1.5l Pico Diary.....1st Pics

[sianeds]

They get to about 1" ish. I'd feel a bit cruel putting one in TBH unless I can keep it very stable. At the moment I'm having trouble keeping it cool which I understand is a big problem with pico tanks (and nano).

I tested the water last night and everything looked fine. The rocks I put in were stright out of an established display tank and they never left the water so hopefully I won't get a cycle. I only tested NO3, NO2, NH3/NH4+, SG and Ph. I took 20ml out in a syringe to do the chemical tests which I replaced with clean saltwater.

I had problems testing the SG as there's not alot of water in the tank and I struggled to fill the hydrometer. I had to add 15ml of RO to get the SG back to 1.026 so thats a fair bit of evap in one day. The tank does have a lid so I hate to think what it would be like if it was open topped!

I'm going to see if I can get a small heater. I think the only way I could get one on is if I get a HOB filter and put a heater inside....we'll see.

The temp is holding at a steady 27deg C now so fingers crossed.

I put some stuff in the tank last night. A small aiptasia, an unknown anemone which had been spreading like a plague, some macro which was floating round the floor of my 30gal and a small xenia which I got off a huge colony so don't mind losing. There is also a small white nem and a tiny tunicate which I took out of my wet/dry filter on my 30gal.

This morning everything looks fine in there. I can't see the xenia but i think it's gone in between 2 bits of rubble.

An unwanted hitch-hiker from my 30gal is 3(so far) red flatworms. I'll be interested to see how they go.

 

[Gill]

Loving this.

I have 2 of those tanks lying arund in the garage somewhere. Giving me Ideas.

For a Heater try and find a Newatt. They are less than 10cm long and barely 1cm wide and are 25watts, there is also a credit card size model aswell.
Be warned they are Pricey.

 

[Betta5]

Looking good, i have the 4.5 gallon (us) one maybe i soyuld try it
Hope its all going well

 

[atmmachine816]

You know wal-mart sells nano heaters in their fish section, there rather cheap though I don't know if there reliable, for the price it might be ok to try, though do they have wal-marts in the UK

 

[sianeds]

You know wal-mart sells nano heaters in their fish section, there rather cheap though I don't know if there reliable, for the price it might be ok to try, though do they have wal-marts in the UK

Nope no wal-marts here

I'm going to give the heater a miss as I'd never be able to light it with a heater in there.

I may well look into setting something up with LEDs. It's something I want to try for another tank I have in the pipeline...lots less heat and less on my electric bill (which is getting high with 4 tanks running 24/7)

On the up side....I am going to have a homeless astrea snail in the next week along with whatever other critters I find as I close down my 30gal.

Oh and I dropped a couple more aiptasia into the pico today. They were growing on the back of my powerhead in the 30gal so I scraped them off and dropped them in. If think they're quite pretty and it's a real shame they're such a pest but they are the perfect subjects for this little experiment

 

[N1z]

For heater , you can buy a heater made by hydor that is like 10watts its the size of a credit card, as for LEDs i also know hagen make a LED light that goes in the tank and sucks onto the side, i cant remember that name but they are designed to fit Elite cool 10,14,21 litre tanks. We sell them at my shop

Hope that helps.

 

[atmmachine816]

N1z are they the blue, red, white l.e.d. lights that are adjustable, I have one of those.

 

[sianeds]

Yeah thanks, I'll have a look whats around. I'm going to an electrical shop tomorrow which sells LEDs and all the stuff to makes them work (I'm not an electrician by any means)

Anyway..... As I'm closing down my 30gal I've been keeping an eye out for critters. My shortspine urchin has gone back into the 55gal reef and I have fished out some tiny snails which look like baby ceriths. I put 2 in the pico and the rest in the 55gal. I am looking for my asterina stars too but I'm not putting them in the pico as they'll starve pretty quickly.

The aiptasia in there is looking healthy but unfortunately one of the bigger ones has found my xenia and is in the process of stinging it to death

Some things don't change no matter how small the tank is.

Oh and I have also chocked down the airline to about halfway as it was making too much flow and bits of the substrate were being flung around.

 

[atmmachine816]

Interesting, why are you taking your 30 gallon down though.

What type of led's are you talking about, are they ones that produce heat?

 

[sianeds]

Interesting, why are you taking your 30 gallon down though.

What type of led's are you talking about, are they ones that produce heat?

I'm taking it down because my powerhead has died and I don't want to replace it. I figured I can give the tank a good clean and run it as a FW tropical using the built in trickle filter and heater. I will be moving house in the near future and the 30gal has been pretty much empty for 6mths, being used to house recovering corals and also my urchin. Hopefully when we move I'll have it as SW again. (yes I know I can't use any copper based meds )

As for the LEDs....I have no clue I'll be asking the guys in the shop. I have a good friend who's an electrician so if it's all too much for me I'll buy him a beer and get him to do it I just really want to have a bash first

 

[demonmagus]

hi, what brand is that tank, I've got one but its larger, and I want to find out the gallonage on it

 

[sianeds]

I have no clue what the brand is. I could have a look underneath I suppose.... I only know the volume because I filled it from a measuring jug before I started

 

[N1z]

Urm yer here is a link of what they look like.

http/www.aquatics-warehouse.co.uk/acatal...ARIUMS__28.html

 

[sianeds]

Thanks N1z I have seen them I think. I'll keep an eye out for them.

Anyways here's a little update. I took some pics but the battery on my camera has died so I'll post them later. (Need a camera that can do macro shots really)

I have moved the rock a bit so it looks a bit less empty. I dug some aiptasia out of my 30 gallon and they are looking great. They have opened fully and are eating. I have also dropped in a baby ricordea I've been growing in my 55gal.

I have been doing 50ml water changes for the last few days using water from my 55gal tank. I have also been adding 15ml of RO daily. I've been using the water I take out to do my testing. Strangely enough.....everything is perfect!!!!! I am wondering if my test kits are out as I can't believe it's going so well. I'm going to LFS tomorrow and Saturday so I'll take a water sample with me to be sure.

While I am there and coral shopping for my big tank (and new projects...) I'm going to see if there are any tiny tiny frags that I might be able to put in. I'm thinking zoa's, but this is only if the LFS tests my water and it's ok.

 

[shafty]

Would love to see an update pic! Very intresting experiment!