Christopher Marks Posted April 19, 2019 Author Share Posted April 19, 2019 On 4/18/2019 at 8:23 AM, seabass said: When I had aiptasia, I used multiple peppermint shrimp, then gave them away afterwards. It's worth asking your LFS if they are willing to sell you a couple of shrimp and later return them for some store credit. If not, see if they are at least willing to take them back for free. I think this will be my approach, I'll ask next time I go in! Hopefully the shrimp are not too difficult to catch and remove haha. I wonder if I still have my old fish net packed away somewhere? 🤔 1 Quote Link to comment
This guy is extra salty Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 The more I look at this jar the more I want to put it on an automated Lazy Susan. 🤤 is the lid just resting on the rim (so it could spin?)or is it screwed down? 1 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted April 19, 2019 Author Share Posted April 19, 2019 10 minutes ago, This guy is extra salty said: The more I look at this jar the more I want to put it on an automated Lazy Susan. 🤤 is the lid just resting on the rim (so it could spin?)or is it screwed down? I really do lament that I cannot see the backside of the jar, I recently thought about scooting it forward on the cabinet a little more. The TV beside it has a swivel base, so I push it out of the way to take a peek around the backside on the right. The lid light probably has enough wiggle room to 'swivel' with assistance, but I have the power cord bundled with the heater, air line, and temp probe lines, they wouldn't move as easily. All that being said... a lazy susan could still be worthwhile, it wouldn't need to swivel 360 or even 180 degrees, just 45 or so in either direction. Hmm... 🤔 2 Quote Link to comment
This guy is extra salty Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 21 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said: I really do lament that I cannot see the backside of the jar, I recently thought about scooting it forward on the cabinet a little more. The TV beside it has a swivel base, so I push it out of the way to take a peek around the backside on the right. The lid light probably has enough wiggle room to 'swivel' with assistance, but I have the power cord bundled with the heater, air line, and temp probe lines, they wouldn't move as easily. All that being said... a lazy susan could still be worthwhile, it wouldn't need to swivel 360 or even 180 degrees, just 45 or so in either direction. Hmm... 🤔 Maybe a “fixed” anchor point to hold the cords in place? Like to a wall or something. So if said jar does spin the lid will stay in place but the rest will merry-go-round. I was thinking like one of the Jewelry lazy Susan’s that spin by themselves really slow... 2 Quote Link to comment
fishfreak0114 Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 When you commented on my thread I was like “OMG CM really has a tank!” 😱 I’ve wondered for years. I love this jar! The lid/light is super sleek. As for stocking, I definitely think you could fit a Pom Pom and porcelain. And probably a shrimp or two too...maybe I’m getting carried away 😜 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Coinee Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 I think you owe us an update post 😉 3 Quote Link to comment
ajkochev Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 35 minutes ago, Coinee said: I think you owe us an update post 😉 +1 2 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted July 10, 2019 Author Share Posted July 10, 2019 On 6/11/2019 at 12:39 PM, Coinee said: I think you owe us an update post 😉 Wow do I ever! This has been on my to-do list for over three weeks now! I’ve been super busy building a new bottled beverage mixer business with my wife. It’s been a whirlwind of projects, we’re planning to launch in a few weeks. The pico reef jar is doing spectacular, we made a few coral frag additions back in late May and in June. 95% Water changes still happen every 18-21 days on average, and I top off freshwater every 5 or 6 days. I’ll post a more thorough update soon and leave with this teaser. 🙂 16 Quote Link to comment
Solarflare8806 Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 It's looking good Christopher! 2 1 Quote Link to comment
OBXReef Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 Your little reef is looking good! 2 1 Quote Link to comment
Reefjunkye Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 dang!! what a pimp pico jar!!! I am heading to walmart ( Canada) hopefully they carry them. if so I am gonna order the picopro led 2 Quote Link to comment
waldoz Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 This is great, been looking at tanks for yrs but wanted to be able to move it on a whim if the wife wanted to. The going out of town thing was another problem too. I think I can squeeze this on in, though have to do the light bit different. 2 Quote Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 1 hour ago, sean86114 said: dang!! what a pimp pico jar!!! I am heading to walmart ( Canada) hopefully they carry them. if so I am gonna order the picopro led You are gonna order just the light ? Isn't it like $180 for it ? Quote Link to comment
ReefMagix Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 On 10/14/2019 at 8:28 PM, Reefkid88 said: You are gonna order just the light ? Isn't it like $180 for it ? 180$ is cheap... Why would anyone want to skimp on their lights.... Just one coral can easily cost more than 180$ especially considering that next day air shipping is about 50$ alone. It might be overkill for a goldfish tank I suppose. 2 Quote Link to comment
fulltang Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 @Christopher Marks How's the light holding up? Also curious how high your temps got this summer, and how you continued to handle cooling? Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted November 5, 2019 Author Share Posted November 5, 2019 On 11/2/2019 at 12:30 AM, fulltang said: @Christopher Marks How's the light holding up? Also curious how high your temps got this summer, and how you continued to handle cooling? Really quite well, I love the PicoPro light! Summer temperatures ended up being no trouble at all, our house air conditioning was set at 77-78F, and with the little cooling desktop fan pointing at the jar, I don’t think it ever went over 81F. I add freshwater top off every 4-5 days still. I could have reduced the water level a little to help reduce heat transfer, but it never became a problem. Having the heater and small cooling fan controlled by the Inkbird thermostat is essential, it’s worry free now. Life has been crazy busy the past few months with the new business taking up my time. I must admit my little pico reef jar hasn’t been at its best lately, due to my slacking on water changes. All the zoanthids are happy as can be, but my LPS corals have been receding, they’re irritated by something. Hair algae (I think) has taken root all over the tank as well, something I need to address somehow. It started as a hitchhiker algae on one coral frag that I let go, and after I disrupted it removing some during the last water change, it started to spread fast. I added a peppermint shrimp to the tank back in late July, to address the growing aiptasia anemone population. It hides all the time, but within the first week it had eaten all but 1 large anemone that still remains. I was worried it had died weeks ago and caused the algae outbreak, but just yesterday I saw a fresh molt on the rocks! I’ve never managed to see it in action, it has the ultimate hiding spot. I’ll try to post some new photos soon, even with the algae troubles. 6 Quote Link to comment
ReefSmart Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 On 11/5/2019 at 9:56 AM, Christopher Marks said: Really quite well, I love the PicoPro light! Summer temperatures ended up being no trouble at all, our house air conditioning was set at 77-78F, and with the little cooling desktop fan pointing at the jar, I don’t think it ever went over 81F. I add freshwater top off every 4-5 days still. I could have reduced the water level a little to help reduce heat transfer, but it never became a problem. Having the heater and small cooling fan controlled by the Inkbird thermostat is essential, it’s worry free now. Life has been crazy busy the past few months with the new business taking up my time. I must admit my little pico reef jar hasn’t been at its best lately, due to my slacking on water changes. All the zoanthids are happy as can be, but my LPS corals have been receding, they’re irritated by something. Hair algae (I think) has taken root all over the tank as well, something I need to address somehow. It started as a hitchhiker algae on one coral frag that I let go, and after I disrupted it removing some during the last water change, it started to spread fast. I added a peppermint shrimp to the tank back in late July, to address the growing aiptasia anemone population. It hides all the time, but within the first week it had eaten all but 1 large anemone that still remains. I was worried it had died weeks ago and caused the algae outbreak, but just yesterday I saw a fresh molt on the rocks! I’ve never managed to see it in action, it has the ultimate hiding spot. I’ll try to post some new photos soon, even with the algae troubles. I had great luck with an army of colonista snails in my tank they seem to keep the hair algae at bay. They are very interesting little critters coming out at night and covering the rocks and glass. I was always worried about a potential die off but it has never happened. Also I noticed a nice effect with the rock wall. Bubble algae seem to take off behind it where there was very little light(out of sight) and it must keep the nutrients in check. For the first several years I actually kept a small bag of activated carbon in the back in the stream of air bubbles. That did keep the tank very clean but I wanted the coral to grow faster so I focused on letting the tank get a little more dirty in between water changes. There are many options to successfully run a pico. One thing I've found that is probably quite obvious is that a 75% water change is far less stressful on the coral than a 100%. My SPS hardly even slimes up with a 75%. I have been doing 75% every 1-2 weeks with the best results. 2 Quote Link to comment
MR.FEESH Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 What's the haps, @Christopher Marks? Hope you and your family are safe and healthy these days. 2 Quote Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 On 11/5/2019 at 9:56 AM, Christopher Marks said: I’ll try to post some new photos soon, even with the algae troubles. 👀 1 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 How's the jar @Christopher Marks 1 Quote Link to comment
frootbat Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Holy crap!!!! This is the pandemic diversion I've been looking for! Just ordered a PicoPro in red and a jar from Anchor Hocking, and as a contribution to the thread, I found a guy selling 3d printed magnetic probe holders, I'd think it could hold a temp probe and an airline: https://printed3d.parts/product/magnetic-probe-holder-double-spot/ 1 Quote Link to comment
Bobc Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Hey @Christopher Marks, do you have any updates on the reef? It's quite spectacular! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 so about 3 weeks until the annual update then? 1 5 Quote Link to comment
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