• Why not take a moment to introduce yourself to our members?

A

Anonymous

Guest
With the help of Coral the magazine and Brandon for inspiration, ive decided to go with a Red Sea Deco Art Nano tank...it comes with a nano filter...this is more along the size of Pico..this is my first attempt at a tank this small and its gonna be more for my wife...(actually i bought this thing for the PC light it had but i still reap the benefits :twisted: )..Its gonna have low light level corals and maybe a pistol shrimp or a neon goby..( i found some half inchers at my LFS that would be perfect for awhile) We'll see how this goes
 

Attachments

  • pico1.jpg
    pico1.jpg
    86.7 KB · Views: 1,967
  • pico2.jpg
    pico2.jpg
    101.1 KB · Views: 1,967

Fl_Seagull

Experienced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have been thinking about getting one of these tank also. I was wondering what corals would do well.

I thought a clown Goby would go good in this tank.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have been looking @ those, and I'm thinking I will get one. HF!
 

ricky1414

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Bought one last week!! Instant cycle, looking for livestock as we speak. Will a neon goby overload the system? You took out the sponges inside it? I'm gonna probaby put LR rubble in it.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I just ordered another Deco art 7W PC light.. i took the one that came with my little 3/4 gallon for my HOB DIY fuge for my Mantis tank...since i have no corals yet and its now just cycling no need for any extensive light..however i do have some macro in the nano filter part along with some rubble...Ricky i dont understand what you mean by instant cycle? Did you buy some instant cycle and try that?
 

liquid

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Where'd you order your light from? And what was the part ##? I'm wanting to setup a small pico now. :P

Shane
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
NOT the small volume...I believe instant cycle refers to just using a bit of mature LR and LS and water from an established tank.
 

ricky1414

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Correct Matt, LR from a friend's tank, and a bit of LS from my 20. Thinking of putting my Black Clown Goby in there. I don't know.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well I was going to buy one today but I decided to take my special lady friend out for a night cruisin' around uptown... maybe next payday I'll have some pix of my new super-duper-tiny-pico.

*burninates*
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well the hermit didnt make it through the night..oh well..i fed his carcus to my mantis..(he did enjoy it)...anyways here are some pix..including the mujano/aiptasia...ill think ill leave it in there...i seen some pix in Coral in one of those .75gal tanks with shrooms and mujano..looked good actually
 

Attachments

  • picotankfront.jpg
    picotankfront.jpg
    77.2 KB · Views: 1,889
  • mujanooraiptasia.jpg
    mujanooraiptasia.jpg
    75.7 KB · Views: 1,888
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Purchased a small Neon goby for the Pico...So im on my way....In the next few weeks i plan on fragging corals from my main(mainly zoos for starters)tank..Im hoping to have killer pix....right now i have some LR C.Racemosa,Aragonite sand seeded with some from my main tank, and an aiptasia or mujano and a hermit crab...Ill get pix soon as i can...A neat little thing i did was on the nano filter i pulled out the media and replaced it with LR fragments and some C. Racemosa...
 

brandon4291

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm really glad you take the time to participate in our reef exchanges and contribute to designs we can call read about, there is a good chance you'll like this pico as much as any other reef you've had. Get ready for the salinity shifts of the open-topped pico--controlling salinity is all that's necessary to maintain a wide variety of coral fraglets. There are ways yet undiscovered to fix the salinity problem that are specific to the aquavase design--it just takes a few pressing reefers to find ways and post them to build the trend. Are you willing to do some experimentation to push the design limits of that bad boy? :)
 

brandon4291

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Here are some sealing ideas I have had for the aquavase:

1. Acrylic lid made from jigsaw and thin acrylic from Home Depot. Invert the empty tank onto clear lexan/acrylic and trace with marker. Use jigsaw to cut out an exact fit for the shape of the aquavase tank.

Clamp light goes onto something else, a small wire stand perhaps, to clear up the fit for the lid. There would be no place for the mini HOB filter available for these models, the purpose of this design is to control salinity by restricting evaporation.
Lid should have a tiny hole for servicing needs and ventilation, along with a hole slightly smaller than a piece of airline tubing (used for circulation). Installation process includes actually gluing the lid to the tank, with a tiny tiny streak of silicone, to totally seal it around the edges and prevent any salt creep. During weekly or bi-weekly service, a razor blade is ran around the lip to free the lid and allows service by removing the lid. It is then resealed for the next week's stay. Holes are not side-by side, but spaced apart to prevent splatter from reaching the vent/service hole.

2. Circulation

Provided by an airstone set on very low, just enough to move the water. Airline tubing should run through a grommet in the lid, or be siliconed in place to avoid saltcreep. Build reefwall around the tubing or use the method seen in the Coral Nano Reef edition magazine. Consider possibly leaving the bubbler off the end of the tube. Slow, larger bubbles may move more water in the long run with less splatter but I don't know, just a thought. This setup may not work well with fish, as the design of their pico tank would necessitate more access to the water. I'd consider swapping the fish for a caulastrea frag.
 

Attachments

  • 1aquavase design.jpg
    1aquavase design.jpg
    16.4 KB · Views: 1,862
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
the aquavase has a nano filter..is it ok just to use this for circulation over drilling and epoxying rocks together(Coral) and running a line in there..besides it looks alot cleaner without a tube sticking in there...I do like the whole lid thing..actually im gonna try that today...that will also slow down the evap process too...thanx Brandon
 

brandon4291

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This method restricts evaporation but does not eliminate it. Saltcreep shouldn't build up on the tank, so the marked line method of topoff should work well (set s.g. at water change then mark water line with a marker, add distilled water sufficient to keep this water level throughout the week). You'll find you can keep a wider variety of corals and not have to topoff as much or as often. Also, consider buying the blacklight version of the 9w clamp-on lamp; these make perfect actinic displays (I've tested them on my tanks) to make your corals flouresce and they can be clamped alongside your other lamp. Be aware of ventilation needs when adding 18watts to 3/4 gallon! have either a fan or AC duct handy to control the temp swings, but spacing should be able to control it generally. Once again thanks for contributing a great thread, sure to garner tons of hits.
 

brandon4291

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I think it is okay to skip the cover and go with the filter, because that is a nifty item that can still work with a gravity-drip system. I'd try a kent aquadoser that drips a very slow rate of distilled water, or better yet just top it off with 20 or so mLs every day. The drip doser can work generally well, but in this case will only work between the full and half-full marks on the container. When a gravity-drip doser reaches the halfway mark, the drip rate slows greatly from there on out (or it can stop) when limited to just a drop or so per minute.

Other options, especially if you are set on experimenting with a fish:

Pack the mini filter with zeolite ammonia sorb, that can pull waste out of the water but must be regenerated weekly, I'd prefer a fresh batch to an oven-baked reset. Zeolite is cheap enough you could just add a new pinch every week during maintenance. I would still measure ammonia and nitrite to be sure this works, but it's worth a shot. You might also consider a balanced-s.g. drip system that drips complete SW into the pico at a slow rate. Find some way to make an outflow drip tube of the same rate, to a collection/wastewater bin, and your pico is really just an intermedidate-stage fish holder for a larger water volume. Too bad you live so far away, I have two hospital dosing pumps I'd let you try out because you could set the inflow/outflow rates perfect with that...see how many different aquavase approaches there are?
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top