5G Nano (pico) SW Build

Alrighty so I feel I have read enough to attempt a small Pico nothing extreme though... tank specs before people start giving a QA session

Size: 11"(l)x9"(h)x7.5"(w) (the little calculator says about 2.8g)
Light: right now there is a 13w tube light (will post picture as I have no clue what its called) however I can change it to the small led clip on one it came with... it has 8 small led bulbs... will include picture as well
Filter: my brother gave me a small hob but I can't find the darn thing I was thinking of using it for a wavemaker then a filter (I would add carbon in a bag or something though I know that the cartridge is a no no) the tank also came with a small filter that is really strong I would likely use it for a power head more than anything else...
Sand: I want at least 2" or would that be to much?
Lr : I was think 1-2lbs

I know the ph will raise as it cycles and I am prepared for daily caps and weekly water changes I am going to buy all that I need next week (hydrometer, instant ocean saltmix, sand, live rock) and start the cycle... or is there a time period where it isn't safe to add anything to the saltwater after mixing it?

As for the inverts I want to add 1 hermit crab and 1 type of snail... maybe the nassarius snail... but that will be after the tank has been cycled for no less that a month... I currently have 1 7.5w heater that keeps it at 73* I am thinking of buying another to see if it gets it to about 80-82*

I know this is a lot of work and I am ready for it! It would help though to have some support/feedback if I am going to do something wrong thanks guys... in the next post I will have the pictures of everything including what the tank looks like now...

 

This is the led light the tank came with


Light currently using


The filter it had came with that I could use as a power head (if that's possible)


Here is what's on the filters top side


Current tank view... started to remove water tank move the shrimp to the 26gI four d 3 berried along the way

 

Hermit crab? Not aquatic.

EDIT: Nvm, this is saltwater XD

 

Hermit crab? Not aquatic.

EDIT: Nvm, this is saltwater XD

So 'Kay *pats back* I feel you pain haha I was the same way for a while haha

 

I LOVE hermit crabs! I catch them all the time at the beach
...perhaps I could ship you one

 

Omg... I would love one haha... but I prefer to just save the stress on a wild one and just buy one already tank trapped from my lfs

 

Pico's are hard, very hard! Too much for me to deal with
I'm at work, but I'll try give you some decent feedback when I get home (apparently I gotta do some real work :rolleyes

 

Lol, I love saltwater herms! I also have a recent found love of murex and tulip snails.

 

Pico's are hard, very hard! Too much for me to deal with
I'm at work, but I'll try give you some decent feedback when I get home (apparently I gotta do some real work :rolleyes

Haha I would love to know what you do that you can take time on your phone xD and okay Ryan I will wait ;( I understand that they are hard as the temp swing and Ph goes up and down with the lighting and such... I am a week away from even attempting to start it and a month or two away from adding anything alive...

 

Lol, I love saltwater herms! I also have a recent found love of murex and tulip snails.

The tulip is prety cool but the actual snail in the murex freaks me out a bit but the shell makes up for it some... I said some xD

 

Monkey lets just say my dad tried one and it crashed the minute he put one sexy shrimp(it survived and lived in his 30 until it died of old age) in the tank and this is after having a Nano for 30 yrs picos are get Freshwater shrimp tanks but crash very easy in SW.

 

Haha I would love to know what you do that you can take time on your phone

I'm a Business Analyst (I create technology solutions, part programmer, part analyst). I sit in front of a computer all day, so keeping an eye on Fishlore is quite easy

You're still going to have to wait till tonight though (about 3-4 hours till I get home)

 

Monkey lets just say my dad tried one and it crashed the minute he put one sexy shrimp(it survived and lived in his 30 until it died of old age) in the tank and this is after having a Nano for 30 yrs picos are get Freshwater shrimp tanks but crash very easy in SW.

I understand that they crash very very very easily but in all honisty I would still love to give it a try... heck even if I can't add anything living I don't mind just having a Pico that is a minI reef with nothing else in it... I have no life for the most part, out side schooling and work, and I am home all the time so the tank will be monitored, even when I am not home I have a dad that kikes te idea who will watch the tank as well... but like I said, or didn't say, I am in no huge rush to add anything just want to know right now if the stuff I have would be good for at least growing mushrooms and how much sand/live rock will be needed..

I'm a Business Analyst (I create technology solutions, part programmer, part analyst). I sit in front of a computer all day, so keeping an eye on Fishlore is quite easy

You're still going to have to wait till tonight though (about 3-4 hours till I get home)

I know and I am ready to get yelled at about why this is a horrible idea...

 

My dad has been retired since I was 18 (Airforce man ) He tried but it just kept crashing. And was home most of the day. You can try but I do think it will be very hard.

 

My dad has been retired since I was 18 (Airforce man ) He tried but it just kept crashing. And was home most of the day. You can try but I do think it will be very hard.

Wow... you said it was after he aded the sexy shimp right?are they large waste producers?(sorry don't know much about them) or did he figure out why it cashed on him.maybe I can try to avoid it...

 

setting up a 2.5g pico

No but his temp, nitrates, phosphates, and SG kept dropping and raising. Seeing no skimmers will fit them and he was doing top offs 5 times a day, water changes 4 times a week, and testing 3 times a day. And finally he loss his cycle due to water loss.

 

Oh wow... I keep reading a bunch of success stories on the internet for some tanks this size and just as many failed attempts... it sort of seems this size tank is always up in the air with if it works or not... however not to live down what you dad has done in the last 30+ years of his sw keeping I still want to try... so in your opinion for a 2.5 of this size how much sand/LR should I have for this tank?

 

I just read about ATO systems people build to keep their tanks filled without doing it daily or worring that the water level has dropped so much the salinity has killed the cycle... anyone use one (if you have a nano/Pico) and any idea how to build one? I have a few feet of airline tubing so that's a check

 

Okay, I'm home, and can chat.....

So you wanna do a pico huh?
JessI has pretty much covered all the major concerns.

The smallest successful pico I've seen is a 5G. It was a desktop setup, and had a 40G sump on it! That's right, a 40G sump to support a 5G display. I have no idea what possessed them to do it, but, like Jessi's dad, the volume of water was practically impossible to keep stable. I guess they really wanted a small tank.

As JessI pointed out, finding a skimmer to fit, almost impossible. In fact, finding a lot of equipment suitable for a pico is difficult, powerheads rated at 25-50GPH, heaters that won't cook the tank (you'd only want 8-10W max), lighting is possible, chiller would be a necessity. And when you do find the equipment, it's expensive!

The maintenance and upkeep required, like JessI mentioned, is phenomenal. The more successful setups tend to be in the LFS where they can monitor constantly.

Now, for a bit of a reality check.... consider your lifestyle, are you likely to go to college? parties? study? significant other? vacations?

Do you think you would realistically have the time to maintain the setup, given how unforgiving the small volume would be, and how quickly it can change.

The one thing that hasn't been mentioned, there are few things you can keep in a pico. Inverts yes, but they are sensitive to parameters, which adds to the dilemna. Corals, whilst mushrooms are quite hardy, they still don't tolerate large continual swings in parameters, and would rapidly consume nutrients in the tank.

If you're still keen, then here's how I see it panning out, to give you the best chance of success:
Assuming no sump:
- Electronic/Computer Controller with probes to monitor all elements
- Auto-dosing machine, controlled by electronic/computer
- Auto top-off device, with pin point accuracy
- a reservoir for salt water, and RO/DI that can be used to draw salt/fresh as salinity dictates.

Or, hook it up with a massive sump!

IMO - picos are too difficult for a human to keep in check. The assistance of electronics would be a great advantage. I have seen pico setups run into the many thousands of dollars to try and make it work, and still they have trouble.

As you've found, there's as many failures as there are success. My advice would be to read as much as you can about the successes to fully understand how they made it successful (and how they define success).

 

Hey monkeypie - you may want to read this:

My latest experience regarding stability!

By no means am I saying don't do a pico, just be very aware of what you're getting into

 

Still doing a Pico just changing it to a 5 gallon and going to see if I can turn the 2.5 into a fuge as suggested by a friend anyone have a way I can plan this? And I swear I don't want to hear how hard it will be to do a pico... I am doing one and just want advice on setup I understand you concerns but I am doing extra research on ATO systems and the like...

 

As requested by rogue here is the led fixture on and also what the tank looks like with it on as well... clearing out the rocking and doing heavy cleaning for the 2.5 now... also the 2.5 has a small lid on it that helps with evaporation (will when its a fuge at least...


Has 8 leds

 

I don't have any Saltwater experience, so this is my unbiased opinion...but you ask people for their thoughts and then totally disregard them and say you're going through with it and to not try and convince you otherwise I've definitely been in that boat, of REALLY wanting to do something but people suggesting I rethink it...I just think you should really think about it before spending so much time and money on it There are a lot of members on here with years and years of Saltwater experience, and the fact that everyone is so against it would make me very leery, personally. Just my two cents

 

I understand that, I do and I am not trying to tell everyone to stop try to convince me otherwise... however I understand it is hard I just hoped people would give me advise so when I do start it I wouldn't fail as bad... but from the start everyone has just told me why not to do it nothing about how I can go about doing this successfully... I take that back Ryan gave me a little advice but nothing to much to go off of...

I am not trying to attack anyone I was just saying I would like some advice on how to make it successful not all reasons to avoid trying... who knows I could be supper successful with this, that is the goal anyways

 

You better be planning to put up lots of pictures at least I'm sure people just want to make sure you're very aware of the possible issues and difficulties My boyfriend and I were looking at Saltwater fish and inverts last night, so I'll just live vicariously through you

Have you thought of doing an even bigger sump/fuge? Like hiding a 20 gallon underneath or something?

 

I am doing one and just want advice on setup I understand you concerns but I am doing extra research on ATO systems and the like...

The setup is exactly the same as for a larger tank, you just down-scale it. I'm still looking into ATO myself, my advice on this one, do not skimp on the valve/float you use. Make sure it is a high grade marine float valve.

I take that back Ryan gave me a little advice but nothing to much to go off of...

I think you'll find that those with bigger tanks understand and appreciate how difficult it is keeping 50+ gallons going. Because it's hard enough with bigger tanks, many can't imagine trying a nano (<30G) and a pico? (<10G)
At this point monkeypie, you've probably done more reading on setups of pico's than I have.

Here's my advice for setup:
- DT = 5G
- Sump = 2.5G
Caution: You've now added more surface area, and increased the flow. This may increase evaporation. Helpful calculator:

Lighting: See if you can get a LED light with a cooling fan it to draw heat up and away from the display. This will help reduce heat transfer. Even LEDs get warm, I've said in another post, mine run around 130/140F, that's a lot of ambient heat to warm your tank.

Heater: The smallest I know of is 25W, go for a high quality unit like the Hydor Theo. I think you'll stuggle to fit an Eheim in.

Skimmer: Tunze Nano maybe?
Return pump: Eheim Compact 300 (40GPH)
Power heads: dunno, probably the same Compact 300's it's hard find "small" powerheads.

Too, something that might interest you:

 

As requested by rogue here is the led fixture on and also what the tank looks like with it on as well... clearing out the rocking and doing heavy cleaning for the 2.5 now... also the 2.5 has a small lid on it that helps with evaporation (will when its a fuge at least...

Hard to tell from the picture what colors they are. Do you have a couple blues and mostly whites?
Has 8 leds

 

Okay so talking with various forums and forum members we have concluded that having 2 7.5w heaters for a total of 15w should be good to heat the DT and fuge to about 78* in the winter and about 80* in the summer... I am looking into buying a cooling system right now as well... just in case... however if the 2 small heaters do not heat as needed I will take your advice and seek out a 25w titanium heater

as for lighting the led has 8 bulbs but are all white no blue... so I am thinking of buying this ( ) I am going to look into more review first... but I would think buying 3 would work well... 2 for the DT and 1 for the fuge.

(Side note) also linked with the light is this hob fuge system... would it be smart to buy that as well as have the 2.5g set as a fuge (I like saying fuge lol) I think it would be good to have the extra 1 gallon of water but idk.. thoughts? Edit: I figured 8.5g of water could help keep the tank stable (or more so...) and my brother has tons of LR rubble I can use for filtration as well : ( )

As for the Skimmer... I can't find the dumb link know but I read somewhere someone made a DIY one for their 3-4g Pico and it worked good for them... idk I'd have to find the link again :/

I have also been thinking of taking a couple of my mangroves and acclimating them into saltwater plants and adding them to the fuge

On a side note... FUGE!!! Lol

 

the lighting I have picked for the tank turns out to not be good enough... I guess it needs to be 50/50 the light I picked is 2/3 white and 1/3 blue... anyone have ideas for a good light for this tank? The goal is to work my way into having nuclear green zoanthids... I mean how awesome are those lol...

 

I need thoughts...

Would give me the 5 gallon I am after and the 50/50 led lighting that's needed! And I can use the current 5 gallon into a fuge....

 

Added live rock!!!! I bought 7lbs of live rock and it just so happened when I put them together they make the coolest shape xD plus one one live rock I found this white tube shaped coral I need to try and get a picture of it and have it IDed



Thoughts? I am getting live sand tomorrow for it the petshop dude said to bring a sample of the water in and he will test the salt content to check it against my hydrometer to be sure it is reading right (this is just temporary til I can order my own refractometer)

 

I love the shape of the rocks I don't think live sand is a must; I know in Mike's thread he updated recently, his tank is barebottom. Personally I think I'd save the money and just get plain sand; it'll make itself live after awhile

 

The plan is to get a couple nass snails and a go by which both sift through sand for food (at least I think it is the nass snails) I am going with 1/2" of LS... I know I could get aragonite sand but I was to mix bacteria colonies for a stronger reef 5lbs of the live rock came from one lfs and 2lbs came from another lfs... besides the sands are both the same price so I may as well go with the already living one

Also I need to figure out how to make the rocks more stable so I can't keep the rocks positioned as they are now for when I do get hermit crabs the will knock it over and I don't want that...

Oh and I found a hitch hiker! Its called a spaghettI worm! I found a couple feeder tube running out of one of the rocks so freaking cool!



If you look I from of the maroon spot you should see the 2 feeder tubes... so far I have seen 3 tubes... I am worried about feeding it while the tank is cycling and if (s)he will survice it... I know it is just a baby one as well because the hole it has is super tiny.... when you Google it the worm may scare 2/3 of you guy xD

 

Okay so my salinity reading is about .22 should I add more salt to get the reading to .24 or should I just let it be?

 

Oooh, I don't think 1/2" is enough sand for nassas and sand sifters. IIRC, 1"+ should be ok. I have 1" sand bed.

Watch your spaghettI worms population. It can be a sign of high nutrients, a few of them is ok, but you don't want them everywhere. I had a population boom when my nitrates rose to about 4ppm.

Fixing rocks, you can use coral putty if you want.

1.022 SG? It's a little low for a reef, but perfectly fine for a FO/FOWLR. If you're going for a reef, try and bring it up to 1.024-1.026.

NEVER ADD SALT DIRECTLY TO AQUARIUM (unless it's the first fill, with nothing in it). To bring it up, instead of using RO, use salt water, it will slowly come up.

 

Okay 1" it is I pick up the sand today! With live sand do I need to do anything special with rinsing or do I just pour it in?

Okay that's a good thing to know! I doubt it if the lfs guy knows he has them but I only found them in 1 rock so his tanks can't be too bad, yet lol.

Yeah I thought so. I will up the SG by a bit... the plan is to have a minI reef that I can expand into a larger tank, and use this tank to grow smaller corals and such

 

I just re-read my post, I meant to say, for evaporation top off, use salt water instead of RO. That way, you're adding more salt in.

 

Haha that's what I thought you had ment...

Oh and once the tanks ready for it I will be buying a cherub angel for the tank I was told by a reliable saltwater friend they can be raised in a 5.5g tank for a little over a year as they grow up

 

Found a micro brittle starfish just now! Darn thing was in a space I couldn't get a carmera.... but what a surprise.... oh and I saw a small clear looking centapeed looking thing feeding on some krill I dropped in the tank... is that a bristleworm baby? If so that's awesome news! Haha at this rate I don't need to buy a CUC haha

 

Now you know what I'm going to say about the cherub............
Don't get attached and please, as it starts growing, be sure to rehome it asap.

Most likely your little worm will be a bristleworm

Don't get too attached to the hitch-hikers. Some will make it, some won't - just the way it goes. Feather dusters are fairly resilient, spaghettI worms too, bristle worms as well, in fact just about anything that hitch-hikes is resilient enough to survive transport, where they suffer is in cycling, food supply and other parameters.

Keep your ears open for clicking sounds (mantis shrimp) - may take a few weeks before you hear anything.

Oh - and seeeee, Saltwater can be fun!