1G Pico

[kenman]

Hi i was going to set-up a 3 UK gallon pico a month or two ago, but while i was in south africa, i picked up these two 1US gallon glass tanks, and im using 1 for a betta, and the other i might go pico...

 

Heres what im thinking:

6"x6"x6" glass tank

35w halogen desk lamp for lighting

7.5w hydor mini heater, for when the lamp wont be enough

hagen elite mini, 4x2"s so will be quite big but im going to have a fair ammout of LR in there too...

Probably have a 1-2cm thick layer of crushed coral and maybe some livesand...

I think i would have about 1/2KG of LR

 

Might try and get some zoas or other easy softies or leathers too, but would i need extra lighting, and could i get that in the UK???

Probably have 1 fire shrimp, 2 red legged hermits, and a nerite or turbo snail...

 

Thanks alot, anything else i missed out or forgot?

[cyenna]

why crushed coral? I would go with regular sand - it looks better in my opinion. Even if you got a mixture of the two, the sand would sift to the bottom and the crushed coral would be on top. Anyway, I will be following this thread. I am interested in starting a pico too.

[kenman]

Yeah, the sand can look nice, but the crushed coral will buffer my pH, and apparently its better...?

 

Anyone in the UK got any nice frags for sale?

 

Mikey

[brent-konieczny]

First, you will not need the heater for a one gallon tank. The elite mini pump generates enough heat to keep the tank at a stable temp +/- 4F. Second, the halogen desk lamp would be very bad to put over any tank. The bulb spectrum of it would not provide proper photosynthesis for any of the organisms except maybe macro/micro algaes (not too mention the heat from one of the bulbs placed within a foot of the tank could really heat things up to a disastrous extent on a small tank). If you have a regular screw in desklamp you can use the existing fixture and then order a 10watt 50/50 compact flourescent bulb to put in it. I'm sure you could order one in the UK. If you have not had a bed of crushed coral before I must warn you. It has much more of a grundgy appearance than sand and will not buffer any more than sand. The rock you will want to find for you tank should be multiple small pieces that can be stacked. If you were to put a single rock in the tank the surface area of the rock might not cover your biological filtration needs. I say about a kilo should be plenty.

Your stocking plans sound ok. A second hermit will probably be overkill though. I suggest one crab and a very small turbo for cleaners. They work very efficiently in only one gallon.

In my one gallon I have the same equipment, an elite mini and a 10watt screw in 50/50. The pump when turned almost all the way down is perfect for a 1 gal tank. Hope you find all this helpful.

[kenman]

Yeah, thanks alot.

Ive seen those PCs for sale online in the UK(heres the link, i think id get the 15w version, just because its the closest to my tank length.

 

http://www.sadbox.co.uk/products_prices/otherproducts.htm and then click on the replacement compact fluoresant link on the right)

 

So im thinking about one of them, and then using my clip on lamp holder (60W) to actually run it, allthough i dont know weather that would work...

What sort of temp would i be looking at?

 

Does anyone know where to get those 10watt 50/50 compact flourescent bulbs from?

 

Thanks alot, Mikey

[brent-konieczny]

The bulb you are looking at will work, but it doesn't have an actinic tube. Thats what I meant by 50/50, half daylight (10000k) and half actinic. Go to petsmart.com and look up the screw in compact flourescent bulbs They have a 10 and a 20 watt. They will ship out of the U.S. if you order from a number on the website.