1 gallon pico build

[twintrades]

I have a free 1 gallon plastic hex. Just thought id try my hand at a pico.

Im using a 10 watt 50/50 bulb

Should i get a heater ? I thouht the light would keep it warm enuf ?

Filter i have is a free 2-5 gallon tetra intank. Might go with a azoo palm filter though... more room in the tank.

Rock would be some from my 10 gallon id pick some out that dont have aiptaisa.:rolleyes:

would i be able to keep sps ? And i thought about 1 clown gobie. Or a shrimp ? Just would like some movement .
What should i have as a clean up crew ?

Any and all thoughts and conserns are welcome.

[jenglish]

My thougts with the instability of a pico is to stick with softies since they will tolerate temp swings better. Keep in mind visual balance as far as corals. It is easy to have a tank that looks dominated by a single piece in a pico. I woudl think a heater would not be needed.

[kolosy]

i doubt you could (safely) create the flow needed for sps in a 1g. that plus a tank that small will probably fluctuate wildly chemically. not a good combo for sensitive critters.

[twintrades]

I thouht that but just need some backup.

Might go with some zoos or whatever perks my interest at the frag swap here on the 10th.

[kolosy]

my lfs showcases picos often. their typical setup is a touch of gsp, a frogspawn, maybe a small zoa colony and a tiny clown. looks good, usually.

[twintrades]

Sounds nice. But i couldent put a clown in a 1 gallon. And our LFS cant take back fish. Might go with nothin for livestock.

[brycerb]

Maybe a small hermit?

[jenglish]

Maybe a shrimp or a crab. I would probably not try a fish.

[twintrades]

Yea im kinda leeding twards a sexy shrimp or a little crab wify likes the anenome shrimp

What would you keep in there. Also what would be a good cuc ?

[lordofthereef]

I have seen a few pico builds that looked great. As far as heat, I would say that depends on where you keep it. That said, I would keep it in a place where the temperature doesn;t swing enough to warrant a heater. If something goes wrong with a heater in that small of a tank it is pretty much toast in minutes. I am not sure I would go with any fish myself, but different people will tell you different things. I am also not certain of the success you would have long term with SPS. I would go with some snails, maybe a hermit, and some colorful shrooms, zoas, etc.

[JCeballos27]

1 gallon?! thats crazy lol

[Falconeer]

Yea im kinda leeding twards a sexy shrimp or a little crab wify likes the anenome shrimp

What would you keep in there. Also what would be a good cuc ?

A decent cuc could probably just be a hermit (or two) and two (or three) small snails (maybe nerite?).

I'd probably keep a shrimp in there for some movement, like you said, but a fish is a definite no, sorry, haha.

I would think you could do a cool zoa garden in a 1 gallon, maybe?

[jenglish]

I have even seen a pico full of very colorful mojano anemones. I would have never thought of it but it looked very cool. Funny how a pest in one system is a beautiful display in another.

[Ston3]

You might look into dwarf hermit crabs. They're cheap and mine are less than a sixth of an inch. Maybe a few of those guys, a few sexy shrimp and a few snails.

I agree with going fishless.

[twintrades]

Yea im not puting a fish in there. Just some sexy shrimp and some blue leg hermits. and 1-2 margarita snails. And as much coral as i can pack in there.:cool:

[FrozenSeas]

I have a 1gal square tank I think I'm going to try some zoos myself.
Thanks for the ideas.

[Fibinotchi]

Just so your prepared, evaporation will be a pain in the ... with a one gallon. I would try setting up a diy top off with another gallon just for peice of mind otherwise the tank will just about be toast if you leave it for 12 hours during the day with the lights on.

[Falconeer]

Just so your prepared, evaporation will be a pain in the ... with a one gallon. I would try setting up a diy top off with another gallon just for peice of mind otherwise the tank will just about be toast if you leave it for 12 hours during the day with the lights on.

On that note, and I don't know why I remember what exactly was said, but I read another thread here several months ago about someone doing maybe a 3 gallon pico (at largest, I think it may have been a 1 gallon though) and someone suggested keeping a bottle of RODI water next to the tank and topping off a shot glass or two every day.

[Fibinotchi]

Ya, a shot glass of water evaporation in a 1 gallon tank can really raise the salinity quick.

[Frick-n-Frags]

please do not sentence a fish to that tiny solitary confinement cell.

[Michael]

LOL, whats the point of a 1 gallon, i can understand the nano guys and gals with 12 and 29 gal tanks but a 1 gallon is ridiculous imo.

however if your determined to do this then id suggest a canister filter to aid water volume, and the flow should be choked back a bit to stop the water spilling over the top, as for stock, perhaps a mushroom colony at most and a pound of live rock.

[twintrades]

The tank has a plexy glass top on it. So evap should be minimal and yea if i had to id top off 2x per day. I dont have to pay anything for the tank, rock or corals. Id be out only the electric bill. So why not ? :fun4:WOrst that could happen is it would crash. Then id toss the water / coral frags and throw the rock in my DT.

Oh and what ever id throw in there would be free. I have a freind at our LFS that would give me frags of stuff that they would just throw out. :frog:

I just need some live sand......

[Michael]

ok well the very best of luck, i hope it works out.

mike

[JCeballos27]

good luck man

[twintrades]

Ill post pics as i go along setting it up

[twintrades]

Thought i should test for leaks. Its sealed and its a 1.5 gallon. The internal filter takes up alot of space.... But i would like some kind of filteration other than LR.

[Dont Ask Me]

Would love to see how you go i want to build a 3g myself. Good luck.

I'd use a large cannister filter for increased volume.

[acura27]

I have a 1.5 and it is a pain the the butt lol

[twintrades]

Well ill see about that i guess soon enuf ! I just put a tetra heater in there and im wishing it was smaller. THe 50 watt heater is kinda big but hey i had it laying around !

[JCeballos27]

How big is it? I have a small one but I don't know if its small enough for u... if anything we can trade if mine is smaller

[twintrades]

I have a 50 watt and it seems to work now.

[Alaska_Phil]

Is there any way you could rig an overflow and plumb it into your larger tank? That would be the easiest way to keep things stable.

I saw a 6.5 bookself tank at Petco the other day that I'm really tempted to set up as a pico reef. :)

[twintrades]

Nope The plumbing That that would involve would look stupid on my wall. Im making a shelf for this to sit on. Its going to be eye hight. Cords are going to be hidden in the shelf. Then traced down the wall to the outlet.