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3g Little Zoa Tree


frootbat

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Second pico I'm setting up. The idea is to put 2-3 kinds of zoas on the bonsai (clementines and rastas) and kedds reds on the bare glass on the bottom. I have a feeling it won't work, but nothing ventured and all that, right? Looks like I misjudged the dimensions of the bonsai...maybe should have gotten a taller one, but I'll make the best of it.

 

Hardware:

Aqueon 3g rimless cube

Migno 60 HOB

Aqueon 50w heater

Smart ATO micro

Coral Compulsion 14w PAR30 superblu

clamp-style desk lamp

Vidarock pico bonzai ceramic rock

 

Stocking:

Zoas, and 1 astrea snail

 

Tank dry:

 

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3 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Why do you think it won't work? Well good luck anyway. Are the tanks in different rooms? I guess with the two of them you can give some equipment reviews or comparision.

I'm just a little pessimistic after my previous failures in the hobby. Hopefully limiting livestock to inverts only and using low light will help this time. Both tanks are on end tables next to the sofa on the living room, one on each side.

 

The desk lamp and Coral Compulsion bulb arrived, so I went ahead and set everything up and got the tank wet and running. The bulb is 13" over the water surface, and I have it set to run from 9am-1pm and 4pm-9pm. Three zoa frags should be arriving Thursday.

 

Sorry about the photo, I have a Reeflens on the way.

 

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Christopher Marks

Great setup @frootbat! I think you'll find success sticking with inverts only, it really does simplify the demands for biological filtration and waste export. Are you planning on doing full water changes for maintenance similar to pico bowls and jars?

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1 hour ago, Christopher Marks said:

Great setup @frootbat! I think you'll find success sticking with inverts only, it really does simplify the demands for biological filtration and waste export. Are you planning on doing full water changes for maintenance similar to pico bowls and jars?

I wasn’t aware of that technique. Since it’s only 3 gallons per tank, I guess it wouldn’t be *that* difficult. Would that be on a monthly basis? I was originally thinking that with inverts only I could get away with a gallon a week, but if there is a better way, I’m absolutely open to it.

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Christopher Marks

It's the method I use with my 2 gallon pico reef jar, many others do too. I usually replace around 80-90% (in actuality) of the water every 10-14 days, usually 4 or 5 hours after spot feeding all the coral in my tank. Since it's so little volume, it's not much trouble to do, and these small reefs seem to benefit from replenishing trace elements with new saltwater, plus you can easily remove detritus during the process each time, preventing water quality issues long term. @gena created a great article and video demonstrating the process with a reef jar, but there's no reason why it can't work on a traditional rectangular pico tank too. As the system matures and new additions stop, you might be able to stretch it out to 4 weeks between changes, depending on what you keep.

You could apply this maintenance routine to a large reef tank too and see success, but it would require a crazy amount of work and money by comparison.

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1 hour ago, Christopher Marks said:

It's the method I use with my 2 gallon pico reef jar, many others do too. I usually replace around 80-90% (in actuality) of the water every 10-14 days, usually 4 or 5 hours after spot feeding all the coral in my tank. Since it's so little volume, it's not much trouble to do, and these small reefs seem to benefit from replenishing trace elements with new saltwater, plus you can easily remove detritus during the process each time, preventing water quality issues long term. @gena created a great article and video demonstrating the process with a reef jar, but there's no reason why it can't work on a traditional rectangular pico tank too. As the system matures and new additions stop, you might be able to stretch it out to 4 weeks between changes, depending on what you keep.

You could apply this maintenance routine to a large reef tank too and see success, but it would require a crazy amount of work and money by comparison.

tbh we look past the little things like a water change but i would say its the most important thing in our small reefs. gena made a great guide

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3 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

It's the method I use with my 2 gallon pico reef jar, many others do too. I usually replace around 80-90% (in actuality) of the water every 10-14 days, usually 4 or 5 hours after spot feeding all the coral in my tank. Since it's so little volume, it's not much trouble to do, and these small reefs seem to benefit from replenishing trace elements with new saltwater, plus you can easily remove detritus during the process each time, preventing water quality issues long term. @gena created a great article and video demonstrating the process with a reef jar, but there's no reason why it can't work on a traditional rectangular pico tank too. 

 

 

Great article and super idea! I’ll go ahead and plan on 90% water changes every  couple weeks.

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44 minutes ago, frootbat said:

 

Great article and super idea! I’ll go ahead and plan on 90% water changes every  couple weeks.

 

After rock and sand. Your looking at 2 gallons of water. A bucket of io should last you a year.

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Got the Zoas in today. I took most of the Kedds Reds off the plug and put them on the bottom. Looks like I have 5 polyps each of the Clementines and Rastas, and they went on the branches of the bonsai. I may keep my eyes peeled for another frag with some blue to put up there as well.

 

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