MetaTank Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Right on...So I reduced the photoperiod to 6 hours, and the powerhead is now running 24/7...Also have a DIY light hood in the works...Planning on running 2 x 20w 50/50 bulbs, and 2 x 10w 50/50...I figure if some people use a 70w MH for their pico, then 60w of PC lighting shouldn't hurt...You guys tell me.....What kind of corals can I run under 60w of PC lighting, or am I just wasting wattage?? Also have an AC 50 on the way that I got new on Amazon for like 23 bucks shipped...I've been hearing that if the power goes out, the AC 50 doesn't restart on it's own, and drains the water volume back into the tank ... I dunno, might not end up using it on this tank, but it sure was cheap! Also, I'm itching to start another Pico...I know I might be getting ahead of myself here, but it cant be that much harder than having one pico...A little extra testing, a little extra water changing...And if I order another picotope, I'll have 2 stock HOB filters to use on it, since I ordered the AC 50 for my current tank...I know what everyone is gonna say, I should start one sucessfully before I attempt a 2nd, but we'll see..... Link to comment
.Newman. Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 60W is imo too much light for a 3 gal tank. you can always raise it up higher but its not really worth it. any simple PC light with up to 36W will do. you can run all the three major groups of corals under PCs but most definitely stick to hardy ones. Soft corals, LPS, and SPS are all possible. the AC50 is a fine choice. you can even hide equipment in it like the heater. it does restart on its own but not if its loaded with sand so try to keep the motor clean. its not an issues right away but after about a year or more of running it sand will become very annoying in the HOB filter. And yes i agree with your notion of seeing how your first pico goes before starting another one. picos are not for everybody, and a good amount of people do take theirs down within the first year - not only because they run into trouble but also often because life situations do not permit or they do not have time to keep up with them. You should run this first pico and try to figure out a good long-term method for running it well before doing another pico...that is just what i think. You obviously can do w/e you want and who knows maybe it will all work out perfectly I am just trying to save you trouble in the future. Also back to your first coral choice, what would you like to have first/ consider an interesting coral? (more interesting than mushrooms) Most soft corals are good bets to start a reef with. Link to comment
MetaTank Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 60W is imo too much light for a 3 gal tank. you can always raise it up higher but its not really worth it. any simple PC light with up to 36W will do.you can run all the three major groups of corals under PCs but most definitely stick to hardy ones. Soft corals, LPS, and SPS are all possible. the AC50 is a fine choice. you can even hide equipment in it like the heater. it does restart on its own but not if its loaded with sand so try to keep the motor clean. its not an issues right away but after about a year or more of running it sand will become very annoying in the HOB filter. And yes i agree with your notion of seeing how your first pico goes before starting another one. picos are not for everybody, and a good amount of people do take theirs down within the first year - not only because they run into trouble but also often because life situations do not permit or they do not have time to keep up with them. You should run this first pico and try to figure out a good long-term method for running it well before doing another pico...that is just what i think. You obviously can do w/e you want and who knows maybe it will all work out perfectly I am just trying to save you trouble in the future. Also back to your first coral choice, what would you like to have first/ consider an interesting coral? (more interesting than mushrooms) Most soft corals are good bets to start a reef with. Glad to hear about the AC50, I was hoping I could hide the heater in there...I just figured with the powerhead, the AC70 might be overkill, plus the AC50 was cheaper...Also glad to hear it does restart itself, and I'll make sure not to let it get too bogged down with sand. As far as beginning a second pico...I have a stable living situation, stable job, and another long term hobby as well, not to mention the fact that I also have a 36 gallon freshwater tank, so I'm committed to the hobby already. I do very much enjoy the more long term, slow progression hobbies, since my work is so fast paced. But yes, maybe I should wait before venturing into the land of multiple pico reefs. As for my initial coral choices; I have a friend who has 5+ year old reef tank, and he's willing to kick me down with frags, so I'm guessing it's going to be a situation of what he has available. Or if I don't get in touch with him soon enough, I'll ask my fish guy his opinion, and check out what they have.And don't worry, I'll make sure to reinforce the fact that I'm a novice. Link to comment
.Newman. Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 stick with soft corals for sure. Link to comment
MetaTank Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 So I just noticed a bunch of tiny itsy bitsy little white critters crawling on my glass, way too small for my camera to focus...It sorta looks like they have antennae, and they have a peculiar way of darting around, stopping, and going again...Once again, very small, white, and they might have a tail of some sort...lol EDIT: Well, I tried to take a picture, you can make out the outline...Are these little copepods? Link to comment
castiel Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Copepods! Awesome little things, good fish food =0) Link to comment
MetaTank Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 Right on! I was thinking that, but wanted to run it by you guys and gals...like the new Signature BTW Castiel...Yeah, first time I really noticed them, but they're all over the glass, and I'm glad they're a good thing! Glad my pico has made it a couple weeks so far...lol...All critters are alive and well, and the peppermint shrimp thinks he owns the place...Oh Francois...lol I believe I may puirchase a coral or two tomorrow...if I get two, i'll try make sure one is a mushroom on Newmans advice, and stick to the tough and hardy corals for now... Link to comment
MetaTank Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 Bad photo with glare, but here's the little shrimp we've dubbed "Francois" owning his cave... Link to comment
MetaTank Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 I don't know if my astrea snail just reproduced or what, but one of them was hanging out on the powerhead all day yesterday, and today it's back on the rocks, but I saw what looked like a booger at first on the powerhead, but it turns out it's a little tiny snail with a spiral shell?? Well, copepods and baby snails, and I'm just beginning! Once again, sorry dfor the poor picture quality, but this guy is SMALL and I had to crop the pic and blow it up. Well, might not be an astrea snail baby, but I spend a LOT of time starring at my pico, and this is DEFINATELY the first time I saw this guy...Maybe he was just a shy hitchhiker who's feeling more at home now... Link to comment
.Newman. Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 collonista snail. extremely common and good part of CUC. they reproduce like mad. they also stay at that tiny size. Link to comment
MetaTank Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 12-12-2011 pH 8.2 dKH 9* 160ish Ca 380 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 15ppm Water change day today, lets get those nitrate levels down, and calcium up, and I'm going to my LFS later today with the intention of walking away with a frag or 2. Link to comment
MetaTank Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 QUESTION! So, I would like to get my calcium up a little, and I purchased some dry Seachem products for Calc and alkalinity...It says for the calcium to dose 5g, or 1 level tsp per 40 gallons...How can I accurately dose this way? I have a digital scale that reads to the hundredth, so can I just weigh out like 0.3 grams and dose that way? Or is there a specific method to use...I looked it up on here... Reef Calculator Site But it suggests to use 0.75 grams over the course of 2 or 3 doses...Does that sound correct? Basically, can I trust to dose by weight? Converting measurments into smaller increments isn't a problem for me, I just want to know if it is an accurate method to dose by weight or do people generally dose by volume? (tsp, Tbl, etc...) Link to comment
.Newman. Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 why do you need to dose? you barely have anything in the tank..plus you should be fine with just weekly water changes with a quality salt for now. imo dosing is needed when you actually have stony corals or clams or other things that are more demanding of that stuff. Link to comment
MetaTank Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 I just want to up my calcium a little, I want to keep it in the 420 range...That is all...It's not like I want to dose with any other micro, juist get my calcium up a smidge. Do you have an answer for the question, or is your answer simply to not worry about my calcium level? I understand that you are very sucessful with picos, Newman, so tell me what my water parameters should be? Anyone else? I just wanna get my calcium into the 420 range...Bueller?...Bueller?....... Link to comment
.Newman. Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 i'd just say that it is not vital at this point to have a perfect calcium level. your tank is just starting out, and parameters aren't always stable. i'm sure you will find that as time goes on, and you keep doing more water changes, your parameters will start moving towards perfection (as long as your salt mix provides perfection like it should). So imo you should just wait until things get better, no use dosing while you don't even have any corals. if you know how to dose correctly (sounds like you have it figured out) then go ahead. you wont harm anything as long as you do not overdose. Link to comment
MetaTank Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 Candy Cane ready for dinner. This greedy trumpet just gobbled down a couple mysis shrimp and is begging for more! FTS, that one in the middle is an oddly shaped green ricordea with a purple stripe in the midddle...Mouth is on the other side of the hump. Everyone seems nice and happy, the trumpets opened up on the first night, and they've been in the tank since Monday evening. The ricordea and candy cane glow nicely under my night light. Been very light on feeding the tank, any suggestions on frequency? I was thinking like once or twice a week... Hence the reason I would like my Calcium to be in the 420 range...Though they all seem happy so far... Link to comment
.Newman. Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 once a week is fine. i would not have started with LPS, but those are probably hardy enough to take a new tank. Link to comment
MetaTank Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 Well, I went ahead and bought my 2nd pico, set it up, cycled, and now we've added a little cuc to take care of the diatom bloom. I also purchased a 4 x 39w Odyssea fixture, but i'm only running 2 bulbs ATM, and I would like to change out the stock bulbs ASAP...But I have to say, this is a solid fixture for the money...3 seperate power sources (2 for the T5 bulbs, and 1 for the moonlight LED's) And I've recently converted a 10 gallon tank into a sump to hold about 5 gallons of water, plan on a deep sand bed and some chaeto, or some sorta fuge with the 2 stock Picotope lights i'm now in posession of. Also built a little PVC overflow out of 1/2 inch PVC, but I'm thinking I want to make them out of 3/4" instead...I spied some sexy clear tubing that I want to fashion into the section of the overflow that goes in the tank...Who knows, it's all just pieces so far, but I tested the 1/2" overflow for 48 hours with no problems, mind you that was in a bucket with no livestock or anything else to get in the way. Now it's a waiting game, gotta set the sump up and do I add live sand and cycle it seperately? I wanna hook both pico's to the one sump, and I'm patiently waiting for everything to cycle. I figured once everything is cycled I can do a big water change on everything and hook both the picos to the sump...I know, one tank crashes and they both crash, I promise i'll be extra careful Who knows, I might try to set it all up, and decide it's all a bad idea, but hey, i'm having fun tinkering around...Gives me something to daydream about......... Link to comment
.Newman. Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 sounds like you've been busy haha. sounds like a good setup also. Link to comment
MetaTank Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 sounds like you've been busy haha. sounds like a good setup also. Yeah, so far things seem to be working out...question, if I use live rock and sand in my fuge, I need to cycle that seperately, correct? Dang, I need to get on top of that so I can hook everything up already!!!! The sooner I cycle, the sooner I hook the sump up, and then FINALLY I MIGHT purchase a Goby/Shrimp combo, or some other Pico appropriate fish!! Link to comment
MetaTank Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 Okay! So here they are side by side, I've been busy today so everything is a mess. Just rearranged the rock in the new pico on the right, as well as added about 3 MORE lbs. of sand to the already 3 lbs., so it's still very cloudy. I really need to paint the stand I'm hanging my light from, but that 36" Odyssea light is sweet...It's running with 2 bulbs at the moment, because I think all 4 might be overkill, but when I get new bulbs I might run 3 or 4 to get optimum color combination. I have the ability to raise the lights an additional 20"+ if need be, but I'm happy with 2 bulbs for now! And they will each end up with one of these handy PVC overflows...only the clear sections are going into the water, and the white "U" at the bottom will be hidden by my rock, so essentially you will only see the white where the tube enters the pico...Still need to trim the overflow tube, cut some slots, glue it all together, and devise a snail-guard of some sort...Then all I need to get is flexible tubing to plumb it into the sump. Also, think I should paint all the white sections black with some Krylon Fusion? I dunno, but if I paint the light stand black, it'll match the theme, and my light is already black..... And here is the sump, running water through itself cause I added the rest of that sand from the 10 lb. bag(so about 7 lbs.) into the center chamber, going to be my fuge. I will eventually be using the stock 9w picotope light(one shown, might use 2)... I also need to run the wiring down the back of the stand and clean up the wiring a bit, but this sump will eventually have both pico's running through it, with individual return pumps. Modded 10 gallon tank from Petco, 10 dollars(dollar a gallon sale!), the acrylic cost me 8 bucks, and the silicone was like another 4...The PVC and fittings cost about 10 bucks, and the 4 for the clear tube(fluorescent tube cover, in the lighting section at home depot)...The pump was 10 bucks shipped on ebay, and the flex tubing to plumb it together might be another 10 bucks... So it's gonna end up costing me about 56 bucks to attach both picos to a home-built sump, nearly doubling their water volume. I do love DIY projects! Though I admit I am not the best at working with silicone...Messy messy stuff that I should have practiced with first...lol...Oh well, doesn't have to be pretty, just has to work! I sorta wish I had built the sump with a higher water level, and I think I might do another to hold 8 gallons...this one holds a little over 4. Link to comment
castiel Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Looks great. I've always thought about a joint sump for my pair of picos ... now I get to see how it works out for you =0) Link to comment
MetaTank Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 Haha! By all means, I'd love to be the guinea pig on this one...Hopefully it all works out. I was thinking that I have to cycle the sump seperately, but I'm not adding any rock to the sand bed...Do you think I still need to cycle with only live sand? Gonna see if I can get some chaeto on Tuesday to throw in there as well. Link to comment
MetaTank Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 So I switched my salt to instant ocean Reef Crystals...has more calcium and higher alkalinity, and the sump has that water in it. Now I'm doing small daily water changes to get the water in the tank closer to the new reef crystal water, and hopefully in the next few days I can connect the first pick to the sump! Link to comment
MetaTank Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 Confirmed, Ive begun to see coralline algae growth all over spots that were previously bare, including my power head! I was wondering if I was just tripping, but last night I spotted th spots on the power head, and that thing was brand new! Sweet deal! I wonder if the new salt will expedite the process...? Link to comment
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