Derbird Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Ok time to start the official build thread This should be a fun challenge. I have never done a nano let alone a pico. So setting up a micro pico should be a good learning process. I have had fresh water tanks about this side but a betta bowl probably doesn't count as experiance here (whistle) We have a budget of $120 so I will keep a running tally of what I have used durring this process. I like the budget idea. It levels the playing feild for us poor guys (laugh) Progress so far I have a vase and a AC 20 filter so far. I may end up changing things once all the pieces start to come together but so far I'm happy with the look. I am especially happy so see the filter fit the vase. It hugs the curve of the vase perfectly and I like how far down the intake is. Should help provide good water movement. I still have a lot of questions and research to do but I think I'm off to a good start Equipment list Vase $6 Filter $24 Heater $29 Desk Lamp $20 Total $79, already DOH! My plan is to do a couple of mini maxi anemones and have a anomone crab and some sexy shrimp to host them. I love watching the symbiotic relationships that form in the oceans Let the fun begin Disclaimer: (before anyone says that this should not be done) I am entering this contest for a fun challenge. However if at any point I believe that my little critters in this tank are in distress I will move them to a larger more stable system. I do not plan on adding fish to this tank. My personal belief is that its just too small to provide any fish with a good habitat. If others want to try fish more power to them but I do not want to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 First question...... yes already (laugh) I have come across contradictory advice about using sand in such a small tank. Some say long term this is a death sentence for the tank. Others say its a vital part of your biological filtration and should not be skipped (nutty) The internet drives me crazy (nutty) Does anyone have any experience with using sand in pico tanks? I love the look of the sand and don't really want to leave it out. But if I must....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramy Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 When it comes to sand or no sand you could spend weeks going over all the information out there and still not get a clear answer I belive that in the end it comes down to do you like the look of a bare bottom or do you want a sand bed. I dont know that you could keep enough sand in one of these to have an anaerobic zone so really any sand would just be extra surface are for bacteria. The size and frequency of water changes will most likely be the largest factor in long term survival of a small system like this. So to answer your question Do what you love and have fun with it =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 I always advocate for a sand bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev311 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 How about some sea floor special that seems like it would provide good surface area Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Thanks everyone. I love the look of the sand bed and I think I'll use one. I've never heard of the sea floor special before, I'll check it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev311 Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 It's carib sea I believe Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 You could make a faux sand bed with some acrylic resin and substrate. It would look like sand, but be solid. That said, I don't think there's a problem unless you overfeed your tank or have no clean-up crew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 You could make a faux sand bed with some acrylic resin and substrate. It would look like sand, but be solid. That said, I don't think there's a problem unless you overfeed your tank or have no clean-up crew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 Hey I found my thread, darn thing wandered off (laugh) My heater arived today! I took Islandoftiki's advice and got the Archea 25watt submersible LINK Its way way overkill for this size tank but has a built in controller so I think it was the right choice, all be it a little expensive. So far I am happy with the quality of the heater. It seems well built. And best of all it fits in my ac 20 filter. One less thing in the tank (yahoo). After the meeting I plan on doing a wet test to see if the vase is strong enough for the filter. Fingers crossed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 I think I have a live stock plan. After watching Garrett's tanks at the meeting for way too long I found I was fascinated by a symbiotic relationship I was watching. I was watching a small patch of mini maxi carpets and couldn't stop watching. There was a little anemone crab and a few sexy shrimp. It was wonderful to watch them interact and play. I spoke with Emerald525 at the meeting about the idea and she thought it would do very well. It turns out that they are pretty hardy too. I thought this would make a great display. Since the sexy's like to eat my zoa's some mushroom around the tank would add some extra color. And I have lots of shrooms to play with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 sounds good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Sounds like you have a good plan. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted June 29, 2012 Author Share Posted June 29, 2012 My wet test was a compleat success, except DOH!. When I bought the vase the distortion from the curve was very minimal. However when water goes in it turns in to a mangifying glass. I may have to switch to a square vase (sad). On a happy note I am very impressed by the archaea heater. I put it in the tank and it has not budged from 78 since. Even though the house has no climate controle so the temp goes up and down all the time. Great little heater. I have a question for anyone with mini maxi experience. I have been doing a lot of online reading and it sounds like they like low light and can adapt to most any light source. I have leaned like most of us to be very leary of anything I read online, even if I find it on multiple web sites. I have a 10watt 50/50 compact fluorescent bulb that I got before I thought of the awesome nem tank idea. it would give me about 12watts per gallon. Sounds like I can do SPS with that (nono). Would the nems be happy with this lighting? Or would I be better of doing a DIY light like burnningbaal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share Posted June 30, 2012 I had a few people resopnd on nano-reef. They said it "should" be alright to use this light for the nem's but is there anyone on here with experience? I don't want to hurt the little guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Ok wet test #2 DOH! I looked at all the pretty squares and rectangles and just didn't like the look of them for such a small setup. So I got a oval shaped vase. So far I like it (clap). Since it still has a curve it has some lensing effect but not nearly as bad as the cylinder. I can live with it (I think). I also took some pics with both the bathroom light and the tank light on. And the same picture with the bathroom lights off and just the tank light. I don't plan on keeping this tank in the bathroom but it seemed a logical place for the wet test. For the light bulb I'm not sure how much to charge to the build. The light I got for free since they royally messed up the order (scratch) So do I need to include it in the cost? I'm still on the fence if I will use this bulb or not. I hope its strong enough for the nems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinsle Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 That is going to be so cool in the end. It would look really sleek if it was housed inside a canopy or what not.I have a friend who is looking into doing one of these tiny nano tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 That is going to be so cool in the end. It would look really sleek if it was housed inside a canopy or what not.I have a friend who is looking into doing one of these tiny nano tanks. Thank you, I hope it turns out well. I think a canopy would be awesome. I'll have to play around when I put this on my desk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I had a few people resopnd on nano-reef. They said it "should" be alright to use this light for the nem's but is there anyone on here with experience? I don't want to hurt the little guys I would say if anything its not enough lite. I have never kept the maxi nems; I have only seen the placement of them in other peoples tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 I would say if anything its not enough lite. I have never kept the maxi nems; I have only seen the placement of them in other peoples tanks. That is my fear with this light :(. Unfortunatly there seems not to be too much info on these nems yet. Most of the articles I have found contradict one another and don't have much as far as light needs for these guys. I have read several times that too much light is the biggest problem but I am confused Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 Woohoo my BRS order has arrived (yahoo) I rolled the dice and ordered some tonga branches. I have never bought rock sight unseen so this was a nerve racking thing to do (scary) I am very pleased with what I recieved I bought 4 pounds of dry tonga branch. I did put in the comment line that it was for a pico tank so thankfully they sent smaller pieces. Here is what I got and a dry fit in my micro pico I even have a few pieces left over to put in the upcoming biocube build. I will have this tank wet by nights end (dancing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Ok, I'm going to go ahead and give you a +1 for an excellent aquascape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramy Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Yes that is awesome =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 Thank you guys, Hey a quick question. Does dry rock noramlly turn the water yellow? I have never used it before so I'm not sure if its the root cause or not. The tank has taken a definate yellow hue to it. I used some sand from my main tank so that souldn't be a issue and made fresh water using distilled. I am running a bag of carbon in there but it dosen't seem be me helping much. Also how do you remove it without a protein skimmer? I'm affraid I know the answer. Good thing I made extra NaClH2O. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Well I made my fist officall post so I should probably update this as well My water did clear up. The carbon just took a bit longer then I am used to (I'm spoiled by reactors now). I put a file cabnet next to my desk for a home for this tank. So far so good, the cycle is going and the cat has learned his lesson. He was very curious of the new fancy drinking fountain I put in for him........... until he took a drink (laugh). He got a look of horror on his face, got a bit stiff and fell backwards off the table. I now know cats don't always land on their feet. He has been keeping far away from the tank so I think it is lesson learned. I am really looking forward to having some life in this tank. It seems so empty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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