Pico ?

[badjuju]

So I have a 3 gal pico setup at my desk. I have had it up for a few months now and all is good. I had a damsel in it for awhile but it died after a few weeks. So now its just a few crabs and snails and some mushrooms. I have held off adding anything to it as I notice the water evaporates very quickly. Every 2 days i have to top it off. The water drops about an inch. With me adding water twice a week I was wondering if this will put to much stress on a fish? I am also wondering since I have a HOB on the back if I should add some chaeto in the tank to help? the tank stays at a constant stable temp as I have a chiller and a heater on it, but neither one really ever comes on. Any advice?

[Moonstream]

you have a chiller on a 3g tank? wow!

it would really be better to add water every day, or even better get an ATO unit.

it is possible to keep a small fish in it, but the limited water volume doesnt allow for much. personally, the most I would keep would be a clown goby or trimma/eviota genus goby.

[badjuju]

Yeah i did this mopstly to have something at my desk. Was looking for some mushrooms and xenia type things for the tank. They are doing good. I dont want anything but a small fish so something simple is all. I have a regular routine now but just more concerned about the fish if I add one.

As far as the chiller, its just one you add to the filter system I think its called an ice probe. i did it as my office gets hot and puts the water temp well above 8o during the summer months and weekends. The ac units get turned off after hours and on the weekends so it gets very hot. The price I have to pay if I want it at my desk lol. I had an extra ups at work so I am using it on this tank also, so no worried about power outages. It can run the tank fo 17 hours with everything running. :)

[harleychic]

How about some sexy shrimp instead of fish? I love mine in my 3 gal., they don't seem to mind when I add water everyday. I would love to find an ato unit for this size tank though. I have cheato in my display behind the rockwork.
Can you give us some more info about that chiller, I would love one!

[ludnix]

There is a small chiller for sale that uses a fan and a heat sink. It' d be something easy to DIY but you do need a non-corrosive metal to place into the water like titanium.

[badjuju]

The chiller I have is a IceProbe Aquarium/Water Chiller by Coolworks. You can get info on it, ont he marinedepot site. Alot of places sell them. The only reason I got it, like I stated before is the location the tank is in gets very hot. I got mine on sale with a controller that turns it off and on when the temp gets to high or to low. They also sell one with a hob filter but I didnt go that way and wish I did. I thought I could get it to work in the one that came with the tank but it was to small. I ended up geting one bigger one. They do sell a complete kit with everything. For me it was a good investment as I can also add this to my nano at home when i down this tank.

[Mavvy]

Hey, I've got one of those! Had it in a 10G and just recently put it on my 2.5G (cut a hole in the lid of my AC50 that I use for a 'fuge), because I'm...ummm...experimenting with a cobbled-together 70W MH light, and dat light do get hot. :smokin: It's keeping the tank right at 80F...I had to glue some fans in this ugly canopy I made to help. I'll post pics when I get access to a digital cam again, and I'm waiting for a 14K bulb to show up at my doorstep.

*edit* Whoops, almost forgot...you might want to check these out for smaller tanks:

The main guts of the unit:

http://www.fish-street.com/diy_chiller_accessory

and, the controller:

http://www.fish-street.com/temperat...h_category_id=0

Seems as though it's much less costly than the IceProbe system...but d'you think it's useable and useful?