The Nano Reef Project... goin Pico

[Oneshott]

--> yes, I meant to put two nanos in there :P

Alright, I was lookin through an LFS and saw the sweetest thing: a 'Deco Art Aquavase' by the company Red Sea. Costing about 50 bucks Canadian, it comes with a super tiny filter and a lil light. The tank in itself is probably about 1/2 a gallon or so.

So yeah, I'm gunna try to make a nano out of it. Plan? I'm going to buy it, a 25watt heater, about 1 lb of LR, fill maybe an 1 1/2 of LS, and keep the light and the filter (media removed, use as water circulation.)

The only problems I see with this are the lighting, and the heating. In such a small environment, it's gotta be hard to maintain stable temps. I'll try the heater, but if it doesnt work then I'll depend on the light's heat...

As for the lighting, I've heard ppl have had success with just keeping the stock light. I know it's not alot, and its incandescant, but I'm assuming it'll be fine for LR, LS, and maybe some hardy corals. Any ideas?

Alright, soo does anyone have experience with such a small system? Would buying a MiniBow 2.5 be more better than such a small setup?
Thanks

-->Just a pic of what I'm talkin about

[512148048]

that isnt an incandecent lam its a pc 7 watts i thougt of this but id have to figure a way to top it off and not have to worry about it but i couldent so i didnt it would be intersting to have but it would be to delicut for me

[Oneshott]

hmm that's even better I suppose

But yeah, anyone know how to make a cheap n affordable self-top off system? And even if I can't make one, I bet daily topoffs or more than once a day if I notice water is low will be sufficient.

[kelpforest]

I think the minibow 2.5 would be a better set-up but maybe I'm just saying that because I have kept it with no probs, I have sume metallic polyps, 2 mushrooms and a baby CB shrimp

[Oneshott]

hmm I see your point.. what are your tank specs?

[kelpforest]

pretty simple

-1/8 " LS
-5 lbs" of fiji LR
-50 watt heater
-mini 50/50 power compact


clean up crew:

3 astrea snails
2 baby turbos
3 blue legg hermits

That "was" my 2.5 specs

I upgraded that to a minibow 7 and also just bought a 12g jbj ano cube

[dhoffroad]

actualy there are people at nano-reef.com that use those for pico's. I have been thinking of starting one up my self. one mod that is done is to cut down the flex part of the light to get it closer to the top of the tank. if toping off daily when you look at it is not a prob that would prob be ok I have been trying to come up with plan for that my self.I have seen a system on a sump of a larger tank that worked by hanging a bottle over the sump having a line hooked into the bot for drain (input to the sump) and a nother line plumed into the top of the hanging bottle down to the water level in the tank and when the tank level drops below the line it lets air in and the bottle feeds. works kinda like dipping a straw in a glass of water and putting your finger over one end and taking the straw out of the glass no water comes out till you release your finger.hope that is not too confusing. you could prob use a small water bottle make a nice stand for it an it might not look to ghetto. that is just what I am thinking about doing . hav'nt had a chance to actually test it out though.

[ricky1414]

I have that pico, upgraded to a 20w 50/50 pc bulb. Pretty sweet little tank, gotta keep up with the top off, or do what dhoffroad suggests.

[reiple]

i'm thinking of putting up a pico or nano and for light i would get one of those table lamps and put if over the tank. The water will come from my home reef for water change.

[Dingo]

I would just make a lid that covers most of the top of the tank to limit evap. On such a small tank, an autotopoff isn't really practical, unless, maybe, you set up a drip bottle. Even then, getting the rates to match would be a bugger and it would look ugly. The light needs to be right on top of the tank. Smooth shrooms would do fine, but not much else. Nothing that needs to be fed, and no stonies of any sort. Also, you need a heater. The tank temps will swing wildly if you don't. The light may raise the temp a few degrees (especially if you cover) but at night, your stuff will get killed.

[DFL18]

my lfs has one of those thats been running for like 7 months has some featherdusters and a few small corals, they also have the bigger version of the deco art aquavase (i believe the bigger one is like 2.5) and they have a small clown in it.

[iamdickie]

what the heck is a pico?

[dhoffroad]

a nano nano LOL . a very small tank not sure what the "legal" gal limit is prob any thing under 2gal.

[sammy33]

You could do a "GOD" tank pico reef. Just put a couple pounds of super high quality live rock in and see what grows?

[dhoffroad]

that would be kinda like my AC 300 fuge . so does that mean I could have a pico hangin on my 10gal ? LOL