Best Pico Reef Tank?

Kobin · May 25, 2023

I've been wanting to set up a pico reef but I'm not sure which tank to buy to setup. I've seen people use either the lifeguard 3.8g or the eshopps desk mate. Any recommendations/experience? Was primarily looking for something between the 3 to 5 gallon range and stock it with zoas and mushrooms. Thanks!

Boehmtown · May 25, 2023

I have a5 gallon Marine land, very basic but I like it. You can light it with a 25 dollar led from Ali express

fishski13 · May 25, 2023

I think the Eshopps deskmate is pretty neat, they are also coming out with two other models a peninsula, and a drop off tank. You can definitely get a deal on one too as they are often on sale.

Kobin · May 26, 2023

fishski13 said:
I think the Eshopps deskmate is pretty neat, they are also coming out with two other models a peninsula, and a drop off tank. You can definitely get a deal on one too as they are often on sale.

I just saw the other two models! They look great but I wanted to keep it smaller if possible. I think I'll look into the lifeguard 3.8 since it's a peninsula

Gumbies R Us · May 26, 2023

I always liked the Eshopps deskmates as well!!

Cyndi & Jim · May 30, 2023

I’m a bit obsessed with my original DeskMate, so much that I got the 2 new ones as well!

Kobin · May 30, 2023

Cyndi said:
I’m a bit obsessed with my original DeskMate, so much that I got the 2 new ones as well!

Yeah after looking between the lifeguard and deskmate I'm leaning a bit more towards the deskmate since it's acrylic and has better dimensions for where I want to put it. Just figuring out the best place to buy one right now. They're 190 at my local lfs

Cyndi & Jim · May 30, 2023

Kobin said:
Yeah after looking between the lifeguard and deskmate I'm leaning a bit more towards the deskmate since it's acrylic and has better dimensions for where I want to put it. Just figuring out the best place to buy one right now. They're 190 at my local lfs

Have you looked at BRS?

Kobin · May 30, 2023

Cyndi said:
Have you looked at BRS?

Yeah I saw it when I was looking into it but they're out of stock there

19Mateo83 · May 30, 2023

The glofish/marine land 5g pico does a nice job with a small footprint. The light does need to be upgraded though.

5 gallon pico

youtube.com

KK's Reef · May 30, 2023

The Lifeguard 3.8 is an awesome tank if you want a peninsula. The return pump is underpowered for a mixed reef, but if you're keeping zoas and softies, it'll be just fine.

Daniel@R2R · May 31, 2023

KK's Reef said:
The Lifeguard 3.8 is an awesome tank if you want a peninsula. The return pump is underpowered for a mixed reef, but if you're keeping zoas and softies, it'll be just fine.

Great-looking tank!!