consreef Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 Hey all, I'm a new member here from the midwestern United States. I have a couple years of experience in saltwater, but I decided to try something new and make a pico reef setup using an old Fluval Spec 3 with a couple mods. I swapped the stock pump for the Rio + 180 and the stock light has been replaced with the Asta 20 LED. Here's a picture of the tank with live rock and live sand from my LFS. Salinity is 1.024 and temperature is sticking around 76F without a heater. I added some smaller pieces of live rock to the back filtration compartment, and I think I'll add some chemipure and potentially chaeto for a mini refugium if I can get my hands on it. When it comes to stocking this, eventually I'd like to add a basic CUC and some hardy soft corals like GSP, zoas, and mushrooms. Other than that, I've thought about maybe trying out a few rock flower anemones and possibly a fancy shrimp like a scarlet cleaner shrimp. No fish for now, though depending on how well everything goes I could see myself adding a very small green banded goby or citron clown goby. Since this is my first time with pico, I don't want to risk overloading the system. I'll update this thread as I go, but I'd appreciate any advice or recommendations. I'm not a true newbie when it comes to saltwater, but I'll take all the help I can get! 1 Quote Link to comment
consreef Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 Bit of an update for testing, as I finally got the test kit in. I'm somewhat color blind, so I'll upload a picture for reference if anyone thinks my readings are incorrect. - pH: 8.0 - ammonia: 0.5 ppm - nitrite: 0 ppm - nitrate: maybe 5 ppm? I had a very hard time with this one The setup has only been running for around three days, and I'm upgrading the pump to produce more flow today. I won't risk adding anything until ammonia reads at 0 pm for at least a week, but I'm not sure if cycling is any different for pico versus larger setups. I used wet live rock from the LFS so there would be no die off, and live sand as well. I haven't added anything to treat the water, only a bit of RO water to top off evaporation. Since I'm not sure what to do, I plan on holding off on a water change unless anyone thinks that would be the best next step. Thanks for reading, and I'd appreciate any help or advice! 1 Quote Link to comment
CD_Scapes Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 1 hour ago, consreef said: Bit of an update for testing, as I finally got the test kit in. I'm somewhat color blind, so I'll upload a picture for reference if anyone thinks my readings are incorrect. - pH: 8.0 - ammonia: 0.5 ppm - nitrite: 0 ppm - nitrate: maybe 5 ppm? I had a very hard time with this one The setup has only been running for around three days, and I'm upgrading the pump to produce more flow today. I won't risk adding anything until ammonia reads at 0 pm for at least a week, but I'm not sure if cycling is any different for pico versus larger setups. I used wet live rock from the LFS so there would be no die off, and live sand as well. I haven't added anything to treat the water, only a bit of RO water to top off evaporation. Since I'm not sure what to do, I plan on holding off on a water change unless anyone thinks that would be the best next step. Thanks for reading, and I'd appreciate any help or advice! Just ride it out, wait till 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite and 5 or so pmm nitrate before doing a WC, besides that everything looks nice! 2 Quote Link to comment
consreef Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 First Major Update: Tank finally finished it's cycle, so I went ahead and added some more live rock and my first inverts. CUC - I only got a small nassarius because I wanted something to help move the sand bed around. I don't have much algae buildup right now, but I figure I can add on new members as needed. Was thinking of adding a hermit, but I'm afraid of them picking at corals. Coral - Since I'm on a budget for this build, I purchased my first few frags from a local reefer. For $20 he gave me a blue mushroom, a thick stalk of xenia, and even threw in a bunch of neon green candy canes for free. Xenia and candy canes opened on the first day, but the mushroom stayed closed. Since it was glued to a plug, I popped it off to let it find the right spot in the scape. This is my first time taking care of LPS, though I'd like to add more if the candy canes do well. Did my first major water change today and shifted around the scape a bit to provide more shadow on the sand for future corals. I also added more live rock and some carbon to the back filtration, and everyone seems to be happy. Plan for this week is more hardy corals and my first macros. I'm thinking maybe trying a bit of caulerpa prolifera to begin with. For corals, maybe some GSP, zoas, or another hardy LPS if I can find it. Any recommendations would be great! Pics below! All lights at 40% vs majority white lighting. Really been enjoying the Asta 20, would definitely recommend it to others looking for low cost but good quality pico LED lighting. Close up of the candy canes and a shot of the new scape. If you look carefully at the bottom branch of the skeleton, you can see a tiny zoa that must've tagged along on the candy canes when I got them. It's hard to see, but the bluish blob in the center of the scape is my mushroom. It's finally settling down in a shady spot I created for it with a bit of live rock overhang. 3 Quote Link to comment
Leoito Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 That's a nice bunch of candy canes, and for free... I wish I could get one for $20 by itself 😄. But besides that, the tank's rock selection is nice and should make for a good reef base. If you're on a budget, then GSP is always out there somewhere. But if you're looking for a hardy LPS, a Blastomussa wellsi (or pineapple coral) or a duncan coral are both great options. They lie on the cheaper end of the spectrum, are fairly hardy, and are non-aggressive (no stinger tentacles), something which might be beneficial in a smaller system. 3 Quote Link to comment
consreef Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 On 9/6/2020 at 12:45 AM, Leoito said: That's a nice bunch of candy canes, and for free... I wish I could get one for $20 by itself 😄. But besides that, the tank's rock selection is nice and should make for a good reef base. If you're on a budget, then GSP is always out there somewhere. But if you're looking for a hardy LPS, a Blastomussa wellsi (or pineapple coral) or a duncan coral are both great options. They lie on the cheaper end of the spectrum, are fairly hardy, and are non-aggressive (no stinger tentacles), something which might be beneficial in a smaller system. Thanks for the advice! Since my last post I've added in some more live rock, will update shortly with new pictures. Definitely looking to add some GSP and zoas this week if possible. Since the candy canes are doing so well, I would love to add some more LPS, only problem is finding some within my price range locally or online. I've been going through local reefers because their price ranges are much lower, and no need for costly shipping either. Blastomussa and duncans are definitely at the top of the list, as well as acans if I can find them. I'm doing my best to go slowly, but I'm ready for more corals! Quote Link to comment
consreef Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 Late September Update! The tank has been doing really well. I had some minor algae growth after going away for a week, but a 50% water change and some scraping of the glass brought everything back to normal. I also added a few more pieces of live rock from my LFS that look to have a good amount of life already growing on them. The goal for this tank is to recreate a biodiverse environment, so hitchhikers are welcome to the party (though I've been careful to avoid some of the more nasty customers). Besides a couple of asterina stars which I have been keeping an eye on, I have amphipods, copepods, a variety of sponges in different colors, a few small bristle worms, a stomatella snail, and a bunch of tiny feather dusters. Corals are doing great! My xenia looks as if its beginning to branch out in a few directions, and the candy canes are as gorgeous as always. During the rescape I broke off a branch, so now I have two independent colonies growing. My mushroom was a bit grumpy for a while, but seems to finally have settled in now that it's hidden beneath some shade. Once I add some more corals and potentially a bit of macroalgae, I plan on letting everyone grow a bit before I attempt to begin fragging. As always, thanks for stopping by and I would appreciate any advice or recommendations! 1 Quote Link to comment
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