Help Me Plan My Pico!

[Marine Iguana]

Hey guys! Long story short- ended up exiting the hobby for a while after it became too costly (both in finances and in time) to maintain during my studies in college. After graduating and moving out, I've been toying with the idea of getting back into the hobby and am planning to go the route of an AIO nano/pico. I'm seeking out some advice from those more experienced in nano than I am.

Plans/goals of the system:
-Looking for a cube-style tank with no dimension larger than 14.5"
-Planning on sticking mainly to zoas and maybe some LPS
-Livestock will be minimal, mainly focusing on inverts and maybe a goby or two

1.) Finances are tight for me right now with getting established after college and working in ministry- what have your best/worst experiences been with AIO systems? Any that I should steer-clear from or should consider more than others? I've been considering going with a waterbox 10 cube, but am hesitant due to the price point. Ideally, I would love to keep the initial startup cost under $300 (minus liverock, sand, etc), which I know limits me from the get-go.

2.) In a similar vein, what lighting would you consider? I love the controlablity of some of the higher end LED units, but have a hard time justifying the purchasing price brand-new.

3.) I've seen some people place glass over their picos to negate the effects of evaporation on water chemistry- I remember in the past that I was discouraged from doing this on my larger tanks as it significantly impaired light from reaching the tank. In a smaller tank is this still of a concern?

4.) If you were stocking your nano/pico again, what would you include that you didn't? What would you steer clear from? I'm really enticed by the idea of glass anemone shrimp being a focus in this tank, but am still far from decided.

Thanks for your advice in advance, I'm looking forward to be able to start my own build thread in the near future!!!

 

[drmantistoboggan]

Hi there, welcome back to the hobby.

I’ve kept a few Pico aquariums in the past, I’ve even kept the picotope which I think was 3 gallons or less. If you’re tight on cash, going the route of petco 1 dollar per gallon is probably the cheapest option. If you want AIO I’ve actually seen the smaller waterbox aquariums sell cheaper at petco in store than I do online.

I’m a big fan of the biocube. Had one for many years, has a lid on it so you don’t have to worry about jumpers and you can always upgrade your lights with a retrofit kit which is easy to do.

I like glass or a lid on my smaller tanks to prevent evaporation and shifts in salinity until you get an ATO

Stocking depends heavily on size. I’ve kept a mantis shrimp in a 30 gallon and he was by far my favorite for that size tank. You can keep him with coral but no other fish but they’re VERY personable. I’ve also had marine betta in about a 30 before. Beautiful fish, hard to get to eat but very hardy once you do.

Designer clownfish are easy go to for smaller aquariums, look nice, easy to care for.

Gobies are a very common one as well since they don’t take a lot of space and you can keep a lot.
I personally love inverts and you can keep a lot of very interesting inverts in small tanks if you plan right.

 

[Marine Iguana]

Hi there, welcome back to the hobby.

I’ve kept a few Pico aquariums in the past, I’ve even kept the picotope which I think was 3 gallons or less. If you’re tight on cash, going the route of petco 1 dollar per gallon is probably the cheapest option. If you want AIO I’ve actually seen the smaller waterbox aquariums sell cheaper at petco in store than I do online.

I’m a big fan of the biocube. Had one for many years, has a lid on it so you don’t have to worry about jumpers and you can always upgrade your lights with a retrofit kit which is easy to do.

I like glass or a lid on my smaller tanks to prevent evaporation and shifts in salinity until you get an ATO

Stocking depends heavily on size. I’ve kept a mantis shrimp in a 30 gallon and he was by far my favorite for that size tank. You can keep him with coral but no other fish but they’re VERY personable. I’ve also had marine betta in about a 30 before. Beautiful fish, hard to get to eat but very hardy once you do.

Designer clownfish are easy go to for smaller aquariums, look nice, easy to care for.

Gobies are a very common one as well since they don’t take a lot of space and you can keep a lot.
I personally love inverts and you can keep a lot of very interesting inverts in small tanks if you plan right.

Thanks for the response! I'm definitely more in favor of doing an AIO tank- I'd rather budget more towards a nicer looking tank initially than trust my DIY skills haha! I'll have to check out my local Petco to see if they have ever ran a special on the waterboxes.

Biocubes are beautiful, I just don't have the space for one on the desk I'm planning to keep the tank.

I'll opt for a glass lid initially then!

Love mantis shrimp, and have desired to keep one for a long time, but think I'm going to opt to exclude one from stocking due to compatibility issues.

I'm currently leaning more towards gobies and inverts right now, but that's not to say a clown or two wouldn't make it in if the system could handle it I would love to splurge on a pair of Wyoming Whites!

 

[Beluga]

Fluval Sea offers a nice complete AIO in 6.6 gallons. Light, filter, pump, tank etc all for about $110 on amazon. Their light should be more than fine for Zoanthids.

I myself have a MiniComplete tank, complete all in one, about 1.4 liters total volume. I made it into a small zoanthid garden. It comes with a heater, built in sump, baffles, filter media, 3-10w adjustable LED and the cool thing is it looks identical to a large reef ready tank with the corner overflows etc. just miniaturized. It was only about $96 shipped.

 

[Marine Iguana]

Fluval Sea offers a nice complete AIO in 6.6 gallons. Light, filter, pump, tank etc all for about $110 on amazon. Their light should be more than fine for Zoanthids.

I myself have a MiniComplete tank, complete all in one, about 1.4 liters total volume. I made it into a small zoanthid garden. It comes with a heater, built in sump, baffles, filter media, 3-10w adjustable LED and the cool thing is it looks identical to a large reef ready tank with the corner overflows etc. just miniaturized. It was only about $96 shipped.

I'll give the Fluval tanks a closer look then! Those minicomplete tanks are insane! What are you keeping in it?

 

[Beluga]

I'll give the Fluval tanks a closer look then! Those minicomplete tanks are insane! What are you keeping in it?

It’s a zoa only tank. Right now I have some heartbreakers, some king Midas and some hornets in there. No other livestock. It’s a fun little tank.