Pico reefing...need your advice

[hahahohol]

I currently have a 40 gal reef tank and I love it, but I want to try building a 1 gallon pico tank (fishless - of course).
I did my research and found all the equipment that i need to start this little baby... except the tank :/
Does any one know where to get a one gallon tank? Please note that I am very tight on budget because i'm only experimenting. I found a 1.5g glass aquarium for $33 which i think is expensive.
At this point, i think my best option is to get a picotope kit (tank, light, & filter) for $40 from foster and smith, but it's 3 gallons and i want something smaller for decent price.

Any recommendations?

[crcarver89]

I would go to Petsmart or Petco and get a small betta tank that are 1 gallon... I believe they are around $20 or cheaper

[Reefer140]

Yeah there are a couple small tanks that they offer that would work.

[hahahohol]

Thanks. I looked there yesterday. Couldn't find anything that i was looking for. I'll probably just get the 3 gallon kit. I'll post some pics later.

[fscmocsaj]

eBay and amazon

[bayfocus]

Try the craft stores, they might have them.

[hahahohol]

Originally Posted by bayfocus

Try the craft stores, they might have them.

Good idea. I guess that's one place that I didnt think of... but I already bought a picotope today. Thank you, though.

I'm excited to get this started. I'll grab some smaller rocks from my 40g tank and will need to buy dry aragonite sand for substrate.

I know that it's kind of early to ask this question, but will I need to dose my pico tank? If so, what should use? Trace elements, calcium, iodine...?

[hahahohol]

I received my equipment last week. Added a black background (I strongly dislike blue backgrounds...it reminds me of our LFS tanks with dead fish). Installed stock filter, 25W heater and a tiny powerhead. Added 4lb of special grade aragonite sand (Love the grain size, so much better than fine aragonite that i have in my other tank). Grabbed some loose pieces of the LR from my big tank and placed in pico.

I checked ph, ammonia, and Nitrate 24hrs later after adding water. Everything looked great, so i decided to add a "test" frag...Kenya tree (i have a bunch of them). It was doing great so I added more frags... Zoas, Xenia, and Anthelia – they are doing great, also.

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I am very excited about this project, but I have are a couple of frustrations that i want to share with you ...need your advice:
1. I hate the look of aquascape. Ordered some reef saver base rock, should be here tomorrow. Is ok to add ~6lb to my setup? Or would you recommend curing the rock first?
2. I want more color. Xenia, Kenya, and Anthelia look monotone. Any suggestions? (keep in mind that it has 9W PC light)
3. Xenia isn't pulsating, although it was doing great in my other tank.
4. Water evaporation is killing me. I am losing about 1qt in 2-3 days.
5. I dont like how my heater looks.

But I still have hope

[hahahohol]

This is what it looks like now
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PS: In reality it's not as blue as it is on this photo.

[hahahohol]

Recieved some reef saver rock. This is what the tank looks like after adding 6 lb of rock.
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If i add hermit crabs, how should i feed them?

[d2mini]

Nice little tank, looks good.
The hermits are scavengers. Might be hard to get food to sit at the bottom though, with flow in the tank. Maybe try rubber banding a small piece of nori to a little rock and see if they go for that?
Or some kind of food disc.
http://www.new-era-aquaculture.com/f...i-marinegrazer

[GT350pwns]

I used to use algae wafers to feed my hermits before there were any fish in my 36 gal. They sink to the bottom and the hermits went nuts over them

[hahahohol]

Thank you. A friend of mine saw this tank and now wants to buy it from me
She doesn't have any SW equipment, so i'm wondering if she would be able to run this tank with minimum investment...salt, hydrometer, trace elements and some coral food.

I personally think that with the hardy corals that I have in there - it should be doable as long as she can have stable water parameters. Thoughts?

My biggest questions is... Is it possible to do a water change without additional waterpump and heater for mixing salt?

[acabgd]

It's very hard. Obviously you can mix by hand and heat some water, but I don't see it working further down the road. With small tanks evaporation is also an issue.

[hahahohol]

Originally Posted by acabgd

It's very hard. Obviously you can mix by hand and heat some water, but I don't see it working further down the road. With small tanks evaporation is also an issue.

What if it is only 10% (~38 oz)? Can I change it without preheating it? Room temp?

[acabgd]

We all change close to the same amount of water, be it a 120g tank or a 1g pico. 10% is 10% and I still put a heater in my 10% water change.
I'm not saying it will damage your tank inhabitants, but why add another instability when you can solve it with $10-20?
Also, I prefer to let my salt fully dissolve in 4-5 hours. I doubt your friend would be willing to stir the water for 5 hours straight.

[hahahohol]

Originally Posted by acabgd

We all change close to the same amount of water, be it a 120g tank or a 1g pico. 10% is 10% and I still put a heater in my 10% water change.
I'm not saying it will damage your tank inhabitants, but why add another instability when you can solve it with $10-20?
Also, I prefer to let my salt fully dissolve in 4-5 hours. I doubt your friend would be willing to stir the water for 5 hours straight.

I understand. I'm just trying to see how to make it even more simpler. And also, I'm having trouble visualizing a 1 qt container (for 10% water change) with a pump and heater... sounds like an awkward/messy process

Can anyone share their experience with water changes in Pico tanks?

[hahahohol]

Hi all,

quick update! The tank is doing great, but I decided to sell it. Check out the video I've put together
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_89PyL2F0nA