my pico tank

C

circusordie16

Member
hey everybody i just started posting on this site but ive had a 2.5 gallon tank up and running for almost 10 months so i thought id share. its a 2.5 gallon with an 18w current usa light, 25w heater, and an ac20 filter with live rock rubble in it. heres some pictures, hope you like it!
purple zoas
2-25-07026.jpg

green zoas
2-25-07025.jpg

candy canes
sale003.jpg

sale005.jpg

monti caps
2-25-07005.jpg

2-25-07004.jpg

birdsnest
birdsnest.jpg

my red ricordea
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scarlet hermit
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and an old full tank shot
2-25-07001.jpg
 
That is really clean. Nice job not overcrowding like some of us (who, me?) in an attempt for variety.

How is the birdsnest doing on only 18w? It looks ok, but that seems much too low.

Also, any additives?
 
thanks guys.

the birdsnest is only a few days old but it has actually gained color since its been in my tank compared with the lfs. its at the top of the tank to get the most light and im thinking it should do pretty well. the monti caps i have have grown very nicely so i decided id give birdsnest a try.
i dont use any additives, just weekly water changes and daily topoffs.
 
Very clean setup...

Since you are topping off daily is a weekly water change required? I'm fairly new to this and I am actually performing top-offs on my 20G every other day (doing this in the refugium) and I do perform a 20% water change every two weeks. Just though I'd ask.
 
the water changes are still necessary. the topoffs are only to replenish evaporated water to maintain a constant salinity. the water changes eliminate nitrates and replenish calcium and other minerals.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9538100#post9538100 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by clayton07
yea, very nice candy canes! my only suggestion is to do somthing with that heater
Click to expand...

Slap a black background on this and switch to a stealth heater and the corals will really stand out. Extreme Makeover - Reef Edition. Actually, more like Design on a Dime.
 
yeah the heater bothers me too but ive been too lazy to switch it yet. and im not a huge fan of backgrounds because i like being able to look in the back and see whats crawling around back there.
 
Nice looking tank. It's a prime example of what can be done with a 2.5. Actually, I don't need to look at it too much or I'll end up changing out my 2.5 gallon refugium into a pico :D

Stephanie
 
That's an awesome little tank! I had a 2.5g going until recently with very similar setup hardware wise, but I couldn't get past some crazy algae outbreaks (red, green, all kinds). I also did the water changes every week. Out of curiosity, how much water are you changing? I may have to try it again in the future...I love the effect of a little tank like that.

Congratulations on a job well done!
 
thanks everybody, the only problem with a 2.5 is that soon you start to want either another one or a bigger one. i change about a quarter gallon a week but im currently going through a hair algae outbreak that i hope im slowly beating.
 
Hey circus, nice little tank you got going there. I'm glad I found your thread.
My wife's been wanting to get in on the action for a while now and she just picked up one of those 3 gallon deco kits for our kitchen counter. It has an 18w half and half bulb too. I think it's pretty neat and am excited to get it going.

Just a few questions though. Do you really need a 25 w heater for it? I imagine you got it because it was the smallest you could find but I really worry about a heater failing in a tank this small.

When the light's on, I can't imagine the heater would ever turn on. Do you think you could get away without one altogether? I'd think the filter would put out some heat.

Also, how much of a water change do you do on something like this and do you/can you use a small vacuum with any success?

Do you leave the cover on the top?

We want to get a Watchman goby and a shrimp companion for him. We're probably just going to make it a softy tank. Something easy for her to handle.
 
i think the heaters needed only because my house is kept kinda cold and the filter doesnt put out much heat. i tried it without a heater before i added live rock but the water was only around 70. the heater only turns on at night but its the only way i can keep my temps constant.

i change about 1/4 a gallon a week and i havent had any need to use a vacuum, if i need to suck anything out i just use the tubing that im taking water out with.

the tank does have a glass cover to keep evaporation down. id be wary about adding a fish to a 3 gallon. after adding rock the volume of the tank really decreases. id stick with just corals and maybe some inverts but if you really really want a fish id go with a smaller one, maybe a clown goby or something a little smaller than a watchman.
 
Hey, thanks for the advice. I was going to try it without a heater but I think you're right. You could have major temp swings at night.

I think I'll take your advice on fish selection too and get a clown goby instead. They grow to a max of 2" which would probably be better. Yeah, I'd be perfectly happy just leaving it as a coral tank but she insists that it has a fish. I know it's going to be pretty limited on what it can handle. I've been telling her that since day one.

I was thinking a gallon water change but you're right. After the rock and everything gets in there, it'll be down to about 2 gallons by the time we're done. I don't think I want to do a 50% change every time, unless there's problems. It will be nice having that simple option though.
 
you might want to look for a smaller heater, i know ive seen pictures of people who have small heaters that fit in their ac20s so that you dont have it in the display.

as for water changes, thats the good thing about a small tank, you can do water changes of any size whenever you want because its so easy.
 
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