Sandeep Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Latest FTS, March 21, 2018, tank is now 1 year old ======Original Post ====== I’m really happy to return to the pico reef forum to share with you my latest tank. The objective of this tank design was to really focus on the use of scale and perspective in aquascaping. I wanted to challenge myself to create the biggest looking tank in the smallest sized aquarium I could. I picked a standard 2.5g glass aquarium as I like how its aspect ratio mimics a large aquarium, complete with its framed rims just like large tanks have. Looking at this photo, I would swear I’m looking at a 30g or 50g aquarium. The Coke can now shows the reality of just how ‘big’ this tank really is. The tank has been running for just over two months. Here is a tour of various parts of the reef: Azure Damsel Dendros Micro Elegance frag I hope this tank really inspires folks on how to use scale creatively with small aquariums. Happy reefing! 19 Quote Link to comment
kimberbee Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Wow, the tank definitely looks bigger than it is! 1 Quote Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I believe you did what you set out to do. Another fun tank. Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Another great pico reef begins! Looking forward to watching this one progress @Sandeep! 2 Quote Link to comment
Simulated Fish Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 This is amazing! I new it was small but then the coke can pic blew my mind! 1 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 It's so cute! Great job as always! What's the orangey-clear thing on the sandbed, is that a dendro? Quote Link to comment
MrJoel Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Really cool. I thought it was much bigger before that Coke can for scale shot. Quote Link to comment
Sandeep Posted May 18, 2017 Author Share Posted May 18, 2017 9 hours ago, Lula_Mae said: It's so cute! Great job as always! What's the orangey-clear thing on the sandbed, is that a dendro? Yes thats a dendro head. 1 Quote Link to comment
Ranjib Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 Love it :-) . I like the empty spaces I am wondering if its too early for the Elegance..but cant be sure, i never kept them, just heard they are hard to keep Quote Link to comment
HammerLover Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 Wowzers Sandeep! Your 5 gal AIO has inspired me to start one and Im so happy to see you starting again a pico! Cant wait for this to progress and grow. Im sure it would look just as awesome like your other setups Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Welcome back !!! I love the coral selection so far. The color of that light is so crisp,who makes it ? Quote Link to comment
Sandeep Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 16 hours ago, Reefkid88 said: Welcome back !!! I love the coral selection so far. The color of that light is so crisp,who makes it ? Good to be back and hang out with my pico friends with a new build! The light is a Coralcompulsion Par30 18K Reef Vibrance LED bulb in a $18 Staples lamp arm. I completely removed the optics and front plate on the bulb so its just bare LED's. 2 Quote Link to comment
Martin Riggs Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Cool tank love picos Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 So how true to color are the pictures compared to real life ? Im loving the color it outs off if its close to that in person. Quote Link to comment
Friendly Posted June 18, 2017 Share Posted June 18, 2017 Sandeep, I love this! question about the lamp. what was the reason for removing the covers and lenses? Quote Link to comment
Simulated Fish Posted June 18, 2017 Share Posted June 18, 2017 57 minutes ago, Friendly said: Sandeep, I love this! question about the lamp. what was the reason for removing the covers and lenses? Light spread and defusion preference, it doesn't change much but it alters how the light hits the tank such as the angle. It can also help remove the "disco" effect. Quote Link to comment
Sandeep Posted June 21, 2017 Author Share Posted June 21, 2017 On 6/8/2017 at 4:04 PM, Reefkid88 said: So how true to color are the pictures compared to real life ? Im loving the color it outs off if its close to that in person. Pretty close, the coralcompulsion Par30 18K is a nice bulb. On 6/17/2017 at 11:42 PM, Friendly said: Sandeep, I love this! question about the lamp. what was the reason for removing the covers and lenses? I was using the lamp previously on a 10g, removing the optics and front face gives the light wider dispersion and better color mixing. Optics come into play with deeper and larger tanks. Quote Link to comment
Friendly Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 hello Sandeep...a few more questions for you. how well does a HOB filter work for a marine setup? use anything special for filter media? how did you figure out that light would be okay for such a small tank? I've read about lights that are too bright upsetting the coral. 1 Quote Link to comment
Sandeep Posted June 24, 2017 Author Share Posted June 24, 2017 On 2017-06-21 at 7:52 PM, Friendly said: hello Sandeep...a few more questions for you. how well does a HOB filter work for a marine setup? use anything special for filter media? how did you figure out that light would be okay for such a small tank? I've read about lights that are too bright upsetting the coral. I'm a big fan of hob filters in reef tanks for circulation and filtration. I have an AC30 on my 2.5g reef, a AC50 on my 10g reef and a AC70 on my 50g reef. In terms of filtration, you don't want to strip the water of nutrients, so I pretty much just use the stock sponges in the filters. Once in awhile I might use a bag of reef carbon and run it for a few days, but never longer. Folks get so obsessed with removing everything from the water (protien skimmers, etc.) that you end up with nutrient poor water. I came upon this conclusion by observing that many times my corals thrived and grew the most during periods of tank neglect when I did not clean the filters or do a water change when I was supposed to. Something to think about. In terms of small reef tanks, if you stick to a par30 bulb which has 7 or less led's you should be good with the office lamp stand like I have. You can move it up or down to adjust the dispersion of light. I would avoid the par38 bulbs which have like 12 leds, overkill for a small tank. I have never had any corals bleach out. Most of the time I remove the optics on my bulbs and just run the led's bare. Sure it creates a lot of light spillage around the tank in your room, but it also diffuses and mixes the light nicely. Again optics really come into play with bigger tanks as they are needed to help the light penetrate, with shallow small tanks, this is never an issue. 2 Quote Link to comment
Friendly Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 very cool, thanks Sandeep. I'm guessing too that the movement caused by the outlet flow of the filter removes the need to have any sort of power head? and on the side, at what point do you need to use/have an actinic light for corals? the Vibrance Reef you have has enough blue in it to promote coral growth? edit - actually, I'm also curious to know what kind of livestock you would put in such a small tank? 1" per gallon doesn't give you much leeway in a 2.5 gallon tank. think it could manage a goby & pistol shrimp? Quote Link to comment
Sandeep Posted June 28, 2017 Author Share Posted June 28, 2017 On 6/23/2017 at 8:37 PM, Friendly said: very cool, thanks Sandeep. I'm guessing too that the movement caused by the outlet flow of the filter removes the need to have any sort of power head? and on the side, at what point do you need to use/have an actinic light for corals? the Vibrance Reef you have has enough blue in it to promote coral growth? edit - actually, I'm also curious to know what kind of livestock you would put in such a small tank? 1" per gallon doesn't give you much leeway in a 2.5 gallon tank. think it could manage a goby & pistol shrimp? Yes, movement of AC30 is more than enough for a 2.5g tank. In fact I have the flow on the AC30 turned all the way down to minimum because its that strong. Most LED's for reef tanks have enough of the blue spectrum (blue and deep blue LED's) for photosynthesis. Try to go for 'full spectrum' reef led bulbs, these contain a number of different wavelengths optimized for reef coral growth. No need to buy separate actinics like in the fluorescent tube days. A small goby and pistol shrimp will work. I'm pushing it with my damsel (he's very small), but the tank would be too small for a clown for example. Those 1" per gallon rules are too crude, forget about them. 1 Quote Link to comment
cfaye@Delaware Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 (edited) Hi, I think your tank is beautiful. I just started a tetra 3 gallon cube and your info has been very helpful. Thank you for sharing. Now I am wondering for your filter did you do any DIY or MOD on it, I think that is what it is called. The AC30 filter. Did you change it. Also big thank you for the lighting info, I was not sure what size to use or the type, your coral color is great. Thanks again !!!! Oh yes, the type of sand bed you are using......very pretty......everything is so nice. Edited July 1, 2017 by cfaye@Delaware forgot info Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 How is everything going ?! We need some moar piks !!! Quote Link to comment
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