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My first 3g Picotope


pj86

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myhosnson, so I'm guessing you are from Houston. Yea I got it from city pets. It was one that they have had for several months, not the ones they received recently.

 

yes sir!

 

I am from Houston. :D

 

I notice your post on page 7 re: feeding process.

 

Can you go into more detail about the feeding system you have set up?

 

From my understanding, you just mix all that stuff in your ato (freshwater) and have it pumped into your main tank from a aqualifter or something is that correct?

 

Do you notice food build up in your tubing?

 

How often are you replacing the tubing?

 

How long have you ran your system this way?

 

Sorry for all the questions. I have a gorg also by I'm feeding manually and it sucks.

 

Been looking into a continuous feedings system but haven't decided which way I want to go.

 

I might just drop the coins and get a syringe pump.

 

p.s. PM sent.

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also is there any signs of grossness in the ATO reservoir with all that food floating around? i mean like stuff decomposing, bacteria growing, or the sort.

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yes sir!

 

I am from Houston. :D

 

I notice your post on page 7 re: feeding process.

 

Can you go into more detail about the feeding system you have set up?

 

From my understanding, you just mix all that stuff in your ato (freshwater) and have it pumped into your main tank from a aqualifter or something is that correct?

Yes that is correct. My tank goes through about 14-16 oz a day of water. It gets replaced every day with a fresh new batch.

 

Do you notice food build up in your tubing?

So far very little build up

 

How often are you replacing the tubing?

Been about a little bit over 2 months I've been doing it and no need so far.

 

How long have you ran your system this way?

A little over 2 months

 

Sorry for all the questions. I have a gorg also by I'm feeding manually and it sucks.

 

Been looking into a continuous feedings system but haven't decided which way I want to go.

 

I might just drop the coins and get a syringe pump.

 

p.s. PM sent.

 

Here are some thoughts that I have. First off many will think this statement is crazy but in a smaller system a higher surge of microscopic food can be obtain at a faster rate and removed at a faster rate, making a smaller system a little easier to manage than a larger one.

Many reefers use a constant infusion system which seems to work. One clear disadvantage of this system is decomposition vs. concentration of live food in the system vs. time. I would recommend a surge of food at x intervals rather than a constant infusion, because decay of any type is exponential. I can elaborate more if you want me to.

 

also is there any signs of grossness in the ATO reservoir with all that food floating around? i mean like stuff decomposing, bacteria growing, or the sort.

Anything that is left gets changed and cleaned every 12-24 hours, 16 oz. of water.

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Thanks for the info and thoughts.

 

How do you keep the food from settling down to the bottom?

 

Or is it a non-issue b/c of whatever the producers use to their food product.

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myjohnson, the food will stay suspended for about a few hours. Stirring it up is a good idea but in such a small water volume it is not really necessary. Just make sure the tube you are using takes up water from the bottom of the container rather than the top.

 

Thanks jdl.

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This is an awesome tank. You are really dedicated to the dosing and water change schedule and it shows. I have another question about the phytofeast, oysterfeast, etc. (it appears that you go through a lot of it). How long does a bottle keep for? e.g. stay fresh in the fridge.

 

Also, if you can fit a small air stone/pipette in your topoff reservoir it might create a gentle current and keep the food particles suspended for the entire 24h period.

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systemtool, I go through very little actually about 1-2 ml a week of phyto and 1~1.5 ml of rotifers and oyster feast. The smallest bottle of phyto is 177 ml and is only good for max 2-3 months. Oyster feast is good for 3-4 months and roti is good for 2-3 months. Wish they would sell smaller bottles.

 

I decided to do a youtube video of the tank. Some corals are a little bit angry because the hermit crab went crazy when I fed the tank and decided to run over the mushrooms. Also the white feather duster is hiding. The sexy shrimp was about to pick a fight with the hermit. Will take a better video later but for know here is the so so video.

 

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Great video.

 

Did you find it hard placing all the corals you wanted in such a confined space?

 

I was adding more stuff to my pico today and just found it so frustrating not getting the corals to go where I wanted because I had no way of getting them to the spots since my hands wont fit in.

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thesmallerthebetter

i am a huge fan of what youve done here. i too am a fan of NPS corals (theres a thread on my 6 gal NPS pico around here in the biotope section). i too find that constant feeding is easier to manage in a smaller system and have used an IV pump in the past with great success

 

awsome to see another fellow NPS reefer :)

 

i acutally have a plan for a 1/4 gallon NPS reef similar to my 1/4 gallon sps reef, but i never got around to doing it....i might have to now.....

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andrewkw, oh yes. The gorgonian made me say some nasty stuff before I was able to put it in its place. Some corals and feathers dusters have moved on their own. I don't bother them if they relocate. Your pico is on the small end of pico's, which I would imagine would make things even harder to place.

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Thanks el fab. I got another interesting video, a sun polyp larvae moving about. It was very interesting to see, never thought they were motile.

 

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That's awesome! I've always wanted a sun coral but was always afraid that I wouldn't be able to take good care of it with all the feeding and whatnot.

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el fab, you should try it. If you are going to start a new pico, definitely put that on the list, one of my favorite corals.

 

Today I went to my LFS and saw that they still had a yellow cucumber. They have had it for a few months. I just couldn't resist and got it. It is perfect for my pico, small. He has adapted really well and is eating like crazy, I believe he was very hungry. It is really cool seeing him eat from each tentacle. Here is a video,

 

Also, I saw this small 1 inch piece of rock covered with red feather dusters. It was another perfect small piece for the pico.

 

Also, one of my lights died today. I don't know if to switch to LED or keep with the compact. I was thinking I might order some more replacement, because so far the aquarium is working really well. Any comments about a transition between PC to LED?

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if you go LED, DIY might be an option, and you'll get to learn how to solder at the same time lol. Dont get LEDs that are too bright (this comment refers to choosing the correct Par fixture for your tank if you decide to go with those)

I like your tank with PC just the way it is. just like I liked El Fab's tank with the PCs.

O and LEDs can make a reef tank look more artificial, but some good scaping can make up for that.

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Wow, got my replacement bulbs and the old ones were long overdue for a change. What a great difference do new bulbs do to coral happiness. Pics to come soon.

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So here are some preview pics, I will try to get a really good FTS tomorrow, but for the moment these are some closeup pics

 

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Yellow sea cucumber added about a week ago. Immediately began feeding. Poor thing was starving at the LFS. It has now even grown 2 new baby arms, for a total of 10 arms, it would be cool if it decided to clone itself. On another note, can you see those not so baby sun polyps underneath the cucumber?

 

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Orange sponge that was also hungry. Immediately when introduced to the tank, began feeding. See those transparent tubes, those are to direct the flow into the sponge itself. Cool primitive animal.

 

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These are the red worm feather dusters I got. They were shy in this photo and I wasn't able to get a really good shot of all of them open at once.

 

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Hermit crab decided to run over all the yellow polyps except one. Indication of growth, spreading to the tube. It also has spread to the center rock already. Growing like crazy.

 

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One of those pictures that make my tiny aquarium seem like a large ocean. Didn't expect this pic to come out so nicely.

 

more to come.....

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it does look great the stolon mats are nice in the parazoanthus

how are you supporting the fanworm and scallop via feeding again, I thought it was just external feeding but the pics look like you are feeding the tank nicely.

 

the tank is showing clear signs of good suspended feeding support in some manner. The fact the live rock is dense with fauna and there appear to be dots of sabellid fanworms all over really shows good particulate support

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el fab you should. Flip it over and hang it, help me start a trend...lol. It makes feeding much easier.

 

Brandon, I'm feeding the whole tank with phyto/roti/oyster feast 24/7, I think my feeding amounts are on page 6, it has increase a little since then. I also don't restrict myself to those types of food, for the larger polyps such as the blastomussa, ricordea's I feed them mysis and silversides every other day to 3 days. Also, when I feel a little bit lazy or to busy I just give the whole tank cyclopeeze. There is always a constant suspension of "material" in my tank, every thing seems to like to spawn in my tank specially the stomatellas. Also, 2 days ago I saw a planula that did not look like the typical sun coral one, It looked like a small jellyfish and had small tentacles. I was very surprised but wasn't able to capture it on camera.

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