xDetroitMetalx Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 FTS March 10th 2013 day 001 HARDWARE MicroReefs 1 gallon glass pico AquaClear 30 7.5w Hydor Slim Heater Ecoxotic EcoPico Arm Light (strips to be added) LIVESTOCK Rock ^_^ Link to comment
xDetroitMetalx Posted March 10, 2013 Author Share Posted March 10, 2013 The Story Thanks to Mike at MicroReefs I was able to begin my start on a pico project (http://www.micro-reefs.com/aquariums.html). I literally would not have started this build without him. MicroReefs designs and builds some amazing pico and nano tanks and I'm extremely hyped to own one of them. When I received the 1 gallon tank the next challenge was to choose the hardware accordingly. I knew I wanted to keep this tank simple. I already have a complicated and ghetto 29 gallon, the last thing I want is something just as difficult to take care of. I decided to choose the AC20 HOB because this would give me a decent amount of flow in addition to space outside of the aquarium to throw in a recently designed Hydor Slim Heater with addition to some filtration media. The next problem was lighting. I wanted something cheap, easy and good looking. So I looked up the lighting source I use for my 29 gallon, Ecoxotic and found their Pico Arm set up (http://www.ecoxotic.com/led-arm-light.html). I received all the hardware March 9th, 2013 and test fitted everything and on March 10th, 2013 I added the rock to begin the journey. Link to comment
xDetroitMetalx Posted March 10, 2013 Author Share Posted March 10, 2013 March 10th, 2013 DAY 1 Link to comment
1reefluvr2 Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 7.5 watt heater you think thats enough? Link to comment
xDetroitMetalx Posted March 10, 2013 Author Share Posted March 10, 2013 Hydor claims 7.5w raises a 2 gallon temp by 5*F but honestly I have no idea, lol. At the moment I don't have a stat on the tank so I have no idea if it's efficient enough, by feel I would say it's fine but that's not very scientific. Right now I'm worried about the summer months coming soon. Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 Thanks for sharing! I have a handful of fans out there that really like these tiny guys! They make for a fun and challenging build... You are off to a really nice start and I hope to see more fans come in here and cheer you on! I salute you for daring up the challenge! Mike Guerrero Link to comment
fallenlordz Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 nice little tank you got there Link to comment
1reefluvr2 Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 I have a 10watt heater on my spec 2glon and I had to put a 25watt instead since at night my tank would drop to 62 Link to comment
OneOfDaZZZ Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 What Do You plan on putting anything on the top most live rock? Link to comment
xDetroitMetalx Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 I still have to buy a thermometer and a timer for the light. I'm not sure what the temp is at. The room is 72* at night thanks to a Dyson HOT so I'm assuming it's okay. Right now I'm unsure what I'm putting in the tank. I was thinking maybe some Maxi Minis with Sexy Shrimp but that may not work to well. Who knows? I still have time to think about it. Link to comment
xDetroitMetalx Posted March 12, 2013 Author Share Posted March 12, 2013 Still wondering what to stock... Anyone have ideas or suggestions? Link to comment
MeepNand Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 No fish IMO. Maybe sexy shrimp? Some kind of crab? Nice scape. Is there any disco though? Link to comment
xDetroitMetalx Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 Thanks, I worked sorta-kinda-hard on the scape and raged on the epoxy a couple times. I am planning on no fish because I going to do 100% water changes that x3thelast did with his. This 100% water change worries me with sexy shrimp so I'm steering away from that original idea. I think a pure nem tank as an all Mini Maxi or all Rock Flower would be very cool looking. The problem is I'm not sure if this small tank can sustain them. I guess that's the excitement and challenge? I've already done the Zoa thing so I'm of over it. SPS is out of the question because I don't want to make this an expensive build with lighting. As for "disco" I've read the term before but never knew what it truly means. There is a shimmer in the tank but nothing too extreme. I do hope to add a strip of all blues and another of blue and white in the near future. I also upgraded the AC20 to an AC30 if you haven't caught that in the hardware list. The AC30 fits nearly perfect with the back of the tank. The up side to this is that I get a bit more water volume and more water flow. I do not want to add a power head in the display so the addition flow is very important. Another bonus is that the Ecoxotic arms fits much better and doesn't hang over the front as far. The only down side is that the tank is now back heavy and thus lighter up front; also the big back pack is an eye sore. I'm thinking about building a box / frame for the whole set up to enclose the back pack and wires. Link to comment
x3thelast Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 coming along well. the ac30 will give you plenty of flow, but be careful because alot of water flow will be directed towards the bottom front plane of glass so just make sure what ever you decide to put there can handle lots of flow. You can have a hermit crab or two if you want they're okay with being out of the water durring water changes, same thing with snails. Link to comment
AnthonyPf Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Hydor claims 7.5w raises a 2 gallon temp by 5*F but honestly I have no idea, lol. At the moment I don't have a stat on the tank so I have no idea if it's efficient enough, by feel I would say it's fine but that's not very scientific. Right now I'm worried about the summer months coming soon. So I used this same heater in my first reef jar. I found it was ineffective because it will not ever turn off even when the water is the correct temp. That means you have to monitor the temp and unplug it when it reaches the right temp. You might want to go with a heater that has a thermostat. Link to comment
xDetroitMetalx Posted March 16, 2013 Author Share Posted March 16, 2013 With the heater I was thinking about butting it on a mechanic timer... I did find a cheap crappy looking heater at PetSmart that supposedly can monitor water temp. Right now I'm waiting until I get a thermometer when I do my next order off of a fish site. The single Ecoxotic strip is too weak alone. I ended up buying two more strips and the 3 way splitter. I hope this will be enough as Ecoxotic offers it on their pico reef aio set up. At the moment I still haven't had time to think about what to stock... It's almost car season and the TA is taking my monies atm. Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Looks like a great start... any updates to this? Link to comment
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