Meet my first pico reef

[genericaquarist]

Hello folks,

After months of reading and debating, I've decided to take the plunge. Today I purchased a gorgeous large bowl vase (around 21 liters/5.5 gallons) which was gathering dust at my local florist, for the ridiculously low price of $30. Handblown glass made in Poland. Not one bubble or defect in the glass.

Added about 10 pounds of Caribsea live sand, and a 2 pound live rock from my local fish store, and a small bucket of Red Sea salt.

They are all sitting on my desk.

Tomorrow I will get:
- Nicrew submersible internal filter (figured it would do the job of flow and provide some filtration--plan to squash some Purigen in a media bag in there)
- Nicrew 50 watt heater
- Salifert Ca/KH/Alk/Mg 3 for one combo testing solution (already have pH, ammonia etc from my API freshwater tank set)
- TDS/salinity checker
- magnetic stirrer to deal with Marin Pro All for Reef powder down the line
- Pawfly magnetic glass cleaner

Arriving later:
- ABI 12 watt Tuna Blue LED Coral Reef bulb

Down the line in the "saved for later" portion of the shopping cart:
- Tropic Marin "All for reef" powder
- Polyp lab Reef Roids
- RO kit (Express Water RO5DX)

LFS seemed to think I didn't need an RO kit... Insisted tap water with conditioner would be ok It'll do for tonight since I didn't have any other option available but it makes sense to invest in an RO system anyway.

I'll also buy some ammonia to start up the cycle.

Now to wait patiently for the next 4 weeks...

 

[GatorGreg]

Is there distilled water jugs at stores near you? Very manageable with a tank your size. Way better than tap water. Unless you live in some unicorn place with legit clean tap water

 

[genericaquarist]

I suspect there's locations but it was late and I was too tired to go out. Will definitely look into topping up with distilled water while I wait for my RO unit/or debate its needs given the size of my tank. I'm also curious to test the water when my kit arrives to see whether my tap water is terrible or what. Or are you thinking that heavy metals etc are what I should be looking out for?

 

[GatorGreg]

I suspect there's locations but it was late and I was too tired to go out. Will definitely look into topping up with distilled water while I wait for my RO unit/or debate its needs given the size of my tank. I'm also curious to test the water when my kit arrives to see whether my tap water is terrible or what. Or are you thinking that heavy metals etc are what I should be looking out for?

Everywhere is different. There’s no telling. Some water changes with RODI or distilled not plain RO water should set you right. Don’t panic. I wouldn’t long term use tap water though

 

[immo]

100% water change after fishlessmcycle should get you set up to get away from tap water.

 

[genericaquarist]

100% water change after fishlessmcycle should get you set up to get away from tap water.

That's exactly what I'm thinking as well.

 

[genericaquarist]

Day 2:

Well, good morning pico! The cloudiness is subsiding.

But wait, what's that? Are there two hitchhikers on the live rock? Can anyone help identify what these could be?

Closeup of second hitchhiker:

 

[genericaquarist]

Well, the Nicrew Magi350 mini filter is in place, (along with Nicrew thermostat). But now my tank looks awful with that ugly hunk of plastic.

Going to bite the bullet and switch to the Hygger mini wave maker instead.

Anyone in the Toronto area want a barely used mini filter?

 

[immo]

Well, the Nicrew Magi350 mini filter is in place, (along with Nicrew thermostat). But now my tank looks awful with that ugly hunk of plastic.

Going to bite the bullet and switch to the Hygger mini wave maker instead.

Anyone in the Toronto area want a barely used mini filter?

Curious to know how the hygger is. I'm considering putting one in my deskmate.

 

[genericaquarist]

I actually decided against the Hygger; went back to the original inspiration and thought hard about whether the Hygger would be overkill. Going to stick with what the original person had--an external air pump rated for 10-20 gallons. Maybe another build!

 

[genericaquarist]

I actually decided against the Hygger; went back to the original inspiration and thought hard about whether the Hygger would be overkill. Going to stick with what the original person had--an external air pump rated for 10-20 gallons. Maybe another build!

Here's the link to the original inspiration: https://reefs.com/magazine/different-way-reef/

 

[genericaquarist]

Day 3:

The tank is clear! Left the ugly Nicrew filter running overnight (just has some filter floss and a small bag of activated carbon). External air pump and tubing arriving today.

But wait! Is that another hitchhiker waking up? Hello, who or what are you?

 

[genericaquarist]

Day 4:

Got another piece of live rock, got a lid(!) and repositioned the Nicrew filter to try to hide it a bit more.

I'm pretty happy with the result. Depending on the angle of viewing, it almost disappears. I think it'll also become obstructed as I add corals, torches, etc.

I did receive the Nycrew Nano Silent last night, and thought I would use it to replace the filter, but the constant bubbling would drive me nuts. Back to Amazon she goes!

Task for later today: to get some ammonium chloride to start the cycle.

Also: these arrived yesterday

 

[genericaquarist]

Argh! Got cocky and picked up some Feather Caulerpa and Dragon's Tongue along with my ammonium chloride. And wouldn't you know, as I was admiring my new setup, I noticed an Aptasia Anemone stuck to one of the fronds of the Caulerpa.

Aaaaahhhh!!!

Cut it off and threw it in the garbage! Ack! And now to wait more anxious days to see if the macroalgae brought more unwanted guests with it.

 

[brandon429]

this is a skip cycle setup, adding ammonia is a waste of time/you're ready to go/ moving wet rock from one tank to another never never uncycles the rock. = skip cycled, can reef yesterday.

 

[brandon429]

cycling is for dry rock setups that have no bacteria, first rule of updated cycling science. old cycling science never tells about the skip cycle option, that's for sellers only.

 

[genericaquarist]

cycling is for dry rock setups that have no bacteria, first rule of updated cycling science. old cycling science never tells about the skip cycle option, that's for sellers only.

Yeah I'm super nervous because this is my first ever reef. I'm adding the ammonia to test to see how the bacteria responds in 24 and 48 hours. Yesterday when I checked my levels, ammonia was zero, but so are nitrates and nitrites, which didn't give me confidence that the tank was cycled yet. Adding the ammonia and seeing it disappear will let me know the tank has enough bacteria and won't crash when I add critters. Wish me luck!

 

[SandNRocks]

I have 2 of these bowls/vases. Both started with dry rock and rinsed sand. Never added bacteria, ammonia or anything. I “cycled” them with coral frags and still havent tested anything. I keep 5 gallons of mixed saltwater in a bucket and can change the water as needed effectively resetting the system. I use distilled water from walmart and havent had any issues with anything. No cyano, dinos, gha, or anything.

These little bowls can be pretty easy once you get the hang of them. Just dont let anything get out of hand. If you see aiptasia or a patch of algae, get rid of it right away before it becomes a problem. And in my experience as long as you keep temp and salinity correct at all times, pretty much everything should live. Ive got A bunch of LPS and a few SPS pieces and nothings died yet.

I advise against it, but theoretically if you wanted to, you could go out right now and buy 20 frags and throw them in there and theyd be fine(unless they have pests and diseases). And if something DID happen, just change all of the water quick and problem solved.

 

[genericaquarist]

I have 2 of these bowls/vases. Both started with dry rock and rinsed sand. Never added bacteria, ammonia or anything. I “cycled” them with coral frags and still havent tested anything. I keep 5 gallons of mixed saltwater in a bucket and can change the water as needed effectively resetting the system. I use distilled water from walmart and havent had any issues with anything. No cyano, dinos, gha, or anything.

These little bowls can be pretty easy once you get the hang of them. Just dont let anything get out of hand. If you see aiptasia or a patch of algae, get rid of it right away before it becomes a problem. And in my experience as long as you keep temp and salinity correct at all times, pretty much everything should live. Ive got A bunch of LPS and a few SPS pieces and nothings died yet.

I advise against it, but theoretically if you wanted to, you could go out right now and buy 20 frags and throw them in there and theyd be fine(unless they have pests and diseases). And if something DID happen, just change all of the water quick and problem solved.

Love your confidence and encouragement! I will borrow some when I nervously check to see the ammonia levels tomorrow and if as I suspect they are zero, I might go out and get my first frag.

Thanks for following my journey!

 

[genericaquarist]

Ok, so ammonia is not zero Currently still 1.0 ppm after 48 hours. 0 nitrates and 0 nitrites.

Other parameters:
- salinity: 3.50 ppt
- ammonia: 1.0 ppm
- nitrate: 0 ppm
- nitrite: 0 ppm
- pH: 8.2
- kh: 15 degrees
- calcium: 425
- magnesium: 1410

All calcium, magnesium and salinity are a bit high, but the ammonia stuck at 1.0 without conversion after 48 hours tells me that 3 days of beneficial bacteria addition plus only live rock pieces plus live rock sand are not enough to handle the ammonia challenge.

If anything, this underscores the necessity of consistent and large water changes every week to maintain parameters.

Next up: water change tomorrow. Looking forward to bringing the ammonia back down.