Aquatop Pisces 5 Gallon Build

Daniel266jz

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Hello all,
I have been part of the forums since the beginning of the year and I also have a Biocube 32. I purchased my Aquatop Pisces 5 Gallon for a future dwarf seahorse pair. I have just started my cycle today, for my cycle I will do a fishless cycle using ammonia. I used live sand and dry rock to start my cycle and I only have filter floss in my filter. I plan on buying an Aquatop nano heater and a reef glass skimmer for this tank. I will be updating here as much as I can.

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Mastiffsrule

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Awesome new build,

Paste the link into your signature part of your profile to get that sweet build thread contributer badge so everyone can follow along. You will definitely want a heater as the temp in smaller tanks can fluctuate fairly quickly. Keep us posted.
 
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Daniel266jz

Daniel266jz

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Awesome new build,

Paste the link into your signature part of your profile to get that sweet build thread contributer badge so everyone can follow along. You will definitely want a heater as the temp in smaller tanks can fluctuate fairly quickly. Keep us posted.
Will do! Any recommended heaters? I was readin up and it says 74 degrees max for seahorse tank(68-74) but all smaller nano heaters come preset at 77? Would that be okay?
 

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Not sure about heaters for them. @Paulie069 can help with some good info on keeping them though if he’s around
 

Paulie069

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Appreciate the help!
Yo what’s up Daniel, 77 is no good unless ur making seahorse stew,, get a heater YOU CAN adjust yourself (Petco- petmart) about 20-30 dollars or by used one, as long as you can set the temp- no preset crap
I find 72 to 72 n a half is the sweet spot ,, even though sometimes I keep 70-71 which I like better because less algae in colder water
But Dwarfs might be different but I’m sure 77 is to high
Good luck keep us updated
 
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Daniel266jz

Daniel266jz

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Yo what’s up Daniel, 77 is no good unless ur making seahorse stew,, get a heater YOU CAN adjust yourself (Petco- petmart) about 20-30 dollars or by used one, as long as you can set the temp- no preset crap
I find 72 to 72 n a half is the sweet spot ,, even though sometimes I keep 70-71 which I like better because less algae in colder water
But Dwarfs might be different but I’m sure 77 is to high
Good luck keep us updated
Thanks for the info! I’m slowly getting all my gear ready, even finally getting my own RO/DI so I know I’m mixing the salinity I want for them( this helps with my bio cube too lol. I plan on putting in some of my copepod filled chaeto and some dragons breathe flame algea. Is there some safe branching corals I can have in there for more hitching? Clean up crew I plan on getting different types of snails only. I am only running filter floss and some ceramic media in the filter, I will be doing weekly 50-60% water changes.
 

Paulie069

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Thanks for the info! I’m slowly getting all my gear ready, even finally getting my own RO/DI so I know I’m mixing the salinity I want for them( this helps with my bio cube too lol. I plan on putting in some of my copepod filled chaeto and some dragons breathe flame algea. Is there some safe branching corals I can have in there for more hitching? Clean up crew I plan on getting different types of snails only. I am only running filter floss and some ceramic media in the filter, I will be doing weekly 50-60% water changes.
First of all 50 to 60% is way too much cut that in half as a cleanup crew I like the tiny little blue leg hermit crabs peppermint shrimp and cleaner shrimp I find all of these get along just fine with my seahorses I have 14 Seahorse is at this moment in a 65 gallon tank with 30 gallon sump I have never had a problem with my cleanup crew ever affecting any of my seahorses and the cleaner shrimp is actually a seahorse favorite I have watched my Seahorses pull up alongside the rock the cleaner shrimp comes out cleans off their body they swim away and then the next one comes and takes its place it’s like a car wash Also it is a lot of fun to watch the cleaner shrimp is a very busy guy let me know what you decide brother I’d like to stay updated on your situation
 

Paulie069

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First of all 50 to 60% is way too much cut that in half as a cleanup crew I like the tiny little blue leg hermit crabs peppermint shrimp and cleaner shrimp I find all of these get along just fine with my seahorses I have 14 Seahorse is at this moment in a 65 gallon tank with 30 gallon sump I have never had a problem with my cleanup crew ever affecting any of my seahorses and the cleaner shrimp is actually a seahorse favorite I have watched my Seahorses pull up alongside the rock the cleaner shrimp comes out cleans off their body they swim away and then the next one comes and takes its place it’s like a car wash Also it is a lot of fun to watch the cleaner shrimp is a very busy guy let me know what you decide brother I’d like to stay updated on your situation
Also highly recommended that tank be bare bottom with DAILY VACUUMING,, they say this because dwarfs are soo small only inch and a half is full grown,, so if you have a lot of substrate in your tank it’s possible for a pony getting sucked up in vacuum hose because sometimes thier just hard to see
Just keep this info in mind. Remember you really gotta love em to ensure quality care
I’m sure you can do it just don’t rush it’s not a race to get set up PROPERLY
GOOD LUCK
 
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Daniel266jz

Daniel266jz

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Also highly recommended that tank be bare bottom with DAILY VACUUMING,, they say this because dwarfs are soo small only inch and a half is full grown,, so if you have a lot of substrate in your tank it’s possible for a pony getting sucked up in vacuum hose because sometimes thier just hard to see
Just keep this info in mind. Remember you really gotta love em to ensure quality care
I’m sure you can do it just don’t rush it’s not a race to get set up PROPERLY
GOOD LUCK
Thank you for the info! Unfortunately I already did a sand bottom for some caluepra algea, I was thinking of bypassing this by using a guard on my siphon with very small holes only big enough for water to pass through. Would this be sufficient? I will only do 25% water changes each week, I have Artemia brine eggs that I hatch myself along with good ammounts of copepods. I have not yet found a suitable heater. I will be taking this slowly to ensure proper copepod population and until I have all my equipment ready to go.
 
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Daniel266jz

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Small Update: Checked on my ammonia/bacteria cycle and after adding some Fritz along with a 2ppm ammonia dose on Saturday, I checked on the cycle this morning and it is already down to .50ppm. This is only 3 days after I started my cycle, my biocube took close to two weeks to reach this. What do you think @brandon429 ? If my cycle finishes faster than I thought i will be moving some astrea snails in right away and putting in some pod filled chaeto.
 

Paulie069

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Thank you for the info! Unfortunately I already did a sand bottom for some caluepra algea, I was thinking of bypassing this by using a guard on my siphon with very small holes only big enough for water to pass through. Would this be sufficient? I will only do 25% water changes each week, I have Artemia brine eggs that I hatch myself along with good ammounts of copepods. I have not yet found a suitable heater. I will be taking this slowly to ensure proper copepod population and until I have all my equipment ready to go.
Petco will have proper heater lil pricey because it’s a chain store but least you’ll get proper heater
 
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Daniel266jz

Daniel266jz

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Petco will have proper heater lil pricey because it’s a chain store but least you’ll get proper heater
Do you happen to know the exact name of the heater in question? I want to make sure I am using one that others have had success with because I have been reading review after review, and some are just horror stories lol
 

Paulie069

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Thank you for the info! Unfortunately I already did a sand bottom for some caluepra algea, I was thinking of bypassing this by using a guard on my siphon with very small holes only big enough for water to pass through. Would this be sufficient? I will only do 25% water changes each week, I have Artemia brine eggs that I hatch myself along with good ammounts of copepods. I have not yet found a suitable heater. I will be taking this slowly to ensure proper copepod population and until I have all my equipment ready to go.
Capulara is very invasive and will take over tank,, should rethink that. @ madreefer put in his seahorse tank and regretted it
 
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Daniel266jz

Daniel266jz

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Capulara is very invasive and will take over tank,, should rethink that. @ madreefer put in his seahorse tank and regretted it
Thank you for the warning. Will not add, good thing I have not purchased this yet. Any recommendations? So far I have chaeto and i will be ordering flame algea also. I was also thinking gorgonian, Kenyan tree, any other branching soft coral.
 
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Daniel266jz

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Update: I checked my cycle and I am now reading .25 which seems very fast to me lol. Once that’s done I’ll do about a 50-80% water change and adding some astrea and trocus snails. I will then add my chaeto. From there it’s a waiting game while I acquire all my corals and algea Ali bf with some equipment and then I will order my pair of ponies.
 

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Thank you for the warning. Will not add, good thing I have not purchased this yet. Any recommendations? So far I have chaeto and i will be ordering flame algea also. I was also thinking gorgonian, Kenyan tree, any other branching soft coral.
Leathers are good and green singulara is way cool looks like a cactus on steroids but is soft n safe for ponies
 

Paulie069

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Leathers are good and green singulara is way cool looks like a cactus on steroids but is soft n safe for ponies
Dwarfs are a lot of work because of limited things you can feed them, you’ll be hatching bbs every day and with 8 gallon tank you would have todo 1-2 gallon water changes every 3 days (this is what I’ve been told) I have Erectus seahorses which are the most hardy ponies there is,, very tough pony. I can actually pet n scratch mine like a puppy I put my hand in at top of tank and they swim up to get petted,, sometimes 3 at a time
 
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Daniel266jz

Daniel266jz

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Dwarfs are a lot of work because of limited things you can feed them, you’ll be hatching bbs every day and with 8 gallon tank you would have todo 1-2 gallon water changes every 3 days (this is what I’ve been told) I have Erectus seahorses which are the most hardy ponies there is,, very tough pony. I can actually pet n scratch mine like a puppy I put my hand in at top of tank and they swim up to get petted,, sometimes 3 at a time
Thats so cool, you wouldn't happen to have a video of this? My wife would love to see it lol. I am kind of use to hatching the bbs everyday for my dragonets I had, I also was thinking of getting the reefglass nano skimmer and yes small water change every 3 days. It might be a little easier for me because I have a 5 gallon.
 

Paulie069

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Do you happen to know the exact name of the heater in question? I want to make sure I am using one that others have had success with because I have been reading review after review, and some are just horror stories lol
How are you and Aqueon 50w adjustable heater. I got it at pet smart. You would need a smaller size I’m sure they have them. I’ve never had a problem ever with my heater
 

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