KUDA's 5g EcoPico

[KUDA]

Hello ReefCentral!

I am just getting back into the hobby after a few years away. I haven't been on ReefCentral for a few years now and I have been lurking for a few weeks, but I decided that it is time to start a thread. Previously, I have had a 55g reef tank, 38 gallon macro algae, and 12 gallon AquaPod. I got out of the hobby about 2 years ago after a large tank crash and before I started college. Now, 2 years into college, I could no longer resist. I take care of the FOWLR's at school, but I have been craving my own reef again. I also took a class on invertebrates, which rekindled my need for a reef. This time around, I decided to go small. In December, I went into a LFS looking for a 3g JBJ, but came out with a 5g EcoPico. The EcoPico has 3 mixed blue/white light strips, but I will probably add two more all blue strips eventually. I have the stock filter in there now.

Fish
Obviously, none yet. I would really like a goby/shrimp pair, but I am unsure if I will do that because of the small size of the aquarium. I really also like bumblebee shrimp, pom pom crabs, and small gobies, so that may be what I do. Idk, I may never add any fish.

Currently, I have:
Invertebrates
1 Halloween Hermit Crab
2 Red Tip Hermit Crabs

Corals
Some Cheap Zooanthids

Decmber 19, 2011
I filled the tank and added a piece of cure live rock

December 23, 2011
I added more semi-cured live rock. I made a quick aquascape. Not too happy with it but its going to stay until I get a lot of coral. Don't worry! I added more water after this shot.

January 3, 2012
I added an auto top off that I had laying around from my past tank. It is the type with the air pressure sensor. I hooked up an aqualifter pump and it seems to be working. Here is an updated picture from today, even though nothing has really changed. I'll probably get some more cheap corals at the end of this week.

 

[leedoherty]

Will be watching this we are moving over to the states in the spring and was looking at these online just to keep the addiction going till we move out of my mothers

 

[tpallas]

Nice rockwork!

 

[KUDA]

Just for fun...here are some pictures of my past tanks.
55g w/15 gallon sump and 20 gallon refugium. The 55 and sump were sold after I got out of the hobby and the 20 gallon refugium now houses a male gargoyle gecko.

38 gallon macro tank w/10 gallon sump. Now houses a breeding trio of crested geckos.

12 gallon AquaPod. For some reason, I can't find a picture of it when it was more mature and contained more coral. It now houses a patriot crab.

 

[KUDA]

Thanks for the compliment on the rock work! I like to make arches, so I rearranged it today to make it more open and easier to place frags.
January 5, 2012
I rearranged the rocks and added a 425gph Koralia Nano.

Last week, I went into a LFS and asked for a scarlet hermit crab. When I got home, I noticed that it was a Halloween hermit. Great deal at $4.99!

Other hermit crab

Zooanthid Frag

Also, is this diatoms? I took this picture last week.

Should I run some sort of chemical filtration in my filter? It just has the stock sponge in it now, but I was thinking about doing filter floss/Chemipure Elite.

 

[kar86]

Great looking rock work! What kind of camera/lens are you shooting with? Your pictures look really sharp!

 

[KUDA]

Thanks for the compliment! It's actually just a point and shoot Panasonic ZS5. I use it on manual mode so I adjust the ISO and mess with the shutter speed, exposure, and white balance. Also, I spruce up the pics a little bit using Picnik. I have an old Photoshop but its much easier just to use Picnik for small enhancements.

 

[NemusMaximus]

Looking good! Dont worry about the diatoms. They are natural part of the cycling process. They will clear up on their own, eventually. I got a couple of snails for my Ecopico and they keep the tank nice and clean. I just updated the thread with my own tank build, check it out.