Planning a Pico - need perspective (1 Viewer)

[Sea-Agg09]

I'm planning a pico (3gal picotope). It's going to be an all-invert tank, with no fish. So far my stocking is as follows;

4 (2 pair) sexy shrimps
1-2 pom pom crab
3 bumblebee shrimp
1 mini yellow cucumber

I'm going to put in a mini carpet anemone for the sexy shrimp to perch on. I'm going to supliment the PC light with some LED's, so I'll be good on light. The corals are going to be simple, mostly just zoas.

Does anyone have any experience running a tiny skimmer on one of these tanks? I don't want to put a sump on the tank, and would rather just keep a tight regiment of water changes, every 3-4 days. I've read about the Rio HOB skimmer, but I've read that it micro-bubbles like crazy. Is there another nano skimmer that would work?

Would it be crazy to get a tiny bubbletip anemone? I'll have to trade it in as it gets bigger, but that's easy enough to handle. Also, would a pair of porcelain crabs be too much? They are filter feeders, so I think they would be ok. Just looking for perspective.

 

[Sea-Agg09]

http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=702

Found this at LED wholesalers. I'm thinking of either adding this on top of the PC light, or replacing the PC light all together. I would like to pull the PC light off, but I'm worried about keeping mini carpets with only the 12 watt LED.

 

[Copingsaw]

In my opinion a skimmer is not necessary on a tank this small. You will accomplish everything a skimmer can do for you with regular water changes. Since the water volume is so small, it isn't hard to change a large percent of volume in a single water change. A HOB filter for mechanical filtration should be all you need.

 

[Sea-Agg09]

Yeah, I found this;
http://www.marinedepot.com/Azoo_Mig...rotein_Skimmers-Azoo-AZ13125-FIPSHONW-vi.html

The reviews scare me, but aren't surprising. Anytime you are dealing with a tiny volume, it's going to be a huge pain to get the skimmer precisely tuned.

 

[waterguy123]

I agree with copingsaw on the skimmer; all you need is an hob and water changes. for a couple years I ran a 10 gallon with nothing but a biocube 100 HOB, and i wasn't even changing water as much as I should have. Both the corals and fish thrived untill I recently took it down. I also think just the 12w led should be enough light for a mini carpet, but I'm no expert.

 

[Sea-Agg09]

I definitely won't be getting rid of the filter that comes with the tank in case things go poorly. I've also seen ppl use an AC 70 as a fuge and filter, which is another way to go. My main concern is the "spikey-ness" of the tank, because of all the inverts. If most of the tank decides to molt at one time, that's going to be a big ammonia spike.

More than anything, I think it will be fun to try some new hardware.

 

[waterguy123]

the diy fuge might be a better and more practical idea in my opinion.

 

[r_jay]

There are HOB skimmer/filters that I would not be in opposition to since all picos generate a film on the surface of the water (unless you can siphon off the film) it will stay even after a water change.

Something I wish I did for my picotope before I sold it is buy an acrylic top and surface skimmer. I did go with the AC50 and modded it with a refugium.
Here's a guy that make the lids and surface skimmer:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=246792&hl=picotope
.