Custom 1.75 Gallon Shallow Pico

[Frugal Aquarist]

It's really such a lovely tank.
Your tank is so young, if it were my tank I would leave the sandbed as is and let the tank mature more.
It's unusual for Discoma to have an issue though. Goniopora I can understand.
You didn't mention chemistry? Are you doing any water changes?

Again it is a fantastic looking little tank.


EDIT: Yup you're doing water changes. :)

Thank you so much for the kind words and feedback!

I’m curious—how do you define a ‘mature’ tank? Is it based on the biome, or something else? I’ve been using live rock since the beginning, so I was wondering—are six months enough to consider it mature?

As for the sandbed, my plan is to switch to a faux sand layer. I’m thinking of gluing PVC foamboard to the bottom and sprinkling cleaned sand onto it so it stays permanently in place. I love the natural look, so this feels like a good way to achieve that while technically going bare-bottomed.

 

[Frugal Aquarist]

Awesome little tank, I’m always amazed at what can be done in such a small volume of water. My oldest son is cycling a 1.5g that he set up a couple of days ago. I’m going to share this thread with him for inspiration.

Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it, and I hope your son’s tank thrives and flourishes.

 

[Frugal Aquarist]

Checking back in, looking really great man!

Thank you so much!

 

[*GAREEF*]

Welcome to my thread on my custom 1.75-gallon shallow pico reef tank! This project has been a labor of love, and I’m excited to share the journey and the unique setup that makes this small aquarium thrive.

The 1.75-gallon tank is designed to be shallow, allowing for a beautiful aquascape and easy maintenance. The shallow depth creates a stunning visual effect, perfect for showcasing small coral frags and colorful inhabitants.

The aquascape features a mix of live rock and sand to create a natural habitat. I opted for a minimalist approach, focusing on a few key pieces of rockwork to provide hiding spots for inhabitants while maximizing swimming space (if i want to add a fish in the future…)

Tank Specs

• Custom glass tank: 25x20x15 cm
• Hang-on-back filter
• 4-watt DIY LED light (no adjustable features)
• Computer fan and ceiling fan for temperature control

Setup Overview

• The tank is 1 month old
• Weekly water changes: 50-100%
• Only tested salinity.

Current Livestock

• Couple of heads of zoanthids
• Frag of NPS gorgonian
• Mushrooms
• “Baby” frogspawn
• Mainstream clove polyp

Here are some photos of the setup and a link to my YouTube video for a closer look at the tank:

This tank is a work in progress, and I’m excited to share updates as I go along!

And here is my youtube video link:

That’s awesome!!

 

[Frugal Aquarist]

That’s awesome!!

Thank you!!

 

[*GAREEF*]

Welcome to my thread on my custom 1.75-gallon shallow pico reef tank! This project has been a labor of love, and I’m excited to share the journey and the unique setup that makes this small aquarium thrive.

The 1.75-gallon tank is designed to be shallow, allowing for a beautiful aquascape and easy maintenance. The shallow depth creates a stunning visual effect, perfect for showcasing small coral frags and colorful inhabitants.

The aquascape features a mix of live rock and sand to create a natural habitat. I opted for a minimalist approach, focusing on a few key pieces of rockwork to provide hiding spots for inhabitants while maximizing swimming space (if i want to add a fish in the future…)

Tank Specs

• Custom glass tank: 25x20x15 cm
• Hang-on-back filter
• 4-watt DIY LED light (no adjustable features)
• Computer fan and ceiling fan for temperature control

Setup Overview

• The tank is 1 month old
• Weekly water changes: 50-100%
• Only tested salinity.

Current Livestock

• Couple of heads of zoanthids
• Frag of NPS gorgonian
• Mushrooms
• “Baby” frogspawn
• Mainstream clove polyp

Here are some photos of the setup and a link to my YouTube video for a closer look at the tank:

This tank is a work in progress, and I’m excited to share updates as I go along!

And here is my youtube video link:

I definitely want to follow along here your tank looks amazing but so small it’s awesome!

 

[Tahoe61]

Thank you so much for the kind words and feedback!

I’m curious—how do you define a ‘mature’ tank? Is it based on the biome, or something else? I’ve been using live rock since the beginning, so I was wondering—are six months enough to consider it mature?

As for the sandbed, my plan is to switch to a faux sand layer. I’m thinking of gluing PVC foamboard to the bottom and sprinkling cleaned sand onto it so it stays permanently in place. I love the natural look, so this feels like a good way to achieve that while technically going bare-bottomed.

It's so subjective. Using actual live rock is the best route imo. Personally I don't consider a tank under a yr or so mature, but there is no science behind my opinion. I do feel it's the biome and chemistry stability.
Looking forward to seeing what you do with the faux sandbed medium.

 

[Tahoe61]

How is this delightful Pico doing?

 

[keepingfishwithnoidea]

yeah so nice

 

[Frugal Aquarist]

How is this delightful Pico doing?

I had an incident during the move to a quarantine tank while curing and gluing my tank for the swap to a faux sand layer. I used an aquascape LED light, which unfortunately caused most of my corals to get fried. I lost my toxic torch and baby hammer, and my fluffy hammer and frogspawn (the one at the front) have shrunken. I’ll post pictures once everything stabilizes. I hope it won’t take too long.

 

[Frugal Aquarist]

yeah so nice

Thank you so much.

 

[Frugal Aquarist]

Here’s the update! The two corals (frogspawn and hammer) are still struggling, but I see hope that they’ll thrive. As for the new floor—it serves my needs and suits my taste, but it’s brought a new challenge: a detritus trap! I wouldn’t recommend this setup if you lack a proper cleanup crew like mine (I only have a Stomatella snail) or strong flow/current. I still have to blast the detritus out manually, so the pain of maintenance is very real!

Another concern is the potential chemical release from the floor material (I’m using what’s referred to as PVC foamboard here in Indonesia).

Well, just a noob trying to impress the pros.

 

[Tahoe61]

It looks great. Thanks for the update. :)

 

[Frugal Aquarist]

Hello guys, it’s been a year (for my pico, not my thread). Sadly, my pico reef didn’t make it. I couldn’t take care of the tank for a couple of months—even though it was right beside my bed, it felt like it was in another realm. There are many reasons, but I won’t go into them here.

Last week, I finally tried to bring it back. I cleaned everything out and checked on the corals. Some were still hanging on despite the rough conditions, but many didn’t make it (mostly SPS).

I regret failing them for so long… this will be the start of my pico reef rehab saga.

I can only hope they forgive me as I try to make it right.

 

[Frugal Aquarist]

Just bought this coral online from my LFS at a good deal, but it came with flatworms. I made an iodine dip overnight, and this photo was taken in the morning after I replaced the water. I observed it for a few minutes and didn’t see any flatworms, so I put it into the tank right away.

Did I do the dip correctly? I don’t have Flatworm Exit or anything similar. Sorry if my grammar is a bit confusing, I’m not a native speaker.

EDIT: i spotted flatworms at the bottom of the glass in the morning.

 

[Frugal Aquarist]

Update! One of my Acan Lord frags has fully recovered. I’m so glad to see a positive outcome for my corals.

 

[LegalReefer]

Your photos are always stunning! How do you get such high definition and colour?

 

[Frugal Aquarist]

Your photos are always stunning! How do you get such high definition and colour?

I just pointing my phone’s camera, nothing fancy (dont forget to attach orange/yellow filter). Post-processing is a must if we want our photos to look ‘better’.

 

[X-37B]

Hello everyone! How was your holiday?

I wanted to share some photos of my tank, but sadly, not all the news is good. My Yellow Clown Goby didn’t make it—his curiosity got the better of him, and I found him stuck in the propeller of my hang-on-back filter. Before that, he managed to tear apart my beloved Pocillopora, which I adored so much.

Things took another turn when my Discosoma shriveled up and my Goniopora started showing signs of distress (I suspect it was infected, but I’m not sure). I tried to save it by moving it to my quarantine tank, but unfortunately, it didn’t survive—likely due to my lack of experience.

On a different note, I’m seriously tempted to switch out the sand floor in my tank. Blasting it clean every night before bed has become quite a chore.

Very cool Pico. Nice work!

 

[Frugal Aquarist]

T

Very cool Pico. Nice work!

Thank you so much!