My first attempt at a pico

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DSEKULA

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Preview, obviously no water and the tank is covered with smudging fingerprints but the build is pretty much done as far as building things. The "rock" and sponge is in my frag sump hopefully taking on all kinds of good bacteria. I'll start attaching some coral before it gets transfered to the pico.
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"Rocks" are chillin in the sump. I've added some coral as I'm sure you reefers can see. Their still pretty white but the left one that was added first is definitely taking on some darker brown coloration. The system their in is 255 gals with an appropriate amount of rock that has been established for 2-3 years. I'm hoping this method cycles them through, skipping most of the uglies etc relatively quickly. The system has about 200lbs of rock and some bio blocks so the extra 2lbs isn't going to hurt anything.

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Interesting enough the most common question I've received from family and friends seeing this build sitting on my counter is "how the ... Did you cut those circles and rings?!"
The thing I found interesting is that this question even came from someone very experienced with wood working. Mostly it's having the right tools for the job and the rest is correctly prepping and securing as you go. Here's a picture tutorial, the large circles were already cut, but hopefully you can figure out how I did that using the same tools.

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Finally got the tanks cleaned up today, no more fingerprints :)
Here's the setup cleaned up and my mother's immediately got wrapped for shipping. Not that it's done but this way it will stay nice and clean until I ship since I'm done modifying the container anyway.

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Checking on the rocks in the sump today.. this is not a very scientifically accurate part of the build and I hate it . After 8 days in the sump the rock is loosing it's harsh white look. Since I have no way to test that the rock is "ready" I'll basically be waiting for it to start looking like the other rock in my sump. I'd really like to see some coraline growing on it, when I add new diy "rocks" I usually see that step as a decent indication that the new addition is doing well and biologically stable even though I have no true proof of this. I hate this part lol it's just a waiting game. On a side note all the coral added to these rocks are doing well and the fish in my sump and cuc treat these just like any other rock. I didn't expect anything different since I've made alot of my own rocks but I know others are usually curious about the livestock reaction.

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Really cool concept!! I'm interested in starting one of these
Let me know if you have questions, I try to explain most things but this is more of a build thread than instructions, I don't have any issues going into really specific details if you need anything . If you do and start a build thread please tag me in the tread of you remember.
 
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Well, I started the set up today. With the way works been going I don't want to try and rush everything in one day etc. Here's the tank with one gallon in it. Going to add a bit more water but need space for the rock. I'm guessing I'll have maybe a gallon and a half true volume which is perfectly what I was aiming for .

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Well, the tank made its first night... Or should I more accurately say all the water stayed in the tank through the night?
Not that I really expected a catastrophic failure but it's a small container that a drilled a bunch of holes through the bottom, I would have accepted a drip I have to fix. But, my bedside table seems completely dry so I'm quite satisfied

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Looks great I like this build thread. I have one concern you said your mom has no reefing experience and I was always told Pico and nano are harder to maintain cause of swings are easier in less volume are you concerned about this? Also what ato are you using that is that small you said you got it off Amazon can you share a link?
Thanks
 
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Looks great I like this build thread. I have one concern you said your mom has no reefing experience and I was always told Pico and nano are harder to maintain cause of swings are easier in less volume are you concerned about this? Also what ato are you using that is that small you said you got it off Amazon can you share a link?
Thanks
Yes, I am a bit concerned so I planned the best I can.. my mum's is receiving her salt and refractometer in the next few days. She will be using store bought distilled water and practicing mixing. She has kept aquariums before (many) she has very good attentive husbandry practices I've seen her nurse many fish back to health and many live 10-15 years in her care including a carnival fish I brought home with jaw rot and ick as a kid. Once the tank is done I will be shipping it out and she will practice maintaining a container with water in it (this could be as long as it takes for comfort). I am 100% confident that if I tell her to change out x amount of water a week it will be done 7days on the spot and this will be the only real maintenance for the system so the main thing is having her confident to mix and change water. The lights are set on a timer and the ato will ensure no swings.
Once she is confident (probably a few weeks changing basically dead water) I will ship her the sponge that will go in the center of the pvc. This has already been sitting in my sump for months and center rock which is already in my sump with coral growing. There's zoa and mushrooms growing on it. The rock will be shipped wet as will the sponge. This is the current plan, once I pull my rock and place it in the tank I'll be watching to see how the transition goes for me and making changes as necessary. The goal is for me to set up one tank here and have her mirror what I do for the easiest success. Yes there's concern but these are tanks that really don't have anything to tinker with so if she has pre cycled rock and follows the maintenance schedule I give her there shouldn't be anything else for even an experienced reefer to mess with. Here the ato link.
 
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