The Pico Under The Stairs!

[Nixperience]

It’s been a few years since I broke my tank down and sold everything before moving. I still had this Oceanbox Designs 4.3 gallon frag tank I had as a quarantine tank and decided to set it up under my basement stairs. I put it on my wine cabinet as the stand which is 25” wide 😉 

I’ve lost power at my new house a lot in the last 3 years and I was reluctant to start anything significant. I figured I could set this up in my basement where I exercise every day and be able to pay attention to it. I figured maintenance is easy enough in 4 gallons, so I opted for a sand bed to help with stability. I have about 4 lbs of sand, 4-5 lbs of liverock, and a few brightwell bio cubes in the sump chamber. I’m hoping to have an abundance of biological filtration established in this tank. 
 

I am using an AI Prime for lighting and am planning on keeping mostly LPS with a few softies (yumas and zoas). 
 

Now the hardest part. Patience. 

 

Display: Oceanbox Designs 4.3 gallon 11.5x11.5x7.5”

Rock: CaribSea Liferock Base and some LFS live rock. 

Sand: CaribSea Sand Oolite

Lighting: AI Prime HD

Return Pump: I’ll check that next time I clean it lol. 

Heating: Cobalt Neotherm 25W

Controller: Inkbird Temperature Controller ITC-308S
Wavemaker: Generic micro return pump behind the rocks 

Skimmer: None

Filtration: Modified Old InTank Media basket from AC70

Filter Media: Floss+ Chemi-Pure Elite

Top Off: Auto Aqua

Livestock:

The small stuff

Copepods:Tigriopus,Tisbe, Apocyclops, Oitgona

Amphipods

Bristle Worms

Spirorbis

Asteriniid Stars

Mini Feather Dusters

Inverts

Mussel

2 Sexy Shrimp

2 Astraea Snails

2 Nassarius Snail

1 Blue Leg Hermit Crab

1 Scarlet Hermit Crab

Fish:

Ocellaris Clownfish

Softies:

Green Toadstool

Neon Green Sinulara Leather 

Orange Yuma

Sonic flare Zoas

UFO Hornet Zoas

Halle Berry Zoas

Grube’s Gorgonian

LPS:

Green Acan

Frogspawn

Duncan

Kryptonite Candycane

Blue Candycane

Cornflower Alveopora

SPS:

Gatorade Birdsnest

Green Pocillopora

Red Montipora Capricornus

Superman Montipora Digitata

Green Slimer Acropora

Green Tipped Blue Acropora

FTS: 1/10/2022

FTS: 1/1/2022

FTS: 12/24/2021

FTS: 12/14/2021

FTS: 12/9/2021

FTS: 12/3/2021

FTS: 11/30/2021

 

[pal]

Woah, welcome back. 

[Squid_reef]

Looking forward to see it completed! 

Patience indeed .. But the outcome are always worth it 👊

 

I like the tank specs, it gives a nice panoramic view compared to squared one. 

 

Welcome back! 

[Nixperience]

Down the rabbit hole I go!

[WV Reefer]

On 11/24/2021 at 10:17 PM, Nixperience said:

It’s been a few years since I broke my tank down and sold everything before moving. I still had this Oceanbox Designs 4.3 gallon frag tank I had as a quarantine tank and decided to set it up under my basement stairs.
 

I’ve lost power at my new house a lot in the last 3 years and I was reluctant to start anything significant. I figured I could set this up in my basement where I exercise every day and be able to pay attention to it. I figured maintenance is easy enough in 4 gallons, so I opted for a sand bed to help with stability. I have about 4 lbs of sand, 4-5 lbs of liverock, and a few brightwell bio cubes in the sump chamber. I’m hoping to have an abundance of biological filtration established in this tank. 
 

I am using an AI Prime for lighting and am planning on keeping mostly LPS with a few softies (yumas and zoas). 
 

Now the hardest part. Patience. 

Following! 😊

[Nixperience]

I ordered some copepods and phytoplankton to start the ecosystem and will probably pick up a hermit and a snail or 2 to have something to watch. 

I’ve been thinking about some of my must haves in this tank and because it is so small, the choice of livestock is very limited. I want to pick the most entertaining creatures so when you look close in this tank, there’s always something going on.  
1.  Pom Pom Crab - When they come out at night, it’s like watching a kung fu master on a cliff’s edge. And they stay pretty small. 
2.  Sexy Shrimp - They’re very active and funny to watch. And they stay very small. 
3.  Green Clown Goby - They’re cute and they don’t need much space because they don’t swim a lot. And they stay pretty small. 
4. Nassarius Snail - They’re an entertaining snail when caught in action. And they’re beneficial to help stir up the sand bed. 

I’m open to suggestions. 
Any other interesting snails? Any interesting hermits that would thrive well in this environment? Can a pistol shrimp/watchman combo work in here?  Any swimmers that would be OK in 4 gallons? Any other bottom dwellers? Cave dwellers? What other personable critters might you suggest? 

[sango]

Those sound like good choices. The Green Clown Goby would probably be fine, but I've read that it may nip at corals. For that reason I've never had one. Have you considered any other gobies? I really like the Green Banded Goby, Red Head Goby, Tiger Goby, and Neon Goby. They're all beautiful, active, and very interesting to watch. Best of luck with whatever you choose!

[Nixperience]

1 minute ago, sango said:

Those sound like good choices. The Green Clown Goby would probably be fine, but I've read that it may nip at corals. For that reason I've never had one. Have you considered any other gobies? I really like the Green Banded Goby, Red Head Goby, Tiger Goby, and Neon Goby. They're all beautiful, active, and very interesting to watch. Best of luck with whatever you choose!

Thanks. I’ll be looking at all those. Maybe panda goby?

[Nixperience]

I just stopped by my lfs and picked up a small bottle of pods and phyto. I have an order from algae barn for a more diverse pod population, but that won’t come for probably 2 weeks. I think I might put a special order in for a pompom crab and a panda goby as my next additions. 

[Nixperience]

A friend of mine gave me a few corals to get started. He gave me a nice Orange Yuma with a few little babies, a green toadstool to hide my little pump, some sonic flare zoas, and UFO Hornet Zoas. 

[Nixperience]

I have a 25w Neo-Therm heater and the InkBird heat controller set to 77-77.5F. I’m currently getting temp swings of 76-77.5F. Should I switch to a 50W? I feel like a degree is liveable, but 1.5 degree might be pushing it. 

[A.m.P]

Inkbird temperature hysteresis is 1 degree minimum if I recall correctly, that means it will swing a minimum of 2 degrees. I highly doubt your corals will notice it.

[ReefTaco]

On 11/26/2021 at 10:36 PM, Nixperience said:

I ordered some copepods and phytoplankton to start the ecosystem and will probably pick up a hermit and a snail or 2 to have something to watch. 

I’ve been thinking about some of my must haves in this tank and because it is so small, the choice of livestock is very limited. I want to pick the most entertaining creatures so when you look close in this tank, there’s always something going on.  
1.  Pom Pom Crab - When they come out at night, it’s like watching a kung fu master on a cliff’s edge. And they stay pretty small. 
2.  Sexy Shrimp - They’re very active and funny to watch. And they stay very small. 
3.  Green Clown Goby - They’re cute and they don’t need much space because they don’t swim a lot. And they stay pretty small. 
4. Nassarius Snail - They’re an entertaining snail when caught in action. And they’re beneficial to help stir up the sand bed. 

I’m open to suggestions. 
Any other interesting snails? Any interesting hermits that would thrive well in this environment? Can a pistol shrimp/watchman combo work in here?  Any swimmers that would be OK in 4 gallons? Any other bottom dwellers? Cave dwellers? What other personable critters might you suggest? 

Green clown gobies are reef safe, I have one. He's a funny little dude. Sexy shrimp may nip at coral. I have 5 in a 5 gallon and they nip my duncan coral tenticals every once and a while but Duncan's are very Hardy and heal quick. I got some cheap zoas to see how the shrimp react, so far so good. As for pom pom crabs, Thier anemones can sting corals so be cautious.

 

Your tank looks great by the way. I love that Yuma shroom

[Nixperience]

The LFS’s near me don’t have any Randalli Pistol Shrimp in stock, but a local petco has Yasha Gobies for $50. I was wondering if I should get the Yasha for my first fish and wait for a shrimp or if I should do the shrimp first when it becomes available?

[ReefTaco]

There is a very limited number of fish you can keep in a tank this size. Almost exclusively tiny goby fish so choose wisely cause you can probably only support one fish. That being said that's a good deal on a yasha goby.  My personal opinion pistol shrimp are more of a pain then they're worth, they do a lot of digging ,mostly around rock work. They will rearrange whatever is on your sandbed. But a lot of people love the pistol shrimp/ goby combo and many many many people have kept them with success in a tank this size.

 

I vote +1 for sexy shrimp. This is my first time keeping them and they are just a funny invert to keep.

[Nixperience]

19 minutes ago, Instant_taco said:

There is a very limited number of fish you can keep in a tank this size. Almost exclusively tiny goby fish so choose wisely cause you can probably only support one fish. That being said that's a good deal on a yasha goby.  My personal opinion pistol shrimp are more of a pain then they're worth, they do a lot of digging ,mostly around rock work. They will rearrange whatever is on your sandbed. But a lot of people love the pistol shrimp/ goby combo and many many many people have kept them with success in a tank this size.

 

I vote +1 for sexy shrimp. This is my first time keeping them and they are just a funny invert to keep.

Yes sexy shrimp are funny. I just want all entertaining species. The shrimp/goby combo will stay on the bottom and I figured a green clown goby to be a perching fish. I’m going to make a chaeto reactor with a low light schedule so it doesn’t grow too fast mainly as a pod refugium to keep the tank seeded with pods. 

[Nixperience]

I’m starting to have second thoughts about the Randall’s Shrimp and Yasha. I feel like that thing is going to bulldoze the hell out of this tiny tank and I also don’t want to keep a lid, so I probably shouldn’t get a yasha. I think a clown goby or panda goby are less likely to jump or maybe a clownfish. I know all fish can jump, but I don’t want the ones that definitely do. 

[A.m.P]

You're really better off with some kind of lid, and careful with the clown gobies if you plan to keep sps, they're known for killing them.

[Nixperience]

I just can’t stand lids. 
I got a bunch of corals from a local guy really cheap yesterday. I got Gatorade birdsnest, Green pocillopora, Red Monti Cap, Acan, Duncan, Kryptonite candycane, and a mussel for $90. Everything seems to be doing well and the mussel already rooted. 

[Nicolas Paniagua]

Looks great. 

[Nixperience]

Today is the 12th day since starting this tank. I’m not putting anything else in for a while besides pods. I’m going to let it mature a little before looking into fish. I updated the first post to show the equipment and current livestock list. So far everything is running well, but I am tempted to go to a 50w heater if I can find one that fits. I think being in the basement, it’s a little more effort to heat the tank. 

[Nixperience]

I’ve been going through new tank syndrome the past few days. Moving too fast. Thinking about the next upgrade and the next upgrade after that. How can I convince my wife to let me get a bigger tank? Where could I put it where she wouldn’t care? What would be the biggest tank I could get away with and what would be the best dimensions? Then it came to me; the new title for this aquarium journal. The Pico Under The Stairs! 
 

I think staying true to this title is a great theme to maintain and adds a new challenge to reef composition in a limited space. Something inspired me to dig this tank out of my garage, give it a vinegar bath, and place it on my wine cabinet under the stairs. My wife hasn’t bothered me about keeping this little tank and as far as I’m concerned, that means I don’t have to apply for a variance as long as I stay within the zone under the stairs. I am now committed to The Pico Under The Stairs! The sky’s(tread’s) the limit. 4.3 gallon is just the beginning, but I think under 30 gallon is probably the end for this space 😆 Let’s see where this goes!

 

[ReefTaco]

I know the feeling it's hard to resist the urge sometimes. I have to stop window shopping on offerup or craigslist. It's torture but I also like the challenge of a nano tank. Hang in there

[Nixperience]

So I went down to look at the tank and smelled a funny burning smell. I started looking all over my basement and couldn’t find it anywhere. And then I heard the sizzle. I followed my ears that lead me to the power strip that I had on the floor like a moron. I must’ve splashed some water that I didn’t realize ran down the plug to the small pump I was using as a power head behind my rock work. The plug was smoking and sizzling. So glad I caught it. I mounted a temporary power strip to the wall while I wait for the American DJ 8 switch strip I ordered today. 

[pal]

Yikes ,  pico under the stairs could have burned them down. Glad you caught it in time,