 

Finally a full tank shot

 

 

Iphone 3gs for size comp

 

 

 

 

I still want to get that powerhead out of the tank. I tried to drill a hole in the back when I did my last water change but drill did not fit. I really really wish I did this before I started the tank.

 

There already is a small hole on the false wall. I either need to get a different drill bit that will reach, but either way will still be drilling on an angle or maybe dremel the hole I think it would fit in a bit better. Another option would be to heat the hole and just stretch it a bit. I'm going to leave it for now but hoping some magic solution will come to me. Not much for DIY mods ect.

[nosm]

Really love this smart little setup! That hole your writing about, is that the one about 3/4 down on the left? Was wondering what that was for tbh.

 

Can't wait for the next update.

[Mr. Microscope]

Looking beautiful! Love those grandis palys. Take the magfloat out next time. Is that blue thing at the bottom a sponge?

[andrewkw]

Thanks guys. Yes the hole is 3/4 up the tank. It's extra overflow protection I guess. I'm not really sure what purpose it serves. Actually getting rid of it should make the teeth more efficient

 

Dremel I guess is the best bet, but maybe melting the hole would work too. I need a small tool to make it bigger, my drill doesn't fit in. Again not really a DIY guy. Once I figure this out I can get the powerhead out and then the tank will be very clean.

 

Yes the blue thing is a sponge. It's fallen over and will be reglued the next time I do a water change.

 

I've learned with the pico the more you play the more damage you do. The only time I put my hands in the tank is for a water change and eventually even then I won't.

[henZa]

Looking good! I figure that the hole is to allow the water level to drop and level across the tank and 'sump' when the pumps are turned off. Blocking it wouldn't really effect anything other than preventing that from occurring. I usually have my water level set so that it is about half way up the pump well. This allows part of the filter sponge to be out of the water on the other side of the sump.

 

You could pop down to your local hardware store and have a look in the irrigation/sprinkler system section for some tiny little elbows, tubing etc. I have seen some pretty small stuff used for drip systems. Only issue with this is the amount of flow you could get through it

[racechase]

Awesome little pico! great work in such a small space, mad props to you

 

and awesome pics

[andrewkw]

This is really weird. The Cestipulara detached. I've grown dozens and dozens of this stuff and don't ever recall this happening to a piece that was fragged a long time ago. Occasionally the glue doesn't stick but this was attached a long time ago. Very odd. I guess I'll reglue it. If it doesn't stick I'll just replace it with another frag. Still it's very strange as it actually has grown but hasn't extended a foot onto the rock or wall.

[andrewkw]

So I never figured out what happened to the cestitpulria. I'll add another piece eventually. The old one is still around floating freely maybe it will attach somewhere too. I tried to glue but it didn't stay.

 

GSP is really starting to grow, perhaps it was at war with the purple xenia.

 

I just noticed some stometellas spawning took a quick clip with my iphone

 

Nothing has changed as far as corals. The mangroves are really growing nicely. I'll take some new pics soon.

[sean-820]

I just noticed your in Ontario too. Im in the niagara region.

[rjmurd]

Tank looks awesome. I want to add a couple of mangroves to my picotope. I cant tell from the pictures, but do you have a light shining on them? Do you think they are worth getting? thanks for the info

[andrewkw]

I just noticed your in Ontario too. Im in the niagara region.

Cool, I'm in mississauga.

 

Tank looks awesome. I want to add a couple of mangroves to my picotope. I cant tell from the pictures, but do you have a light shining on them? Do you think they are worth getting? thanks for the info

 

 

thanks, I don't have a light on them but they do get some sunlight. Seems to be enough as they have really grown since I moved them to this tank. I'd say 2 are enough for a pico you could maybe squeeze 3 in a tank this size, but i don't want to jam them in too much as the roots get pretty big.

[andrewkw]

Tanks more then 2 months old now, I guess 10 more months and it can be considered successful.

 

Finally I got the powerhead out of the display. I really wanted that thing gone, but I dread any DIY work. This was only a semi diy disaster. I drained 1 gallon of water from the tank to do a water change which is slightly more then I usually change. I drilled on an angle but it was really hard not to hit the edge of the tank. I wore a small bit of the edge down. It's noticeable but not as bad as the powerhead. It's now in the back chamber.

 

I stressed out the clove polyps covering them in shards of melted plastic but they are recovering.. Also I added a leather but it detached and floated to the back so it might as well not be in the tank as well as a micromussa frag. I put a new cestipularia frag where the old one was. Still don't know what caused the original to detach. It's now at the back of the tank because it's too hard to remove.

 

One thing about pico tanks sure there might be room for more corals but getting to that room can be hard. I always end up knocking stuff when trying to add more. Still i think this tank has done well. The goby is going strong most corals have ended up doing well, you can really see the GSP growth if you compare the new picture below with the original and all the corals in here were basically scraps in my neglected frag tank. I bought the goby for this tank, but everything else live I just had laying around.

 

New pics :

 

Goby hiding

 

GSP has really grown!

 

 

 

Xenia has really grown, new micro in the background

 

side shot

 

FTS - sorry a bit of sunlight glare

 

 

above the left lamp is the damage I caused.