Daniel’s Pico Reef! (1 Viewer)

[Daniel92481]

Hey reefers! I decided to start a pico reef after shutting down my Nuvo 40! I have always wanted a small reef tank, and here I am!

-LA crystal AIO 4.1 gallon with stock pump

-Ecotech MP10

-Kessil A360X

-LA 25 watt heater

I managed to put the remaining corals from the Nuvo 40 into the pico...

-Trochus snail

-Blue legged hermit

-fire shrimp

-nirvanas, pink constellations, bowsers, playboy bunnies, sonic flares, laser lemons, and more

I have attached a few pics. Thanks for looking!

 

[sneezebeetle]

Glad you got that zoa rock in there! Looks good

 

[Daniel92481]

Thanks! I’m really happy with it! I had to turn down the MP10 to about 20-30%??

 

[Daniel92481]

Quick update with the pico...I lowered the light a few inches to accommodate a few new sticks that I purchased from a member here on MARSH that I’m really happy about. They seem to be responding well in their new home. My RFA did decide to move from where I initially placed him. He moved to the front of the main display rock, covering some precious psychosis zoa polyps I had. On the bright side, the other zoas are doing well. Maintenance schedule is really simple here, water changes are biweekly 50%, along with cleaning filter floss pads. I am really enjoying the simple maintenance plan on this pico. I have attached a few pics! Thanks for ?

 

[Daniel92481]

Hey reefers, I figured I would give one last update before the end of 2020.

Things were going so smooth until...GHA! Ugh. Gotta love it. It had been progressively getting worse for a few weeks before I decided to scrub the back wall and main rock with a toothbrush. I managed to get the majority of it with scrubbing, cleaned my filter sock a couple times, and added one chemi pure blue nano packet. So far, things seem to be improving. I am now doing 80% water changes bi weekly. I was able to lower my phosphates from 0.06 to 0.03 with the chemi pure packet, although I’m not sure how accurate those readings are because of the algae. I was also able to pluck some small bubble algae off the main rock. After cleaning up the tank, along with the sand, things are looking better. My zoa polyps are slowly starting to come back to life, which I’m really happy about. I did lose my three recent sticks due to STN. It is definitely discouraging to lose corals from poor maintenance/water quality. Hopefully things will continue to improve from here on though. My fire shrimp, trochus, RFA, and hermit are all still doing well. I would also like to mention that my jawbreaker mushroom is also doing well and never fails to impress me with its vibrant colors! With the sticks gone, I also removed the MP10 and am now only running off my return pump. I am really liking the simplicity of this. Especially since the coral I have now have lower flow demands. I recently added a baby purple firefish and a single head duncan. Both additions seem to be doing well, and are adjusting nicely to the tank. I will also be adding a torch coral to the tank this week. I am thinking somewhere in the sand vs. the main rock. Any suggestions on this? The other torches I had before were all on the rock vs. the sand. I am thinking it should do fine either place.

I think that’s about it with the tank, just wanting to keep things as simple as possible while continuing to enjoy this amazing hobby, and the ups and downs associated with it.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for another update soon!

 

[Shelbyreefer713]

I just bought the same pico you have lol
I'm on 3 days of cycle
With old water from other tank
And new one that I made.
I'm surprised you added an mp 10 there lol
Keep us updated I look forward

 

[Daniel92481]

Nice! You will really love this tank. Super clear, low iron glass. The MP10 actually fit pretty good in the tank. It did kick up some sand at 30%, but nothing major. I hope to see your new tank thread here soon too.

 

[frankc]

Do you have a cover for your tank? Firefish are notorious jumpers.

 

[Daniel92481]

I’ve been thinking about that. I don’t have one currently. Any ideas where to find such a small one? Or maybe a piece of acrylic? Thanks!

Maybe something like this...

OPTIX 11 in. x 14 in. x 0.050 (1/20) in. Clear Non-Glare Acrylic Sheet 1X09242A - The Home Depot

Optix non-glare acrylic sheet has a matte finish that reduces glare and surface reflections, this material is a great solution for picture frame glass replacement. Sometimes referred to as plexiglass,

www.homedepot.com

 

[frankc]

That could work. I have a glass top on one of my tanks, and screens made from a BRS kit on the other. A solid top has the advantage of less evaporation, but the disadvantage that it can quickly get dusty on one side and coated with algae and/or mineral deposits on the other and thus lower the light to the corals, and it can increase the heat.

 

[Daniel92481]

Sounds like the screen would be the way to go. I’ll have to check them out at BRS. I’ll try to get the acrylic one for the time being.??

 

[Daniel92481]

Hey reefers!?

First update of 2021!

Things are really improving with the tank, bouncing back from a GHA outbreak I had about a month ago. I was able to dial in my feeding schedule, helping to keep my nutrients under control. I’ve been managing to test most major parameters once a week, usually on Sunday. I have also been performing 80% water changes biweekly with good results. I am going to continue this WC schedule, and see if there needs to be any tweaking to it in the future. All corals and inverts are doing good, as well as Flash, my firefish.?As many of you already know, a fellow member (RDA), made me a media basket for the back chamber. I love this thing! It really accomplishes everything I wanted from it, plus the design is really cool. I am really loving the UV reactive orange that he used for parts of it. Love it!Another cool piece for the pico that I just got was my custom lid made by Kraken Reef. This thing is super well made, and fits perfect on the tank. Although I ultimately got this lid so that my fish doesn’t jump out, turns out it’s for the snails too. On three different occasions, I have come home to one of the snails on the floor, trying to escape. One time, about 2am, I heard a crack on the hardwood floor. Sounded like an egg! Sure enough, Mexican turbo snail on the floor. Hey! Mexico is that way!? Fortunately, they are all ok.?I had just picked him up and dropped him back in the tank. Seems like they’re pretty resilient critters. As far as my corals go, I added some gobstoppers from a fellow reefer, UC pepto pink goni, UC limearitas, and UC papaya clove polyps. Now, I don’t want to kid myself and say I won’t buy anymore corals lol, but as of now, I would like to sit back and watch things settle in. As for flow, I recently purchased the LA Quiet 400 pump, but haven’t installed it yet. I believe it’s 103gph vs. the 87gph that the 200 delivers. After doing more research, I found that I might actually end up ordering the Cobalt Aquatics/Newa 606 or the Sicce Micra plus. Either one of these pumps will give me about 150gph turnover. With the removal of the MP10, I think this upgrade will be sufficient for any LPS/SPS corals that I add in the future, without having to add a powerhead.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for another update!?

 

[Daniel92481]

Hey reefers!

It’s been a while since my last update and boy things sure have been crazy. First off, as many of you know, Texas was frozen for a few days. Some reefers lost everything! All the time, effort, and money spent! Gone.I did end up losing one turbo snail, most of the polyps of my whammin’ watermelons, and a few polyps of my utter chaos. Flash, my firefish and my fire shrimp thankfully both survived the ordeal. Although upsetting to have some losses, I feel very fortunate to have not lost it all. Seemed like it sure came close though. My power was out for 2 days. I woke up to the tank temp at 68.5°F and scrambled to find a solution. I was able to plug my tank into my trucks inverter for 17 hours while waiting for things to thaw out so I could go pick up the generator. My poor Lifegard Aquatics 25W heater wasn’t able to keep up the the freezing temps so I had to place my 75W Eheim heater (normally used for mixing my saltwater) in the tank. I cranked it up to 90°F and things started warming up gradually.

Long story short, thankfully my tank pulled through and seems to be doing well.

I have continued following my bi-weekly maintenance routine of 80% water changes with good results. The water changes along with my chemipure blue nano packet have managed to keep my nutrient levels within a healthy range. My phosphate is normally <0.05 with nitrates between 1-2. Other than the chemipure packet, I’m only using filter floss that I change out weekly.

I have added some frags, snails, a squamosa clam, and another fish recently. I ordered some snails online from one of the best places ever. They got lost in the mail thanks to USPS. When I finally received them, they were all DRT (dead right there). I managed to find some replacements from my LFS. 2 Turbos and 2 Trochus.

As far as frags go, I have added a mystic montipora, meteor shower cyphastrea, Superman rhodactis mushroom, and some teal Kandy Kane’s. All the frags are acclimating well. The newly added squamosa clam is about 3-4 inches in length and really seems to like his new spot. He really expands throughout the day.

Although all of these new additions are exciting, my new fish is probably the most exciting here. I recently added a captive bred blue mandarin. He’s so tiny! Only about 3/4 inch. I have had him for about two weeks now. He is responding well in his new home and plays well with flash and my fire shrimp. Being captive bred, he has been raised on TDO chroma boost pellets. I was already feeding flash and my fire shrimp these pellets so it has really seemed to work out for all three of them. Of course the mandarin, named Blu, never passes up a fat pod. He cruises around pecking at the rocks, glass, and sand. He is so cool to watch!

I have one more piece of exciting reefing news to share within this update...

As many of you know, this tank was started after the break down of my Nuvo 40 that was running for a year. After some consideration, I have decided to start another tank! So exciting! I recently purchased the Nuvo Fusion 30L with APS stand scheduled for end of April delivery! I have already started acquiring equipment for the new tank and plan to start another build thread soon. Although more time consuming, I have grown to love this little 4.1 gallon slice of the ocean and plan to keep it running. Truth be told, I have never had two tanks running at once, so this will be a new experience for me.

Well, I think that should cover things for now. Thanks for reading! I have attached a few pics! Until next time reefers!

 

[fishcraze_1]

Looks great man. Sweet little pico

 

[Daniel92481]

Looks great man. Sweet little pico

Thanks man! I appreciate it.

 

[Daniel92481]

Hey reefers! Just wanted to give a quick monthly update. In anticipation of receiving my new 30L, I’ve been acquiring some additional pieces for grow out in the pico. After my last update, I realized that my biweekly water changes alone were not enough to keep up with the ALK and Ca demand of my new additions, especially the squamosa! I swear that thing drinks ALK and Ca with a straw! Anyways, I’ve been testing and adding Kent Marine part A&B nano accordingly. I figured I would rather add these supplements vs. trying to stabilize with additional weekly water changes. The Kent Marine A&B two part is almost effortless and works well with me adding to the tank after I manually top off RODI every night. So far, so good.

*New additions*

-Cespitularia

-Sunny D zoas

-Radioactive dragon eyes zoas

-Bird of paradise

-Rainbow stylophora

-Ahh-mazing ricordea

-Hellfire torch (2 head)

-Dragon soul torch

-Glitter bomb goniopora

ALK has been from 6.5-7.5 since my last update, adjusting accordingly with two part. The goal is to continue with this plan until my new 30L settles in and I can start moving some corals over. Until next time reefers!

 

[Daniel92481]

.

 

[sneezebeetle]

Looks amazing! I never would have considered adding a clam to my nano, I will have to follow along more closely to see how yours does.

 

[Daniel92481]

Looks amazing! I never would have considered adding a clam to my nano, I will have to follow along more closely to see how yours does.

Hey, thanks! He seems to be doing good and has already put his foot down. I guess he plans to stay a while.

 

[Daniel92481]

Another quick update here…

All in all, pico is doing good. I rearranged a few corals due to warfare on my Duncan. I had to move the candy cane down a little, while moving the Duncan to the right side where the bowsers used to be. I now have them on the left side of the rock for now. My Duncan was turning black in the spots it was getting stung by the candy cane. I didn’t realize that they would sting any of my corals. Now that I have moved the Duncan out of his way, the Duncan is definitely looking better and starting to recover. I also have some sad news to report about one of my newest additions. Sadly, my glitter bomb goniopora disintegrated. So heartbreaking! I have lost a few corals during the few years I’ve been in the hobby, but this one definitely hurt the most. Not only because of its beauty, but because it was a cool $299, making it the most expensive coral I’ve lost to date. Ugh! I guess these are things that we have to be prepared for. Just sucks. On a brighter note, the other corals are doing well, I would say thriving in this system. I’m still manually adding top off every night, as well as testing parameters biweekly. To maintain levels, I have also been adding Kent Marine nano A&B every night. Usually between 10-15 drops, keeping ALK at 7.5-7.7. I had some extra space between my new 30L and the pico, so I decided to set up another cool little tank. It’s a 1/2 gallon micro reef. I posted some info about it on another thread if you want to take a look! I will also post a few pics of it here along with some new pics of the pico. That should be it for now. Just trying to keep things stable as can be.

Thanks for reading reefers! Now for some pics!