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Gena's C.C. Pico Contest Build


gena

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10 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

Yay! I'm glad somebody finally bought it, I feel like I keep recommending it and nobody believes me about how great it is lol. :lol:

Yeah, it really is great.  No exaggeration! :)

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9 hours ago, gena said:

Yeah, it really is great.  No exaggeration! :)

How big is it? I have a Hydor 25W and it's kind of chunky in such a small tank. 

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I have pictures of a cycling tank :happydance:

 

My rock looks 3 times as big now with water in the jar.  It looks so cool.  I'm so glad I did this!!!!  I forgot how relaxing bubbles in an aquarium can be, especially in saltwater.  It looks so soft.  I love the bubbles :wub:

 

Screen Shot 2017-10-05 at 8.30.53 AM

 

 

Screen Shot 2017-10-05 at 8.30.30 AM

 

Screen Shot 2017-10-05 at 8.30.42 AM

 

 

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Woah...turns out I had a bad check valve.  I bought a brand new one yesterday just in case my old one was no good anymore.  Not sure that they can go bad but I thought new tank new parts.  Things just didn't seem right with the flow I was getting.  Well, just put the old one on there and FLOW CITY!  I was a little concerned about the lack of flow before.  It's like night and day now.  I've got a real little ocean now :D.


Beware the check valve that Petco sells.  What a piece of junk :(.

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2 hours ago, kimberbee said:

How big is it? I have a Hydor 25W and it's kind of chunky in such a small tank. 

It's about 6-7" long and very slender, and much more reliable in my experience than the Hydor Theo. Diameter maybe a dime's at the ends and thinner in the heating element in the middle. External thermostat for control. Mine's remained a steady 79 degrees since the day I set it.

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8 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

I may have to nab that heater too :) Does the bulky suction cup come off on the end?

 

 

Also... I hate blue looking lights too :) 

I haven't tried, mine's shoved in my AquaClear right now but I think that it's a separate ring?  I'll try to look later.  Part of the bulk is the endcaps and I'm not sure they should be removed.

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29 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

I may have to nab that heater too :) Does the bulky suction cup come off on the end?

 

 

Also... I hate blue looking lights too :) 

The suction cup, if you're looking at my jar, is not the heater.  that's something I added and removed already LOL.  I was using it to try to hold the air stone in place, but it wasn't working.  The suction cups on the heater aren't really even noticeable.

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Ok, new FTS LOL.  Suction cup is out and I may have stuck a zoanthid in :o .  This little clump has been floating loosely around my 10g for a week now.  It gets stuck to the MP10, I remove it, and it's back the next day LOL.  So I put it in this jar.  It's a tester coral.  I'm really not certain how to cycle this thing still.  I'm not adding fish ever but I do plan on crabs and snails so....I better figure it out.  I've added Dr. Tims One and Only bacteria.  Maybe I'll never really have a cycle? :unsure:

 

Screen Shot 2017-10-05 at 10.43.01 AM

 

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I love how cool the magnifying effect looks!  This is going to be really fun!  I'm glad the air pump is generating enough flow now!  

 

Also, the heater was a good recommendation, @Lula_Mae!  Aqua Forest Aquarium is actually local to me (they're in San Francisco) and its a really cool freshwater planted store.  They do the super artsy ADA tanks and enter all the big freshwater aquascaping competitions.  I bought some equipment from them for my FW planted tank a while back and they sell some really good equipment for decent prices.

 

I think it will sort of cycle like normal.  That rock was dry right?  You probably just need to wait a bit to let some bacteria establish on there before adding anything that's actually a bioload (inverts).  I'd guess with the bottles bacteria that wouldn't take long though.

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6 hours ago, gena said:

Ok, new FTS LOL.  Suction cup is out and I may have stuck a zoanthid in :o .  This little clump has been floating loosely around my 10g for a week now.  It gets stuck to the MP10, I remove it, and it's back the next day LOL.  So I put it in this jar.  It's a tester coral.  I'm really not certain how to cycle this thing still.  I'm not adding fish ever but I do plan on crabs and snails so....I better figure it out.  I've added Dr. Tims One and Only bacteria.  Maybe I'll never really have a cycle? :unsure:

 

Screen Shot 2017-10-05 at 10.43.01 AM

 

Holy bubble city Batman!  Everything is looking great Gena!

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7 hours ago, Felicia said:

I love how cool the magnifying effect looks!  This is going to be really fun!  I'm glad the air pump is generating enough flow now!  

 

Also, the heater was a good recommendation, @Lula_Mae!  Aqua Forest Aquarium is actually local to me (they're in San Francisco) and its a really cool freshwater planted store.  They do the super artsy ADA tanks and enter all the big freshwater aquascaping competitions.  I bought some equipment from them for my FW planted tank a while back and they sell some really good equipment for decent prices.

 

I think it will sort of cycle like normal.  That rock was dry right?  You probably just need to wait a bit to let some bacteria establish on there before adding anything that's actually a bioload (inverts).  I'd guess with the bottles bacteria that wouldn't take long though.

Oh, that's cool!  I can't remember where I first heard of the heater but I jumped on it because I've had so much trouble through the years finding good, small heaters for my picos.  My first 1 gal/1.5 gal tanks had a 25w Visitherm Stealth in them! :lol: (Side note, those heaters were pretty awesome and I hate that they never came back after being pulled from the market when they had issues their last few years).  Most heaters of comparable size are chintzy betta bowl heaters that need a separate thermostat for any control. :closedeyes:

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7 hours ago, Felicia said:

I love how cool the magnifying effect looks!  This is going to be really fun!  I'm glad the air pump is generating enough flow now!  

 

Also, the heater was a good recommendation, @Lula_Mae!  Aqua Forest Aquarium is actually local to me (they're in San Francisco) and its a really cool freshwater planted store.  They do the super artsy ADA tanks and enter all the big freshwater aquascaping competitions.  I bought some equipment from them for my FW planted tank a while back and they sell some really good equipment for decent prices.

 

I think it will sort of cycle like normal.  That rock was dry right?  You probably just need to wait a bit to let some bacteria establish on there before adding anything that's actually a bioload (inverts).  I'd guess with the bottles bacteria that wouldn't take long though.

Yep, dry rock.  And I think you're right that it probably won't take long.  It's so nice having these bottled bacteria now :)

7 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

Oh, that's cool!  I can't remember where I first heard of the heater but I jumped on it because I've had so much trouble through the years finding good, small heaters for my picos.  My first 1 gal/1.5 gal tanks had a 25w Visitherm Stealth in them! :lol: (Side note, those heaters were pretty awesome and I hate that they never came back after being pulled from the market when they had issues their last few years).  Most heaters of comparable size are chintzy betta bowl heaters that need a separate thermostat for any control. :closedeyes:

I'm so glad you posted about it.  It's the best heater EVER :D.

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17 minutes ago, gena said:

Yep, dry rock.  And I think you're right that it probably won't take long.  It's so nice having these bottled bacteria now :)

I'm so glad you posted about it.  It's the best heater EVER :D.

Yep and I just ordered mine! omgomgomg

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On 10/3/2017 at 9:51 PM, gena said:

Thanks, Felicia!  Tomorrow should be the day!!!!

 

I wish the lighting was less blue.  I'm not sure that's a possibility with a Par38 bulb though.  I like it more white than blue :unsure:.

The color grows on you after awhile and corals really like it.  Looks so nice.  following.

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19 hours ago, Lula_Mae said:

Yep and I just ordered mine! omgomgomg

:happydance:

8 hours ago, MarieH said:

The color grows on you after awhile and corals really like it.  Looks so nice.  following.

Thank you! 

 

My test zoas are still alive and happy :lol:

 

Tomorrow is RAP California.  I'll be there Saturday and Sunday.  My mission is to find some goodies for this tank :happydance:.  They'll go on a frag rack in my 10g until I feel confident that this jar can handle a bunch of coral.

 

Looking forward to the show and I hope I get to meet a few NR members there :)

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On 10/7/2017 at 9:41 AM, seabass said:

Anchor Hocking club member following along.  You're off to such a great start!

Awesome!  I picked the anchor hocking jar because I plan to keep this long term beyond the contest and it seemed the most practical for long term use :D.  Plus possibly moving it, filled, across country next fall!!!!!!

51 minutes ago, TatorTaco said:

tZ7O5BL.gif

hahaha

 

I'm gonna pick up a control valve for my pump to reduce the bubbles.  There's just too many bubbles :D.

 

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So this past weekend we went to Reefapalooza.  I ended up getting quite a few coral pieces, all for this tank!  They had an amazing selection and I found everything I wanted to pick up for this tank...and more :lol:.  There was a lot of buy 3 get one free so I did end up with more than I had planned.  But it's all good. 

 

Here's a little sampling of what I got.  Everything is already placed in the jar :o.  I'm watching it like a hawk :D.   The zoas were my "test" coral.  They were open and happy when I got home yesterday so I put the others in.

 

Screen Shot 2017-10-09 at 2.48.47 PM

 

Oh and @Lula_Mae Legendary had the punk princess so I got those.  They actually had everything I was hoping they would have :happydance:.

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Just now, Christopher Marks said:

Great additions Gena, I love those ricordea color morphs!

Thanks, Chris!  We missed you this weekend.  But there is always Vegas next year :D.

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