Chris' Creative Container Pico!

[Orangutran]

Fiddler crab would be awesome, but don't think our picos are big enough to support it. I bet it would escape too. Not even sure if anyone sells them in our hobby. They are beautiful though, here's a pic I took when I was playing around with them amongst the mangroves.

 

 

[cnseekatz]

Nothing too exciting to report. I don't even think a cycle has started yet. The mangrove lost two leaves, so I'm hoping a few more sprout here soon. 

[Orangutran]

16 hours ago, cnseekatz said:

Nothing too exciting to report. I don't even think a cycle has started yet. The mangrove lost two leaves, so I'm hoping a few more sprout here soon. 

Hopefully your mangrove does well! Mine is dying. I want to use the old water from my bigger tank, but afraid to introduce the small bit of dino that I have left. How are your air plants? Love the look of them!

[cnseekatz]

On 10/31/2017 at 7:14 AM, Orangutran said:

Hopefully your mangrove does well! Mine is dying. I want to use the old water from my bigger tank, but afraid to introduce the small bit of dino that I have left. How are your air plants? Love the look of them!

Really hard to tell with the air plants. They seem the same. Always dry, but I guess that's how they go!

[cnseekatz]

I had a 25w Hydor heater lying around from my Quarantine Tank experiment, so I squeezed it into the bowl, behind the rocks. It fit okay, and has a built in thermometer, so I thought it would work out.

I rotated the little dial to 78 degrees, and went to bed. Woke up and the digital thermometer I have in there is reading 90 degrees. Luckily there is nothing in there to kill, so it's just a failed experiment. 

 

I'm going to leave the heater in there (unplugged for the time being) and am going to purchase a cheap temperature controller that'll turn the heater on and off as necessary to maintain a proper temperature. Here's what I'm looking at:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Digital-Temperature-Controller-50-108°F/dp/B01M6WMUYI/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1509637884&sr=8-9&keywords=aquarium+temperature+controller

 

[Droy008]

One if the ideas I've been kicking around is getting a heat pad that people often use in reptile terrarium. Put it under the bowl with the inkbird temp probe in the tank.

 

I think that would help keep the aesthetic clean, while also being functional.

[SaltyBuddha]

6 hours ago, Droy008 said:

One if the ideas I've been kicking around is getting a heat pad that people often use in reptile terrarium. Put it under the bowl with the inkbird temp probe in the tank.

 

I think that would help keep the aesthetic clean, while also being functional.

That is a pretty cool idea. Would like to see how that works.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01486LZ50/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509666191&sr=8-1-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=inkbird+temperature+controller&psc=1

 

I bought the above controller which is 10 bucks more. It has some nice features and has the option for a chiller. Been working great so far with a 7.5watt betta stik

[Lula_Mae]

On 11/2/2017 at 11:53 AM, cnseekatz said:

I had a 25w Hydor heater lying around from my Quarantine Tank experiment, so I squeezed it into the bowl, behind the rocks. It fit okay, and has a built in thermometer, so I thought it would work out.

I rotated the little dial to 78 degrees, and went to bed. Woke up and the digital thermometer I have in there is reading 90 degrees. Luckily there is nothing in there to kill, so it's just a failed experiment. 

 

I'm going to leave the heater in there (unplugged for the time being) and am going to purchase a cheap temperature controller that'll turn the heater on and off as necessary to maintain a proper temperature. Here's what I'm looking at:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Digital-Temperature-Controller-50-108°F/dp/B01M6WMUYI/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1509637884&sr=8-9&keywords=aquarium+temperature+controller

 

Someone else tried that Hydor for this contest and had the same result. I've been warning people about the Hydor Theos because I had one that I'd set low-70's and my tank would stay mid-high 80's no matter what I did, and I was too poor to replace it (it was a previous 5.5 gallon).

 

Check out the heater from Aqua Forest Aquariums that Gena and I and a few others have. It's slender and very sleek!

[kimberbee]

On 11/5/2017 at 11:57 PM, Lula_Mae said:

Someone else tried that Hydor for this contest and had the same result. I've been warning people about the Hydor Theos because I had one that I'd set low-70's and my tank would stay mid-high 80's no matter what I did, and I was too poor to replace it (it was a previous 5.5 gallon).

 

Check out the heater from Aqua Forest Aquariums that Gena and I and a few others have. It's slender and very sleek!

*raises hand sheepishly*

 

Pretty much exact same scenario. Set to 78, and in the morning it was almost 93. VERY VERY hapy with the heater from AFA!!

[Lula_Mae]

10 hours ago, kimberbee said:

*raises hand sheepishly*

 

Pretty much exact same scenario. Set to 78, and in the morning it was almost 93. VERY VERY hapy with the heater from AFA!!

There was another person too!  Can't remember who atm.  Seriously, those Hydor heaters are dangerous.  Yuck!

 

Wonder if they could be used to like...make hot cocoa or something.

 

Glad you're loving the little heater, I think it's awesome!

[Allaboutcorals]

Neat! liking the mangrove! I threw one into my pico last night but not sure if its going to make it. It would be awesome to keep it alive in such a small container though! Good luck! 

[cnseekatz]

I believe my bowl has finally begun to cycle. I'm starting to see diatoms! At this rate, I'll be able to stock the thing right before the contest ends!

[cnseekatz]

Still not much to report. I ordered the temp controller, so I cannot add any livestock until it arrives. I don't even know if the bacteria that have formed will survive when the temperature goes up. I've been averaging around 74-75 degrees, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

 

[pj86]

Can't wait to see what corals will go into your container.

[cnseekatz]

My aerial plants seem to be doing well. I've never had them before so I didn't really know what to expect. They seem dry all the time, but they're growing new leaves, so I assume they're happy. The old leaves don't really drop off, they just dry up, turn brown, new leaves grow out of the top, and the plant gets.... longer. Not all that beautiful unfortunately, but we'll see what happens over time.

 

My Inkbird controller showed up today. $20 on Amazon, and the thing is legit! It's a heater controller only, so it's basically a probe and a single outlet. 4 buttons and about 30 seconds total to set the temperature (I chose 78-80 degrees) and get it up and running. I don't really have a reliable way to check the accuracy, besides a cheap digital thermometer that I don't really trust, so I'm just going to believe this thing is accurate.

 

I'm going to give it a couple days at reef appropriate temperatures to see if anything dramatic happens. I don't really expect much, but a bacterial bloom or an algal bloom is possible. 

 

3 hours ago, pj86 said:

Can't wait to see what corals will go into your container.

 

Me neither! I've been thinking about this quite a bit. Given the small volume and lack of filtration, I'm leaning toward species that enjoy "dirty" water. Zoanthids, LPS and misc softies are on the list. Stay tuned!

[debbeach13]

he thermometer you have will till you fluctuations. I would still check temp swings can be trouble. That bowl is so cute.

Edited November 22, 2017 by debbeach13

[fishfreak0114]

This thing is going to look so fabulous with coral in it!  What inkbird did you get?

[cnseekatz]

2 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

he thermometer you have will till you fluctuations. I would still check temp swings can be trouble. That bowl is so cute.

I think I get what you're trying to say!

 

1 hour ago, fishfreak0114 said:

This thing is going to look so fabulous with coral in it!  What inkbird did you get?

 

I got this guy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M6WMUYI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[fishfreak0114]

6 minutes ago, cnseekatz said:

I think I get what you're trying to say!

 

 

I got this guy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M6WMUYI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks!  I've been wanting to pick up a heater controller for my other tank for a while and had planned on going with the 308.  But I don't need cooling and the one you got is a lot cheaper!

[cnseekatz]

UPDATE:

 

I added some livestock! 

 

Not much, and not permanent, more of the canary in the coal mine. I put in a couple zoanthids and a baby BTA to see if they would survive the night. So far so good! Now I imagine, I'll take it a little more seriously and move stuff with a purpose. When I get it all arranged, I'll upload some photos!

[Felicia]

Just a friendly reminder that if you haven't already, please pm me your December FTS and a link to your build thread by January 5, 2018.

[Felicia]

I have not yet received your January FTS for the contest.  Please pm it to me as soon as possible.