12 gallon Pico Manta Ray

[nova65ss]

Just setup this tank at my office a few weeks ago. It is a Pico Aquariums AIO, 12 gallon 18 x 18 x 9. Will be mostly sps and some chalices. Here are the first few pics the water was added Oct 8th. I am a big fan of t5s but 18" fixtures are hard to come by same for decent bulbs.

Right now I am leaning towards getting an AI Vega or Sol with hopes of being able to use it on a bigger tank if I decide go bigger later on. I tried a different LED setup but wasn't impressed with the colors especially with my acans.

Would love to hear some thoughts and suggestions on the Vega vs Sol or any other light suggestions T5s included. The only 6 bulb 18" t5 I know of is the Nova which I use on my Solana. Thanks!

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

I like that tank! I can't wait to see what you do with it.

 

[nova65ss]

Thank you!

 

[revsgirl]

Love it!! Also, lookin' forward to seeing its progression!

 

[nova65ss]

Hey thanks just ordered an AI Vega color today so updates soon!

 

[KoleTang]

Nice!

 

[Pkunk35]

Yeah i agree i really like the dimensions and look of that tank!

I think a Vega is overkill but my friend loves the color and shimmer on hers. Since they are dimmable you won't have a problem with height placement. It would be sweet to throw one on there (At least I'd love to see it hah!).

Nice scape work too, simple but i like it.

 

[nova65ss]

Thank you! Looking forward to going LED I knew it may be a bit much for the tank but perfect if I upgrade later on!

 

[revhtree]

Looks great! keep us updated!

 

[nova65ss]

Well here it is light came in last week! Custom mount haha will work on that later but it was killing me just sitting in the box so I made it happen. Today was the first day and so far I am impressed with how it looks definitely alot of shimmer compared to T5s. Big difference compared to the T5s on my other tank.

I will be running them at 25% white 25% red and green and 35% on the blues to start. They turn on at 8 am and turn off at 5 pm and ramp over four hours. Any thought or changes anyone can suggest? Thanks!

 

[nova65ss]

Got everything moved over today and the frag tank is taken down. What a relief only having one tank going at the office again. Treated myself to an acro pack from Battle Corals as a tank warming present Very good vendor if anyone is looking! Here are some pics not the best my cell does not like the LEDs.

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[nova65ss]

So got the the light hung properly. I have been messing with the light settings trying to get the pics so some are taken with all white leds on and some with all whites and a little blue.

I took out the rock that was sticking up out of the water because I got a fairly large acro colony from someone taking down their tank and it looked like a good spot to put it. Looks like a humillis to me? Even had an acro crab in it also, cool!

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[ParkerB]

Awesome tank so far,

This should be a fun build to watch.

 

[jw7924]

The lighting on that looks sweet! That will be perfect for growing those SPS! Where'd you find such a nice rimless nano?

 

[nova65ss]

Thanks alot! The tank is made by picoaquariums the guy I think is no longer in business or at least not for now. I picked it up locally used.

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[ParkerB]

Thanks alot! The tank is made by picoaquariums the guy I think is no longer in business or at least not for now. I picked it up locally used.

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I did the same with mine I got the 3.5 picO Barracuda,

I think he's seasonal air something and works for DeepBlue.
I read that ^ in a thread on nano-reef

 

[3Twinklets]

I love the way you aquascaped that tank! Love the "pillar".

 

[nova65ss]

I love the way you aquascaped that tank! Love the "pillar".

Thanks I actually took the pillar out because it was the best place I could come up with for the huge acro colony I got. Even thought it is on a good sized rock it just didn't look right to me in the sand. It may eventually go back though I really liked the pillar too...here it is now.

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[nova65ss]

Bought this glass skimmer used a while back and finally put it to use. Took about five minutes to set up and seems to make really good bubbles. Pretty impressed with it so far. Had to do some work with the mount it is a little too tall for this shallow tank.

 

[WnYreefer]

Looks great!!!