Yoshii's Old School 2.5g Hawaiian Pico 🌴

[yoshii]

My first Nano-Reef contest tank! 🙂

 

Mar 2020 FTS

 

Feb 2020 FTS

 

August 2019 FTS

The pico didn't like me going on vacation 😅

 

July FTS

 

June FTS

 

May FTS

 

April FTS

 

Background

I've been keeping saltwater aquariums for the past 12ish years straight, so I've been having some serious fish tank withdrawals in the past 6 months without one (since I moved from CA to Hawai'i). Luckily I get to play with tanks at my work, but I really miss having a tank of my own. So I'm glad I could use this contest as an excuse to get my feet wet again! If you are familiar with some of my old tanks, you may already know I like to keep things as simple as possible, so I'm loving the restrictions of this contest.

 

Reef Tank in Hawaii?

I think my main challenge will involve stocking this tank. I live in Hawai'i, where it is illegal to keep hard corals in your aquarium. They take this very seriously, so I will not push that. What you can have are zoas, palys, soft corals, and some anemones (I think just H. malu). Not too bad, right? Well...you can't import any coral, so you're stuck with whatever grows here in Hawai'i. Zoas and palys selection is ok, soft coral is almost non-existent (just a brown Sinularia and a mat-forming softie similar to Blue Snowflake). Also, live rock/sand is illegal to sell/collect. So you must start with dry rock and sand. The good news is you can collect your own CUC and zoas/palys, as long as you don't take any live rock with them. I can collect my own fish as long as I follow the regulations. Good news, limu (Hawaiian for algae/seaweed) is legal to have/collect. So you guys know exactly where this is going 🤓

 

Stocking

* = endemic to Hawai'i

Fish

- Juvi Zebra Blenny (Istiblennius zebra)* Carpet surfed

- 2x Petite Gobies (Priolepis farcimen)* Carpet surfed

Macroalgae (limu)

- Pink Galaxaura (Galaxaura rugosa)

- Hairy Galaxaura (Galaxaura divaricata)

- Halimeda discoidea

- Turbinaria ornata

- Laurencia

- Dictyota

- A few more, I'll update this list later

Coral

- Anthelia edmondsoni*

- 1 Zoanthid morph

Inverts

- Mini brittle star

- White Claw Hermit (Calcinus seurati)

 

Equipment

Tank: Marineland standard glass 2.5g

Lighting: Natural sunlight (indirect) Asta 20

Filtration: Plenn-Plax Cascade HOB (their smallest one)

 

 

[yoshii]

Ok so I have some decisions to make, what do you guys think

 

I haven't decided if I want to keep this tank at home or at work. Work would be easier since I would have access to fresh natural sea water (easy water changes), RODI, tank cleaning supplies, etc (I work with Hawaiian coral in aquariums). However, our current office is temporary, so I don't really have room to put a tank in. We won't move into our new office until later this year. I could put the tank outside, but I just don't want it to be in the way.

 

I have no idea of what I want to do for lighting. Should I spend $$$ and get a tiny aquarium light like a AI Prime or something? Or try to use natural lighting? If I put the tank at home, I can place it in front of a window that gets sun for a decent part of the day. But I don't want the tank to overheat.

[This guy is extra salty]

🤔

[seabass]

I'm glad that you're in.  While not as nice as an AI Prime, a relatively inexpensive PAR38 (like the 23W ABI Tuna Blue) should work.

 

Although a natural light entry would be interesting.  I remember tinyreef's sunlit pico (more than a decade ago):

• https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/69492-stock-tinyreef/
• https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/88240-25-gallon-sunlight-pico-reef/
• https://www.nano-reef.com/gallery/image/9993-tinyreefs-sunlight-pico/

You might be able to get away with an open top for cooling by adding an ATO, and maybe a fan on a temperature controller (or even just a timer).

[vlangel]

Hi yoshi, I also did not want to spend money on a light.  I had a par 38 tuna blue bulb but it is way too blue for my liking.  I have my tank in an east window which will get very little direct light but good ambient white light.  (I have kept macro algae in this window in the past). I hung the par bulb just so it could get a few hours of direct light a day to supplement the natural light.  Maybe a fan could help with cooling?  Here in PA that is not much of an issue.

[SeaFurn]

I also think the natural light is a neat idea for this contest as long as you can keep the tank cool like you said! 

+1 on Seabass' and Dawn's idea about the par 38 bulb as an extra boost of light if needed, and +1 on the fan to keep the tank cool. 

So excited to see what you come up with!!

[Lingwendil]

11 hours ago, yoshii said:

 

Reef Tank in Hawaii?

I think my main challenge will involve stocking this tank. I live in Hawaii, where it is illegal to keep hard corals in your aquarium. They take this very seriously, so I will not push that. What you can have are zoas, palys, soft corals, and some anemones (I think just H. malu). Not too bad, right? Well...you can't import any coral, so you're stuck with whatever grows here in Hawaii. Zoas and palys selection is ok, soft coral is almost non-existent (just a brown Sinularia and a mat-forming softie similar to Blue Snowflake). Also, live rock/sand is illegal to sell/collect. So you must start with dry rock and sand. The good news is you can collect your own CUC and zoas/palys, as long as you don't take any live rock with them. Currently, there is a ban on aquarium fishing (no fine mesh nets) so I cannot collect my own fish with a net. However, LFSs have both local and imported fishes and inverts. Good news, limu (Hawaiian for algae) is legal to have/collect. So you guys know exactly where this is going 🤓

 

 

 

Dang! And here I thought California was bad!

 

At least you can collect some local stuff, that'll be neat for sure!

[Lingwendil]

10 hours ago, seabass said:

I'm glad that you're in.  While not as nice as an AI Prime, a relatively inexpensive PAR38 (like the 23W ABI Tuna Blue) should work.

 

Although a natural light entry would be interesting.  I remember tinyreef's sunlit pico (more than a decade ago):

• https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/69492-stock-tinyreef/
• https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/88240-25-gallon-sunlight-pico-reef/
• https://www.nano-reef.com/gallery/image/9993-tinyreefs-sunlight-pico/

You might be able to get away with an open top for cooling by adding an ATO, and maybe a fan on a temperature controller (or even just a timer).

Tinyreef inspired my current 2.5 freshwater planted shrimp setup that's naturally lit 🙂

[Tigahboy]

Totally looking forward to seeing this develop.  I spend a lot of time on Oahu each year (family lives there), so I'd like to see what kind of livestock you are able to get out there.

 

Good luck to you!

[MetaTank]

Looking good! Sorry to hear about the restrictions on the corals. I guess they wanna keep any "invasive" coral species out of the waters around the Island? That's the only real reason I can imagine. Why DO they have such a strict ban on corals?

[Christopher Marks]

I'm so glad you'll be joining in @yoshii! I've always been curious what kind of corals are in the hobby in Hawaii, I didn't realize there were zoanthids and palythoa native to the islands. Looking forward to seeing the Hawaiian pico reef come to life, that tiny tank is in capable hands!

 

If you keep your pico reef at home, you could get a nice container to take 1 or 2 gallons home with you. Pico reefs are pretty darn portable too, if you're willing to do the bucket transplant and move, no matter what you decide. Alas these 2.5g tanks seem to be pretty fragile though, you'll have to be careful!

[yoshii]

On 3/28/2019 at 8:29 PM, seabass said:

I'm glad that you're in.  While not as nice as an AI Prime, a relatively inexpensive PAR38 (like the 23W ABI Tuna Blue) should work.

 

Although a natural light entry would be interesting.  I remember tinyreef's sunlit pico (more than a decade ago):

• https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/69492-stock-tinyreef/
• https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/88240-25-gallon-sunlight-pico-reef/
• https://www.nano-reef.com/gallery/image/9993-tinyreefs-sunlight-pico/

You might be able to get away with an open top for cooling by adding an ATO, and maybe a fan on a temperature controller (or even just a timer).

I was considering a PAR 30/38, however I really don't like super blue lighting and that seems to be the trend. I haven't looked into PAR 30/38s on the market recently, so maybe I'll do some digging and see whats out there

 

Thanks for the links! I had seen another tinyreef tank but that the sunlit pico, it gives me hope for this one

 

20 hours ago, vlangel said:

Hi yoshi, I also did not want to spend money on a light.  I had a par 38 tuna blue bulb but it is way too blue for my liking.  I have my tank in an east window which will get very little direct light but good ambient white light.  (I have kept macro algae in this window in the past). I hung the par bulb just so it could get a few hours of direct light a day to supplement the natural light.  Maybe a fan could help with cooling?  Here in PA that is not much of an issue.

The window I would place the tank in front of is east facing, and gets a few hours of direct sunlight. Items on the desk in front of the window heat up quite a bit, so I think I might either have to keep the sheer curtains closed, or add some sort of shading for the tank, but the latter sounds like it might look ugly. I could do a fan, possibly on a timer?

16 hours ago, SeaFurn said:

I also think the natural light is a neat idea for this contest as long as you can keep the tank cool like you said! 

+1 on Seabass' and Dawn's idea about the par 38 bulb as an extra boost of light if needed, and +1 on the fan to keep the tank cool. 

So excited to see what you come up with!!

If it works, I think it would be pretty neat!

16 hours ago, Lingwendil said:

Dang! And here I thought California was bad!

 

At least you can collect some local stuff, that'll be neat for sure!

Hey at least in Hawaii I don't have to get a fishing license for recreational fishing/collecting. Coming from CA, it's so strange to me you can just go in the forest and pick some guava and go home and make jam or whatever.

 

Yeah! I need to get a tiny hammer and chisel lol

 

16 hours ago, Tigahboy said:

Totally looking forward to seeing this develop.  I spend a lot of time on Oahu each year (family lives there), so I'd like to see what kind of livestock you are able to get out there.

 

Good luck to you!

Thank you! I'm located on Oahu and I'm also looking forward to seeing what I can find. Most cool zoanthids I've seen while snorkeling have been in rocks in the rock which I couldn't get to if tried. I will have to check out more places.

14 hours ago, MetaTank said:

Looking good! Sorry to hear about the restrictions on the corals. I guess they wanna keep any "invasive" coral species out of the waters around the Island? That's the only real reason I can imagine. Why DO they have such a strict ban on corals?

Yes, that is one reason. Hawaii has one of the highest rates/amounts of invasive species. Hawaii also has an extremely high % of endemic species (like 25% marine species) so invasive species can really have a devastating impact here.

14 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

I'm so glad you'll be joining in @yoshii! I've always been curious what kind of corals are in the hobby in Hawaii, I didn't realize there were zoanthids and palythoa native to the islands. Looking forward to seeing the Hawaiian pico reef come to life, that tiny tank is in capable hands!

 

If you keep your pico reef at home, you could get a nice container to take 1 or 2 gallons home with you. Pico reefs are pretty darn portable too, if you're willing to do the bucket transplant and move, no matter what you decide. Alas these 2.5g tanks seem to be pretty fragile though, you'll have to be careful!

Thanks CM! I'm glad I get to share another tank with the NR community 🙂

 

Yes that's what I've done in the past with my other small tanks. I'll probably get NSW from work and be lazy and top off with dechlorinated tap water.

[yoshii]

Can't wait to go shopping for this tank. I'm going snorkeling today so maybe tomorrow I'll make it over to the LFS. I want to look for an AquaClear HOB, I think the 50 is the max allowed for this contest. Last time I was there I don't remember seeing any, but then again I wasn't really looking at drygoods. I was totally going to order those tiny Azoo HOB filters on clearance for $3 that someone posted in the contest thread, but turns out they don't ship to Hawaii 😞

I could try to order from another online retailer, but I'd really like to try to support my LFS first, since they are probably hurting since the aquarium fishing moratorium started.

 

I also need to get some rock. The LFS has dry rock, so I might have to buy one big piece and chisel away to make pieces small enough for this tank. If the pieces are small enough maybe I could glue them together with regular frag glue?

I don't have an idea of what kind of scape I want. I tend to stick to the "two islands" look, but I'd also like to try something new.

 

Sand...I just need a few handfuls lol. I think I'll try to reach out to any local reefers and see if I can get some established live sand from someone. I'm lazy and don't want to wait to cycle this tank

[seabass]

9 minutes ago, yoshii said:

If the pieces are small enough maybe I could glue them together with regular frag glue?

Those epoxy sticks work well on dry rock.

[yoshii]

22 minutes ago, seabass said:

Those epoxy sticks work well on dry rock.

Yeah I've used them before, although I've always had to use globs of it to get a good hold, which I didn't mind in larger tanks, but I'm worried it would look extra ugly in this pick since I would probably be gluing multiple tiny pieces together

 

But that was years ago so maybe they have better epoxy now!

[Tamberav]

I am super excited for this tank, macroalgae is my craze, I would probably be tempted to use NSW as it isn't something I have here. 

[yoshii]

1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

I am super excited for this tank, macroalgae is my craze, I would probably be tempted to use NSW as it isn't something I have here. 

I've already found some cool macro I plan to add 😄 There's a beach here that's good for collecting CUC and it also has an awesome variety of macros! I will definitely take lots of pictures when I go. 

 

[asting]

Nice. are there any other things you are allowed to collect locally with a fishing license?

[yoshii]

5 minutes ago, asting said:

Nice. are there any other things you are allowed to collect locally with a fishing license?

You don't need a fishing license in Hawaii. I know I currently can't collect fish with a fine mesh net, but I think I might be able to collect with my hands or a cup? I saw some tiny blennies and baby damsels/other fish in the tidepools yesterday that would be super easy to catch without a net. I need to double check regulations. 

[yoshii]

Some super cool macro I'm saving for this tank

I don't know if I'll keep the Padina (swirly algae on the right) but the Hydroclathrus clathratus (sponge-looking one) is so cool! It's huge - this container is a 5g bucket

 

They both have been growing in direct sunlight so I'll need some intense lighting to keep them happy.

 

[Tigahboy]

That macro looks amazing!  It will look so natural in the pico.  

[MetaTank]

2 hours ago, yoshii said:

Some super cool macro I'm saving for this tank

I don't know if I'll keep the Padina (swirly algae on the right) but the Hydroclathrus clathratus (sponge-looking one) is so cool! It's huge - this container is a 5g bucket

 

They both have been growing in direct sunlight so I'll need some intense lighting to keep them happy.

 

Wow! Thats really neat! I wish I could collect things to put in my tank, but I think the water is too cold here

[yoshii]

4 hours ago, MetaTank said:

Wow! Thats really neat! I wish I could collect things to put in my tank, but I think the water is too cold here

Codium in SoCal is the same species as tropical codium

[yoshii]

Got snacks and stopped by the LFS today!

 

 

 

Picked up some dry rock and sand. I would have liked sand that was not so coarse, but I also didn't want to buy a 15lb bag of sand just for this tank

(don't mind the driftwood, that's for a different project)

[yoshii]

Suggestions for flow/HOB?

I passed on an AC20 at the LFS today. I want to support them but I'm also cheap and know I can get it at Petco for half the price 😕 I'd like to keep the HOB on the end of the tank though, instead of the back, so I can get flow across the tank.

However, I'm thinking I might even want to go with a larger AC, for better flow. One of my favorite macros in Hawaii is Turbinaria ornata (below) which requires high light and high water movement. In the wild it is often found in the splash zone in the intertidal (which is where I will probably be collecting it). I would like to try to keep it in this tank, but I need higher flow. I want to try to get away with not adding an ugly powerhead. Maybe a beefy HOB will do? Add an airstone? Just put it right in front of the HOB outflow? What do you guys think?