2.5gal Pico Build

NanoDrummer09 · Sep 16, 2016

So my wife is pregnant and as apart of that I'm putting together for her a nursery corner in our studio. We currently have a Nuevo 20gal and a very open concept apartment. I want a little baby tank to go with the new baby and keep it as lo maintenance as possible.

I want to attempt filterless and am thinking of going bare bottom. I've never done that before but still plan on having a good amount of LR. I was thinking of getting an ecoplus 220gph sitting it on the bottom corner of the tank and adding some clear tubing up with an elbow joint to disrupt the water flow up top and keep good circulation. Probably end up doing water changes once or twice a week of 8cups possibly mixing a couple cups from my tank for added nutrients.(?) I'll also keep a jug of RODI water to do daily too offs for the mean time.

Lighting I'm thinking a par38bulb and a decorative lamp from target or the sorts. Probably stick to a 6ish hr timer on that and probably end up rigging up some moon lighting (but keeping it classy).

STOCK:

Mostly softies and LPS from my current tank, trying to keep this simple and low maintenance.
Mostly Zoas, but I do want some flow for some eye candy so I'll probably get a few heads of frogspawn or Duncan's.
I'll add some invertebrates for maintenance and to keep things tidy.
As of right now sticking to no fish.

So thank you for making it this far, I plan on ordering and having this set up the last weekend of the month and she'll be gone for a friends wedding so I was going to decorate and add the tank in and have it good to go by the time she gets back. She loves the tank so I figured I'd give her one of her own. That I'll take care of haha.

Thoughts, ideas, suggestions all welcome! I'm trying to keep this classy looking and unique so contributions are very welcome!

mark2103 · Sep 16, 2016

Nice show peace inverts for that could be

Porcelain crab with a small anemone

Maybe a fire shrimp, cleaner shrimp or peppermint shrimp

NanoDrummer09 · Sep 16, 2016

mark2103 said:
Nice show peace inverts for that could be

Porcelain crab with a small anemone

Maybe a fire shrimp, cleaner shrimp or peppermint shrimp

I'm really digging this idea! So you think with my LFS LR I can just do a normal water change in my 20gal then take 2gal from that to fill the tank, would that be sufficiently cycled to stock it a day later?

ps2cho · Sep 17, 2016

I would still give it a week before stockin

cromag27 · Sep 17, 2016

The beneficial bacteria isn't in the water column. I was use live rock and new water. however, nano and low maintenance never jive. :)

Maybe freshwater? :)

NanoDrummer09 · Sep 17, 2016

cromag08 said:
The beneficial bacteria isn't in the water column. I was use live rock and new water. however, nano and low maintenance never jive. :)

Maybe freshwater? :)

No thanks I'll stick to Saltwater haha. I'm talking as low maintenance as salt can be. Are you saying you were using LR and new water?

cromag27 · Sep 17, 2016

That's not I would do, but if you want it up and running asap, use live rock/sand and new water. old water will only add possible po4, no3 and possibly contaminants. the key is to transport the live rock/sand so you don't have any die off.

NanoDrummer09 said:
No thanks I'll stick to Saltwater haha. I'm talking as low maintenance as salt can be. Are you saying you were using LR and new water?

NanoDrummer09 · Sep 17, 2016

NanoDrummer09 said:
No thanks I'll stick to Saltwater haha. I'm talking as low maintenance as salt can be. Are you saying you were using LR and new water?

I'm looking to not do sand. I've been wanting to experiment with a barebottom tank and think this is how I'll do it.

cromag27 · Sep 17, 2016

BB is fine.

brandon429 · Sep 17, 2016

Agreed with all, picos generate their own waste so the cleaner the water the better over time. I change out all the water from my pico, and leave it literally empty for 20 mins or so routinely, to condition it like a typical reef during tide exposure. Imparts general toughness, like resistance training lol.

Daniel Morales · Sep 17, 2016

NanoDrummer09 said:
I'm really digging this idea! So you think with my LFS LR I can just do a normal water change in my 20gal then take 2gal from that to fill the tank, would that be sufficiently cycled to stock it a day later?

I just did this with my 2.6 fluval spec III it took 11 days to cycle still.

NanoDrummer09 · Sep 17, 2016

Awesome so I'll stick to new water and I'll let it cycle for a bit before stocking it. Wonder if there's a way I can cycle it ahead of schedule, but that's for me to figure out.

Will a par38 bulb be ok for this? Or would it be overkill?

brandon429 · Sep 17, 2016

The entire point of this thread is how to skip cycle if that's handy

http://reef2reef.com/threads/new-ta...d-cocktail-shrimp-live-rock-no-shrimp.214618/

The key to skip cycling is not to use a low grade ammonia test kit. With live rock, no testing is required if you transport it home carefully

NanoDrummer09 · Sep 17, 2016

Awesome thread still reading a learning a ton.

NanoDrummer09 · Sep 19, 2016

I'm planning on going by my LFS at some point to check out their LR and think aqyadcapung. Any ideas? I'm thinking since it's not a lot of space just keeping it simple. After researching the water situation I'll probably just stick to a weekly gallon water change.

revhtree · Sep 20, 2016

Looking good!

NanoDrummer09 · Sep 30, 2016

Update:

Got an AGA 2.5 and threw a captive reef series par38 into a target lamp I already had and used an IKEA nightstand that actually is made of wood haha. Just using a spare pump I have to keep water moving. I plan on going and getting an more suitable pump or a korilia nano... I might do that, I'm going to stick to filterless and do weekly water changes. The LR I got is seeded pretty well so I'm hoping for a quick cycle. Now I just wait for the chair we ordered to get here.

Chrisfish · Sep 30, 2016

Looking good, my first attempt with saltwater was a 3 gal. Pico. Weekly water changes, live rock, live sand, hydor nano wave maker, hydor heater and after 2 weeks it was good to go for a small cuc. Well I've upgraded a little but as you already have that, (bigger tank) I hope you, your wife and baby enjoy your pico tank:)