cman

Hey everyone! I am new to the forums and thought I would introduce myself and show you guys my new 2Gallon Pico I just set up two nights ago (Jan 16th). My name is Chase and I am from Iowa!

I really wish I could have gone bigger with this salt water tank, but I have no room really for a larger tank. So this is actually my first personal tank ever.. And so I read, that it could be one of the most difficult! Maybe?

I am way excited to get this tank up and running so it can support life and fish inside it. I am ready and up for any challenge it brings me and hope you guys can help me out as I go through the stages with you.


Tank Specs
-Tank Dimensions: L 10 23/32" x W 7 29/32" x H 7 2/32"
-Dual Reef Compact Fluorescent Lamp 50/50 supplies 7,400K Daylight (which simulates midday sun on a bright sunny day) on one half and the other half 14,000K True Actinic (providing blue light for photosynthetic corals).
-Rapids Power Filter, PF-80, 80GPH 3-stage filteration, mechanical, chemical and biological, aerating and filtering the water every hour.


Currently in the tank
-Instant Ocean Sea Salt
-2 Gallons of "Store Bought" Drinking water ( I've read that I should have used RO water.. Wish I would have =(. )
-Nature's Ocean "Premium Ocean Substrate" 100% from the ocean, Sand
-A piece of live rock given from a friends aquarium, and another piece of Live Rock from the Pet store. (I actually broke it down into 3 Pieces.
-50Watt Submersible Aquarium Heater, (wish I could of found something smaller, but it's cold here)


Pictures taken from my iPhone, (I'll have my better camera for future pictures.. Sorry if they are bad quality.. )

Please keep in mind I just set this up last night! =)


-Pico At Night

-Pico With Lights on



Live Rock

Filter

Inside Filter

Light


Ugly heater stashed in the back =(


Incoming Questions!!
-Okay so my tank has been set up for 24 hours now! Whoohoo! I noticed about three little blood worms is what it looked like... crawling around on the sand last night.. but today it looks like they have died.. =( What were they!?

-I am interested in putting in the following:
--A pair of Ocellaris Clownfish (maybe one? Is a fish getting too crazy?)
--Coral
--Maybe an anemone
--And whatever else it takes to keep the tank working properly =) Crabs, snail guys, a star fish, or a shrimp..

-Am I having some wishful thinking for a small 2 gallon pico? If so, please let me know!
-I also, have no clue what type of coral I should get, what type of anemone to get, or even shrimp, star fish, or a crab.. Any suggestions would be AMAZING!

++I currently have SOME test strips, but they don't give me an exact reading like I would want.. Is there a certain type I should buy? I have a hydrometer and obtained the gravity range of 1.023, at 78Degrees F.++

I guess that's all I have for now... I wanted to show you guys my Pico and get any useful information, criticism, and ideas for whatever might be in the future for me! I look forward to updating this topic every time I add something or anything new happens in my Pico, and with a better camera!

I appreciate any comments you guys have, and look forward to reading them!

Thank you for checking this out and thank you in advance for any advice or comments you provide!


THANK YOU VERY MUCH AGAIN!

Matt

VERY VERY VERY NICE TANK CMAN

Welcome To Fishlore

-Matt

au01st

Can't think of any fish that would thrive in there. You can probably put in 1-2 Sexy Shrimp, a snail, a crab, and some low light coral (zoas, mushrooms, etc). The smallest tank for a fish would probably be 5 gallons, and it'd be like a clown goby or something.

Matt

You could just have an invert tank?

-Matt

cman

Yeah I could do that too I guess! Would I be able to add coral to it also?
Thanks for the comments!

I can't wait to watch it go through all of it's cycles.. That to me is one of the most interesting things to a tank.. It's almost like it's setting up it's own mini ocean there.. Actually... That is what it's doing.. Haha!

Would one fish cause more hassle than it would joy? I would like to see maybe just something swimming around in there, but I would want it to be happy too..

Also I can't wait to post some pictures of what happens newly in it! So far the live rock has started to show little hair like things coming from it.. It's quite interesting.. Could something actually sprout and grow from my live rock?!

nemo addict

A 2g pico is really to small for any fish
yes corals would be ok try for smaller soft corals like polyps or xenia ,,
The worm you see was proberbly a bristle worm these can stick there bristles in to your skin so be careful if removing (if there dead)
If doing a invert tank then research what you are putting in as a lot of star fish will eat corals and other inverts,

Anemone s require a mature tank and wouldnt really put in a pico as they can grow very quick and sting (kill) other corals and move about

nemo addict

ohhh and welcome to fishlore

cman

Awesome! I can't wait to look up things and get a list going of what all I want to be in there!

There's another one of those little red worms moving on the sand again... funny little guys.

Oh! I know this is kind of a dumb question... But.. sand on the live rock, should I get a "turkey baster" and use that to almost blow the sand off of it? I read someone elses page and they said they did that to their live rock daily.. Should I do that now, while it's in it's first cycling days?

Thanks! And thanks for the welcomes!

au01st

It's not something you have to do. Some certain fish will rain sand down on rocks and can be quite a pain. Turkey basters run $2 and are simple. I have 3 because they went on clearance one day and were like $0.45 so I bought the remaining stock.

cman

Nice sounds good.
For some reason I seem to be OCD when it comes to messy things.. Or.. Sand on top of my rocks.. Almost reminds me of a bunch of dust on a wood surface..

Got a question, the water seems to have already fallen about three quarters of an inch from where it was, due to evaporation. The tank is at about 78 degrees, my room sometimes falls to the 60's.. (It's winter here) Should I just drop about a half a drop of stuff that takes the chlorine out of some bottled (has Dasani) water? Or should I get some RO water to fill it in? To my knowledge I know I shouldn't make the first couple fill ins of evaporated water with salt water. Is this correct?

As always, thanks for the help everyone.

au01st

You never top off with salt water. As the water evaporates, the salt remains behind. I would recommend getting a refractometer so you don't have to deal with a hydrometer in that tank.

There shouldn't be any chlorine in bottled water. I would recommend using RO/DI water from your LFS, though, as it won't be too expensive. Get a few gallon jugs and keep some on hand.

You need to perform top offs every day, potentially twice a day. With smaller volumes of water, parameters can get out of hand much quicker than with larger tanks.

How do you know the temperature? Digital thermometer or glass? If digital, at least get a glass one first and make sure it's accurate. 78 degrees would be great for a few soft corals.

cman

Awesome, that's what I was thinking. A refractometer hmm... I'll have to check into that.. It makes a lot of sense considering that hydrometer is so huge.. and the tank is so small.. haha!

So I stopped out to my grocery store before I got home and picked up a nice baster, it works wonders.. I was afraid when I did a couple swipes with a new toothbrush that I would be pulling useful stuff off of the rock.. I also looked for the RO/DI water.. I couldn't find any.. And just bought distilled water instead.. I added about two cups tonight, and am going to stay on top of it daily from now on, thanks so much for that advice.

I have a strip that is placed on the back of my tank that tells me the temperature. Is there one that is more accurate than the other?

I also stopped by an aquatic store and picked myself up an "API Marine Saltwater Kit." It does pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. That's all I need right? I am going to run those tests, and post some results, first test since setting it up.. *crosses fingers*

Thanks again for the help, greatly appreciate it.

cman

Alright so I ran my first tests.. I think this is pretty normal for a tank that's been set up for only three days.. Well I hope it is! It was actually pretty fun.. I felt kinda like a chemist or something.. haha

Here are the readings.
pH: 8.4
Nitrate: 20ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Ammonia: 0-0.25ppm (is it normal for this test to kind of... solidify? I thought that was interesting.)

So to my understanding, during the "cycling process" the tank will:
ammonia will rise, then fall,
nitrite will rise, then fall,
nitrate will rise, then best kept lowest as possible.

Is this right? Or is it too early to tell? I guess we will find out soon enough! When do you recommend me preforming another test?

Also, I added the new top off water, and preformed tests about an hour later.. Could this effect my test results?

I feel horrible for asking all these questions... =S
Thanks a million.

au01st

I wouldn't trust the temperature strip. A glass thermometer will run a few dollars, or a digital one will run $6 online with a little probe you put in the tank. I think a sinking glass thermometer will be fine right at the front of the tank so you can monitor temps.

The readings look normal. Because you know you have ammonia, the cycle has at least started. Keep checking every other day until you get 0 for ammonia and nitrites and a little reading for nitrates, and you'll be set.

If you have the means, set up a 5 gallon bucket with salt water mixing with an old powerhead or something, and it will make water changes a breeze for you. I would think changing a gallon or so a week would work great for your tank.

cman

Sounds good Jeff, I am heading out to get a glass thermometer.

Do you really think that isn't too much water to be changing? It is only a two gallon tank.. And a 50% water change just seems like a lot for it to be done weekly O.o

cman

Hey everyone, thought I would post some pictures of my tank as of last night! It's crazy to see how much has grown in it! I have even found a cool little circular feather type duster! I took a picture tonight of a section of the live rock and it had grown a nice section just over night! How crazy!











Last night---1/23

Tonight--1/24


What is this?!?!?!






Anyways I ran some tests last night and here are my readings after 1 week.
What do you think about it?!

pH:8.4
Nitrate:0
Nitrite:0
Ammonium:0.25ish?

Here is a posted picture of the tests, I am having trouble with reading the ammonium, what do you guys think? About 0.25?

Just a couple of questions, I have the cycle of the light on for about 8 hours, 5pm-1am (when I am around to enjoy it) Is this okay? Am I maybe causing too much algae to grow? Also, does the live rock look okay? It is so amazing to see live rock grow and the life it will host! In about a week I am thinking about putting a Damsel in to see how that goes, a friend of mine that is a manager in the fish section at Petco told me about doing that. Any comments would be great! Thanks everyone. Hope you enjoy =)

P.S. - Didn't have to use my cell phone camera thankfully =P

cman

Oh yeah, when you are looking at the two pictures, "what is this?" It's the little circular feather thing in the middle of the picture, one is without the light, and the other is with the flash of the camera!

cman

hmm

Matt

Everything looks in good condition cman.

I wish you the best of luck with your tank

-Matt

au01st

I would not put a damsel in there, it would go crazy and likely jump out. You are still cycling, since you do have an ammonia reading. You should soon get a nitrite spike and then a nitrate spike.

I do not think a gallon a week would be too much, as long as the water specs are the same with the water you're changing, you should be good.

The light cycle sounds fine, keep it on for when you can see it, you don't have to follow the natural cycle like outside. My actinics come on at 11am, daylights at 12, daylights off at 10pm, and actinics off at 11pm, moonlights on from 11:30-10:30.

I would not put any fish in that tank except for a maybe a clown goby or a small blenny, like a tail spot. 1 astrea snail, 2 nassarius snails, and maybe 1-2 cerith snails, along with one hermit crab and maybe 1-2 sexy shrimp.

cman

Hey Matt, thanks again for the best wishes!

au01st, Sounds good to me with the damsel! And as for these spikes... Will they happen gradually within a couple days? Or will it be something like.. one day nothing, and another, bam nitrite! Haha, I guess I'm looking forward to it!

Good to hear with the light cycle, for a minute there I was getting worried I was like... sunburning my rock =\ lol.. it just seemed to me like it was really dark in some of the pictures I took, like a black coalish dark.. But the florescent light makes it look amazing!

When you named the snails, are they okay to be in there with a goby? I am thinking a goby would be pretty cool.. Goby+shrimp+coral=okay?(of course not all at once! all in due time!) haha

You guys are the best.

au01st

The spikes can happen over a few days or as long as a month. If you're doing water changes, stop them until the tank fully cycles. You will notice one day the water gets cloudy, that is a bacterial bloom. It may be cloudy for a day or two, then it will sparkle crystal clear, you wake up one day and it's just clear, no more cloudiness. At that point, your cycle could be over as the bacteria colonies are set.

Most of the gobies that will pair with a shrimp get too big for that tank. Clown gobies don't really hang around the sand much, they prefer to perch on rocks and/or corals. I would stick with a clown goby (yellow, green, citron, black) or a neon goby (either gold or blue) and some cool inverts like sexy shrimp.

All of those snails are okay with fish, they are reef safe.

cman

It's crazy you talk about the water getting cloudy, today I've noticed the water is a tad bit more cloudy than normal. The past couple days it has been almost crystal clear. I think I am going to run some tests on it and see what my results are!

Thanks for the information on the gobies and snails, really helps out a ton! What do you think about a Twin Spot Goby? I think that's what they are called...

AHHH!! And my HM betta finally arrived today! All the way from Thailand! I made a thread in the Betta section! You guys should check it out!! Hope everyone is having a great week!
-Chase

Betta Thread
My new Betta, Buck!

cman

Introducinggggggggggggggg

The clean up crew!
Mr Crab1
Mr Crab2
And Mr Snail





Check out the work this little guy has done.... The light green section is what he's been working on.. Wow

Matt

WoW. They look like very efficient cleaners

Congrats On Your Tank

-Matt

cman

Hey everyone!

I've got a question about my ammonia test... It doesn't seem like it's changed at all in about a week and a half.. maybe a little bit... but barely any... I've had this same reading for about.. a week now..

Maybe I am having a hard time reading the color... And possibly you guys can help... What do you think this reads as?





Pictures are taken from my Photobooth... I hope they work... Thanks for the help guys

Matt

It seems fine.

I dont know what could be wrong with your tank?

-Matt

cman

Well, is it normal to have the same ammonia reading for almost two weeks? lol

I just don't know what that reads... Do you think it's at like.. 0.10?

Just seems odd to me that I still have an ammonia reading. I guess this makes me think of it differently... This is from the API test booklet..

"In a new aquarium, the ammonia level may surge to a 4ppm or more, and then fall rapidly as the biological filter becomes established. The ammonia will be converted to nitrite, then to nitrate. This process may take several weeks. "

I guess I understand the "process may take several weeks" part... But just not the ""surge"" and ""fall rapidly"" process.. because it's definitely not doing that lol.. Still have 0 for both nitrite and nitrate..

kittenface14

I dont know a thing about saltwater tanks, I wouldnt be able to give you advise, but I can say that your tank looks nice and welcome to Fishlore!!

Maybe one day this year I will be setting up a saltwater *fingers crossed*

Good Luck!

au01st

Looks like it's still reading 0.25 PPM, so I would continue waiting. What is the date on the test kit?