2.5 gal acrylic pico, need advice on equipment

[jayjay1976]

I got a great deal on a 2.5 gallon acrylic pico last week, I will be setting it up at my office. A colleage of mine and fellow SW enthusiast found a guy locally who had 3 of these tanks for sale, $8 apiece. We each bought one and have been discussing how to equip them for zoanthids, mushrooms, and some inverts.

 

The tank measures 10" wide, 10" high, and 6" deep. It is assembled from flat pieces of acrylic so no rounded corners, but that will make it easier to build custom canopies and bases. The acrylic is 1/4" thick, so the inside width is 9.5"; I plan on converting an AquaClear to a refugium and perhaps house a small heater. Which is the largest Aquaclear powerfilter that will fit this tank width?

 

As for lighting, I was looking at Coralife's 9" mini aqualight, which has 2x9W bulbs, or 18W total. I would strip the components out of the housing and mount them in a custom canopy. This will give about 7.2 watts per gallon, which is not spectacular, but at $25 its pretty cheap. I also looked at the Coralife 12" Aqualight-Double Linear Strip Power Compact, which has 2x18W bulbs, or 36W total, giving about 14.4 watts per gallon. This is plenty of light, but at $52 its not quite cheap. How much light do I need for LPS and zoas?

 

Another issue is whether or not to try a deep sand bed to supply copepods and plankton for the corals to feed on. How many inches deep does the sand need to be, and can a DSB in a small AquaClear refugium be effective? This is another reason to fit the largest AC filter I can get, the added water volume will benefit the water quality.

 

Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

jason

[schaadrak]

I'll give it a shot:

 

I think the Aquaclear 500 is what most people use here. If you can, add the surface skimmer mod to the intake to help keep the water surface clear.

 

Go for the higher lighting. People almost always end up upgrading their lighting down the road anyways, so get the most light you can afford.

 

The general consensus of DSB's in smaller footprinted tanks is that they are not effective as a Nitrogen export. As a habitat for pods 1"-2" should be plenty in a 2.5gal. A DSB in a HOB would really just take up too much water volume to be effective. Just throw in some LR rubble and a ball of chaeto and you'll have 'pods in no time.

 

HTH,

 

Kent