• Going to make a Pico reef. (2 gallon reef tank)
    72 replies, posted
With the unfortunate passing of my mothers betta fish, and her testament to not get a new one (at least for now) we now are in the possession of an empty 2 gallon Fluval Spec. ([url]http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23778[/url]) Unsure what to do with it, I volunteered to take it. It's future destiny is upon my desk, next to my monitor. It will be both an experiment and a piece of art. I've never done something this small so I'm just going to give it a shot. Failure is a possible outcome. [img]http://i.imgur.com/oUdsW.jpg[/img] The plan is to use mostly things from my already established 90 gallon reef. Once the tank is up for a few months and stabilized I would like to get some more corals for it and some crabs or shrimps. there are reefs, there are [i]nano[/i] reefs, and then there are [i][b]pico[/i][/b] reefs. Begs the question if there will ever be a femto reef. Perhaps some day. More pictures to come hopefully soon. I'll try to document the whole process.
good luck man
I was going to say to you that this is the hardest thing an aquarium enthusiast can do and you should do something bigger, but then I saw it was [B]you[/B] OvB and was all like "PSHH you got this"
The hardest part at the moment is figuring out what to do with the filtration. The tank comes standard with just a typical sponge and some media. Having a fuge would be the best option but the size is very limited. I might just fill it up with some rocks and chaetomorpha and see how that goes. [editline]2nd August 2012[/editline] Though right now I don't have any crushed live rock. I might crush up some of the skeletons of coral past that I keep for whatever reason.
I saw a video awhile back of a guy who had a Pico, and it used a regular old sponge filter, but there was something special he did with it to make it sustainable. I'll try and find it, hopefully it'll be of some help!
Took care of the filtration today. Divided it into three separate chambers. One for filter media, one for live rock biological filtration, and one with a small sponge for mechanical. Sponge(it blocks the hole that water must flow through to get to the pump chamber, thus mechanically filtering all of the water): [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/sPqQi.jpg[/img_thumb] Carbon and Biomax: [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/WlVH3.jpg[/img_thumb] Some coral [i]skeletons![/i] for biological filtration: [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/iyvoa.jpg[/img_thumb] Some Chaetomorpha for some extra filtration stuffs. [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/K2WOw.jpg[/img_thumb] Business end: [img_thumb]http://imgur.com/6EYGI,sPqQi,WlVH3,iyvoa,K2WOw,4YCOx#5[/img_thumb] View from my computer chair. [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/6EYGI.jpg[/img_thumb] I also put two gallons of already established aquarium water from my 90 gallon tank. This is now technically a saltwater aquarium, albeit a boring one.
Buy one jellyfish :v:.
Gahhh that must be so nice when you're starting a pico tank to have an already established one, it makes it so much easier I bet.
I'd wish you luck, but you of all people won't be needing it. :v: Looking forward to seeing how this progresses.
Won't be able to finish this for awhile. Tomorrow I'm getting a hip replacements surgery so dealing with that is going to tale up most my time. I'll get back on this project once I'm physically able to.
I added some fresh live sand. [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/Edim6.jpg[/img_thumb] As you can see, it's really cloudy and frothy. I'll take another picture once it clears up. Might have to do a water change or two before then also. I was too afraid to use sand from my own tank because I didn't want to stir up the sand bed which is actually a very important biological filter. If you stir it up too much you kill off the bacteria inside the bed and cause a slight spike and things get dirty. It was just easier to just get some new stuff in a bag. If I was making a big tank I would've used dry sand and had live rock to introduce the biological stuffs but due to the size of the tank and my current lack of live rock I just decided to go with this.
Wow, I wouldn't mind having one of those on my desk. It's beautiful! How much does the equipment to create one of those cost?
It can be pretty expensive. Luckily the tank was a hand-me-down so all I really had to buy was fresh filter sponges and the sand. Starting from scratch might be around 300+ dollars for everything (tank, sand, rocks, corals, etc) If you want to give it a try: step 1: Research step 2: Research step 3: Research (did I mention research?)
[QUOTE=OvB;37416634]It can be pretty expensive. Luckily the tank was a hand-me-down so all I really had to buy was fresh filter sponges and the sand. Starting from scratch might be around 300+ dollars for everything (tank, sand, rocks, corals, etc) If you want to give it a try: step 1: Research step 2: Research step 3: Research (did I mention research?)[/QUOTE] That seems abit steep for me, how about i get a nice goldfish instead? :v:
[QUOTE=Databanks;37427430]That seems abit steep for me, how about i get a nice goldfish instead? :v:[/QUOTE] You could get a 10 gallon tank and put some goldfish in it. The only reason pico/nano reefs work is because corals don't require large water volumes to be happy. They'll be happy with the right light, current, and nutrients. Similarly, you could make a pico/nano freshwater environment if you just had some plants and maybe a shrimp. Like such: [img]http://i.imgur.com/mvsIU.jpg[/img] As far as the progress is going, the water has cleared up but the glass is all dusty and I can't find my little scrubber. I'll take a picture once I find it. [editline]27th August 2012[/editline] A freshwater pico wouldn't be that hard or expensive to be honest. Just pick up something like this [url]http://www.marinedepot.com/aquariums_tanks_jbj_picotope-ap.html[/url] for a tank, then take a trip to petsmart or petco and get some sand/gravel and plants. That's all it would take pretty much.
So what would you say is smallest and cheapest nano reef set-up that i could have? In terms of size and cost of equipment. I only ask this because I wouldn't mind giving it ago, its just seems like a lot of money to invest into something that may die in a day or go horrible wrong. :downs:
[QUOTE=Databanks;37433987]So what would you say is smallest and cheapest nano reef set-up that i could have? In terms of size and cost of equipment. I only ask this because I wouldn't mind giving it ago, its just seems like a lot of money to invest into something that may die in a day or go horrible wrong. :downs:[/QUOTE] Well as saltwater goes, the smaller the tank, the harder it is. This is because there is less water volume and when something goes bad it contaminates the whole tank faster than if you had a more gallons. If you want anything to do with a reef you're going to be spending over a hundred dollars easily. Now-days they make nice nanoreef tanks that come with a lot of the stuff you might need. Something like this: [url]http://www.marinedepot.com/aquariums_tanks_oceanic_biocube-ap.html[/url] or this: [url]http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_tanks_red_sea_max_complete-ap.html[/url] Once you get the tank, you'll need sand and live rock, which cost wise, depends on how much you get. (will be a few dollars per pound of rock and same with the sand) Then later on, you'll want coral, which can be anywhere from 10-100 (maybe more for some exotic stuff(cost is also dependent on size as well)) dollars depending on size and species. If you're really thinking about it, I suggest you research what you need and how to take care of such a thing for awhile. Look around here: [url]http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?c=16[/url] and other sites to get a good idea of what you're getting into. [editline]27th August 2012[/editline] Pico tanks are way cheaper, but again, the smaller the tank the faster things go horribly wrong.
So I bought a little magnet scrubber. [quote=shipping confirmation email]Good news, ALEX! Your aquarium supplies have been carefully picked from Marine Depot's shelves like delicate berries and placed into a wicker basket lined with unicorn fur. With the grace of a ballerina, we tiptoed them to our packing station where Santa's Elves—who work with us during their off-season—prepared your order for shipment. Your products were methodically placed in each box using techniques taught to us by a former Tetris World Champion. Using a pair of tweezers, we placed hundreds of packing peanuts one-by-one into every nook and cranny to ensure safe transport. We are proud to share with you that our packing peanuts are reusable, recyclable, biodegradable and made using 100% recycled content. They also do not trigger peanut allergies. Eat your heart out, Mr. Peanut. Saying goodbye to such sought-after products is always gut-wrenching. That is why we offer employees unlimited handkerchiefs as a part of our generous benefits package. As your order was whisked away at light speed down our assembly line into the loving arms of the shipping courier, our warehouse elves, with tears in their eyes, joined hands and whispered, "Jábba sô kalîk qonay." We don't speak Elvish ourselves, but they tell us the rough translation is "May these supplies bring stability and success to the aquarium and its owner." Wow, we are getting a little choked up ourselves now. Thanks, elves. As the delivery truck pulled away from our warehouse dock, a rare double rainbow appeared overhead. That's when we knew the products we had raised since they were mere hatchlings were on their way to a better home. Please take care of them and, we promise, they will take care of you. [/quote]
That's absolutely beautiful, who did you buy from? I'm thinking Marinedepot right?
Well now that I'm not bed ridden, on crutches, and can actually be a useful human being, I can begin actual work on this thing. The tank has been sitting there on my desk running silently as it awaits my recovery. The filter seems to be working but it might be too early to tell yet. A few weeks ago I was an idiot and forgot to put more water in as it evaporated and a lot of my chaetomorpha died, so I got to put more of that in. Not a big deal. This is what the tank looks like as of right now: [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/1GFsg.jpg[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/Xm51c.jpg[/img_thumb] As you can see it has cleared up wonderfully and I got my magnet thingy which I was hoping was smaller but this will work. As you can also see, there is some nice wonderful colorful stuffs growing around the bottom. There was some on the glass but I cleaned it up for the pictures. Since I've already introduced biological materials through the live sand, the water from my established 90 gallon reef, and the chaetomorpha, it didn't take long for things to start growing in there. This is what I love about saltwater. The whole tank has cycled while I was in recovery but I have to start that over again to make sure it's all good for actually important alive things to live in there. Right now I'm poking about my reef looking for rocks that are small enough and not attached to anything that I can put in here to build a foundation. Unfortunately, the rock I was eying up has a coral sticking to a bit of it. Although the coral is mostly stuck to a neighboring rock so I might be able to surgically remove him without pissing him off or injuring him too much. The coral should be fine. That should hopefully be soon. This thread isn't dead. [editline]4th October 2012[/editline] Oh, I also bought a little light thing for my sump that stays on all day to keep light on the water column 24/7. This helps to encourage growth in the sump and not in the tank where it might be unsightly, and helps with the biological filtration hoopla. [url]http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753104[/url] [url]http://www.marinedepot.com/Mag_Float_Magnet_Cleaner_%28Glass%29_Floating_Algae_Magnets-Mag_Float-MF1111-FIMTAMCMFM-vi.html[/url] I can't find the specific sand online, but it was around 20 bucks for a 10 pound bag. A bit wasteful for the size of this tank obviously, but I might use the rest of it to top off the sand in my reef. Sand mysteriously disappears over time. (It's typically aragonite so it probably dissolves over the years into the water column) That brings this projects total cost to about $44.98 If you add the cost of the tank, which was my moms previously and not purchased for this project, it comes out around $92.97 [url]http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4456545&lmdn=Brand[/url] Okay, that's all for now! [editline]4th October 2012[/editline] P.S the hip is doing fine. It feels weird to walk level again for the first time in 2 and a half years.
Construction of the reef foundation has begun. [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/g2uSV.jpg[/img_thumb] I'll keep you posted as I find more suitable stones to place in there. Because little critters hide in the rocks, the current tenants are a few copepods, some little snails, and some little starfish.
Ahhh I really wish I could afford a saltwater tank and not worry about it absolutely imploding on me and watching everything die, I would totally do a 5-15 gallon tank for my living room!
I'm not expecting much more purchases for this. I'm going to get it a shrimp and some crabs, maybe another coral. I might decide to get a better light for it later on as this one is kinda yellow-ish. I'm also having trouble finding enough rocks to stack up for a taller reef. [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/SKp4I.jpg[/img_thumb] I have two other big rocks that I'm wanting to put in there but they got corals and plants on that I want to survive so I'm not going to add them until I know the parameters are good and constant. [editline]4th October 2012[/editline] And yes those are coral skeletons. It's not weird at all that I have a small collection of coral skeletons.
Small update: The tanks parameters have risen since the addition of the foundation rock as expected. The ammonia is around 2.5ppm and the NO2 and NO3 is around 1ppm and 40ppm respectively. This should bring about another cycle just as I wanted. I'm just using some cheap test strips so the results are probably not as accurate as if I was using a testing kit but it tells me what I need to know to watch a cycle. I've also added some ghetto blue christmas lights to the tank to add an ever important blue spectrum. [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/FSQvQ.jpg[/img_thumb] 30 more blue LED's and 30 more white LED's should be good, giving me a 2:1 blue to white LED ratio, for a total of 90 LEDs. Now I just got to dig around christmas boxes and find them. [editline]5th October 2012[/editline] Since I'm probably going to end up making my own light fixture out of Christmas lights, I might end up having to make a fixture/canopy hybrid for both aesthetics and function. Depends on how lazy I'm not feeling in the coming days. [editline]5th October 2012[/editline] Anyone with electrical engineering expertise (I know you're out there) is more than welcome on giving me pointers on how to maybe cut up Christmas lights and wire them up more efficiently so I don't have 60 loops of wire like in the picture above.
Well since they are LED christmas lights, they're probably running at about 110V in series. I would definitely suggest you read up on this site, it's really great regarding stripping them and using them for your tanking needs! [url]http://www.ciphersbyritter.com/RADELECT/LITES/LEDLITES.HTM[/url]
[img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/LXXPE.jpg[/img_thumb] Before: [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/Odh0k.jpg[/img_thumb] After: [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/XbePs.jpg[/img_thumb] My [del]thumb[/del] fingers hurt. [editline]6th October 2012[/editline] As far as usefulness, I have no idea! I guess we'll have to wait and see if corals die or not. I'll have to keep a close eye on them for a few weeks after I add them in there. The color looks right though. Might need some more blues and whites.
[QUOTE=OvB;37940258][img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/LXXPE.jpg[/img_thumb] Before: [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/Odh0k.jpg[/img_thumb] After: [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/XbePs.jpg[/img_thumb] My [del]thumb[/del] fingers hurt. [editline]6th October 2012[/editline] As far as usefulness, I have no idea! I guess we'll have to wait and see if corals die or not. I'll have to keep a close eye on them for a few weeks after I add them in there. The color looks right though. Might need some more blues and whites.[/QUOTE] The awesome thing about this being that you made that yourself, the sad part being you literally just saved yourself $400.
Things have since gotten real nasty and brown in the tank. That's pretty typical. The parameters have seemed to wind down so a water change is in order. Thinking about maybe using distilled water since our tap water here is fairly hard. My bigger reef seems to do fine with just the tap, but it's nice to know whats in your water and I should've bought an RO/DI filter years ago but they're expensive. So just a quick picture because I know people in this section love pictures: [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/Wz8wu.jpg[/img_thumb] It looks nasty, but it's suppose to at this stage.
[QUOTE=OvB;38052763]Things have since gotten real nasty and brown in the tank. That's pretty typical. The parameters have seemed to wind down so a water change is in order. Thinking about maybe using distilled water since our tap water here is fairly hard. My bigger reef seems to do fine with just the tap, but it's nice to know whats in your water and I should've bought an RO/DI filter years ago but they're expensive. So just a quick picture because I know people in this section love pictures: [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/Wz8wu.jpg[/img_thumb] It looks nasty, but it's suppose to at this stage.[/QUOTE] What is the purple stuff in there? Some sort of algae?
It's red cyanobacteria. Otherwise known as red slime aglae. It feeds on phosphates. I could put some phosphates in the tank and it'll be covered in a deep red slime by the morning. Pretty crazy stuff. Usually a sign of poor water flow and a nutrient rich environment, hence the talk about using distilled water. Water flow might be a problem in this tank because it only has one tiny return from the pump that's circulating the water. That's going to be the next hurdle to jump. I might have to get something like this: [url]http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10090+4090&pcatid=4090[/url] and figure out a way to make it fit, because the tank is too small for a powerhead. Got to work with what I got.
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