Jon-Paul Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Hello everyone, I began fish keeping when I was about ten years old and kept with the hobby for about eight years and at my zenith of fish husbandry I had six tanks (4 fresh water and 2 salt water). I have taken about 11 years off from the hobby, but now that I am on my own and have my own source of income (god bless my parents lol) I want to get back into reefing, and particularly pico-reefing. I just put an order in for a 3 Gallon JBJ Picotope (yes, I was inspired by El Fab's) and have cultivated a list of hardware that I would love some help with! I have already done some research and the hardware I have chosen seems to work, but I want to be thorough and it never hurts to double check in this hobby. Anyone's input will be greatly appreciated! Below each item I may have listed some questions. Short List of planned inhabitants Unique CUC Sexy Shrimp Mushrooms Zoos Other Softies Some LPS MAYBE 1 SPS 3 Gallon JBJ Picotope Aquarium *** Is a Mag-Float mini worth the investment or will it scratch the glass? Hipargero 30w AquaKnight LED (9x3watt CREE 4RB/3W/1V/1B) Aquaclear 70 (refugium mod) - AC 50 Impeller - Chemipure Blue - Chaeto - Filter Floss - Red Sea Reef Spec Carbon - ACKE 12w Grow Light *** Is this light good for the chaeto? Too much? Seems ideal wavelength to promote growth. Cobalt 31000 25w NeoTherm Heater *** Is this mountable in AC70 refugium? Is 25w enough? Temperature fluctuations in my home are between 70F-78F steady. Seems reliable and good. Smart ATO Micro Master Saltwater Test Kit *** Starter test kits for PH/Ammonia/Nitrate/Nitrite. Looking for recommendations on others to buy. Other random, but essential stuff. Refractometer Forceps/Tweezers Pippettes Siphon Timers Further questions would be: 1) What kind of substrate should I have? I personally like the look of the Black Hawaiian Sand from Arag-ALive but have heard some bad things. Another option is the PInk Fiji. Or is there some other kind I should consider? 2) What salt should I use? I will be using RODI water, but I am unsure what is the best salt to use, or, if there even is one. Once again, thanks to everyone on this board! It has been awesome to see everyone's tanks and every post I read I feel I am learning more. Cheers! Quote Link to comment
ReefFish Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 As far as the salt goes I like the Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Quote Link to comment
calabdiver Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 Here's mine. Live sand. 5 or so lbs. live rock. Upgraded to Led light, AC 50 filter, 3 hermits, 3 margarita snails, 1 tubo, Pistol Shrimp, Various zoas and shrooms, Frogspawn. Quote Link to comment
Jon-Paul Posted July 21, 2018 Author Share Posted July 21, 2018 @calabdiver Cool tank! Was curious to know what others have in terms of a CUC and this just helped! I'm thinking for a CUC to go with: Adding a copepod/plankton population 1x Trochus Snail 1x Nassarius Snail 2x Cerith Snail 1x Emerald Crab 1-2x Scarlet Hermit Crab 1x Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp or Fire Shrimp or Sexy Shrimp I like a diverse crew. The copepods/plankton just to establish a near micro level of a crew. And starting off with the snail and hermits. The emerald I would add later depending if the algae was too much for the snails and hermits, but I have hard they eat corals if there isn't enough food. And a shrimp I would add lastly just for style. I've read that Fire Shrimp tend to hide a lot but the skunk would stay out and are quite social. Sexies are a draw, but I've also heard they can munch on corals. Quote Link to comment
calabdiver Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Emeralds can be difficult in a small tank they usually starve themselves. Typically the golden rule is one snail and one hermit per gal. The rest sounds good Quote Link to comment
calabdiver Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Also I wouldn’t worry about the mag float I have one and it gets cramped in there I usually just take a rewards card of some kind and scrape the glass if needed Quote Link to comment
Jon-Paul Posted July 21, 2018 Author Share Posted July 21, 2018 I would also have a chaeto reactor in my hob AC70. I was thinking that I could, when harvesting it, feed it to the crab maybe once a week? Or, not feasible? Quote Link to comment
calabdiver Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Sure. I tried to have chaeto in the rear but because of the weekly water changes and low bioload it just died Quote Link to comment
Jon-Paul Posted July 21, 2018 Author Share Posted July 21, 2018 Did you have a separate light for your fuge, running on opposite hours of your tank? I picked up the acke grow light and judging by the spectrum it seems well suited to grow chaeto and have also seen evidence of it as a possbility in a few posts and a video here. I basically will have the same fuge. Quote Link to comment
calabdiver Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 I used the stock light. But not on opposite hours Quote Link to comment
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