my 2.5 gallon nano

[bdelaney]

Here are some pictures of my 2.5 gallon nano. I took them with a camera-phone, so the pictures are low quality. I set this tank up a while ago, and it is divided into three compartments. One small compartment in the back houses the carbon, pump, and heater. The other small compartment is for a small amount of macro.

I'm setting it up as a mushroom/softie tank. Right now it's only mushrooms, but I may try to propagate some Anthelia and Pachyclavularia (star polyps) from my main tank in the future.

 

[bdelaney]

Here are a few more. This tank has been running since the fall with some successes and some failures, but the shrooms seem to be very happy. I change around 80% of the water once every 2 weeks. I prune the macro when needed. It's relatively low maintenance, and as you can see I have some good coralline growth. I'd like to add a small shrimp or other invert, but I'm not sure what will survive for the long term. Any suggestions?

 

[brandon4291]

Excellent setup Brian, thanks for introducing a new pico reef into our forum. It is a nice softy tank, and doesn't it seem these tiny reefs aren't that tough to keep after they are set up and humming along? Five years ago, people would have laughed us out of town for trying something like this, but look how well it is doing! In my opinion, 2.5 is the smallest reef I would consider housing a fish in, do you ever plan on trying a small goby of any kind? Much easier to keep without one, but if I had a 2.5 this is what I would eventually try...

Great setup

Brandon M.

 

[Anonymous]

B-
I went ahead and deleted your double post...flexing these mod muscles for the first time

Brian,
I really like your tank too. Those mushrooms are nice looking, and the tank looks nice and tidy on that desk. I would get a neon goby or firefish if I were to add a fish. A little peppermint shrimp would probably be great in there. I haven't really researched them extensively, but you may consider an anemone crab or shrimp as well. I've "heard" they will adopt other corals as hosts, and will do great in the absence of predators. Something to consider.

 

[brandon4291]

Thanks Matt, I never see those DP's until the thread reloads...lemme guess, each time you think a reply is not loading and then you hit stop---> resend it is making a double post?!?! Ahhhh

Matt, what were those very expensive fish that looks like a firefish but they cost 200-300$? Thought you mentioned trying or ordering one of those. Certainly wouldnt put one in a pico, but wondering how it worked out if you tried it.

Brian, how do you top off your tank? it probably uses a cup of FW per day?

B

 

[shalegac]

Not a bad little tank. I agree with Brandon, a small goby would do fine perhaps a neon? Shrimp too would go over just fine.

 

[Anonymous]

B-
Nemateleotris helfrichi. One of the three firefish species. It's the fish in my avatar! Goes for around 100-150 usually, although I've seen it at 250. It's not especially rare, it just comes from deep water.

 

[bdelaney]

Thanks for the comments.

Brandon: It actually took quite a while for this tank to become stable, but now it seems to be "humming along" nicely. I'm trying to keep the maintenance low, so I think a fish might add too much bio-load. The top of the tank is sealed fairly well with plexi-glass, so I don't really need to top-off. I seem to lose a little water through the cracks, but that gets fixed with the weekly water change.

Matt: I'll look into a peppermint shrimp. Temperature seems to hover around 80 degrees. Do you think there will be any issues with that? Also, the tank seems to be well populated with pods and such, but I'm worried that a shrimp will quickly eat all that's available. Would he require feeding? Maybe a few sinking pellets every so often?

I might also consider a sexy shrimp, but I need to look at the care requirements a little more.

I think I'll pass on the Nemateleotris helfrichi! It costs more than the entire tank and current inhabitants. :wink:

 

[brandon4291]

Its neat to know a 2.5 has that much time in between topoffs, I consider that an ultra-low maintenance pico reef. Ultra-low maintenance (considering the kind of organisms we keep) necessarily implies healthy and balanced biology, and I don't blame you for not wanting a fish. They can be supported, but the nitrate will accumulate without export and one would be right to expect more wchanges. Mine still do not have fish as I consider more than 2x a month a wchange hassle, but I think my next reef will be some kind of 2.5 with a baffle refugium for thick export, that should remove enough. I think the Palm series lights or the galaxy lights from www.aquaticeco.com will enhance any macroalgae you keep in there as well as any coral.

What do you dose for calcium and alkalinity? Using C-Balance, that reef would require right at 2 capfuls each solution weekly, it would grow SPS like a madman. The 13watt light for Azoo is the bomblight for that setup<<<$20 per pop and will grow and SPS species at close range.

Matt that color is outstanding, an unmatched fish indeed due to its origin and color scheme. I suppose its behavior and requirements are much like the other firefish? Neat

Brandon

 

[brandon4291]

Now I was just catching the lights, that lighting strip appears to fit perfectly over the setup, it looks like a mini 10gallon.


I remember when you first built this one Brian, its been a long time now. The sides of the aquarium look well-rounded with encrusting organisms, what were you dosing for the calcium/alk?

 

[Anonymous]

The cool thing about the firefish is that it will not pick copepods, mysis shrimp, amphipods, etc. off the rockwork. It is strictly an open water planktivore and so will not harm these critters. A peppermint shrimp will though. All three firefish have similar requirements: A hiding place, VERY peaceful tankmates, a tight fitting cover on the tank, and that's about it. They are very hardy and will accept virtually any food.

 

[bdelaney]

Yes, I posted a while back with the initial hardware setup. I had some problems due to excessive algae growth for a few months. I was tempted to tear the tank down, but I just kept it running with water changes every two weeks. It seemed to have settled down on its own. Do you think that these tiny reefs have a longer cycle period compared to larger tanks? I remember similar problems with my 29g, but it did not seem to last as long.

I do not dose anything, but I try to keep up with weekly (or sometimes every 2 weeks) water changes. I typically change about 1 gallon at a time, which seems to be between 70-80% of the total water volume. I have quite a bit of coralline growth on the acryilc dividers and sides of the tank. I always change with RO water.

The light is a JBJ 18 watt power compact 50/50 actinic/daylight. It fits exactly over a 2.5g. I'm still considering a 7 watt palm light for the fuge. As the acrylic gets covered in coralline, less light is getting to the macro behind it. I'd like to light it directly from behind with a small PC light.

 

[bdelaney]

Another question:

What tools do you typically use to clean the front glass? Given the tiny size, it's difficult to get in there and really clean any algae off the glass without removing some of the rock. I'm using a plastic scaper at the end of a stick right now, but it's a bit bulky and awkward for this tank.

 

[Bleeding Blue]

Have you tried using an old credit card and a toothbrush? It seems to work on my eclipse.

Mike

 

[bdelaney]

The toothbrush is a good idea. I have one set aside for fish tank use already. I'll give that a try.

I also bought two peppermint shrimp today. I changed the aquascaping a bit to make some caves for them. They seem to be acclimating well.

Thanks to all for the advice so far.

 

[brandon4291]

I forgot to mention, I use a pair of hemostats gripped onto a razor blade. if Im not careful it will still scratch the acrylic tanks a little, but bending the razor slightly will reduce scratches enough to make it worth it. The credit card is very nice to use, but I have also grown spoiled by the one-swipe of the blade and its crystal-clear leftovers.