My Custom PicO

[Mstefa1]

What I don't understand is that I've sent Chris a few PMs thanking him as well as telling him the success of my tank and he didn't reply after his last message stating it was shipped. Additionally I send him another PM that he read and didn't reply to. I know he is extremely busy but I feel that every message I send warrants a response, even if it is a 1 word response considering I spend $900+ with him.

 

Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive after writing in that Tapatalk thread. lol At least I'm thankful for a great tank.

[Nickereef]

Looks like a awesome build. If PicO aquariums was available where I live then I would have gone PicO all the way Looks awesome.

When I saw your AI Nano im actually thinking that it would be kinda neat to have it over my nuvo 16

 

What corals are you thinking about keeping?

[Mstefa1]

Looks like a awesome build. If PicO aquariums was available where I live then I would have gone PicO all the way Looks awesome.

When I saw your AI Nano im actually thinking that it would be kinda neat to have it over my nuvo 16

 

What corals are you thinking about keeping?

 

My Aquapod is heavily stocked with everything so the only thing making it in this tank are more cherry picked corals... Thinking about some SPS on top and zoas in palys on the bottom. Specifically, those that respond well to LED lighting because my zoas & palys don't glow under MH like they do under LEDs so I'm looking forward to enjoying that. Looking @ rarer zoas and I've got an ultra green grandis paly that has grown two more polyps that I plan on fragging... If I dare.

 

I'm getting awesome flow but not random flow so eventually I may have to jump on the MP10 bandwagon because I'm not crapping this up with a koralia. But b4 the vortech pump I'll probably get a controller which I originally said I wouldn't do.

 

The AI nano would be nice over your nuvo 16, however given those dimension you may be better spending the extra $100 and getting the next step up Sol.

[Hexadron]

I can vouch for purigen I've used it with all my tanks and it does help quite a bit. Plus it can be regenerated so it's cost effective. I too am thinking about going with brs rox carbon, let us know how po4 removal goes

 

It's so cheap I think i'll just buy them "fresh" instead of regenerating. It's very good to be able to do that though, which is nice. I don't trust myself to do it though I chose BRS rox as it has great reviews, and got the 1 gallon tub (which will last me forever!) on sale too Group Buy. I am almost certain I will try out the Fauna Marin product, and will keep updates posted in my thread.

 

I feed heavy and never had a detectable level of ammonia in a saltwater tank so I personally wouldn't worry about it if you have a well established biological filtration. Again, not ever using dry rock I don't know how long it takes you to get to that level.

 

Ya i'm not sure either. After my ammonia and Nitrite diminish to nothing, I will be dosing some ZEO products for more diverse bacteria populations. I think it will be beneficial in my case (dry rock), but we will see. I will be adding Pods at a later date as well.

 

I am a ROX user as well. I find if your water is clean to begin with, ROX works very well. Just becareful that your not stripping too much from your water... But if your doing weekly water changes I don't see that as an issue because most things that you don't test for that are lost will easily be replenished during the water change. If you have dirtier water then I think you should use cheaper carbon as ROX seams to exhaust quickly. Remember it's better to use less and change more frequently then more and less frequently.

 

Ah yes, I will have to be sure i'm not adding to much. The rox seems to be pretty potent stuff, so for a tank my size BRS recommends 1tbsp. So my 1 gallon jug will last me a loooong time, haha. How often do you change your carbon on average?

 

Do you have 2 media racks like I do? I may think about putting different media in each rack as opposed to layering 2 types in each rack.

 

Due to my design I have one for filtration media, the other holds more equipment (heater, Seneye [future] etc..) There is a bit of room to add a small piece of media, but I don't know how comfortable i am with anything being too close to the heater.

 

Also, I don't like that every time I change out my floss I end up loosing some of the particulates into the chamber. This is very obvious as the floss was absorbing sand still suspended. The same thing happens for my Aquapod with filter pad but not to the same extreme. I want to change mechanical filtration every few days the same as in my pod but I don't want to cut such a large piece for each rack and change it that often. I think what I'm going to try is to put a piece in each rack that I change weekly and then put floss on top of the pad that I can change every 2-3 days as originally planned. That way when I change the floss I don't have to worry about loosing particulates.

 

Personally, I feel that if you do a better job of mechanical filtration that you can reduce chemical filtration.

 

Well the particulates may dissipate after time. Have you had this issue in your last tank?

 

I agree, it seems mechanical is one of the best ways to physically remove detritus and anything nasty in the water column. i cut my poly filter (inTank ones) the exact size of my chamber, so all water overflowing if forced to pass through it. I'll also test out a smaller piece to see if it makes any difference. I plan to do it weekly after my water changes as well.

 

What I don't understand is that I've sent Chris a few PMs thanking him as well as telling him the success of my tank and he didn't reply after his last message stating it was shipped. Additionally I send him another PM that he read and didn't reply to. I know he is extremely busy but I feel that every message I send warrants a response, even if it is a 1 word response considering I spend $900+ with him.

 

Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive after writing in that Tapatalk thread. lol At least I'm thankful for a great tank.

 

He must be very busy! He has been very good about replying to mine in the past. This was before the site opened though. I would give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but he should be checking periodically. i see how that could get frustrating. In your PM's it will say if he read it or not. If he read it and didn't reply maybe create a thread in his forum

 

My Aquapod is heavily stocked with everything so the only thing making it in this tank are more cherry picked corals... Thinking about some SPS on top and zoas in palys on the bottom. Specifically, those that respond well to LED lighting because my zoas & palys don't glow under MH like they do under LEDs so I'm looking forward to enjoying that. Looking @ rarer zoas and I've got an ultra green grandis paly that has grown two more polyps that I plan on fragging... If I dare.

 

I'm getting awesome flow but not random flow so eventually I may have to jump on the MP10 bandwagon because I'm not crapping this up with a koralia. But b4 the vortech pump I'll probably get a controller which I originally said I wouldn't do.

 

 

The AI nano would be nice over your nuvo 16, however given those dimension you may be better spending the extra $100 and getting the next step up Sol.

 

Yea the mp10 is pretty great. The best thing is the footprint. Mine was quite noisy for the first but but has quieted down considerably after running for about 2-3 weeks.

 

I was pretty pissed for the first while and when testing on the noise level, but as people said it will quiet down. I think for me literally everything in my build is inaudible, so I notice the noise more I'm quite sensitive to noise as well, so I notice more than others.

 

Lets put it this way, i can hear the lights in my bathroom. They give a slight high pitched hum which drives me insane, yet no one else can hear it

[BadCrab]

I know Chris is busy: I sent an inquiry about my tank yesterday and he explained that an accident at the shop resulted in the loss of my tank (and presumably another customer's order as well,) putting him behind a bit further. He expects the new tank to ship on Monday, though.

[Mstefa1]

 

It's so cheap I think i'll just buy them "fresh" instead of regenerating. It's very good to be able to do that though, which is nice. I don't trust myself to do it though I chose BRS rox as it has great reviews, and got the 1 gallon tub (which will last me forever!) on sale too Group Buy. I am almost certain I will try out the Fauna Marin product, and will keep updates posted in my thread.

 

 

I agree with you, replacement over regenerating makes sense for a nano tank. Now if your talking large amounts of media.... That's different. Again with all media, the water has to pass through it. So while 1 tsp may be the recommended amount, that's under ideal situations where it is getting optimum flow. An example would be when I put ROX sandwiched between two foams at the top of my reactor (no tumbling). The water has no choice but to pass through it. In a media rack, if your media bag doesn't properly cover the holes the water will take the path of least resistance. So what you want to do is put the carbon in a large enough bag to cover all holes so water has no choice but to flow through it.

 

Ya i'm not sure either. After my ammonia and Nitrite diminish to nothing, I will be dosing some ZEO products for more diverse bacteria populations. I think it will be beneficial in my case (dry rock), but we will see. I will be adding Pods at a later date as well.

 

Personally, I think you would benefit form adding a small pieces of cured live rock. You could accomplish the same thing by purchasing a small piece of coral attached to live rock. Often small zoa colonies are attached to live rock instead of plugs. When you dip the live rock in your coral dip, you will kill or scare off the pods (and hopefully any other nasties) but you won't sterilize the bacteria. The problem with adding pods is that you probably won't be adding a diverse population that you normally see on live rock. You are probably purchasing pods that were cultured specifically to be added for food such as feeding a mandarin. If you want pods, I'd recommend buying chaeto from somebody and keeping it in your display for 2 weeks. The chaeto will NOT root to your tank and after the 2 weeks you can just toss it if you don't plan on having a fuge. Pods flourish on chaeto as it provides natural protection. Once introduced into a new system, they will thrive as they have no predators or competition. I have tons of pods in my Aquafuge crawling all over my Chaeto. Many of them are tiny but some of them are huge and look like bugs. Heck, I have small pieces of live rock that were attached to corals that I've dropped in my Aquafuge with my chaeto. If you didn't live in Canada I'd send you some love.

 

Ah yes, I will have to be sure i'm not adding to much. The rox seems to be pretty potent stuff, so for a tank my size BRS recommends 1tbsp. So my 1 gallon jug will last me a loooong time, haha. How often do you change your carbon on average?

 

Every 2 weeks. If you have no choice but to use more ROX then you can go longer or if your dealing with a problem then 1 week but generally it's recommended to use less more often.

 

 

Due to my design I have one for filtration media, the other holds more equipment (heater, Seneye [future] etc..) There is a bit of room to add a small piece of media, but I don't know how comfortable i am with anything being too close to the heater.

Even with a larger 75w heater which I think you said you have I wouldn't worry about anything melting in there.

 

 

Well the particulates may dissipate after time. Have you had this issue in your last tank?

Particulates is something I'm constantly dealing with in my Aquapod. Even with such a large return pump, but probably because I have such a small overflow. My water is crystal clear but there always seams to be particulates flowing. I wonder if the miracle mud in my refugium has anything to do with it but I don't know for sure. One of the reasons I wanted large overflows in this tank. And I only have intakes at the overflow point on my PicO, no open holes at the bottom making sure all water flows through the rack. No issues currently in my PicO.

 

I agree, it seems mechanical is one of the best ways to physically remove detritus and anything nasty in the water column. i cut my poly filter (inTank ones) the exact size of my chamber, so all water overflowing if forced to pass through it. I'll also test out a smaller piece to see if it makes any difference. I plan to do it weekly after my water changes as well.

I think it is essential to change mechanical filtration more often then people think. If I wanted to leave that crap in there, I'd just toss a sponge in there.

 

He must be very busy! He has been very good about replying to mine in the past. This was before the site opened though. I would give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but he should be checking periodically. i see how that could get frustrating. In your PM's it will say if he read it or not. If he read it and didn't reply maybe create a thread in his forum

Well I didn't specifically ask for anything so it's not like he is ignoring me but I think that if someone takes the time to send you a message they deserve at minimum an acknowledgement. Personally I felt like once the item shipped the relationship was over and that wasn't what I wanted. He has read all PMs shortly after I sent them.After all, I may need to call on his services again.

 

Yea the mp10 is pretty great. The best thing is the footprint. Mine was quite noisy for the first but but has quieted down considerably after running for about 2-3 weeks.

 

I was pretty pissed for the first while and when testing on the noise level, but as people said it will quiet down. I think for me literally everything in my build is inaudible, so I notice the noise more I'm quite sensitive to noise as well, so I notice more than others.

 

Lets put it this way, i can hear the lights in my bathroom. They give a slight high pitched hum which drives me insane, yet no one else can hear it

I totally feel you on the noise. My Aquapod when previously setup was a noise factory, specifically when it wasn't topped off due to my Aquafuge but I don't have that issue since having an ATO. I can't stand noise in my living room. My PicO is dead silient unless I were to have the display at a very high level and the center chamber at a low level which you would then hear water moving over the baffles. The way I have it configured, you only hear noise when my AI nano fan is running but it seams that AI was also intuitive with the fan. It only runs when necessarily and I think the speed may also be controllable by the LED temp. When the LEDs are at a lower level the fan doesn't even run.

 

I didn't leave enough room for the dry side of an MP10 to the left of my tank which I should have. I could always put it on the right. Still, I'll see how well we can do without random flow. The controller will come first so I could have my return pumps alternate a few times throughout the day. I'd also need to plug my ATO into a controllable outlet so that when the pumps change it doesn't toy with my ATO sensor.

 

I know Chris is busy: I sent an inquiry about my tank yesterday and he explained that an accident at the shop resulted in the loss of my tank (and presumably another customer's order as well,) putting him behind a bit further. He expects the new tank to ship on Monday, though.

 

OMG, that's terrible to hear. With my tank, I was extremely patient throughout the entire build process. I wanted him to take his time so that he could strive for perfection without worrying about a delivery date.

[Hexadron]

I agree with you, replacement over regenerating makes sense for a nano tank. Now if your talking large amounts of media.... That's different. Again with all media, the water has to pass through it. So while 1 tsp may be the recommended amount, that's under ideal situations where it is getting optimum flow. An example would be when I put ROX sandwiched between two foams at the top of my reactor (no tumbling). The water has no choice but to pass through it. In a media rack, if your media bag doesn't properly cover the holes the water will take the path of least resistance. So what you want to do is put the carbon in a large enough bag to cover all holes so water has no choice but to flow through it.

 

Ya, i'm actually thinking of 'fashioning' my own custom media bags for this purpose.

 

Personally, I think you would benefit form adding a small pieces of cured live rock. You could accomplish the same thing by purchasing a small piece of coral attached to live rock. Often small zoa colonies are attached to live rock instead of plugs. When you dip the live rock in your coral dip, you will kill or scare off the pods (and hopefully any other nasties) but you won't sterilize the bacteria. The problem with adding pods is that you probably won't be adding a diverse population that you normally see on live rock. You are probably purchasing pods that were cultured specifically to be added for food such as feeding a mandarin. If you want pods, I'd recommend buying chaeto from somebody and keeping it in your display for 2 weeks. The chaeto will NOT root to your tank and after the 2 weeks you can just toss it if you don't plan on having a fuge. Pods flourish on chaeto as it provides natural protection. Once introduced into a new system, they will thrive as they have no predators or competition. I have tons of pods in my Aquafuge crawling all over my Chaeto. Many of them are tiny but some of them are huge and look like bugs. Heck, I have small pieces of live rock that were attached to corals that I've dropped in my Aquafuge with my chaeto. If you didn't live in Canada I'd send you some love.

 

I might do the chaeto idea. I just don't trust Live rock selection at my LFS. I don't think any of them have actual cured rock anyways, and the few local reefers i know have terrible kept tanks.

 

Every 2 weeks. If you have no choice but to use more ROX then you can go longer or if your dealing with a problem then 1 week but generally it's recommended to use less more often.

 

Every week is fine. I'm going to have to see how my tank handles it, as everyones different.

 

Even with a larger 75w heater which I think you said you have I wouldn't worry about anything melting in there.

 

Good to know. I just want to make sure the heater has ample room to 'breathe'

 

Particulates is something I'm constantly dealing with in my Aquapod. Even with such a large return pump, but probably because I have such a small overflow. My water is crystal clear but there always seams to be particulates flowing. I wonder if the miracle mud in my refugium has anything to do with it but I don't know for sure. One of the reasons I wanted large overflows in this tank. And I only have intakes at the overflow point on my PicO, no open holes at the bottom making sure all water flows through the rack. No issues currently in my PicO.

 

I think it is essential to change mechanical filtration more often then people think. If I wanted to leave that crap in there, I'd just toss a sponge in there.

 

Sounds like your design execution turned out well then.

 

Well I didn't specifically ask for anything so it's not like he is ignoring me but I think that if someone takes the time to send you a message they deserve at minimum an acknowledgement. Personally I felt like once the item shipped the relationship was over and that wasn't what I wanted. He has read all PMs shortly after I sent them.After all, I may need to call on his services again.

 

I hear ya, it would be a bit annoying to say the least. Now that I hear of his accident, maybe he's been too busy catching up.

 

I totally feel you on the noise. My Aquapod when previously setup was a noise factory, specifically when it wasn't topped off due to my Aquafuge but I don't have that issue since having an ATO. I can't stand noise in my living room. My PicO is dead silient unless I were to have the display at a very high level and the center chamber at a low level which you would then hear water moving over the baffles. The way I have it configured, you only hear noise when my AI nano fan is running but it seams that AI was also intuitive with the fan. It only runs when necessarily and I think the speed may also be controllable by the LED temp. When the LEDs are at a lower level the fan doesn't even run.

 

I almost wish I had some water noise as sometimes it's so silent I check to make sure the pumps are working

 

I didn't leave enough room for the dry side of an MP10 to the left of my tank which I should have. I could always put it on the right. Still, I'll see how well we can do without random flow. The controller will come first so I could have my return pumps alternate a few times throughout the day. I'd also need to plug my ATO into a controllable outlet so that when the pumps change it doesn't toy with my ATO sensor.

 

Nice keep me posted on your trials with the controller for alternating flow.

 

OMG, that's terrible to hear. With my tank, I was extremely patient throughout the entire build process. I wanted him to take his time so that he could strive for perfection without worrying about a delivery date.

 

I hear ya! I literally told Chris, I don't care if I have to wait 2 months, I want perfection. Luckily I didn't have to wait that long, and I still got what I wanted

[Mstefa1]

Had a nightmare last night! Was dreaming that a large blue/green mantis shrimp with huge pinchers would attack my glass every time I came near the tank. I had to put a cover on the tank so it wouldn't see me to prevent getting attacked while I researched way to trap it and get it out! I was afraid the mantis was going to crack the glass. I kept thinking it would be cool to keep but I was so afraid it was going to break the glass!

 

Fortunately my son woke me up. lol This must be revenge from me teasing all the mantis shrimps when I was picking out my live rock.

[Hexadron]

LOL. That's terrible, yet quite funny! Karma is a bitch Even if it is dream Karma.

 

So what's going on with the tank today?

[Mstefa1]

LOL. That's terrible, yet quite funny! Karma is a bitch Even if it is dream Karma.

 

So what's going on with the tank today?

 

Long hours at work so I'm not doing much but I did finish the LEDs for my frag tank. I also put in a lighting schedule for my AI nano finally.

[Mstefa1]

Pods already??? WTF???

 

That's right, we have pods already however not in my PicO but in my frag tank. I went in my basement to grab some RODI and I thought I'd look in on my frag tank and there are pods swimming around already. That's crazy, it's only been a week. I did not have the desire to test the water yet.

 

Here's a pic but forgive the light as I haven't fashioned a hanger yet for it. It's in my basement after all! The wood is elevating the heat sink. I only have an air stone in it for flow right now as my smallest available powerhead is an MJ1200 which is too much. My AC70 arrives Wednesday.

 

I tested the ammonia on my Pico and it's @ .25 which is less than the last time I tested it. I've also proved my old ato reservoir from my aquapod is just barely large enough to supply me for a week. Manually topping off is a chore I can live without.

[Hexadron]

Sweet! I need to find me some pods

 

Nice, please include details and pics of your frag tank as well when you get your ac70 in and all that. I just ordered a few pieces to start one up as well (well more of a Coral QT/Frag Tank) Thanks for the update!

[Mstefa1]

Sweet! I need to find me some pods

 

Nice, please include details and pics of your frag tank as well when you get your ac70 in and all that. I just ordered a few pieces to start one up as well (well more of a Coral QT/Frag Tank) Thanks for the update!

 

Will do! It's been awhile since I've seen pods on my glass even though there are tons in my fuge. My frag tank is just a makeshift at the moment... Just something I've thrown together to keep the rock live. Go figure that it would cycle before my PicO. lol I need to cut the proper pieces of acrylic but I'll wait until my AC70 gets in. Since it's cold in my basement I need a tight fit to keep the heat in. Plus, no ATO so I don't want evaporation. It will look much nicer when the light is hanging. I have it located on my beer fridge next to my old 55g which is currently housing my wife's pond fish for the winter.

 

Also, I wasn't planning the live sand in the frag tank but I needed a place to put it while I was scaping my main PicO and wasn't sure if I was putting more in there. Figured I'll probably remove it after the tank cycles.

[Mstefa1]

Holy PicO pods Batman! The little buggers are popping up in my PicO now. I don't ever remember pods after only a week or so.

[Hexadron]

Holy PicO pods Batman! The little buggers are popping up in my PicO now. I don't ever remember pods after only a week or so.

 

That's awesome! The conditions must be right

[Mstefa1]

So the mailman brought me some new toys today, yeah!!!

My Aquaclear 70 arrived today and the first thing I thought was wow this is going to be big on a tiny 5.5g! I've come to realize that I'm going to have to run it without the bottom strainer attachment or it would be too long. And since they put the connector part on the strainer and not the tube that goes into the filter I don't think I can cut it. So when I looked at the motor already installed, I noticed that the housing by the motor was cracked. Oh crap! I filled it with water and it drips. Too bad too, because I already got new acrylic to cut for the lid and stuff to hang my LEDs. I've already filed a replacement with Amazon so that should be here next week. I'm thinking about taking it back out of the box so I can cut out my cover anyway. Note that my heater is still on backorder with Amazon. My little heater is keeping up, but barely.

My other toy showed up, my phosphorous Hanna Checker. I've previously watched videos on YouTube so I know you have to be ready, quick, and consistent in your methods. For my first test and to account for the learning curve I tested the water in my AP24. It runs a GFO reactor so I wasn't expecting any problems. Note that my Salifert Phosphate test kit shows 0.00 for this tank.

Boom, 7ppt was the test result which equates to 7 x 3.066 / 1000 = 0.02ppm Phosphate which is awesome. Maybe Salifert was pretty close after all as it can not distinguish between 0.00 and 0.03.


So time to move on, on to my PicO... I cleaned both cuvettes with RODI water several times then rinse with tank water from my PicO before filling. The test results were startling...

The result was 139ppt which equates to 139 x 3.066 / 1000 = 0.43ppm Phosphate OMG!


I could not believe this for one second. I must have messed something up so I decided a retest.

The 2nd result was 117ppt or 117 x 3.066 / 1000 = 0.36ppm Phosphate - still OMG!

So finally, I've never received anything but a 0.00 test result from my Salifert phosphate test kit unless I actually tested tap water so I thought I'd test it in my PicO do to the high results with my Hanna Checker.

 

Bam, the result was consistent with my Hanna checker. The Salifert test kit reads 0.25 and then 0.5. It was very hard to distinguish which blue my sample was but clearly it was blue which you may be able to see in the photo.

 

Conclusion:

 

The results were quite shocking actually. I expected very little Phosphate in my Aquapod as I regularly run GFO in a BRS deluxe reactor as well as perform weekly water changes. Now maybe I can leave my GFO in longer and only change it when my phosphate level increases saving me some money. I was extremely surprised with such a high reading on my PicO consider the water used came partially from my old tank and partially from new mix. Perhaps the phosphates are coming from the live rock, or maybe the live sand but clearly I need to take action. I've always used live rock and live sand but I've never tested phosphates like this so who really knows... I'm not overly worried as the tank is still new in the cycle but I want to get the phosphates under control before I proceed. I'm planning a water change and I may even consider borrowing my GFO reactor from my Aquapod and putting it on my PicO temporarily. This would look really bad because I'd have to just toss it in there and I'm sure the wife would complain, even if it was only in for a day or so.

 

Notes:

 

Very satisfied with the Phosphorous Hanna Checker and happy I purchased it over the Phosphate one. Make sure you purchase additional reagents like I did as it only comes with 6 and I burned through 3 already. I'd also like to point out that you only get out of the test what you put into it. So make sure that your cuvettes are cleaned, rinsed with RODI water, rinsed with tank water, etc. The tester will time out if you take too long (which actually is pretty fast) so make sure you watch some YouTube videos and be ready for the test. The biggest consumer complaint is getting the reagent out of the pouch and I feel the same, however if your prepared you can get it all without issues. I'd recommend downloading a stopwatch app on your Android smartphone (or you too apple fan boys) to make sure you are mixing the reagent properly. It needs to be stirred aggressively and for the entire 2 minutes to dissolve but you can't shake the cuvette or it will create air bubbles. When you put the cuvettes in the tank to fill them with water, put them in upside and then turn them over as you don't want to pick up surface scum. Alternatively, you could fill the cuvette from another sample cup but make sure it is a glass beaker so you are not getting a false reading from a poor choice of sample container.

 

Additional notes:

 

Although my PicO test results were not identical, I have full confidence in the Hanna Checker as the result was confirmed reasonable with my Salifert test kit. The Phosphorus Hanna Checker is supposed to test more accurately on the lower end as I'm told and quite frankly I'm not concerned about the upper spectrum as 0.3 or 0.4 would be unacceptable either way. If your planning on very high phosphate levels (which you should NEVER desire in a reef tank) then the Phosphate Hanna Checker may be for you.

 

Considerations:

 

Maybe the Salifert Phosphate test kit is accurate enough for most people because I'm guessing any reading on it would be too much. If your looking for exact parameters the resolution of the Hanna Checker is the way to go.

 

You are warned not to touch the cuvettes together as glass on glass will scratch. Also, the manual warns about immediate cleaning of the cuvette so that the reagent doesn't stain the glass. I strongly recommend several rinses with RODI water.

 

Bryopsis apparently can thrive on extremely low phosphate levels. I don't have other nuisance algae in my Aquapod.

[Hexadron]

Thanks for posting the pics and your impressions Now I just need one to come on sale...

[supermarvin76]

Very well done! Now I am wanting one instead of the phosphate checker I have!

[Mstefa1]

$4 cheaper on Amazon well worth it. Thanks for following!

[Mstefa1]

So I just performed the water change dance and although it seamed like a lot of work, it really wasn't. I prepared 7+ gallons of saltwater, drained about 7 gallons from my Aquapod, drained about 5 gallons from my PicO, and about 2 gallons from my frag tank. I filled up my Aquapod with new saltwater, and my PicO & frag tank received water from my Aquapod. I don't plan to continue doing it this way, how I don't see any major disadvantages to doing it during the tank cycle.

 

I've also recognized that I need to get phosphates under control before I move forward so I took my BRS deluxe reactor from my Aquapod and installed it on my PicO. It's not mounted permanently and I didn't even take the time to hide the reactor or pump. It's just to get things under control. After a day or so, I'll put fresh GFO in.

 

Visually, the tank looks clean and no longer has that slight smell it had before. I'm going to test the water today or tomorrow just for curiosity. I also plan on testing the water with my Salifert test kit to save reagents, and then after installing fresh GFO and running for a few days I'll test with my Hanna Checker. I've never actually tested phosphates during a tank cycle so this may be normal but I really have no idea. I've heard of dry rock leaching phosphates but never live rock. I wanted to have my first couple of corals (frags from my Aquapod) in my PicO before I went on vacation May 10th but we will see.

 

The next part in the cycle would be testing 0 for both ammonia and nitrites so we will have to wait and see. Around that time I expect diatoms. Also, one would have to assume that if my PicO is full of Phosphates then so would my frag tank as it was filled with the same rock and sand. This is really just the first time a water change was done on those tanks so I suspect this alone is improvement.

 

At some point, I need to setup an RODI reservoir like a brute bin with a valve and a float switch, but this is probably another $75 investment and I've invested a lot lately so I'll have to struggle for now. Either way, I think I need more jugs then my 5 since I'm running 3 tanks now.

Oh, and my Apex was nice enough to send me a courtesy text and email that my water change water was too cold. lol I warmed up my jugs in the microwave since my heater is in my frag tank and the new one hasn't arrived yet but I didn't get the water temp exact.

[TristanC]

very nice write up, id like to see what it reads on my tank as my hannah phosphate checker gives me 0.00 consistently.

[Mstefa1]

very nice write up, id like to see what it reads on my tank as my hannah phosphate checker gives me 0.00 consistently.

 

Thank you. I'd think 0.00 would be too low, wouldn't you? Can you imagine if I tested my PicO before my Aquapod? I would have thought it was broken! LOL

[TristanC]

 

Thank you. I'd think 0.00 would be too low, wouldn't you? Can you imagine if I tested my PicO before my Aquapod? I would have thought it was broken! LOL

Yeah I agree 0.00 is too low but considering there is a small percentage of error I'm assuming its a tad higher. I'm not sure why your picO is so high, it's probably just coming off of the sand and rocks. I used dry everything so I'm not suprised I've never seen more than .02 on mine.

[Hexadron]

How is your frag tank going? What's equipment are you running on that?

[Mstefa1]

How is your frag tank going? What's equipment are you running on that?

 

I've got an 18" heat sink from RapidLED and some royal blue and violet leds as well as a 700ma dimmable driver all cree of course. I put 1 neutral white led on it and I think it's plenty with 2 RB, 2 violet, and 1 NW. I've got 60 degree optics but they don't stay on so I'll figured that out later or just hang it low enough. It really gets bright driven at 700 which is max for the violets but the others can go up to 1500. Note if you ever buy LEDs, get 1 of each extra because I always do something stupid and end up frying one which screws my plans up. I planned on putting 2 NWs but lost one of them. If I ever add another NW, I'll need another RB because I love the color as it is. I previously fried a RB and a Violet months ago because I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing after work on no sleep. LOL And that was the day I tried using old solder that wasn't the right stuff for the job and only added to my frustration. A DIY LED setup is really quite easy just make sure you pay attention to what your doing LOL!

 

For filtration, I've got an AC70 but it came in cracked so I'm waiting for a new one. For heat, I've got a 25w old heater. My 75w Eheim is on back order from Amazon, but I don't care because if I order it elsewhere it would cost me an extra $10 between added price and shipping. Surely if I place an order somewhere else I'd just order it there but for now I'll leave it on back order. I need 75w due to the cold temp in my basement. For flow... I'm assuming the AC70 will have plenty of flow. For now I have an air stone to get it through the cycle. Remember how the pods first appeared in my frag tank. I wonder if it had something to do with the air stone and gas exchange or it was just coincidence. I think I'll run a small amount of carbon & GFO in a media bag as well as floss in the AC70.

 

I currently have live sand in the bottom which I only put their until I fully decided how much sand was going in my PicO. For now, I'll leave it there but sooner or later I'll go bare bottom. I also have 1 extra piece of live rock that didn't make it in my PicO. After all, I wanted an extra piece for my frag tank as everyone told me that you need something in there for filtration.

 

I have the acrylic to cut the lid as well as the stuff to hang the light. I will probably do that tomorrow. The lid is so important as I don't want evaporation and I want to keep the heat in. Perhaps down the line I'll pick up a used ATO because now that I'm spoiled I never want to top off again but it would be a cheap used unit, not a top of the line model like my Tunze. If I couldn't get something used and complete for $50 I'd probably get a Tunze Nano. For now I plan on mark the water line on the side of the tank and top off that way but I need to wait until I get my AC70 running, as well as have it low enough I can put my hands in the tank without overflowing. The goal would be to be able to move a frag from 1 tank to the other w/o acclimation. I may dip between but I also don't see this necessarily as the initial dip covers most things.

 

Also, I may drop new corals into the frag tank for a week of observation but in no way am I planning on QT all corals. This observation period is more so to detect problems such as nuisance algae more than anything. Perhaps it would have saved me from bryopsis like in my other tank. I've been known to purchase extremely cool corals that have exposure to questionable things. lol I have plently of white egg crate. I doubt I'll spend the $15 bucks for a sheet of back egg crate from BRS unless my frag guy wants to cut me a section just to be nice. Don't show me those threads where white egg crate leaches phosphates or something like that. The reality is that white egg crate is more prone to algae only because it reflects light. I'd like to point out that this is going to be a low maintenance, easy keeping frag tank. This is NOT a display frag tank and I don't plan on treating it like one which is why it's in my basement. If it becomes a chore to keep it running then it will surely be shut down. I have enough on my hands and it will only get busier as summer approaches.

 

I started this post earlier, fired up the grill, had a few beers, now just finished it. Did I miss anything?