64oz Pico Jar

[NuisanceAlgaeCultivator]

Well after months and months of looking at everyone’s neat ideas I decided to take the plunge!

 

 

Equipment:

Aqueon preset 50w heater

Song Long 60gph pump from Amazon

Live Rock

64oz jar from Hobby Lobby

Crushed rock from bigger tank

450 actinic led strip from eBay

(abi 12w tuna blue arriving tomorrow though)

 

Prep:

First I starting using a drill bit to screw holes in the top and cracked it, then I remembered I had a dremmel tool which cut a nice rectangle perfect for putting sockets through.

 

Heat:

one of the big issues I’ve learned from reading fellow post is heating and overheating. The 50w Aqueon seemed like an overkill, but on reading features it said it automatically shuts off at a specific temp, seems to be a strong consistent 79-80 for this tank. This is day three with no corals for testing, once complete the thermometer will be removed.

The heater gets hot to the touch so I used the bumper to keep it from touching the rock.

 

Flow:

I hooked up a teeny 60gph pump and set it to the lowest setting. I’ve been playing with the idea of turning this into a micro external canister or sump type filter. A lot of drawing, google, and hardware store browsing is going on 🙂.

 

Lighting:

For now I’ve got a 12” 450 actinic strip from eBay, but it’s way more blue than I’d prefer and not a good shape to go on such a small jar.

 On advice from others here I’m going with the ABI 12w blue tuna, should be arriving literally tomorrow.

I may end up using the eBay led to supplement my house 30gal.

 

[WV Reefer]

1 minute ago, NuisanceAlgaeCultivator said:

That’s a cute jar!

[NuisanceAlgaeCultivator]

This is my first forum creation so bear with me 🙂, guess I’ll do a walk through.

 

For decorating I’d considered bare bottom but went with 1.5” of crushed coral. The live rock is about 1/3lb from a local fish store that cultivates in a completely separate pool.

14 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

That’s a cute jar!

Thanks WV!

[Clown79]

That a cute jar.

[NuisanceAlgaeCultivator]

Well the ABI is in, its really really blue.  

Now to get a permanent lamp for it!

 

(excuse the mess I moved the tank to another table, tons of Christmas stuff going on lol)

[Christopher Marks]

Neat little pico jar you’ve built! How are the temperatures holding after a few days? That tiny pump is adorable 😂

 

Have you considered an air stone and airpump for circulation instead of the pump?

[NuisanceAlgaeCultivator]

9 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said:

Neat little pico jar you’ve built! How are the temperatures holding after a few days? That tiny pump is adorable 😂

 

Have you considered an air stone and airpump for circulation instead of the pump?

Hello Christopher,

Thanks for checking it out! Today I saw the temp at 81 while my house is 75. All I did was take the top off a couple of hours and it dropped to 79 again, I’m going to want the top left on so need a new plan.

Yes still torn on the idea of a stone vs the pump. Space being the main reason for wanting the stone but I love the little waves the pump is making on the surface and how I think the corals will flow.

Any ideas, input, or critique, I’m all ears 🙂 .