Hey everyone,
After spending the last 12 months researching reef tanks on and off, I've decided to dive in and get my toes wet as I just can't tide over the obsession any longer.
Within the next 12-18 months I am planning on getting a Cade 500 (30 gallon with sump), so this Pico tank needs to be low cost as any excess cash spent here only delays my Cade purchase.
I'm expecting this to be challenging due to the small size and lack of equipment, but that's fine as I think this will be a good learning experience before I make any real kind of investment into the hobby (i.e. the Cade).
I'll be thrilled if I can get this little ecosystem to the point where it has some healthy soft corals, some cool inverts and maybe 1 fish at most.
Equipment list:
1. K-mart tank (anko brand) - 5 gallons / 20 litres - $39 AUD
2. Anko 25w glass heater - $15 AUD
3. Aragonite sand (dry) 2.5kg - $30 AUD for 5kg
4. Carib Sea Life Rock approx 1kg - $16 AUD
5. Three pieces of live rock with GSP and coralline - $30 AUD
6. 50 litres of natural seawater and 10 litres of RODI - $15 AUD
7. Jebao sw-2 nano wavemaker - $75 AUD including shipping (arriving this week)
8.Lominie Asta20 Saltwater LED light - $58 AUD including shipping (arriving this week)
9. AI Blade Coral Grow 12inch - $232 AUD (ordered 12th April, still waiting on 2nd May)
10. Skemix ATO - gravity fed using a water bottle - $27 AUD
11. Seachem Tidal 35 - HOB filter - $92 AUD
Total start up cost =$278 $571 AUD
Tank was set up on 08/04/2023, plan is to wait until I start to see diatoms or other microalgae and then add phyto, copepods and a few snails.
No ATO as the tank comes with a plexiglass lid, so manual top ups should be manageable.
Ended up buying a cheap gravity fed ATO that uses a water bottle from Amazon, seems to work perfectly.
Going to take things slow for the first month before adding anything beyond a small cleanup crew.
Part of keeping this low budget will be ensuring minimal livestock deaths so I don't have to replace fish or corals
Thanks for reading!
Full tank shot:
The 'GSP' (not sure what type of star polyp it actually is - and the polyps were closed when I took the photo):
After spending the last 12 months researching reef tanks on and off, I've decided to dive in and get my toes wet as I just can't tide over the obsession any longer.
Within the next 12-18 months I am planning on getting a Cade 500 (30 gallon with sump), so this Pico tank needs to be low cost as any excess cash spent here only delays my Cade purchase.
I'm expecting this to be challenging due to the small size and lack of equipment, but that's fine as I think this will be a good learning experience before I make any real kind of investment into the hobby (i.e. the Cade).
I'll be thrilled if I can get this little ecosystem to the point where it has some healthy soft corals, some cool inverts and maybe 1 fish at most.
Equipment list:
1. K-mart tank (anko brand) - 5 gallons / 20 litres - $39 AUD
2. Anko 25w glass heater - $15 AUD
3. Aragonite sand (dry) 2.5kg - $30 AUD for 5kg
4. Carib Sea Life Rock approx 1kg - $16 AUD
5. Three pieces of live rock with GSP and coralline - $30 AUD
6. 50 litres of natural seawater and 10 litres of RODI - $15 AUD
7. Jebao sw-2 nano wavemaker - $75 AUD including shipping (arriving this week)
8.
9. AI Blade Coral Grow 12inch - $232 AUD (ordered 12th April, still waiting on 2nd May)
10. Skemix ATO - gravity fed using a water bottle - $27 AUD
11. Seachem Tidal 35 - HOB filter - $92 AUD
Total start up cost =
Tank was set up on 08/04/2023, plan is to wait until I start to see diatoms or other microalgae and then add phyto, copepods and a few snails.
Ended up buying a cheap gravity fed ATO that uses a water bottle from Amazon, seems to work perfectly.
Going to take things slow for the first month before adding anything beyond a small cleanup crew.
Part of keeping this low budget will be ensuring minimal livestock deaths so I don't have to replace fish or corals
Thanks for reading!
Full tank shot:
The 'GSP' (not sure what type of star polyp it actually is - and the polyps were closed when I took the photo):
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