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Kickin' It Old School 2.5g Pico Reef Competition! 😎🎓


Christopher Marks

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Do It!!!! you will have a lot of fun and everyone is very helpful and supporting if you have a problem or just need advice.  It is more about the learning and pushing this size tank to be the best it can be instead of arguing over who will win the prizes.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Anyone using a fan or chiller? My tank has been overheating a couple degrees on hotter days and I'm concerned that it could cause some damage when it gets too hot. Just want to know how others are keeping their pico cool.

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If you have a solid top (glass or acrylic), remove it, or replace it with a mesh top to encourage evaporative cooling.  If that's still not enough, a fan will help.  Keep in mind that you'll be losing a lot of water, and daily top offs would be absolutely critical.  An ATO would be a great addition.

 

There are a few chiller options available in the $100 area.  However, for a couple degrees, a fan should suffice.

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1 hour ago, seabass said:

If you have a solid top (glass or acrylic), remove it, or replace it with a mesh top to encourage evaporative cooling.  If that's still not enough, a fan will help.  Keep in mind that you'll be losing a lot of water, and daily top offs would be absolutely critical.  An ATO would be a great addition.

 

There are a few chiller options available in the $100 area.  However, for a couple degrees, a fan should suffice.

Thanks! I have some computer fans lying around my house, so I can probably figure something out. Or I can buy an aquarium fan.

I haven't used any lids on the tank, none of the ones I built looked good. They just don't go with the seamless look on the UNS tanks. 

I also have a JBJ ATO that I haven't set back up on the pico. Again, it just looks bad... form over function 😂 I top off daily anyway. 

 

So I think I'll upgrade the blue InkBird I have to the green one (the one that does heating and cooling, I know it has a model name 🙃) and run a fan on the cooling port. I'm just concerned about the pico overheating later in the summer, Chicago's supposed to be getting hit with 100° for a while. Temp can fluctuate too easily in these small tanks.

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Use a fan across the top of the tank.  It should help at least a degree or so.  But if the temperature goes up that much it may not do much.  Also a bag with ice to help the temp go down for a while will do the trick in a pinch.  The reason for the bag or Zip-Lock is that you will not introduce any extra water to the tank.  It worked after a hurricane for me.  Good Luck.

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Christopher Marks
On 7/17/2019 at 12:46 PM, Joevember said:

So I think I'll upgrade the blue InkBird I have to the green one (the one that does heating and cooling, I know it has a model name 🙃) and run a fan on the cooling port. I'm just concerned about the pico overheating later in the summer, Chicago's supposed to be getting hit with 100° for a while. Temp can fluctuate too easily in these small tanks.

That should work out great, just plan to compensate for added evaporation. I have a 4w USB powered desktop fan running on the cooling side of my Inkbird controller (ITC-308), it's pointed at my 2 gallon pico jar and helps keep it at 79-80F. Room temp is about 78-79, but the lighting warms it up by the afternoon. If you're buying a new Inkbird, you'll want the ITC-308S with replaceable temperature probe, this is the latest version: https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Temperature-Controller-Programmable-ITC-306T/dp/B07R4Z6C9N/

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  • 2 weeks later...

man guess I am a day late and dollar short... or a few months and a more than a dollar short... somehow I missed this. was not on NR mush the last few months. missed   the last one to.

 

one of these days i'll be able to join in. this sounded like tons O fun too 😞 oh well I guess i'll enjoy  through you all. 

 

2 threads down a bunch more to go...

 

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question,

as I read through the builds threads i noticed most everyone started with food in there tanks for there dry shoot.  I started to think this was part of the rules or entry requirements  so i dbl checked..haha so what gives?  

 

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Just out of curiosity, how are those tanks doing compared to those which didn't ghost feed (to start the cycle)?  I've typically considered it the cause of unnecessary organics and nutrients; however, in such a small tank where large water changes are the norm, this might not be the case.

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7 hours ago, seabass said:

Just out of curiosity, how are those tanks doing compared to those which didn't ghost feed (to start the cycle)?  I've typically considered it the cause of unnecessary organics and nutrients; however, in such a small tank where large water changes are the norm, this might not be the case.

 

I started all my rock I own with ghost feeding, never had a problem from it. I do the cycle, do a big water change at the end and it's ready to go. I struggle to keep nutrients up in most of my tanks so I would welcome the organics!! 

 

I mean nutrients are good these days, no? 

 

I think filtration is just more efficient then it used to be and old methods like jamming rock rubble in the back is mostly gone. Also powerheads are better which gets debris removed into the floss more efficiently which seems huge to me.  

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18 hours ago, devaji108 said:

question,

as I read through the builds threads i noticed most everyone started with food in there tanks for there dry shoot.  I started to think this was part of the rules or entry requirements  so i dbl checked..haha so what gives?  

 

Are you talking about the "start photo of an empty tank with your favorite snack" in it to show starting with an empty tank? Or feeding the tank to start the cycle?

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47 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Are you talking about the "start photo of an empty tank with your favorite snack" in it to show starting with an empty tank? Or feeding the tank to start the cycle?

Ah, that makes more sense.  I'm sure that I read that wrong.  So yes @devaji108, that was part of the rules.

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