Thoughts on a pico tank.

[Reef Devils]

I am think if purchasing a pico tank from bulk reef supply. They have a great deal that is a $300 tank with everything else I get you started. It is a 4 gallon display. What fish can you really keep in that small of a tank? I have also heard that pico tanks can be hard to take care of.

 

[BanZI29]

Anything under 10 gal I would not keep any fish in. it's just too small and does not give them enough room to swim in.
as for care, I have 2 Pico tanks, a 1 Gal and a .4 gal. (both from PNW Custom) I have found them very easy to take are of. just do water changes religiously. my .4 gal has been thriving for a year now with a mushroom and a hammer.
my 1 gal has a mushroom, a small torch, a hammer, and cup coral ( can't remember what it's called) and everything is doing great. As long as you pay attention to it, its not hard at all.

 

[soreefed]

I recently broke down a 4gallon pico. Doing 50% weekly water changes was easy and the only real maintenance it needed. I hated cleaning film algae off the glass and any minor changes can affect the water volume significantly.

Overall pretty fun but I don’t think I’d build another one anytime soon. Having a pico at work would be cool though haha

 

[BanZI29]

I recently broke down a 4gallon pico. Doing 50% weekly water changes was easy and the only real maintenance it needed. I hated cleaning film algae off the glass and any minor changes can affect the water volume significantly.

Overall pretty fun but I don’t think I’d build another one anytime soon. Having a pico at work would be cool though haha

I am actually going to bring my .4 gal to put on my desk as work soon.

 

[BanZI29]

My 1 gal small in one:

 

[jda]

I would keep a shrimp or pair in there so that I could feed something to the tank, but no fish. Crabs and snails would be OK too if you can change water or otherwise supplement calcium and carbonate.

 

[Reef Devils]

I am actually going to bring my .4 gal to put on my desk as work soon.

Cool

 

[Reef Devils]

Anything under 10 gal I would not keep any fish in. it's just too small and does not give them enough room to swim in.
as for care, I have 2 Pico tanks, a 1 Gal and a .4 gal. (both from PNW Custom) I have found them very easy to take are of. just do water changes religiously. my .4 gal has been thriving for a year now with a mushroom and a hammer.
my 1 gal has a mushroom, a small torch, a hammer, and cup coral ( can't remember what it's called) and everything is doing great. As long as you pay attention to it, its not hard at all.

So you keep coral in your pico tanks.

 

[BanZI29]

So you keep coral in your pico tanks.

yep. you can see them in the pic I posted.

 

[Reef Devils]

I would keep a shrimp or pair in there so that I could feed something to the tank, but no fish. Crabs and snails would be OK too if you can change water or otherwise supplement calcium and carbonate.

Peppermint shrimp or skunk cleaner?

 

[Reef Devils]

My 1 gal small in one:

Awesome. It looks so cool. What is the tank next to it

 

[BanZI29]

Awesome. It looks so cool. What is the tank next to it

Thats my 40 Gal AIO

 

[jda]

Coral banded, sexy shrimp... whatever. They will usually stay out in the open if there are not fish after them all of the time.

You need to get some ammonia to the corals, so feeding shrimp and crabs is a good way to do this.

 

[Reef Devils]

Thats my 40 Gal AIO

That tank looks great. Love all do that coral

 

[Narideth]

I'm in the process of building/setting up a 3 gallon pico myself, I've been having a lot of fun just planning the dang thing and thinking about what I'd keep in it. Nifty shrimps, rock flower anemones, some softies, some LPS. Maybe, maybe a single blue neon goby. I've seen a lot of examples of these sized tanks flourishing with little more than good consistent water changes.

 

[Reef Devils]

I'm in the process of building/setting up a 3 gallon pico myself, I've been having a lot of fun just planning the dang thing and thinking about what I'd keep in it. Nifty shrimps, rock flower anemones, some softies, some LPS. Maybe, maybe a single blue neon goby. I've seen a lot of examples of these sized tanks flourishing with little more than good consistent water changes.

Awesome dude. It is always so fun planning and setting up new tanks. I might have to get a blue neon goby for the 4 gallon I am thinking of getting

 

[shadow_k]

I have a .4 gallon pico i water change it every week I don’t have any livestock beside spaghetti worms and bristle worms lol , I have GSP and a favia in it

 

[Reef Devils]

I have a .4 gallon pico i water change it every week I don’t have any livestock beside spaghetti worms and bristle worms lol , I have GSP and a favia in it

Are spaghetti and bristle worlds bad? How do you get them?

 

[Lineatus]

Eviota and trimma gobies would work fine in a pico. You could put 2 in a 4 gallon.

 

[shadow_k]

Are spaghetti and bristle worlds bad? How do you get them?

They’re not bad but if you have a man display chances are you have some of them in there they just eat leftover food and detritus.