'PicoSurge'

[BlueAbyss]

Alright, so I might as well start a thread for this

I've put the larger surged system on temporary hold, partially because I want to start with something smaller, and partially (perhaps more importantly) because I need to test some of my theories and doing it on a large scale will just be too expensive until I know it works... and I'm lazy So without further ado...

This will be a fully surged pico system (though by some definition this would be a nano) with a useable water volume of 5.3 gallons. The actual tank dimensions will be 26l x 8w x 9d, but at either end 3" is lost for utilities (leaving around 6 gallons) and there will be a 1" sandbed installed.

Planned turnover will change during day and night cycles, with one or two surge tanks. One end of the tank is reserved for surge 'breaking' and the other for overflow. There will definitely be a closed-loop style return built into the tank, it's undecided ATM whether I'll run a closed-loop or a second surge tank. Either way my pump of choice is the Sedra KSP-1000 and 2000, though I don't know if the 2000 will accomplish 150gph at an 18" head height. The idea is to have a tank turnover of 50x.

The star of the show here is going to be my DIY lighting which should rival MH... more to come about that later, I'll be running around 60+W in this tank. The colour temperature and overall intensity will be adjustable. No I won't get sued I'm hoping the prodigious use of LEDs will transmit little heat into the water, which is my main concern for this tank... growing SPS without boiling the water.

Did I just say SPS? I sure did! In 5 gallons of water? That's right, it's not a misprint I won't have many... in fact there won't be many of anything in this tank, except different species... the stocking list is similar to what I had planned for the larger surged tank, but downgraded.

Tentative Stocking List:

Bumblebee Shrimp - 3
Sharknose Goby - 2
Pom Pom Crab - 2
Some smaller snails <1"

Macroalgae (Peysonnellia, Halimeda)
Photosynthetic Sponges
Photosynthetic Gorgonians
Christmas Tree Worm Rock / Porites SPS
Some other SPS (Montipora, Acropora, who knows)
Some sort of LPS (choosing from Acans, Blastos, Micros, chalices, not all of these... whatever catches my eye)
Zoas, Ricordea

I'll be starting with the freshest live rock I can order from J & L in early summer, before it's too hot. I like the look of the Irian Jaya rock, I'll probably order 25 lbs and whatever doesn't go into the surge tank will go into another AIO tank... that one will probably be the 20 gallon, and will probably end up being a 'side project' of some kind. I won't know till I have the extra rock The biggest problem here will be getting the money together for the lighting, which will by far be the most expensive part of this project. Good thing LEDs last 50000 hours

Hoping to keep the entire setup clean looking by hiding everything. We'll see how that goes, I might still be in the experimentation phase when the rock gets here