Complete mini tank - Pico Reef

[elorablue]

University of Guelph! It is in Ontario. Based on the research I've done, in my little pico I plan to avoid fish, at least while I'm learning. Probably start with some cheaper zoas to make sure I can keep something alive then move from there. Would love to keep an acan and maybe even eventually a sexy shrimp or something of the sort. I'll definitely keep this post updated. I just ordered everything today so hoping to start cycling within the next week or two!

Cool! That's where I went to University. Fun and good school

 

[LarrySpice]

Cool! That's where I went to University. Fun and good school

That's super cool! I plan to do Track there, pretty excited for it but hoping I can still get some reefing in

 

[Bigdaddy05]

I have the cunzo mini all in one which holds like 1/4 gallon it has live rock in the "sump" and in the display I have a frammer in it along with some digi and holly wood stunner chalice and a blasto along with dragon's breath macro every zoa iv tried to keep never opens and iv stopped at 5 kinds now it has 2 sexy shrimp a green war paint goby and a pistol shrimp 2 mini hermits and a bunch of tiny snails as well as a bumble bee shrimp!

 

[Bigdaddy05]

I have the cunzo mini all in one which holds like 1/4 gallon it has live rock in the "sump" and in the display I have a frammer in it along with some digi and holly wood stunner chalice and a blasto along with dragon's breath macro every zoa iv tried to keep never opens and iv stopped at 5 kinds now it has 2 sexy shrimp a green war paint goby and a pistol shrimp 2 mini hermits and a bunch of tiny snails as well as a bumble bee shrimp!

I forgot there's gsp and a orange ricordia in their along with sand lol

 

[LarrySpice]

I have the cunzo mini all in one which holds like 1/4 gallon it has live rock in the "sump" and in the display I have a frammer in it along with some digi and holly wood stunner chalice and a blasto along with dragon's breath macro every zoa iv tried to keep never opens and iv stopped at 5 kinds now it has 2 sexy shrimp a green war paint goby and a pistol shrimp 2 mini hermits and a bunch of tiny snails as well as a bumble bee shrimp!

I love the way your reef looks, it seems like your cunzo is the same as an mini complete tank but cheaper. I've already ordered mine but definitely should have done that. Learned my lesson lol. You have a fair bit of livestock which is interesting! Does it do well in such a small tank? For mine I am thinking of getting a small snail or two to keep algae under control when the time comes. Maybe a tiny hermit if I can find one lol

 

[Bigdaddy05]

I love the way your reef looks, it seems like your cunzo is the same as an mini complete tank but cheaper. I've already ordered mine but definitely should have done that. Learned my lesson lol. You have a fair bit of livestock which is interesting! Does it do well in such a small tank? For mine I am thinking of getting a small snail or two to keep algae under control when the time comes. Maybe a tiny hermit if I can find one lol

Everything's been fine for a couple months the only change has been I had a yasha goby and it jumped out so now I have the war paint goby I plan to take the pistol shrimp out he messes up the sand too much I change the water 1/2 times a month and add rodi every couple days

 

[LarrySpice]

Everything's been fine for a couple months the only change has been I had a yasha goby and it jumped out so now I have the war paint goby I plan to take the pistol shrimp out he messes up the sand too much I change the water 1/2 times a month and add rodi every couple days

Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it. Great to hear from someone who has a tank similar to what I am planning. Makes me a bit more confident in adding tiny livestock considering what you've got running. Will probably start the tank with some coral and add some algae eaters when the time comes.

 

[LarrySpice]

I have the cunzo mini all in one which holds like 1/4 gallon it has live rock in the "sump" and in the display I have a frammer in it along with some digi and holly wood stunner chalice and a blasto along with dragon's breath macro every zoa iv tried to keep never opens and iv stopped at 5 kinds now it has 2 sexy shrimp a green war paint goby and a pistol shrimp 2 mini hermits and a bunch of tiny snails as well as a bumble bee shrimp!

Hey man, you had replied to me a little while back regarding this pico reef I was planning. I got mine in today but the stock heater I got is not powerful enough. I was wondering if ya remembered what kind of heater you were running in your system. Thanks a ton

 

[Bigdaddy05]

Hey man, you had replied to me a little while back regarding this pico reef I was planning. I got mine in today but the stock heater I got is not powerful enough. I was wondering if ya remembered what kind of heater you were running in your system. Thanks a ton

Mine came with a little heater that has 3 settings it's from china u could try a Betta fish heater

 

[LarrySpice]

Mine came with a little heater that has 3 settings it's from china u could try a Betta fish heater

oh that must be a nice little heater! I ended up going with the aqueon flat 5 watt heater, hopefully its enough. Should be in by the weekend so I will be testing it out then. Thanks for the advive!

 

[Bigdaddy05]

oh that must be a nice little heater! I ended up going with the aqueon flat 5 watt heater, hopefully its enough. Should be in by the weekend so I will be testing it out then. Thanks for the advive!

U only need to keep the tank 76-78 which ur heater should be able to do no problem

 

[LarrySpice]

U only need to keep the tank 76-78 which ur heater should be able to do no problem

Yeah for sure! I got an inkbird temp controller and going to set that at 79, that's what I'd like to run my system at. Once the new heater is in I'll monitor it during the day and overnight to see what happens.

 

[Bigdaddy05]

Yeah for sure! I got an inkbird temp controller and going to set that at 79, that's what I'd like to run my system at. Once the new heater is in I'll monitor it during the day and overnight to see what happens.

Sounds good

 

[Hoshiaki]

Hey everyone, my name is Logan. I have been in this hobby for only about 2 months, so I am on the relatively inexperienced side. So, I know this Pico Reef will be quite challenging, however I think it will be a great opportunity to learn. I have been helping my girlfriend's family with their 55g and we have had decent success, minus a nitrate spike due to inexperience and over feeding. I want the Pico so that I can take it to university later this year, as my residence only allows 4L or less (about 1 gallon).

That's enough about me, now about this Pico tank. I want to run a mini complete tank as a reef tank, however I had some questions I wanted to ask people around here, who are far more knowledgable than myself.

Firstly is more specifically about this tank, I want to know if anyone has experience with the evaporation. I know that the evaporation can be detrimental to a tank of this size, so I want to know how much I should worry with this specific tank. ATO systems for a tank of this size are pretty expensive, so I want to know if it is really necessary. I had also read around that you can put a cover over the tank to control some evaporation, wanted to know how practical it would be with this specific tank.

I would also like to know from any Pico experts out there what kind of corals are successful in these tanks. I know zoas see success, but wanted to know about a few more. I absolutely love different kinds of coral, so I hope to have some form of variety in this tank.

Lastly, I had read about 100% water changes weekly. Is it really healthy and safe to take out all the water in one change? I know you should replace a large quantity of water in this tank to keep it stable, but wanted to hear some input on how this can be achieved safely and successfully.

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this. Once I have some more info, I will definitely be ordering in some equipment and the tank to start up the cycle. Maybe will start up a build thread at some point.

I have a pico tank (2.5 gallons) and it’s been running for a couple of days for cycling, i have a glass lid on top of the tank which seems to help a LOT with evaporation (i haven’t had to top it off yet and it’s been 3 days). i’m not sure if you’ve already bought a tank but if you’re still looking i’d definitely recommend a glass lid. good luck!

 

[Manny D. Mandarin]

I would ask your local fish store to see if they have any tiny inverts from snails breeding in their systems like tiny turbos, stomatella, or chiton.

 

[LarrySpice]

I would ask your local fish store to see if they have any tiny inverts from snails breeding in their systems like tiny turbos, stomatella, or chiton.

Thanks for the advice! That's a smart idea, in ontario we are still in lockdown but once my tank is cycled and lockdown is over I will definitely do that. My girlfriend has a 55g so I can always relocate when they grow as well. Going to wait until I have adequate algae growth before adding anything I believe, so we will see when that happens. I also considered going with a dwarf blue hermit as that could live, but don't want to risk the little guy getting hungry and feasting on my corals lol.

 

[LarrySpice]

I have a pico tank (2.5 gallons) and it’s been running for a couple of days for cycling, i have a glass lid on top of the tank which seems to help a LOT with evaporation (i haven’t had to top it off yet and it’s been 3 days). i’m not sure if you’ve already bought a tank but if you’re still looking i’d definitely recommend a glass lid. good luck!

Thanks for the advice! The tank I went with was an all in one with a stock lid. It is probably about 50% covered, so evap is definitely there but it's not horrible! I have been cycling for about 2 days and I've just topped it off once, salt seems pretty stable so should be alright! Good luck with your pico!

 

[Manny D. Mandarin]

Thanks for the advice! That's a smart idea, in ontario we are still in lockdown but once my tank is cycled and lockdown is over I will definitely do that. My girlfriend has a 55g so I can always relocate when they grow as well. Going to wait until I have adequate algae growth before adding anything I believe, so we will see when that happens. I also considered going with a dwarf blue hermit as that could live, but don't want to risk the little guy getting hungry and feasting on my corals lol.

He might be cool for a while in there for a while but when I put a hermit crab in mind he was too destructive for how small everything is. I would also look into putting a strand or two of a macroalgae. It will help cut back on the nutrients in such a small system and doesn't typically bother anything it will touch as it grows in there

 

[LarrySpice]

He might be cool for a while in there for a while but when I put a hermit crab in mind he was too destructive for how small everything is. I would also look into putting a strand or two of a macroalgae. It will help cut back on the nutrients in such a small system and doesn't typically bother anything it will touch as it grows in there

Yeah I will probably stay away from the hermits, at least until my tanks a bit more mature and has plenty of algae.

That's pretty smart! The system I am running has a sump built in, which is pretty crazy for the size. Given that, I'm hoping some of that filter media is able to help out and I'm very hopeful that the bacteria with water changes can keep nutrients in check. But macroalgae could definitely help out. I'm not a huge fan of the look so I am going to try and avoid it but the sustainability it will bring would be nice. Will definitely consider, thanks for the tips!!