Office Tank on a Whim - 3gal Picotope

[john miller]

Did you get an AC20 propeller also to switch out with the stock one?
Even on low that AC70 moves a lot of water.

 

[ange062]

Did you get an AC20 propeller also to switch out with the stock one?
Even on low that AC70 moves a lot of water.

I figure the big tank is happy with ~75x turnover. You can crank down the AC70 to as little as 200gph which is ~67x turnover (full blast runs at 300gph). I don't think it will be too bad, especially considering it is really the only circulation in the tank.

I have also seen a local reefer running it at full blast and his tank looks good. We will see how it works out, I can always tweak it later once I play around with it.

Looking forward to the new goodies to come in so that I can finally get this thing healthy and stocked!

 

[ange062]

Found my perfect fish selection today accidentally!!

ORA sharknose goby and a yasha goby pistol pair. It's going to be awesome once the rest of the upgrade is completed!

 

[Jenna Ann]

Congratulations on finding the fish! I really love these picotope tanks! How do you plan to set up that light you ordered?

 

[ange062]

Congratulations on finding the fish! I really love these picotope tanks! How do you plan to set up that light you ordered?

I'm planning on building a custom fixture out of carbon fiber stock. Hard to explain, but I will post pics once I have it together.

 

[ange062]

Got the first shipment of goodies! Ecoxotic Panorama Pro. Man is this thing bright! I hope its not overkill for the tank or obnoxious when sitting at my desk. The spread angle is very good since there are no reflectors, so coverage wont be an issue. The color spectrum looks really nice also, the combo of 12k white and RB is spot on.

Not actually as blue as it looks here:

 

[ange062]

I ghetto rigged the light up at lunch today. My office seriously looks like a shimmering radioactive spaceship!

Also got more goodies in today. Debating whether to set up the AC70 now or wait for the overflow and lid...

Its seriously going to add about a gallon to the setup.

 

[john miller]

Where's the palm trees?

 

[ange062]

Where's the palm trees?

In the drawer, had to ax them for the light ghetto rigging but they will go back on

 

[john miller]

Good man.

 

[hul kogan]

Just read through your build thread. I'm excited to see how your upgrades and intended inhabitants work out!

How much water does the tank evaporate over the weekend? (This question assumes you work a M-F type job, excuse me if that's incorrect.)

 

[ange062]

Just read through your build thread. I'm excited to see how your upgrades and intended inhabitants work out!

How much water does the tank evaporate over the weekend? (This question assumes you work a M-F type job, excuse me if that's incorrect.)

Thanks! I have been running lidless with stock filter, light, and a small added powerhead which caused a lot of surface agitation. My office stays a constant temp over the weekend / nights also. Evap hasn't been as bad as I expected, it drops ~1/2" over the weekend which is less then a cup to refill.

We will see how that changes now that I have the AC70 and Panorama Pro installed.

 

[ange062]

AC70 is on! The flow is insane as expected, so I had to crank it all the way down and it seems just right at that level.

 

[SaintMark]

Looks great man!

Being I am next to you what LFS are you getting the fish from?

 

[ange062]

Looks great man!

Being I am next to you what LFS are you getting the fish from?

Thanks! For this tank I will be getting the fish from Dennis at FJW. I also frequently visit City Pets and have purchased quite a bit from them. I used to go to Fish Ranch the most, but they don't have much livestock these days since they are doing a system rebuild, and I prefer the higher end stuff (especially ORA) that I can find at FJW/City Pets.

 

[SaintMark]

Thanks! For this tank I will be getting the fish from Dennis at FJW. I also frequently visit City Pets and have purchased quite a bit from them. I used to go to Fish Ranch the most, but they don't have much livestock these days since they are doing a system rebuild, and I prefer the higher end stuff (especially ORA) that I can find at FJW/City Pets.

It might be a bit of a hike but you should try out Global Leader Aquatics. He has awesome coral tanks. He gets ORA orders in very often. Great on prices. Just my 2 cents.

 

[ange062]

Thanks for the advice, but that's way too far to visit on anything more then a once a quarter basis IMO. I will have to check them out one weekend though!

I prefer to visit more local places so I can visit often and watch livestock after it comes in to ensure I am not making a $50-150 (or more) mistake...

 

[ange062]

I haven't had much time to mess with the tank. It's still empty unfortunately, months after starting it up. I may head to the LFS today at lunch to get a small yellowtail damsel to try out for a bit. The light is still ghetto rigged on (literally with packing tape) but one of these days I will get around to building a permanent mount.

Notice the cool overflow box and lid from Steve at Bonsai Reefs. The overflow box definitely keeps the water surface cleaner in conjunction with the AC70, and the InTank basket is awesome as they always are.

I haven't been yelled at by our facilities team yet, so that's good news I still find random people stopping by the office to stare at the tank, so fanfare really hasn't died off even after several months.

 

[john miller]

I don't see no palm trees!

Instead of a fish have you thought about doing an invert only tank? Lots of hermit crabs would be interesting and quite lively.

 

[NyteGTI]

I don't see no palm trees!

Instead of a fish have you thought about doing an invert only tank? Lots of hermit crabs would be interesting and quite lively.

I've wanted to do this in my cube for a while! I don't think my facilities manager will allow it so I'll jsut have to live vicariously through yours. keep up the nice work and I'm in for zoas