3G Picotope Work Tank (Build/Progress Thread)

[bradleym]

I am working on a new tank for my work. I had a 1.5g cube, and I loved it, but it was made of plastic, so I had to bail out because I couldn't scrape the coralline off the inside. (On a side note, if anyone wants, I could put it up for sale) So I chose the 3G JBJ Picotope because, along with several other benefits, it's glass. Which means I can razor scrape the inside during water changes. :thumbsup:

I am using an old Second Nature Whisper Power Filter 2 for flow, and will be fitting it to be a HOB refugium with chaeto. I have also taken a cheap LED floodlight from ebay and put a 14,000K chip and 90 degree lens into it for a light. The stand (suggested by a friend) is quite ingenius; it has a flat piece of metal under the tank to hold an arm up over the middle of the tank. The heater is a 50w Preset Tetra Submersible. I painted the back glass blue, and set it on my desk to cycle.

I added a piece of plastic screen onto the HOB to catch the chaeto that will eventually go in there. This is the resulting "fuge".

While cycling, I invited 2 of my pest nems to join me. This tank will be mostly anemones since I am such a fan. I like nems best for this because they will move to a better spot if they are unhappy (instead of just looking sick and dying) and they can be fed larger foods than most corals, allowing for very targeted spot feeding.

They are tiny, even in a 3g pico

 

[MperRluvR]

sweet

 

[dbuesking]

Very Cool

 

[smoothdog]

Cool little tank. I thought about doing that at my old office but they use to throw footballs between the cubes. That might have ended badly. Now I work from home and get to see my tank every day.

Is this a mojano too? Doesn't really look like one.

 

[bradleym]

smoothdog, no it's not a majano. It's a new one I just found at a LFS. Never seen one like it before, so I HAD TO HAVE IT!!! :lol: I have maybe 4 types of anemone that fall into the "I don't know what is so now I have to buy it" category. You can always catch me snooping around looking for the stuff people don't really want in their tank!

Here's a better shot of it:

 

[smoothdog]

Cool, when you said 'pest' I wasn't sure why on this one. Thought it might be a small flower or rock anemone.

 

[bradleym]

I have a rock/flower nem of nearly the same size, and they look different. Also, rock nems don't split. This one reproduces asexually, and somewhat rapidly. The LFS that I found them at had 30+ in a 90g, and they were a hitchhiker that came from rock when another customer broke down their tank. So even though I know VERY little about them, I can already deem them a pest lol.

 

[bradleym]

Update

Update

OK, the tank is cycled, and I've made some changes, so time for an update!

Since my last post, I've added a light to the HOB, turning it into a fuge, and I added some chaeto. It's made a big difference on my glass cleaning schedule, that's for sure! (Apparently I need more of it at home...) Basically all I did was buy a new bulb for the stock lighting at Home Depot (2700K) and then drill some holes in the HOB lid and zip-tie it into place.

I blocked the front with some electrical tape so the light doesn't bother me while I work. Someday I'll take the lid off and spray paint it, but I'm in no hurry.

This little clipping has doubled in size since I took this pic a week ago. :dance: Very effective.

 

[bradleym]

I also built me a DIY ATO using these float switches off ebay:

Two for $6 you can't beat it. Then I cut a cheap extension cord and wired them into it. The extension cord is used to power a little "desktop waterfall" pump I had lying around. This all sits under my desk, with a semi-clear 5g bucket full of RODI to keep my hands off the tank as much as possible. All my tank supplies now sit in the blue bin under my ATO, so I didn't lose any space, and the extra height helps the tiny pump to decrease the head loss. :thumbsup:

I mounted the switch to the back of the tank using a Powerade bottle lid and added a couple plastic washers to get it low enough. :lol: We're talikn' low buget here!

And the pump feeds a RODI line into the left back side. It is slightly curved so I don't get any drips flowing back to the desk.

I think that about covers it. I'm gonna try to make lid soon, then maybe have a fish or shrimp or something. Otherwise, without a lid, it's strictly nems, corals, and cheap/slow inverts only.

 

[bradleym]

I added some things to my tank!

So far I got...

a GBTA

a blue Maxi Mini Carpet

a purple mushroom

and some nuclear green and purple death palys

which are being guarded by a T-Rex :lmao:

So far that's it, but more to come for sure!

Oh yea,and my chaeto is going nuts in here! I wish it grew like this at home.

 

[twiggyb]

Lovin the T-Rex

 

[smoothdog]

This is a great little build, gotta love low-tech! Just be sure to not make little T-Rex roaring noises when you co-workers are around. (Where's that roaring coming from...) :lol:

 

[reefergeorge]

Nice..
I hope you have a larger tank set up. When I had my 2.5g, the easiest way to keep the water in check was to swap a few cups with the big tank. Doing 32oz water changes would suck.

 

[Ocean View]

Very nice. T Rex needs snorkel gear.

 

[bradleym]

Lovin the T-Rex

This is a great little build, gotta love low-tech! Just be sure to not make little T-Rex roaring noises when you co-workers are around. (Where's that roaring coming from...) :lol:

Very nice. T Rex needs snorkel gear.

Thanks for the compliments everybody! I'm really excited about how easy this build has been (so far). Yea I usually go for the "natural look" in a tank, but something about this one had to be a little silly or I was gonna get overly committed to it. It's on my desk at work, so I can't get too involved. It's gotta be able to sit unwatched for as long as any vacation I might take. Which fortunately, it looks like this thing can go untouched for weeks on end with that ATO online. :thumbsup: If I get REALLY bored, I might try to glue some GSP on his back! :wildone:

 

[bradleym]

Nice..
I hope you have a larger tank set up. When I had my 2.5g, the easiest way to keep the water in check was to swap a few cups with the big tank. Doing 32oz water changes would suck.

Actually no, but I have a 5g bucket of fresh mix under the desk. I will be keeping all softies, no LPS or SPS, and no fish either, so the nitrates won't build up too fast, and they can get pretty high before they bother the corals in there.

I plan to do 50% water changes about once a month, and the only feeding will be target feed about as often as the water changes. If all goes according to plan, I'll feed everything a week before the water change. Then I can fill the ATO reservoir, trim back the chaeto, and do the water change all at the same time, then not touch the tank again all month. :reading:

 

[bradleym]

Time for an update! I've added a good pile of stuff, and I'm almost out of room already. BTW, I have a friend who breeds Berghia, which need lots of aiptasia. As a result she has HUGE pest tanks that I got to look through for some of my new pets, and yeah, that was fun!

So let's see, what's new...

Well, the old nems are really loving this tank. Both much improved!

and this guy even split

I built up my ATO float switch after a snail took it for a joyride and flooded my desk

And I added some corals

 

[bradleym]

Then, of course the new nems!

And the snail that ruined my day

Here's the tank now. As you can see, I mised some of the ones I wanted. If I ever find them, I may remove some coral to move them in, but this is all I got so far.

Thanks for looking!

 

[bradleym]

My tank has a lid! Really thinking about a fish now...

 

[VSpeck]

Sweet. Get a shark! It would be like this with the t Rex