PICO!

A couple of weeks ago I was asking about PICO's on here. Well I went out and bought one. In the end getting it from marinedepot.com ended up being the cheapest option. I got the JBJ Picotope. Pretty cool little three gallon tank. I've decided that for the next few months I'll just got with the default equipment with the exception of a Rio 50 powerhead for flow.

I filled it up last week using 1.5 gallons of water from my big tank and 1.5 gallons of new mixed up RO water. I used some smaller live rocks I had that wasn't really doing any good in my big tank and got a few more little pieces from Will Spencer (thanks Will!) for a total of 6-7 pounds of rock. I also used 6.5 pounds fiji pink live sand for the sand bed with a couple of cups of sand from my bigger tank mixed in. I figured this would lead to almost zero cycle - and I was correct. All levels were good within three days.

Here are the setup pictures:

I put a little bit of water in first before adding the sand. I added sand and placed the rocks as best as I could and then filled the rest of the tank.



One thing that I did NOT expect in a tank this small was the fact that the water took almost a whole day to clear! In my 45 it took only about four hours. I ended up turning the RIO 50 off in order to get it to settle faster.



After it cleared up I did some aquascaping! What took me literally weeks to do in my 45 (I'm picky and couldn't decided on final placements) took me about 15 min! It's lot easier when you only really have five little rocks!



I paid a visit to Chad yesterday and got three cerith snails and three hermits for cleanup crew. I was going to get two astrea snails but somehow forgot them while I was looking at Chad's amazing zero edge tank. I also picked up a florida ricordia which is the tanks only coral right now. He's doing well so far and I fed him earlier today and he seemed to enjoy it. I must say feeding one solitary ricordia is a ton easier then feeding the corals in my 45 - especially with no thieving fish and shrimp!



Full tank shot:



And zoomed out for a little bit of size comparison:



So far very pleased with the little tank. I do top it off every night with a cup of RO water - water evaporates fast in this thing. I'll need to build a small ATO for this in the next few weeks.

Oh and one more thing - the total cost was around 60 bucks. Using stuff you already have around helps bring the cost down. Pretty cheap considering I've spent more on one single piece of livestock.

  

Edited by jwoo - July 30 2009 at 9:27pm

I've had a ton of fun so far. I keep calling it the bonsai tree of the reef world. Can't put a ton in it, needs a lot of attention, but it sure is soothing and fun. 

Let's see some updates!

Wow. Now I have to get one. Im gonna order it this week. Da** you....

That is cool Justin!

That is waay cool! :)

Livestock pics!

So I didn't get a whole tank shot - I though I did but looking through the pictures I realized that I missed out on that one - and I'm at work bored so you get to see what I've been adding.

First up - my single sexy shrimp! I had two but the other one vanished without a trace into the night before I added any other tank mates. I still need to add two more. If anyone knows who has some let me know. For some reason these guys are hard to come by. You can see my Pom Pom crabs carapace sitting next to him. I didn't get a pic of the pom pom because he's into the whole seclusion thing. Instead you get the next best thing - his old skin!



Next up is the red mithrax crab I got last night at Aquatica. This guy is TINY about the size of a dime. He's way more out going the the emerald in my 45.



Now we have the porcelain crab! This guy is probably the coolest thing in there right now. He's about the most awesome crab. I like the look of my pom pom better but he never comes out and the porcelain is always out scooping out particles. Lots of personality. (Bonus two for one shot - Spot Big Red!)



And a close up:



I need to add more corals but I've been holding off until I get a better light.

If you only want to grow those type of things :P I like higher light demanding corals. 

On Sunday I will get some pics of My girlsfriends. Its pretty cool. I really like the Pico

this is a 3gal aquarium with a 9watt light thats 3 watts per gal that is pretty dang good, i forgot to mention i also have sps in ours aswell, I am not saying you couldn't add more light but i think the light that is on it works very very well.