my pico tank

[picopro]

Hey new to the forum wanted to show everyone this pico tank i got going. Its two gallons, powered by an airstone, 25w heater, and a 9w led I got off ebay. Its been established for 3 months now. Weekly 1 gallon water changes have the coral multiplying and no major problems as of yet.

 

The main reason i wanted to share this is i couldn't find a whole lot of info on the project when i started looking into it amd all the lfs people told me i was crazy and need a 75gal setup if i wanted to get into saltwater and keep coral. It has been really simple and i have less than 50$ invested in the equipment , tank, light, pump, heater etc. If anyone has any question please ask.

[brandon429]

Hey that is a nice starter tank, actually picos are easier than larger tanks for beginners because you can control the water column better, they just don't allow for mistakes. and, they are cheaper to fix when the inevitable mistake happens.

 

Corals look good, so does aquascaping, but there is something critical

The tank is in the starting phases of eutrophication, which means algae will soon wreck the entire tank. You have about two months to fix it, or you'll be starting over.

 

The first change you need to do is stop doing gallon water changes weekly, change out all of the water weekly for a while.

 

the local fish store will not be able to guide you on a pico reef, per their initial statements, so stay tuned here for help.

 

Partial water changes cause small pico reefs to die within months, from eutrophication, its a common mythinformation that big water changes will hurt the coral, its actually good for them.

 

When you do water changes, match the specific gravity and temp only, drain the tank fully, then refill. Drain 100% of the water out

 

after you fix your tank away from algal dominance you might consider keeping the full water changes going, its what I have done for almost a decade in a pico. 1 gallon isn't near enough, its like not even doing water changes based on the pictures of the system. when you do water changes, take the siphon hose and scrape it over the rocks to remove that growth from them.

 

You also need to dose this tank with two part to prevent eutrophication, rather than retype everything I'll point you to a neat discussion we have about this ongoing...google this article>the history of pico reef biology and read all the comments where we are discussing why dosing prevents algae problems in the pico reef.

 

Lastly, you need to hand remove every rock from that tank and scrub them clean in a different container of saltwater so that all the diatoms and cyano come off and aren't put back into the main tank. The corals you have will not mind being out of water, just scrub around them with an old toothbrush- they can stay out of water for several mins easily. I bet your LFS wouldn't agree to that one either but its true. In your case you don't need to keep them out of the water that long. I would set up two buckets of clean saltwater. One is the first receiving bucket. Take a rock chunk out of this pico and toothbrush scrub it in the first bucket, totally clean of the growths on the rock. Then move it to the second bucket for holding. Continue with all the rocks until the only thing left is your substrate in your pico reef. Then dump all that substrate into the first bucket and hand swish it around to loosen all the growth. set the temperature of the holding buckets at 80, it will hold long enough for you to do the cleaning.

 

Im not sure how you control the temp setting in water change water but there's an easy trick. Using a heater takes too long. You know those 5 gallon blue drinking water jugs? thats what I use...you just set them in a sink of hot water for about 3 mins and when you remove them and swish it around to mix the water it will be up to temp. Watching all these people bring their change water up to specs over 5 hours with a heater running in a bucket makes me wonder why they don't do the 3 min trick...

 

You will likely need to change out all the water again in the first bucket because it will be full of gunk, especially from this substrate. You might even need to do this twice depending on how dirty the water is. do it until the water swishes clean and no more gunk goes into suspension. As you see this gunk filling up the first bucket, thats whats killing the tank slowly.

 

Take the empty pico reef and use a paper towel and distlled water to rinse it all out where you are starting clean. Then put everything back in. Clean the hair algae off any surface you can find it, the heater etc. From now on, anytime you see hair algae on any surface, remove that item from the tank and clean it off. Same for the rock growths, feel free to lift them out and hand scrub them clean too any time you need. as the tank matures this won't be necessary but it is at the current time.

 

Your feeding schedule is also a cause for the eutrophication. the correct way to feed a pico reef is only just before one of these large water changes, not mid week where the food degrades in the system and builds up indefinately. You need to not feed pellet feed that sinks to the bottom, make sure you are feeding a high quality refrigerated or frozen reef feed, nothing else. You put some in the tank, let it swirl around for an hour, then rip most or all of that water back out in a water change. My tank gets fed once or twice a week, if you did a feeding on wed +50% water change then a feeding on saturday +50% water change that would be solid. or, just wait till weekends and change it all out.

 

Getting information from people who specialize in pico reefs will always be polar opposite than getting information from large tank keepers who make guesses on what makes a pico reef run long term. The algae needs to be removed from the system asap and the tank will look pristine after this cleaning I described above. No filter bacteria will be harmed, the tank will not recycle etc.

 

Lastly, the best thing you will ever do for this pico is a full water change any time you have a concern. Lets say you clean it all up, and in three months you come in one morning and the corals are closed up and look mad. =full water change matching specific gravity and temp. lets say you just want to give your tank a vital boost to perk things up for no particular reason=full water change.

 

Lets say you are leaving out of town for a while and come back and some of the algae has come back...full water change, remove it etc. Partial water changes kill pico reefs slowly, as we think they are doing good.

 

Hope that helps man, the tank has solid potential.

B

[brandon429]

also, when you bought that light did you use the bulb that came with it or buy a new one. that could be a huge problem if you used the old bulb. people won't sell fixtures with new stuff in it they give you the bare working minimum. can you post a picture and details about the lighting

[Mstefa1]

Welcome buddy, lots of great info on here... Even for picos!!! Ignore the LFS and spend a few days reading. Also loose the air stone. Nothing in your tank requires it and it will only contribute to salt creep. I'd consider getting a HOB that you could hide your heater in and add flow. You will find that many people on here modify aquaclear filter as refugiums. Additionally I highly suggest that you rethink your lighting strategy. I doubt your ebay light will be able to sustain photosynthetic corals long term and you certainty wouldn't be able to keep nicer ones.

 

Seams like you have a major algae problem??? Weekly water changes? Direct sunlight? Too much feeding?

 

Best of luck!

[picopro]

Thanks for all the advice. Ive done, or at least thought i did, a ton of searching online before i started this and could find barely any info so its good to know other people are doing this and having success. As far as the total tank clean out you mentioned, wouldn't that kill off all the works and bugs in the sand? Or at least leave the behind in the bucket? I didnt realize i had an algae problem honestly the red algae you see has actually been going into remission it seems like and the coraline seems to be spreading. Idk.

[eddiecorrea]

Don't listen to anything Brandon429 says. That is some of the worst information I have read in awhile.

 

Your 1 gallon changes a week are more than sufficient. Your issue is most likely improper clean up crew. I see what looks like a hermit crab but no snails.

 

Go to http://www.reefcleaners.org and order the 3 gallon pico package. They will wipe out most of your algae problems quickly.

 

You DO NOT need to dose unless you know what you are dosing for. Only way you know that is testing and I doubt your minimal corals are using up enough to dose.

 

You DO NOT need to remove any of your livestock or rock for a "cleaning." lol

 

And DO NOT heat your water the way he says. I guarantee he can not get 5 gallons of water to 79 degrees by placing the container in hot sink water for 3 minutes. That will take more like 45 minutes or more. Get a heater and do it properly.

 

Consider removing the air stone and getting a small AquaClear HOB filter. You can run media in that to remove nutrients.

 

I think your main fix will be a good cleanup crew from Reefcleaners. Won't take them long to destroy the algae feast in this tank.

 

 

Whatever you do make sure you DO NOT listen to Brandon's terrible advice.

[picopro]

Oh and im not in love witj the airstone but how else do i get circulation. This tank sit on a shelf in my front room no room for sump hob filter or anything like that plus it has a glass lid to cut down on evaporation and to hold heat in

[eddiecorrea]

Oh and im not in love witj the airstone but how else do i get circulation. This tank sit on a shelf in my front room no room for sump hob filter or anything like that plus it has a glass lid to cut down on evaporation and to hold heat in

 

There isn't 5inches off the back or side of the tank for a filter? The heater will keep that tank at 79 degrees no problem. The lid doesn't need to keep heat in. You should actually remove it during the day to allow proper gas exchange.

 

Get this pump. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=21414 Get the 200. It is nice and small and will add enough flow easily as the turnover would be 35x lol.

 

If you get the HOB filter that will provide enough flow without the pump.

[fretfreak13]

+1 to eddie. Lose the airstone and get a powerhead.

[supremeEVOx]

for added circulation. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23729 An aquaclear would serve you well though.

[eddiecorrea]

for added circulation. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23729 An aquaclear would serve you well though.

 

The 180 would be far too much flow. The pump I linked would be perfect.

[fretfreak13]

Another thing I'm gonna bring to attention is the algae on the heater. I'm no algae pro, but does that look like briopsis to anyone else? If so, can someone with experience with it also tell the OP a bit about it. Thank god I've never had to deal with it *knock on wood*

 

Just pointing that out. The tank definetly has potential, OP. ;] Sorry your LFS was putting you down. Make that tank beautiful, take them pictures, and tell them to suck it. lol

[eddiecorrea]

Another thing I'm gonna bring to attention is the algae on the heater. I'm no algae pro, but does that look like briopsis to anyone else? If so, can someone with experience with it also tell the OP a bit about it. Thank god I've never had to deal with it *knock on wood*

 

Just pointing that out. The tank definetly has potential, OP. ;] Sorry your LFS was putting you down. Make that tank beautiful, take them pictures, and tell them to suck it. lol

 

Could potentially be. Hard to tell.

 

Good thing is the algae is all easy to remove. Remove the heater and clean it. Scrape all the algae off the glass UPWARDS and remove it. It looks nice and thick so easy to fix.

 

A good CUC from Reefcleaners with a single emerald crab and this tank will look great in 1 week.

[supremeEVOx]

If it is bryopsis he should be able to tell, just from looking at a comparison picture. If it looks like a fern, it most likely is, and you're gonna have a battle on your hands.

[Mstefa1]

A good CUC from Reefcleaners with a single emerald crab and this tank will look great in 1 week.

 

I don't believe that for a second. A cuc will help maintain a tank but won't work miracles.

[brandon429]

I agree don't listen to Brandon. You should search the web and find someone who has kept and designed more pico reefs.

 

 

Be sure and google the article I mentioned.

 

The external cleaning will not harm anything. Pico reef life is regenerative, your bugs will survive in the rock crevices and come right back.

 

I would search eddies post history with with pico reefs and only take his advice. From what I can see its highly not centered around ultra small pico reefs. Remember, large tank keepers are the first to give insight on pico reefs and the two systems couldn't be more different. Proceed just as you are, post update in a few weeks

[eddiecorrea]

I don't believe that for a second. A cuc will help maintain a tank but won't work miracles.

 

I never said it would work a miracle. This tank doesn't need that much work. A 3 gallon crew will clean that tank fast.

 

 

I agree don't listen to Brandon. You should search the web and find someone who has kept and designed more pico reefs.

 

 

Be sure and google the article I mentioned.

 

The external cleaning will not harm anything. Pico reef life is regenerative, your bugs will survive in the rock crevices and come right back.

 

I would search eddies post history with with pico reefs and only take his advice. Proceed just as you are, post update in a few weeks

 

 

 

I don't post on Pico reefs often. But I've kept enough to know that your information is far from good. His issues are not that bad. I looked at your site and your most recent picture of the vase looks worse than his. hahahahaha

 

Lets get real here. Anyone can run a "blog" and post what they think about reef keeping or copy other pages information and put it on their own site. You are far from an expert or a know it all. You looked at one picture and took the apocalypse route. Where his tank is far from that.

[brandon429]

Hey Ed, post any thread of any pico you have ever kept. I'm curious.

Sure mine is fugly, it's just algae free and long running using ten year old lighting lol.

 

 

These little jests keep an old man virile

 

Specifically, post a thread covering any two gallon tank or less you have kept even if just for a few months. When you can't find a thread, we will take a pic. Even if its an ugly pic like mine.

 

Regarding his pics and prediction, that's my specialty and its a free service. If I knew it all I'd have a way better job...it was an offer to completely change the direction of the tank. Predicting outcomes is pretty fun even if you have a different take based on experience you are about to post here.

 

 

The Internet will always present oppositional views it can be tough I know. It's quite easy to vet a posters history with some work so at least we aren't stabbing in the dark...The air stone actually presents some benefits that a power head can't. Neat coincidence that the longest running pico reef uses one-?In your case, if you are Able to control the salt creep, then a blended approach between low volume power head and air stone will help. I agree you need more flow.

[Hans Dorn]

,The air stone actually presents some benefits that a power head can't.

Bubbles!

 

 

 

 

 

 

bubblesbubblesbubblesbubbles

[eddiecorrea]

Hey Ed, post any thread of any pico you have ever kept. Let me show you how to fillet a tank real quick I like these kinds of posts

 

 

They keep an old man virile.

 

Specifically, post a thread covering any two gallon tank or less you have kept even if just for a few months. Wen you can't find a thread, we will take a pic. If you don't have one, well then...

 

Regarding his pics and prediction, that's my specialty and its a free service. If I knew it all I'd have a way better job

 

still waiting on your thread, no excuses please I'm sharpening the fillet knife type as we speak

 

How in the world can someone who doesn't keep small reefs alive help you in any way?

 

My name isn't Ed.

 

You are gonna "fillet" a tank with your terrible advice and knowledge. Why would anyone care to listen to that? You told the guy his tank was at apocalypse levels. "You have about two months to fix it, or you'll be starting over." Which couldn't be further from the truth. Yes he has algae. Yes he needs to get it under control but it is far from starting over.

 

You told him he HAS to dose to keep algae away. SERIOUSLY?! TERRIBLE advice. Never chase numbers. He needs to figure out why he is getting algae by testing. Not just randomly dose a 2 part. He might be overfeeding. He might not be using RO/DI water. He could have phosphates or nitrates. You with all your knowledge never once asked him anything.

 

You told him he has to remove all the rock and scrub it along with cleaning all the sand. You said it won't recycle the tank when it will! Do you have any idea what you are talking about?!

 

You assumed his feeding schedule was wrong. Did he say what his feeding schedule was? Because I sure as hell didn't see it anywhere. You told him to use frozen food and put it in the tank and let it swirl. Do you know that frozen food typically contains high phosphates and nitrates and you should thaw it in tank water in a separate cup and then feed just the food without that water? Obviously you didn't know that.

 

How was that for "filleting?"

[brandon429]

And:Co2 degassing worlds better than a power head

 

Up and down laminar flow which oxygenates water better than a random flow power head

 

Surface tension disruption to facilitate degassing/oxygenation

There is more! Eddie you fill in three more we will make a rounder out of this

 

Eddie, before you write any more post pics of your pico reef experience.

 

I'm willing to bet 12.3 is your experience?

 

Ed, yes what I wrote is correct for the tiny tanks. All feed has P and N The fillets comes as you dodge pic requests

 

No, a cleaning does not cause a recycle. I guess the advice is based on innumerable examples over the last ten yrs here of me advising it.

[eddiecorrea]

And:Co2 degassing worlds better than a power headUp and down laminar flow which oxygenates water better than a random flow power headSurface tension disruption to facilitate degassing/oxygenationThere's more! Eddie you fill in three more we will make a rounder out of this

 

Eddie, before you write any more post pics of your pico reef experience.

 

I'm willing to bet 12.3 is your experience?

 

Ed, yes what I wrote is correct for the tiny tanks. All feed has P and N The fillets comes as you dodge pic requests

 

I'm not dodging anything. I don't have a Pico currently and I don't have any pictures of my previous tanks. Lost them all on an old computer. But I've kept plenty of them and just because I don't currently have one doesn't mean I have no idea what I am talking about. A pico is not much different than a Nano. It is actually easier to keep in my experience. Pictures of my tanks aren't going to do anything. The discussion is how bad your advice is. Not how my tanks look.

[Lawnman]

How should he get rid of that Bryopsis on the heater?

[eddiecorrea]

How should he get rid of that Bryopsis on the heater?

 

Don't egg on his annoying Peroxide rants. Nobody wants to hear about that shit.

[brandon429]

Pico pro

 

Your thread is about to get jacked but it will be good learning.

 

I'll try to resist the temptation to go further with Ed (same moniker as someone calling me b to avoid typing)

 

 

 

Of all the wrong stuff he is alluding to, the easiest to shoot down is the one about rinsing food for phosphate purposes. People who study scientifically phosphates in the reef disagree, since he is wrong there, imagine how far it weaves into the advice he gives...Rinsing food does not help, Randy Holmes Farley:

 

Skip to the part about rinsing

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/3/chemistry

 

I never mentioned peroxide here

the old lost computer trick. That happened to my homework once too