8 Gallon Pico Reef

[fish are good]

Hello everyone, I have been wanting to start a tank "diary" for a long time now but havent had the time. So now is better than never, last September I purchased the Cadlights 8 gallon all-in-one system. Upon arrival I could tell that a few things needed to be updated. So after setting the tank up to get it cycling I began to do some research on lighting, flow, and a few other things. For lighting I decided to go with the Ecoxotic Panorama Pro (White/Blue) and two stunner strips an all blue one and a purple/blue one. I had read that these lights a extremely bright so to prevent scorching my corals i ordered the adjustable dial things. This is both a blessing and a curse as I am never sure if I have the whites up to high and the same with the blues. Some advice on that would be great. I left the filtration as it was from the factory, however for extra flow I put in a Hydor Koralia Nano 425. Additional mechanics that I have added are a Tunze ATO Nano and a Chillsolutions chiller thanks to this lovely Florida heat.I would deffinately recommend this chiller to anyone with a small pico/nano aquarium with a bit of a temperature issue. I just set the built in thermostat and let it do the rest! And now on to the fun part the rock, sand and livestock. The tank has about 12 lbs or man made reef rock (the stuff that is already painted purple) so it always look natural yet cool all at the same time, also it has about 6 lbs of live reef sand. As far as critters and corals go I wanted things that I had never had before with a few exceptions. Currently in the tank are: 3 blue legged hermits 2 nassarius snails a tiny candy cane pistol shrimp 3/4 an inch maybe. Corals: Candy Apple Red Zoas (i beleive), a giant split pore gorgonian, kenya tree, green candy cane, a strange mushroom, green star polyps, red zoas, and some red and white acans that are on the mend. Also i am awaiting an order of some purple and green acans, blue and orange acans and a pagoda cup! I really hope my ramblings make sence and I look forward to hearing the good bad and the ugly of what everyone has to say! Pictures coming soon!!

 

[mr llimpid]

Sound very nice. As for the amount of lighting most LPS coral do not need intense lighting, I would just adjust it per the reaction from the corals. The only other way is to get or borrow a light meter. It sound like a lot of different corals in a small tank, I hope you did your research to make sure you don't have a chemical war fair on your hands. Picture's would be nice.