Figured I'd go out on a limb and start a build thread for my Pico tank.
I've had this tank for about 5 years sitting in the garage dry as a bone (I used to have a tank buying addiction). I used to have a 20 gallon nano and a 93 gallon cube set up before my daughter was born but priorities change and I needed to step away for a while.
Now that she is 5 and I'm "quarantined" at home I thought "why not go ahead and start this bad boy up". So here we are.
The tank is a Marineland 5 Gallon Portrait tank. I liked this tank because the dimensions are really cool and different from the average 5 gallon glass tanks. Not to mention the mini-sump compartments in the back. In reality this tank holds about 4 gallons in the display and another gallon in the back return.
The heater is just some off-the-shelf Marineland heater. It's over-sized as it used to be used on my 20 gallon tank. I really like the over-sized heater idea as it seems to maintain the temperature much better plus it's adjustable.
The heater is also connected to my RKL so in case the built in thermostat quits the controller will help. I also have a small desk fan connected to it so in case it gets too warm the fan kicks on.
For lighting I have a single AI Prime set about 6" above the tank. It's running a modified version of David Saxby's light setup. I modified it a little so max light is at 60% and I've added some deep blues also.
Flow is whatever return pump it came with and 1 Hydor 140GPH powerhead.
For filtration I have a small bag of carbon and a small piece of phosphate pad. All this sits just behind the overflow. No Skimmer, no bio-balls, nothing extra.
Maintenance is simply 50% water changes every 4 days. Keeping that schedule I really don't need to worry about top-off or IMO dosing anything extra.
I started off thinking I wanted this aquascape but soon found out it was just not going to work so I changed it almost immediately.
The next scape was a slight modification of the one above. I simply "tilted" the rock to the left.
As is my personality, I wasn't satisfied with this either so yet again I made a change. It's better to change without live stock than to disturb a established tank.
I really liked this arrangement but just too top heavy and not enough usable space for corals.
Lastly, I settled on where we are today. I think this aquascape allows for the best combination of flow and space for corals.
The tank is now 3 months old and so far so good. Toying with the idea of trying some hardy SPS just so I can say I did it!
Anyways, here it is in all it's glory. Feel free to give feedback as a tank this small is just as much about learning as it is about me enjoying it.
I've had this tank for about 5 years sitting in the garage dry as a bone (I used to have a tank buying addiction). I used to have a 20 gallon nano and a 93 gallon cube set up before my daughter was born but priorities change and I needed to step away for a while.
Now that she is 5 and I'm "quarantined" at home I thought "why not go ahead and start this bad boy up". So here we are.
The tank is a Marineland 5 Gallon Portrait tank. I liked this tank because the dimensions are really cool and different from the average 5 gallon glass tanks. Not to mention the mini-sump compartments in the back. In reality this tank holds about 4 gallons in the display and another gallon in the back return.
The heater is just some off-the-shelf Marineland heater. It's over-sized as it used to be used on my 20 gallon tank. I really like the over-sized heater idea as it seems to maintain the temperature much better plus it's adjustable.
The heater is also connected to my RKL so in case the built in thermostat quits the controller will help. I also have a small desk fan connected to it so in case it gets too warm the fan kicks on.
For lighting I have a single AI Prime set about 6" above the tank. It's running a modified version of David Saxby's light setup. I modified it a little so max light is at 60% and I've added some deep blues also.
Flow is whatever return pump it came with and 1 Hydor 140GPH powerhead.
For filtration I have a small bag of carbon and a small piece of phosphate pad. All this sits just behind the overflow. No Skimmer, no bio-balls, nothing extra.
Maintenance is simply 50% water changes every 4 days. Keeping that schedule I really don't need to worry about top-off or IMO dosing anything extra.
I started off thinking I wanted this aquascape but soon found out it was just not going to work so I changed it almost immediately.
The next scape was a slight modification of the one above. I simply "tilted" the rock to the left.
As is my personality, I wasn't satisfied with this either so yet again I made a change. It's better to change without live stock than to disturb a established tank.
I really liked this arrangement but just too top heavy and not enough usable space for corals.
Lastly, I settled on where we are today. I think this aquascape allows for the best combination of flow and space for corals.
The tank is now 3 months old and so far so good. Toying with the idea of trying some hardy SPS just so I can say I did it!
Anyways, here it is in all it's glory. Feel free to give feedback as a tank this small is just as much about learning as it is about me enjoying it.
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