Ratvan's Old School Pico - Rockwall Pico v2

[Ratvan]

Ok so the Asta 20 LED isn't working this morning..... 

[debbeach13]

Well that stinks. Do have any thing to use as a replacement?

[Ratvan]

2 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Well that stinks. Do have any thing to use as a replacement?

Couple of really bad Nicrew LEDS, can also move it to where my Black Box Spills on my 34G

Have taken the light apart, nothing loose (hoped it was that simple) have contacted customer services as within warranty (obviously) just waiting for response... 

[Ratvan]

Also another Hitchhiker, some snail. No idea where this came from? Tiny <1mm

 

[Ratvan]

Light is up and working again, something tripped the circuit at work. I have to split between two power strips (Work PC and Phone) so the light was on a different circuit (probably a good thing with the power consumption of these tanks) took me a good long while to find the circuit breakers..........

 

Pheeew

[kimberbee]

2 hours ago, Ratvan said:

Also another Hitchhiker, some snail. No idea where this came from? Tiny <1mm

 

No idea... it's cute though!!

[Ratvan]

Things are ticking along nicely, have decided in the last couple of days that I will use this primarily as a place to keep my mushroom frags until they're ready to be attached to rock rubble and then be mounted onto frag plugs/discs. These (Blue Disco also don't do to well in the larger system 😞

 

 

Have also thrown some scraps of Gracilaria into the tank in the hopes that it will grow out

 

Pretty dull finish, sorry about that

[Ratvan]

Has anyone had any luck in housing RFA's under the Asta 20 LED? 

Considering taking this little thing home and playing with RFA's and Sexy Shrimp, Maybe a Pom Pom

[seabass]

1 hour ago, Ratvan said:

Has anyone had any luck in housing RFA's under the Asta 20 LED? 

Not specifically, but I've found that RFAs are pretty tolerant of various (typical reef) light intensities.

[Ratvan]

Decided to give SPS one final shot, the main section of each frag is currently in the 34G, but I did break off a tiny amount of each to see how they do

 

"Green Plating Monti"

 

"Purple" Stylophora

[Ratvan]

Well the little nub of Plating Montipora seems to be doing okay, but the Stylopora is now looking white at the tips? Doing the same in the Pico as it is in the 34g

 

[Ratvan]

Well now, just over a week to go. Good news is that I can have a Home Reef. My incessant whinging has paid off. The majority of the equipment will be reused

 

I am having a few issues with this system still so actually quite glad that this will finish next week. As the 27th is a Sunday i have decided that on the 25th (Friday) as my tank is in the office I will complete the transfer to the larger system and will use the Pico as my ATO container. My current container is making me slightly nervous but only needs to last a week. 

 

We were cloudy again this morning, interestingly the Zoas and Yuma's always look better after this so just letting it tick along

[Ratvan]

Well that was the last weekend that the tank shall be running in its current iteration, things look decent this morning. Benny is out which is always good to see.

 

A few shots of around the tank with only natural and office lighting 

[Ratvan]

Just stumbled across an idea I wish I had seen 7 months ago lol, it does mean that I am likely to keep this one going though.

 

 

What is it? 

 

 

[Ratvan]

@Wonderboy, can you link me to those LED Strips that you use on the 2.5 and Project Xenia?

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

On 10/18/2019 at 4:03 AM, Ratvan said:

Well now, just over a week to go. Good news is that I can have a Home Reef. My incessant whinging has paid off. The majority of the equipment will be reused

 

I am having a few issues with this system still so actually quite glad that this will finish next week. As the 27th is a Sunday i have decided that on the 25th (Friday) as my tank is in the office I will complete the transfer to the larger system and will use the Pico as my ATO container. My current container is making me slightly nervous but only needs to last a week. 

 

We were cloudy again this morning, interestingly the Zoas and Yuma's always look better after this so just letting it tick along

Just a quick question? Did you know that there’s a mushroom in the middle of those zoas? It looks like a lava lamp mushroom I think?

3 hours ago, Ratvan said:

Just stumbled across an idea I wish I had seen 7 months ago lol, it does mean that I am likely to keep this one going though.

 

 

What is it? 

 

 

What’s the idea? I’m bursting with curiosity??

[Ratvan]

Just now, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Just a quick question? Did you know that there’s a mushroom in the middle of those zoas? It looks like a lava lamp mushroom I think?

Spot on, I have some Lantern Art Discosoma Mushrooms on the same rock but they're tiny. Also have a load of red macro algae on them now that I am not sure what it is yes (apart from Red Balloon Algae)

 

The Mussel/Clam/Bivalve also has the most gorgeous coloured mantle, reminds me a lot of the bigger clams. 

I do like buying these budget rocks, just watching what comes out of them is amazing

[Ratvan]

26 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

What’s the idea? I’m bursting with curiosity??

If instagram allows me to make an upload today I'll post it tonight when i get home. I need to bring in another pump from home tomorrow but should be able to hook it all up then. Probably too late for the Contest but has given me something to do for today 😄

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

33 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

Spot on, I have some Lantern Art Discosoma Mushrooms on the same rock but they're tiny. Also have a load of red macro algae on them now that I am not sure what it is yes (apart from Red Balloon Algae)

 

The Mussel/Clam/Bivalve also has the most gorgeous coloured mantle, reminds me a lot of the bigger clams. 

I do like buying these budget rocks, just watching what comes out of them is amazing

Did you buy that rock with everything on it? Nice score, that’s a really nice find👍

[Ratvan]

Just now, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Did you buy that rock with everything on it? Nice score, that’s a really nice find👍

Yeah a LFS (not my nearest) was doing an offer of 2x Soft Corals for £20. So i picked the Zoa Rock (i had a theory that a colony of that size would survive me better. Seems to have worked) and also the Yuma Mushroom Rock. It was in a mixed Softie tank so have been seeing other soft corals appearing. Obviously comes with the pictured Aiptasia but I am slowly getting around to them once they're large enough for the syringe. 

 

Kenya Tree's for example I am currently on an extermination mission as they have completely overtaken one of my rocks, and I think it looks ugly 😞 

[EthanPhillyCheesesteak]

1 hour ago, Ratvan said:

Yeah a LFS (not my nearest) was doing an offer of 2x Soft Corals for £20. So i picked the Zoa Rock (i had a theory that a colony of that size would survive me better. Seems to have worked) and also the Yuma Mushroom Rock. It was in a mixed Softie tank so have been seeing other soft corals appearing. Obviously comes with the pictured Aiptasia but I am slowly getting around to them once they're large enough for the syringe. 

 

Kenya Tree's for example I am currently on an extermination mission as they have completely overtaken one of my rocks, and I think it looks ugly 😞 

Really? I kinda like Kenya trees, you don’t like them?😂

I’m also dealing with the aptasia problem. I’m getting a peppermint shrimp this weekend 

[Ratvan]

34 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Really? I kinda like Kenya trees, you don’t like them?😂

I’m also dealing with the aptasia problem. I’m getting a peppermint shrimp this weekend 

I like them BUT they're growing like weeds. Some have started growing on my Xenia which I plan on leaving and seeing who wins. None of the new growth is near the frag I placed which means I probably missed a branch dropping and it spread through the rock

[Wonderboy]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5M-12V-3528-LED-Strip-Lights-5050-Flexible-LED-Lights-Strip-5630-LED-Strip-Lamp/322223020824?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D60259%26meid%3D68376d92dc124af09f236489ba9f054a%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dco%26sd%3D133020516676%26itm%3D322223020824%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

 

https://www.flexfireleds.com/comparison-between-3528-leds-and-5050-leds/

 

I used 3528 SMD LED light strips with correlating connectors from eBay - power for these is 12V 2A - went with these because they are small and were to be point blank to the algae -and to keep heat down...ish-

 

the diodes in 5050 strips are about twice the size as those (12V 5A) 

 

[when working with these things, be sure to pay attention to the little polarity markings on the strips]

 

3020 or 3014 strips sound very interesting... read somewhere 3014s have heat dissipation... hmmmm

[Christopher Marks]

Hey @Ratvan, 7 months sure flew by fast didn't it?

 

This is a friendly reminder to post your final official competition FTS and a 1 to 2 paragraph recap of your experience in the pico reef competition (for voting). Be sure to share your future plans for your pico reef as well, will it continue forward or get an upgrade? The competition ends on Sunday October 27th at midnight!

 

Thank you for being a part of the Old School Pico Reef Competition! ❤️ 

[Ratvan]

12 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

Hey @Ratvan, 7 months sure flew by fast didn't it?

 

This is a friendly reminder to post your final official competition FTS and a 1 to 2 paragraph recap of your experience in the pico reef competition (for voting). Be sure to share your future plans for your pico reef as well, will it continue forward or get an upgrade? The competition ends on Sunday October 27th at midnight!

 

Thank you for being a part of the Old School Pico Reef Competition! ❤️ 

It certainly did, luckily I was prepared. I went over the 1-2 Paragraphs slightly though 

 

Thought about tidying up for the final Pico Picture but why not go for the current cloudy morning look?

 

Pico Contest Tank - Recap

Firstly a Thank You to anybody and everybody that has helped and encouraged me throughout this contest, this is a wonderful forum that I am proud to be a member of. I have received so much help and support from this group of people it is unreal.

 

So an insight into me and why I decided that I would partake in this contest. A lot of things have happened in the last couple of years, I lost my Family to Cancer, Alzheimer’s and Cardio Vascular Dementia the Christmas of 2017. In December 2018 I tried to commit suicide as I couldn’t see any other way out of my slump. Since then I have started to receive support (most of it enforced by others). It has got to the point where I no longer keep my “suicide kit” in my car. Apart from writing this I don’t think that I have considered harming myself since.  

So what the f*ck am I telling you this for?

 

Well, in January 2019 I purchased a Tank complete with Clownfish, I have been fish keeping a long time, however always Brackish or Freshwater. I really loved the fish and the tank but unfortunately I couldn’t keep up with the maintenance and gave up. Despite my Mrs and Mother in Law I felt so alone and isolated but I stuck around on this forum asking questions and reading, oh my word, not since I got my Masters Degree have I read so much material.

 

Then the Pico contest came along. 

This tank has given me the motivation to keep going, as someone once said “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure, without losing hope” with a quote like that they’d have to be famous. I actually enjoy coming to work again now, mainly because I know that I have a lot of creatures relying on my abilities to keep them alive and looking beautiful.

 

This Hobby has helped me so much, not only in improving my mood but I have become more active as a result (I could barely lift the 2.5g of water to fill the Pico originally), due to this I once again got involved in other hobbies. The biggest thing that I am taking away from this contest is far more important to me is that I feel I can speak to people again, outside a work setting.

For that I am truly grateful and forever thankful to all of your kind words and encouragement throughout.

 

Ok enough emotional drivel! TALK ABOUT THE TANK!

 

Tank Specs

Tank: Aquatown 12 Litre (12x7x5)

Light: Asta 20 LED

Heater: 75W Nano Heater

Circulation: Hydor Pico Evo

Filtration: Hydro Ripple HOB Filter

Filter Media: Filter Floss, Occasional Carbon

 

Maintenance Routine

I’m essentially a lazy person so as little maintenance on the system as possible, when I was reading other people’s build threads people tend to mention that if your tank is doing well, keep your hands out and watch in wonder. This tank is still not established and I find that maintenance is actually increasing as time goes by.

 

I think that I would be better off with a larger quantity of water. I would however like to give this contest another go if something similar was to happen again in the future (I also have a series of suitable containers that I could use)

 

I feed the tank a small amount of pellets, BBS and Artemis daily (Monday to Friday), as this is an office tank I cannot feed on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays/Public Holidays. I preform a 100% water change every 10 days to 2 weeks, I change the filter floss probably every 5 days or so, more if it looks particularly dirty. At this point I usually syphon out detritus from the HOB.

 

Livestock: Fish and Inverts

·         “Tank Bred” Ocellaris Clownfish (Possibly a “Mocha” Clown)

·         Firecracker Goby (Trimma Rubromaculatum)

·         2x Red Head Gobies (Elacatinus Puncticulatus) 

·         Scarlett Legged Hermit

·         2x Blue Legged Hermit

·         Turbo Snail

·         Trocus Snail

·         Nassarius Snail

 

Livestock: Corals

·         Red “Un Named” Zoathanids

·         Green, Orange, Blue “Un Named” Zoathanids

·         Green Yuma Mushrooms

·         Discosoma Mushrooms

·         Indonesian Torch

·         Duncan Coral

Goals

I really wanted to achieve a Biotope type tank but unfortunately my eagerness to join the contest I missed that by a large margin. In the end I just focused on making sure that I kept all loses to an absolute minimum and to try and get a good understanding of good practises that I can transfer to larger systems and set ups.

 

So without knowing much at all about the world of Reefing I set myself some Goals at the start of the contest.

 

1.       Coral Growth. I will be doing as much research as possible to get the best growth on my existing Corals

2.       Coral Colouration. I want to be able to produce some really interesting and bright Mushroom heads from the tank. 

3.       Fragging, I want to learn how to Frag these corals and maybe also create some of my own Frag Plugs

4.       Aquascape. I want to design an attractive Aquascape that is livestock friendly and freely viewable.

5.       Livestock Losses. I want to keep these to a minimum if at all possible, I would like the livestock to survive the contest and beyond.

 

1.       Coral Growth: With the exception of the Green Yuma Mushrooms and Discosoma Mushrooms I gained very little if any coral growth. I attribute this to Lighting and Parameters, it took me a long while to figure out what the lighting schedule should be on the tank. I also had difficulties in stabilising the tank parameters. I also came in with the Freshwater [perspective and expected a similar growth rate. Yeah that was an error. In all honesty I don’t think that the ASTA 20 LED is that good for growth, I could of course be wrong but this is my findings. Also 17 days before the end of the contest the light gave up….

 

2.       Coral Colouration: To be honest did not notice a great deal of increased colouration within

my corals, I think that this probably is more suitable a topic for Zoa’s and or SPS corals. I do really enjoy how the Zoa Rocks that I recently purchased now appear. Very bright Orange and Green and the smallest amount of blue. If my livestock selection was different, or I had managed to keep any of the SPS alive I might have more to say on this part.

 

3.       Fragging: Probably the easiest part of this process. The amount of accidental Fragging’s that I completed was unreal. Especially true of the Yuma Mushrooms, Xenia and Zoa Rocks. Essentially the rock was brittle enough that I could simply snap it in half/sections to create new frags.

 

4.       Aquascape: Sadly the part of this that I never was really happy with. I am struggling to find affordable, interesting, good quality live rock. I had to settle eventually for pre painted and seeded rock from my LFS in the end. I could probably get this running how I want too, but with so little time remaining I don’t see a lot of point concentrating further on this system with my larger 34g now set up.

 

5.       Livestock: I would class this section as a success. I still have Miss Penny Pincher (first inhabitant) a red legged hermit crab as well as the first snail I purchased (Trocus) I also still have Benny (somewhere) and Hantu the Clownfish is now developing adult colours nicely.

 

 

Future Plans:

I want to go further old School and introduce a Surge Tank to this little Pico, I will be working on this today and Friday and continuing with the tank from Monday onwards.