2.7 Gallon Pico
 

Hey all I have just started a 2.7 gallon pico tank, 1.5 lbs of LR an Aquaclear 30 and the fluval spec lighting system is on it. It has been 2 days and I have noticed no ammonia or nitrite, the concern to me is the possiblity of low PH currently Im sitting at 7.8-8.0 using the API saltwater master, as well as a boom in Nitrate about 5-10ppm. In a tank this size should i be doing water changes daily weekly bi-daily?? how can I fix the nitrate issue?

thanks for your help
-Jayden:mrgreen:

The more often you can do waterchanges the more stable the tank will be. Pick a schedule and stick to it, the worst thing you can do is be hit or miss on the schedule. Since you've only had it set up for 2 days I assume there are no fish or corals in there yet? If that's the case, do a 100% waterchange. Generally, there will be some nitrate show up at the beginning as the cycling of the tank will create an abundance of nitrate.

The most important "upgrade" for a Pico or nano is an ATO.

any suggestions on where to get an ATo I have seen how to DIY Ato nano systems but im not sure about the quality verus ease situation

Nano-reef.com has a great DIY forum which includes many styles of ATO. For a pico I would go with the simple and easy to build float switch/air-pump to pressurize a container of fresh water, like this one:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...&st=&p=&#entry

If you go with a battery powered system you don't have to worry about relays etc.

Actually this ATO looks better suited to your pico. No pumps or moving parts.
http://reefbuilders.com/2009/05/26/d...r-auto-topoff/

thanks I have already grabbed my battery pump i think fo the style of the tank the pump will work nicely. Ill have some pics up soon once i put things in there :mrgreen:

Would anyone have any ideas on where I can get some royal blue LEDs to fit ontop of my pico? and suggestions on DYI?

Modular led, he's in reddeer too so shipping would be peanuts. Plus you get a chocolate bar ;)

thank you very much thats a huge help :biggrin:

Some threads on nano sites have recommended a replacement of the Spec light with this...http://www.amazon.com/LCL-60-Finnex-..._petsupplies_2

awesome thats perfect! Ill have to get one of those baddies next pay day thanks a bunch

Hey my pico is on day 6 and is wicked clear, my nitraes seemed to have been stable now for two days at 0-5ppm, where as my nitrite has increased to almost 1-2ppm little worried but I guess thats the cycle ?? is there anything else can do to help the tank or just wait it out?

You just have to wait till the nitrites clear out.

+1

A lot of this hobby is waiting especially at the beginning. The only quick thing is failure, go slow and enjoy the life that should be emerging from your LR. Check again after lights out with a flashlight.

I have another question for all you guys out there who have been helping me out, I was curious... Does anyone know what the light rating in lumens is for the fluval spec stock lighting system?

that LCL-60 Finnex light doesnt ship to canada! well at least where i have found it it wont ship here, Im becoming frusterated! lol any ideas/help?

The ecopico light at modular led is supposed to be quite good as long as you add some of the side strips to it...and that is a Canreef vendor

yes I have seen and heard good things but I dunno if I have the room to fit it because of the filter. its a wide base for that type of of lighting system. Any articles out there on modding the Fluval spec light for more royal blue and actinic lighting?

I have the Eco Pico Arm and yes it is wider than the tank if you put it on the back. I have mind on the side (ends) of the tank and is just perfect. It hits the whole tank that way.

I also ordered the extra two strips for a total of 3 is all you can fit on this arm. So far love the light alot.

If you do get it make sure when you are connecting the three lights into the main extension you give them a good push to hear the click otherwise you will not get full power on the lights like I did (stupid me...:lol:)

with the ecopico led lighting system I can house 4 strips or only 3? and Also is it required to buy additional power sources per led strip or do i just plug them into the fixture and then the one power source?

The fixture has room for 3 strips. It comes with one and then I bought the other two extra. They stick on the fixture there is an area for them on there. Yes you need to get the right power cord as well for it all this can be ordered from Modular LED on the canreef site. Martin is really good to deal with just tell him what you want and he will tell you what you need to order for it and the total cost.

He is really good at replying back through email too.

Go to their site and take a look at what they all have there. I was going to go with a stunner strip but glad I did not and went with this instead. Somuch nicer that is mounted up and out of the way on the tank.

I think it puts out perfect light for this size of tank too.

Thank you very much I think I will email him in the ear future :)
An up date on my tank and it's water parameters

Im sitting scary with nitrite(5ppm) and nitrate (40-160ppm(if Im reading it right?)) at the moment with a little of ammonia showing (<0.25 ppm). ph is 8.0-8.2 and dKH is perfect 10-12, calcium is good 420-440 mg/l (ca2) so I think I am just going through wave one of my cycle since i stopped doseing with instant ocean bio spirla. Is this why my levels are crazy, plus I did do a 25% water change yesterday.

Hey good luck with the tank nice to see another pico , i my self have a beta tank i turned salty its less then a gallon . There really fun to have but just watch the top offs

Ps if you need amy equitment pm me i have a hole
Bunch of small stuff for nanos

Thanks very much :) thats a load of help Im testing water in the am tomorrow to see where I stand after day 10 and 2 days after my first 25% h2o change :P

Good news my refractometer came in the mail, bad news coralife is a liar and my sg is off (1.026) not bad but the kicker is the premixed water I bought (nutri-seawater by natures ocean) sits at 1.030 sg!!!!! holy crumbs! I wish the placed it on the label, thank goodness for my over zealous FWTO's lol :mrgreen:

As for awesome meet the two newest members of my little pico

Fred and Barney the turbos!

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...9/5e0b05f8.jpg

and this is night time (other than my flash) for the pico itself! seen here first lawls!

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...9/ab5965c3.jpg

I think two turbos for a pico is just too many. Even one turbo might starve. Turbos are voracious eater and I think you might want to move to something slower and less voracious.

dont worry they are there to make sure that the tank is satble enough for when my sexy shrimp and crabs come :) they will be going back to there owner on wednesday thanks for the heads up though Im just excited that they survived and that I did everything right

worst kinda news, went to big als got a maxi-mini carpet anenome, landed him well he was good for most of the day then this morning I find he has been nsucked up into my filter and died :( first lost in the tank and he was barely in there for 18 hours. any suggestions on how/why he decided to roam into my filter :( ???

Google around. There are hundreds of stories of anemone being sucked into power heads and filters. It is advised to put some screening or other protection around PH until they settle... even then they could release at anytime and decide to go for a float.

Ya I think roaming and got suckrd up. I guess ill have to make a guard up for the filers intake out of a pill bottle. Much like a snail guard for floats

The ones I saw at J and L were simple foam pieces tied around the intake with elastic bands.

Yah there is a filter pad made for my ac 30 but I dont know how I feel about it collecting so much garbage and sand particulate It will flux my flow in the tank. Perhaps I have too much flow for maxi-mini carpet anemones, my tank cycles 10 times an hour, avg about 265 gph... is this too much?

Take a aqua clear mini sponge, take the scissors and nip down the center of it just enough to slip it over the intake. Make sure the foam is length wise up so it covers the whole intake. Been using this for several things in my tanks for years works like a charm and has no effect on the flow or working of the filter at all.

Just take off and rinse once in a while. Very easy to do.

That's good to know. I had an extra down stem sitting around so I modded it and am going to test it out. On wednesday :) but thanks foe the idea on the mini foam. :)

Help!!! question!
 

So after my maxi-mini mis hap (r.i.p. Carl) My tank has since been rescaped filter cleaned out and bits moved around for more room. but I noticed my tongs though claiming stainless steelness have started to rust? if put into the tank will it kill my inverts?

I guess you didn't clean your tong with freshwater after using it in your tank :P

derp derp derp!!! i rinsed in tap but I guess not well enough! grrr so are these tongs done for now :(