'picOrdea' by ZROGST [Ricordea florida Species Tank]

[TristanC]

Yeeessssss, this tank is gunna kick ass.

[Mstefa1]

U know, some of us have to work and can't be here for all the unboxing ceremonies.

 

Wow that is small, I wonder if you can fit your big a$$ foot in it. And if I ever see your foot again it will be too soon. lol I hate feet.

 

How many tangs are you planning to put in there?

[BadCrab]

U know, some of us have to work and can't be here for all the unboxing ceremonies.

 

Glad you showed up! I'm going to start asking all sorts of stupid questions. You should have seen me sticking my giant manhand in that tiny chamber for 45 minutes trying to understand how the bio-baffle works

 

 

Wow that is small, I wonder if you can fit your big a$$ foot in it. And if I ever see your foot again it will be too soon. lol I hate feet.

 

Ahahaha... I said as I was watching this album upload "You don't think anyone will notice my feet in those shots, right?" I just did some cropping so the album is newly feet free for you

 

 

How many tangs are you planning to put in there?

 

I don't want to go overboard on bioload so I'm not going to try and shove any Nasos or Blue tangs in - that would be so cruel. I'm sticking with a school of Yellows and Convicts. Maybe a Blue Dot Stingray for the sandbed...

[TristanC]

I dont know 5g is bigger than you think, maybe a sea turtle?

[Hexadron]

I dont know 5g is bigger than you think, maybe a sea turtle?

 

I like turtles.

 

As long as the feet are taken care of and toenails trimmed, it's fine by me. I have amazing feet BTW.

[dhartmann]

I'm not a thread highjacker but.....Chris is building me a PicO II...will be starting a thread soon...advice, feedback and overall criticism will be WELCOMED! I'm following this one closely!!! Looks great so far!

[BadCrab]

On my way to another LFS, Reef Monster in Mesa AZ. It's a bit of a drive so it will be a while before I get back. Ill stop my Home Depot and maybe the Container Store on my way home.

 

I hope to get:

Water change kit

Substrate Vacuum

Marine Forceps

Turkey Baster

5g Bucket

.5g Water Storage Container

Container to hold test kits and Julian's Thing

Filter Floss

Yoga Mat

Exacto Knife

[supermarvin76]

Glad you showed up! I'm going to start asking all sorts of stupid questions. You should have seen me sticking my giant manhand in that tiny chamber for 45 minutes trying to understand how the bio-baffle works

 

 

You should see my thread about that bio baffle. I freaked out, and it turned out I didn't even have it installed! I have videos of my stupidity I'd be more than happy to share.

[TristanC]

 

I'm not a thread highjacker but.....Chris is building me a PicO II...will be starting a thread soon...advice, feedback and overall criticism will be WELCOMED! I'm following this one closely!!! Looks great so far!

Welcome to the PicO crew!

 

On my way to another LFS, Reef Monster in Mesa AZ. It's a bit of a drive so it will be a while before I get back. Ill stop my Home Depot and maybe the Container Store on my way home.

 

I hope to get:

Water change kit

Substrate Vacuum

Marine Forceps

Turkey Baster

5g Bucket

.5g Water Storage Container

Container to hold test kits and Julian's Thing

Filter Floss

Yoga Mat

Exacto Knife

I need to get a gravel vac too... And Julian's thing... Btw Home Depot sells drawer lining that black and very thick. It worked great for under my picO.

[Hexadron]

I need to get a gravel vac too... And Julian's thing... Btw Home Depot sells drawer lining that black and very thick. It worked great for under my picO.

 

I used drawer lining on mine as well. Very economical as your tank is so small, I don't think you'll need anything super thick. Main thing is make sure your surface is level.

[BadCrab]

I'm not a thread highjacker but.....Chris is building me a PicO II...will be starting a thread soon...advice, feedback and overall criticism will be WELCOMED! I'm following this one closely!!! Looks great so far!

 

Welcome to the club friend! If you have any questions our little community is quite willing to discuss them - you picked the right tank maker.

 

 

Well, I got back from 2 LFS (Reef Monsters and Aquarium Arts both in Mesa, AZ) as well as Lowes - I picked up a bunch of things I had forgotten to get over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, because I was rushing to shop before they closed, I didn't get any pictures inside the stores. Maybe next time!

 

I also ordered the AI Nano Hanging Mount Kit and ½g of Rox .8 Carbon from BulkReefSupply. It's being shipped UPS ground.

 

I added 50 additional high-res pictures of the setup - step by step below.

 

 

 

New Pictures!

Setup! New Equipment! Livesand! Water! Rock! Oh it's Wet!

Here's the entire (50+ Picture!) album: PicO Ric Full Setup

[TristanC]

Awesome man!! I'm waiting on my shipment of brs rox carbon as well.

[BadCrab]

Woke up this morning and the cloudiness is gone! I'm going to whip up a sandstorm by basting the rocks and then change out the floss. I'll also do a top off: tank water has already evaped close to ½" in the last 8 hours.

[Mstefa1]

I'm not a thread highjacker but.....Chris is building me a PicO II...will be starting a thread soon...advice, feedback and overall criticism will be WELCOMED! I'm following this one closely!!! Looks great so far!

 

Damn thread highjackers!

 

lol, welcome to the PicO party!

 

ZROGST, your going to have to think about hanging that AI because the mounting kit only comes with 1 wire. But I'm sure your prepared from reading my hanging experience.

[1reefluvr2]

Yes we all did^^^

[BadCrab]

Yeah I'm going to follow your experience as a how-to to hang it :] lots of youtube videos too. We live in an apartment and I have a fear of drilling into walls so I'm going to let Adam (my bf) handle the hanging mount. Price was right for it, only $20.

[Mstefa1]

Yeah I'm going to follow your experience as a how-to to hang it :] lots of youtube videos too. We live in an apartment and I have a fear of drilling into walls so I'm going to let Adam (my bf) handle the hanging mount. Price was right for it, only $20.

 

My concern was the light moving as well as returning to it's proper position after it was moved. I get no movement as a result of how I routed my cords so I'm very pleased.

[TristanC]

 

Yeah I'm going to follow your experience as a how-to to hang it :] lots of youtube videos too. We live in an apartment and I have a fear of drilling into walls so I'm going to let Adam (my bf) handle the hanging mount. Price was right for it, only $20.

I wish I could get my gf to do stuff for my tank haha, every once in a while I can coax her into feeding Pete but that's about it.

[JR!]

love this tank

[littletnklvr]

Thanks! We picked this apartment solely for the daylight view... annnnnd the sunsets:

 

 

Our cat agrees that it is the best feature of the apartment.

Amazing view, my view off my balcony is more high rises,yuck! I'm 9 floors up too afraid to let my cat on the balcony!

[BadCrab]

My concern was the light moving as well as returning to it's proper position after it was moved. I get no movement as a result of how I routed my cords so I'm very pleased.

 

I thought that turned a negative (that stupidly large knobby power cord we can't be rid of because wireless doesn't mean wireless) into a fairly positive thing - assuming you route them like you did. I'll play around with it once we get the kit. We have 9' ceilings too so I hope that doesn't complicate things.1

 

 

I wish I could get my gf to do stuff for my tank haha, every once in a while I can coax her into feeding Pete but that's about it.

 

He's been really supportive, but not personally interested in the hobby. He's a novice photographer - so I told him to practice on the tank as we set up. I'd like to do a 'FTS Every Day for a Year' kind of thing.

 

 

Amazing view, my view off my balcony is more high rises,yuck! I'm 9 floors up too afraid to let my cat on the balcony!

 

I'm a crazy cat person; I hover over her like a helicopter because I have a delusional fear that a giant bird will pick her up and take her away!

We're on the 2nd floor of a 3-story apartment building. It's a small apartment but easy to clean. This building was on the edge of massive amounts of new land development in northern Phoenix when the market collapsed... bummer for investors but I can't get enough of hearing the coyote packs every night. Plus now we have a nearby highway exist that just ends in a pile of dirt!

 

 

Does anyone have experience with this 'Aqua-Pure' Phosphate Filter Pad?

 

 

The big red dot claims '25% More than the competition!' haha. here's what's on the back:

 

Phosphate filter pads are ideal in controlling escalating phosphate levels due to decaying organic material, overfeeding, overcrowding, and lack of water changes. Phosphate levels during these times can quickly get out of hand, increasing algae growth.

 

However, Aqua-Pure™ Cut-To-Fit ™ Phosphate filter pads are made of a long-lasting polyfiber material that is impregnated with a phosphate-grabbing resin to reduce aquarium phosphate and keep algae growth in check.

 

[...]

 

For best results, use Phosphate filter pad as soon as testing shows rising phosphate levels or use continuously to help keep phosphate levels in check. Check levels often with test kit. Change pad regularly.

 

It was the same price as the normal filter floss from the same company. I thought I would use it during the cycle. Asked two LFS employees about it, they recommended for a pico where you cant run gfo. Thinking about just switching to normal floss and using phosban after cycle. Thoughts?

 

EDIT: Woo, my carbon and hanging kit just shipped!

[TristanC]

My carbon is scheduled to be at my house when I get home honestly I don't see why you would have to change it, it's going to function the same way as floss. I'm using regular ol filter floss from intank, I change it out every 3-4 days so I buy in bulk lol.

[Hexadron]

No experience with the Pad, but as long as you got it for a good deal, it may be a good thing for a small tank. From what I hear overall, people claim those things are overpriced for what they do and exhaust very quickly VS. GFO or other phosphate removers. I am no expert though, and am still learning myself!

 

Thanks for the new pics

[Primitive]

Looks good so far! I am really debating buying one now even tho I just set up my 4.5g I am thinking about making it into a quarantine tank. Ahhh

[Red_Blenny]

 

 

Does anyone have experience with this 'Aqua-Pure' Phosphate Filter Pad?

 

 

The big red dot claims '25% More than the competition!' haha. here's what's on the back:

 

 

It was the same price as the normal filter floss from the same company. I thought I would use it during the cycle. Asked two LFS employees about it, they recommended for a pico where you cant run gfo. Thinking about just switching to normal floss and using phosban after cycle. Thoughts?

 

I have a something similar to it, but different brand (Acurel). I mainly use it to catch detritis before it ends up into my refugium but I do notice a slight reduction in phosphate. It's okay IMO, but there's probably better stuff out there that'll reduce phosphate, like Pura Pad, Chemi-Pure, or GFO (I have it in a mesh bag that is outside my skimmer's output pipe to force water through it). Alternatively, there's a nano-reactor from Innovate Marine if you want to go that route.

 

Overall, can't wait to see what kind of Ricodea Floridas you're going to stock with. I love R. Floridas and R. Yumas and if I started them 1st, I'd probably stock more of those than SPS...