Lifegard Pico Peninsula (3.8 gal)

[seabedoasis]

Hello Reef2Reef-goers!

I'm setting up a pico reef in my college bedroom and figured I would put together a build thread. The tank I landed on was the Lifegard Aquatics Crystal 3.8 AIO. The build quality is good, clean seams, clear glass, no complaints. On the other hand, the pump that comes with the tank is just terrible; the clacking sound it makes is audible the next room over and the flow is weak. No plumbing modification was required to replace the stock pump with a budget semi-controllable DC one (non-branded version of AI axis). The new pump is nearly silent when running on constant mode speeds 5-7 and quiet when running on wave mode. I currently have no plans for fish in this tank, as I want the flexibility to go home for break without the tank needing to be fed. In the future, I may add something suitable for a pico like an eviota or flaming prawn goby. Coral-wise, I'm thinking a softie-dominated mixed reef, maybe with some euphyllia for movement. I don't want to dose and plan to maintain water parameters with water changes. For lighting, I was debating between the ReefBreeders Pico V2 and Kessil A80, but decided to go with the former because it was cheaper ($87 on special including controller and gooseneck). I have the tank set up as a peninsula, which was a fun little task to aquascape. I used a mix of sawed "foundation" pieces and thin shelves to create a scape which I would enjoy viewing from both sides. I started with Fiji pink sand, but it blew around too much, so I siphoned it all out and replaced with special grade. It was a pain, but I'm glad I did it, as I can now turn the flow up without worrying about sandstorms. Going forward, I will probably add a polycarbonate lid and ATO system. I might check out the new generation of Osmolator Nano from Tunze.

Current tank specs:
- Lifegard Aquatics Crystal 3.8 gal AIO (~2.5 gal after displacement)
- ReefBreeders pico LED V2 Reef
- IOAOI DC centrifugal return pump 700 Lph (also branded as ZKSJ, TMC, etc...)
- Sicce Jolly 12w pre-set heater
- Inkbird ITC308S temperature controller
- Chemi-Pure Blue (might switch to ROX 0.8)
- MarcoRocks reef saver frag mount
- Caribsea Fiji pink Caribsea special grade
- inTank Media Basket (not installed yet)

- Tank shots 11/26/24

 

[Peace River]

Nice looking tank! Congratulations on the new adventure!!!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Hello Reef2Reef-goers!

I'm setting up a pico reef in my college bedroom and figured I would put together a build thread. The tank I landed on was the Lifegard Aquatics Crystal 3.8 AIO. The build quality is good, clean seams, clear glass, no complaints. On the other hand, the pump that comes with the tank is just terrible; the clacking sound it makes is audible the next room over and the flow is weak. No plumbing modification was required to replace the stock pump with a budget semi-controllable DC one (non-branded version of AI axis). The new pump is nearly silent when running on constant mode speeds 5-7 and quiet when running on wave mode. I currently have no plans for fish in this tank, as I want the flexibility to go home for break without the tank needing to be fed. In the future, I may add something suitable for a pico like an eviota or flaming prawn goby. Coral-wise, I'm thinking a softie-dominated mixed reef, maybe with some euphyllia for movement. I don't want to dose and plan to maintain water parameters with water changes. For lighting, I was debating between the ReefBreeders Pico V2 and Kessil A80, but decided to go with the former because it was cheaper ($87 on special including controller and gooseneck). I have the tank set up as a peninsula, which was a fun little task to aquascape. I used a mix of sawed "foundation" pieces and thin shelves to create a scape which I would enjoy viewing from both sides. I started with Fiji pink sand, but it blew around too much, so I siphoned it all out and replaced with special grade. It was a pain, but I'm glad I did it, as I can now turn the flow up without worrying about sandstorms. Going forward, I will probably add a polycarbonate lid and ATO system. I might check out the new generation of Osmolator Nano from Tunze.

Current tank specs:
- Lifegard Aquatics Crystal 3.8 gal AIO (~2.5 gal after displacement)
- ReefBreeders pico LED V2 Reef
- IOAOI DC centrifugal return pump 700 Lph (also branded as ZKSJ, TMC, etc...)
- Sicce Jolly 12w pre-set heater
- Inkbird ITC308S temperature controller
- Chemi-Pure Blue (might switch to ROX 0.8)
- MarcoRocks reef saver frag mount
- Caribsea Fiji pink Caribsea special grade
- inTank Media Basket (not installed yet)

- Tank shots 11/26/24

Love the aquascape in your pico!

 

[Tahoe61]

That's a cool little Pico. Nice job.

 

[seabedoasis]

Love the aquascape in your pico!

Thanks man, I had never used the shelf rock before but I like it.

 

[nickscorals]

Looks great! Shelf rock looks cool too!

Great to see a fellow lifegard reefer

 

[seabedoasis]

Looks great! Shelf rock looks cool too!

Great to see a fellow lifegard reefer

Thanks man! Your tank was one of the inspirations to go with the Lifegard tank over other pico options.

 

[nickscorals]

Awesome to hear man! Recommend using live rock in the back filter and spreading crushed coralline to get the ecosystem primed for coral

 

[KeremAltinbasak]

Hello
Very clean start, very good :) I love the rock design.
I can't wait to see it filled with coral.
Just how do you plan on keeping the temperature constant? The biggest problem with tiny picos is temperature fluctuations.

 

[seabedoasis]

Hello
Very clean start, very good :) I love the rock design.
I can't wait to see it filled with coral.
Just how do you plan on keeping the temperature constant? The biggest problem with tiny picos is temperature fluctuations.

Thanks! The tank is in a climate-controlled room and has a heater with an inkbird set a few degrees higher as a failsafe in case the heater fails in the "on" state.

 

[KeremAltinbasak]

I can't wait to see it full of mini corals :)
I'm following.

 

[Frugal Aquarist]

What a nice tank! Can’t wait to see when fully stocked.

 

[seabedoasis]

Put in a test coral last night. Picked up these pink zippers from Cherry Corals' brick and mortar location. This photo (iPhone + yellow filter) isn't super color accurate: the yellow bands are more pink in real life. Hope this little guy does well so I can add more softies. My inTank media caddy arrived, but it didn't fit into the tank. After an hour or two of sanding, I was able to just barely slide it in but the design severely restricts the flow (I think it was designed for the larger tanks in this Lifegard line). I'll see if I can cut off the bottom third of the caddy so that it will perform better.

 

[Faurek]

I like the baby blue looking light, it's bearable unlike the really royal blue looking ones. Probably something bright red would stand out in that tank.

 

[Tahoe61]

How's the Pico doing?

 

[seabedoasis]

How's the Pico doing?

It's going well! The pink zippers that I added last month have popped out another polyp and seem happy. I added 4 more strains of zoa and an orange rhodactis about a week ago. All are doing well except one zoa frag (may be a gold maul) which remains partly closed but seems to be gradually improving. Here are some photos I took of some chiquitas and Hawaiian ding dangs. I will post more full tank pics when I get a chance.


Chiquitas


Ding dangs (one of the polyps has an interesting triangular mouth)

 

[Tahoe61]

Excellent. I have been thinking about the Chiquita to add more yellow.

 

[nickscorals]

Have you mounted your zoas?

 

[seabedoasis]

Have you mounted your zoas?

No, I removed them from their plugs and glued them to small rocks which are just sitting on the rock scape or sandbed. The chiquitas and ding dangs, which were larger frags of 12+ polyps each, have already extended down onto the rockscape and attached themselves so they are functionally "mounted."

 

[Tahoe61]

How do you like the Reefbreeders Pico light? Do you think you could keep LPS under it?