Here are my plans for a 0 filtration pico tank.

DivaMan · 01/30/2007, 07:16 PM

This is very heavily based off of Melev's pico, except it will have a few differences.

Basically, Im going to use a 2.5 gall to 3 gall, they are found in they Vets catalogue, usually it has a fake anemone in it. If those are too small I will use a mini bow, but I will remove the top canopy.

For lighting, because I want to be able to keep zoos and other med-low light corals, I am going to use 2 Palm Lights. However, if you look on the vets page for these lights it doesn't say what kelvin rating it is, so I may instead use a mini-aqualight.

Also, for some circulation, I want to use a small ViaAqua pump, with a ball and socket joint for direction.

There will be no other filtration other than the LR and some LS and switching out my main tank's water with this, about 2 cup exchange every other day. The only inhabitants will be zoos, pipe organs, Mushrooms, and maybe some other small frags. Also, I will have a small cleaner shrimp. And I was planning on finding a dwarf seahorse or two to inhabit it. Ive found one called Hippocampus Zosterae. If anyone breeds this, Id like to know, PM me if you do!
(this is aside from a hermit or two, and a couple of snails)

What do you think?
Yes I know it is nearly a copy, but I really admire Melevs little pico, and of course casper.

DivaMan · 01/30/2007, 07:29 PM

Bump, wow that sunk fast!

reeformadness · 01/30/2007, 07:33 PM

I think it sounds great. Seahorses are cool!

DivaMan · 01/30/2007, 08:23 PM

Bump

DivaMan · 01/30/2007, 09:37 PM

Anyone else?

spleen93 · 01/31/2007, 02:06 AM

Marc tore down his pico partially because of the difficulties keeping salinity constant. How do you plan on keeping the salinity steady? Also, temperature swings tend to be wilder in small tanks compared to large ones - how do you plan on keeping the temperature steady? FWIW, I've kept dwarf seahorses before and while they're EXTREMELY cool, they do usually require an ongoing commitment to keeping up with their feeding. Personally, I got tired of hatching baby brine all the time ...

Spleen

Tang Salad · 01/31/2007, 06:37 AM

Yes, the biggest concern with a pico will be keeping on top of evaporation. Do ATOs work in tiny sumpless tanks?

Another option would be to have an overflow in the pico, and plumb it direct to your main tank's sump. Then you could forego the water changes and evap problem.

DivaMan · 01/31/2007, 07:46 PM

That was my first Idea, but temp in my room is invariably constant, and because of the mini aqualight, I thought maybe of getting an almost canopy like structure, basically a box about 1-2 inches high, with a flip top lid for feeding etc, and small holes in back for plugs, it would be attached at the back, and have hinges, so i could basically take it nearly all teh way off, relatively simple but effective. OR if I got the mini bow, I could switch the incandecent for a pc, which it says you can, gut the hood of the mini bow, leaving just the hood, and I could put my own light in etc. But I cannot do the overflow, because it will be tooooooooo far from the tankI think Ill find a way to cover the tank to minimize evap, Ive heard of [eople putting humidifiers near their tanks, to keep the evap low.

DivaMan · 01/31/2007, 07:49 PM

HEy what kind of horse was casper?

DivaMan · 01/31/2007, 08:09 PM

What is an ATO?

reeformadness · 01/31/2007, 08:55 PM

Automatic top off I believe. Blasted abbreviations on this board! Is there a abbr. glos. on RC? Needs 2 B.

JxMetal · 01/31/2007, 09:13 PM

I use 2 HOB filters for water movement as didn't want the water to just be stagnant. I normally just top off the tank every couple days. Salinity doesn't change all THAT much, maybe by. .002. i keep my zoos, xenia, a leather, flower anemone, flowerpot coral frag, candy cane, and a small orange montipora. These are all frags, but they all are alive and growing.

Got a couple crabs and a snail in there.

My lighting is 24w PC light fixture.

ryan115 · 01/31/2007, 09:17 PM

Hip. zosterae are one of the harder sea horses to keep, not nearly as "easy" as H. erectus. I think it would be difficult keeping a tank that size stable enough to keep seahorses. But it would be a nice tank. I ran a 2.5 with a small aquaclear that gave me all the filtration and watermovement i need. Azoo makes a palm filter that might work as well. Have you considered LED lighting for this tank. with all of the hype about solaris fixtures you could DIY your own mini solaris if you get the right bulbs.

DivaMan · 02/01/2007, 12:11 AM

Now rethinking about the horse, I may go with a clown goby, and Im gonna have enough sand left over from my refuge build that Im doing this weekend, to get enough sandbed to have a nice yashia goby! Correct me if I am wrong, but yashias only grow to 1.5-2 inches. Hey I think i fugured out why Marc had salinity problems, he not only had a MASSIVE 34 watt light over it, but he had a fan there too. I was thinking maybe about a DIY, but then ID have to put this off till summer, instead of my week long break, here in a couple weeks. As I said above, I was going to use a small via aqua pump, with some rigid tubing, or a bit of lockline for flow. JxMetal, what fixture are you using. And yes I did look into LED lighting. Ive heard its no good for corals, and I was hoping to keep some good zoos in there. Also anyone know anywhere I can get a 2.5-3 gal square/rectange/bow besides the minibow for sale at the vets site? My lfs doesnt sell them, because they are not crazy.

JxMetal · 02/01/2007, 12:18 AM

I'm using the cheapo 13" odyssea light. Works like a charm.

Ursus · 02/01/2007, 12:23 AM

I just put water in my 5 gallon AGA a few days ago. I have a portion of the tank sectioned off with a 'false wall' and have a ViaAqua pump behind it. There is one baffle back there to keep one section with constant water volume so I can stick a heater back there. The water enters the back through the overflow slot and is pumped back through the pump. I used the ViaAqua 480 pump, but now I wish I had used the 360 model. With approx. 200 gph in about 4 gallons of water... well, lets just say the amphipods I added from my main tank were struggling to hold onto just about anything. Hopefully when I add rock this problem will subside.

DivaMan · 02/01/2007, 12:54 AM

Hey Jx can you post me a site with that on it, im too tired to search. Rofl

DivaMan · 02/01/2007, 11:35 AM

Well, Instead of using the mini bow, I found a cheaper better value Alternative. Im going to get the 3 gal JBJ biotope kit. Its got a small filter, and a 9watt light. I would get the Palm light for a total of 22 watts over the tank. Also, I would still get the via aqua pump for movement, and a mini-heater to keep temps stable where I live (cold moutains of CO.) That actually dropped the costs, and will make everything easier, becuase it has filtration, however small.

DivaMan · 02/01/2007, 04:52 PM

bump

Tang Salad · 02/01/2007, 06:38 PM

Sounds like you'r making progress.But it doesn't look like you've really addressed the evaporation issue.

It is difficult to keep salinity stable in a small tank like that. Very difficult. Will you be topping off by hand, once or twice a day?

DivaMan · 02/01/2007, 10:00 PM

I think Ill be topping off twice per day, just like my main, keeps the salinity at optimum.

DivaMan · 02/01/2007, 11:56 PM

I top off like this with my pain system, Ive found that it keeps it more stable.

DivaMan · 02/02/2007, 11:02 AM

Meant main tank

tkeracer619 · 02/02/2007, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by reeformadness
Automatic top off I believe. Blasted abbreviations on this board! Is there a abbr. glos. on RC? Needs 2 B.

Yup RC has a guide to acronyms. Click HOME go all the way to the bottom of the page. On the left side you will see it.

To make it easier here is a link

01/30/2007, 07:16 PM	#1
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	Here are my plans for a 0 filtration pico tank. This is very heavily based off of Melev's pico, except it will have a few differences. Basically, Im going to use a 2.5 gall to 3 gall, they are found in they Vets catalogue, usually it has a fake anemone in it. If those are too small I will use a mini bow, but I will remove the top canopy. For lighting, because I want to be able to keep zoos and other med-low light corals, I am going to use 2 Palm Lights. However, if you look on the vets page for these lights it doesn't say what kelvin rating it is, so I may instead use a mini-aqualight. Also, for some circulation, I want to use a small ViaAqua pump, with a ball and socket joint for direction. There will be no other filtration other than the LR and some LS and switching out my main tank's water with this, about 2 cup exchange every other day. The only inhabitants will be zoos, pipe organs, Mushrooms, and maybe some other small frags. Also, I will have a small cleaner shrimp. And I was planning on finding a dwarf seahorse or two to inhabit it. Ive found one called Hippocampus Zosterae. If anyone breeds this, Id like to know, PM me if you do! (this is aside from a hermit or two, and a couple of snails) What do you think? Yes I know it is nearly a copy, but I really admire Melevs little pico, and of course casper.

01/31/2007, 02:06 AM	#6
spleen93 crabby hermit Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: somewhere at the end of the rainbow Posts: 1,363	Marc tore down his pico partially because of the difficulties keeping salinity constant. How do you plan on keeping the salinity steady? Also, temperature swings tend to be wilder in small tanks compared to large ones - how do you plan on keeping the temperature steady? FWIW, I've kept dwarf seahorses before and while they're EXTREMELY cool, they do usually require an ongoing commitment to keeping up with their feeding. Personally, I got tired of hatching baby brine all the time ... Spleen __________________ Spleen "Put that in your Mag Drive and smoke it." - jnarowe "Beware of the banter" - mpoletti "Now I know that some things are just out of our control and we should enjoy the good parts as much as we can." - pookstreet

01/31/2007, 06:37 AM	#7
Tang Salad Algae skeptic Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 78702 Posts: 3,098	Yes, the biggest concern with a pico will be keeping on top of evaporation. Do ATOs work in tiny sumpless tanks? Another option would be to have an overflow in the pico, and plumb it direct to your main tank's sump. Then you could forego the water changes and evap problem. __________________ Your algae is not special. Current Tank Info: TBD ADA 120-P SPS NLPS

01/31/2007, 09:13 PM	#12
JxMetal Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: St. Peters, MO Posts: 4,282	I use 2 HOB filters for water movement as didn't want the water to just be stagnant. I normally just top off the tank every couple days. Salinity doesn't change all THAT much, maybe by. .002. i keep my zoos, xenia, a leather, flower anemone, flowerpot coral frag, candy cane, and a small orange montipora. These are all frags, but they all are alive and growing. Got a couple crabs and a snail in there. My lighting is 24w PC light fixture. __________________ 28 Gallon Nanocube HQI Current Tank Info: 28gal HQI Nanocube

02/01/2007, 12:18 AM	#15
JxMetal Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: St. Peters, MO Posts: 4,282	I'm using the cheapo 13" odyssea light. Works like a charm. __________________ 28 Gallon Nanocube HQI Current Tank Info: 28gal HQI Nanocube

01/30/2007, 07:29 PM	#2
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	Bump, wow that sunk fast!

01/30/2007, 07:33 PM	#3
reeformadness Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Gulfport, MS Posts: 650	I think it sounds great. Seahorses are cool!

01/30/2007, 08:23 PM	#4
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	Bump

01/30/2007, 09:37 PM	#5
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	Anyone else?

01/31/2007, 07:46 PM	#8
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	That was my first Idea, but temp in my room is invariably constant, and because of the mini aqualight, I thought maybe of getting an almost canopy like structure, basically a box about 1-2 inches high, with a flip top lid for feeding etc, and small holes in back for plugs, it would be attached at the back, and have hinges, so i could basically take it nearly all teh way off, relatively simple but effective. OR if I got the mini bow, I could switch the incandecent for a pc, which it says you can, gut the hood of the mini bow, leaving just the hood, and I could put my own light in etc. But I cannot do the overflow, because it will be tooooooooo far from the tankI think Ill find a way to cover the tank to minimize evap, Ive heard of [eople putting humidifiers near their tanks, to keep the evap low.

01/31/2007, 07:49 PM	#9
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	HEy what kind of horse was casper?

01/31/2007, 08:09 PM	#10
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	What is an ATO?

01/31/2007, 08:55 PM	#11
reeformadness Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Gulfport, MS Posts: 650	Automatic top off I believe. Blasted abbreviations on this board! Is there a abbr. glos. on RC? Needs 2 B.

01/31/2007, 09:17 PM	#13
ryan115 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Ocean Springs, MS Posts: 753	Hip. zosterae are one of the harder sea horses to keep, not nearly as "easy" as H. erectus. I think it would be difficult keeping a tank that size stable enough to keep seahorses. But it would be a nice tank. I ran a 2.5 with a small aquaclear that gave me all the filtration and watermovement i need. Azoo makes a palm filter that might work as well. Have you considered LED lighting for this tank. with all of the hype about solaris fixtures you could DIY your own mini solaris if you get the right bulbs.

02/01/2007, 12:11 AM	#14
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	Now rethinking about the horse, I may go with a clown goby, and Im gonna have enough sand left over from my refuge build that Im doing this weekend, to get enough sandbed to have a nice yashia goby! Correct me if I am wrong, but yashias only grow to 1.5-2 inches. Hey I think i fugured out why Marc had salinity problems, he not only had a MASSIVE 34 watt light over it, but he had a fan there too. I was thinking maybe about a DIY, but then ID have to put this off till summer, instead of my week long break, here in a couple weeks. As I said above, I was going to use a small via aqua pump, with some rigid tubing, or a bit of lockline for flow. JxMetal, what fixture are you using. And yes I did look into LED lighting. Ive heard its no good for corals, and I was hoping to keep some good zoos in there. Also anyone know anywhere I can get a 2.5-3 gal square/rectange/bow besides the minibow for sale at the vets site? My lfs doesnt sell them, because they are not crazy.

02/01/2007, 12:23 AM	#16
Ursus Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boise, ID Posts: 480	I just put water in my 5 gallon AGA a few days ago. I have a portion of the tank sectioned off with a 'false wall' and have a ViaAqua pump behind it. There is one baffle back there to keep one section with constant water volume so I can stick a heater back there. The water enters the back through the overflow slot and is pumped back through the pump. I used the ViaAqua 480 pump, but now I wish I had used the 360 model. With approx. 200 gph in about 4 gallons of water... well, lets just say the amphipods I added from my main tank were struggling to hold onto just about anything. Hopefully when I add rock this problem will subside.

02/01/2007, 12:54 AM	#17
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	Hey Jx can you post me a site with that on it, im too tired to search. Rofl

02/01/2007, 11:35 AM	#18
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	Well, Instead of using the mini bow, I found a cheaper better value Alternative. Im going to get the 3 gal JBJ biotope kit. Its got a small filter, and a 9watt light. I would get the Palm light for a total of 22 watts over the tank. Also, I would still get the via aqua pump for movement, and a mini-heater to keep temps stable where I live (cold moutains of CO.) That actually dropped the costs, and will make everything easier, becuase it has filtration, however small.

02/01/2007, 04:52 PM	#19
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	bump

02/01/2007, 06:38 PM	#20
Tang Salad Algae skeptic Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 78702 Posts: 3,098	Sounds like you'r making progress.But it doesn't look like you've really addressed the evaporation issue. It is difficult to keep salinity stable in a small tank like that. Very difficult. Will you be topping off by hand, once or twice a day? __________________ Your algae is not special. Current Tank Info: TBD ADA 120-P SPS NLPS

02/01/2007, 10:00 PM	#21
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	I think Ill be topping off twice per day, just like my main, keeps the salinity at optimum.

02/01/2007, 11:56 PM	#22
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	I top off like this with my pain system, Ive found that it keeps it more stable.

02/02/2007, 11:02 AM	#23
DivaMan Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Earth Posts: 252	Meant main tank