Gharner's Pico Reef Journal

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sexyshrimp101

Guest
I would think the 20 Watt would be more than enough. Yeah, I am a member there (more my fiance's account, but I use it too). They are extremely new so the more people the better
It doesn't hurt that it is dedicated to Stomatopods either
 
grabbitt

grabbitt

Active Member
Very cool

I have (I think) the same 3 gallon pico.. I brought mine home with me over the holiday to house some of my favorite corals and it worked out pretty well. Just be sure to watch it every day as the params can change very quickly in such a small tank.
 
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sexyshrimp101

Guest
Originally Posted by gharner
got some diatoms today! yay haha. ill try to take some pics to post maybe tomorrow.....
Yay!!!
 
gharner

gharner

Member
yeah it doesnt look much different except some of the rocks are turning a little brown and i added the start of my cuc. im gonna add some more corals from my 12 gallon soon as well as more snails and hermits. i really would like to get the heater though before i add anything else, last night the tank's temp went down to about 68*ferenheight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
shogun323

shogun323

Active Member
It would be wise to slow down. You are adding alot quicking to a newly cycled tank. When too much is added too fast, your bacteria has to play catch up and will cycle.
Also, I would get your heating issue taken care of before adding more. Either that or buy some mittens for the critters in your tank.
 
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sexyshrimp101

Guest
Hey Shogun, just out of curiosity, how big of a tank do you have for your mantis and how long did it take to cycle? Just wondering for my own sake. Thanks
 
shogun323

shogun323

Active Member
My Mantis is a in a custom made 19 gallon acrylic aquarium. Although it is only 19 gallons total, it has the footprint of a 30+ gallon aquarium. If I remember correctly, it took about a week and a half to cycle.
 
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sexyshrimp101

Guest
I was just wondering because we have a 20 gal. long for our mantis and has been cycling for almost 2 weeks now. Params seem to be doing well. Someone got what they think is an N. Wennerae (about 1 1/2 inches, green with red tips) and is sending it to us on Friday. Just didn't want anything to happen to the little bugger. The person obviously couldn't keep it much longer. Found it on Sunday.
Sorry gharner, didn't mean to hijack the thread. I am done hijacking, promise
 
gharner

gharner

Member
more diatoms.......but nothin else really.
shogun: thanks for the advice, i was just tryin to get some sort of cuc in there to keep the diatoms "slowed" down from the start, so for now i have a tiny hermit, a little margarita snail, and some type of burrowing snail. with my 12 gallon the diatoms got out of control from the start and took forever to clean up. i wont be adding anything else for a little while now.....im just gonna let it settle out. oh and im ordering the heater shortly....gotta find the number to the lfs......and some money haha.
ill test the params and post em either later tonite or tomorrow afternoon.

just out of curiosity......how much of a cuc do u think ill need in this tank?
 
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sexyshrimp101

Guest
Originally Posted by gharner
yeah it doesnt look much different except some of the rocks are turning a little brown and i added the start of my cuc. im gonna add some more corals from my 12 gallon soon as well as more snails and hermits. i really would like to get the heater though before i add anything else, last night the tank's temp went down to about 68*ferenheight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would definitely get that heater asap!!! That temp. fluctuation can't be good for cuc or corals.
Poor mitten-less cuc
 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by shogun323
It should cycle rather quickly. I reccommend using rubble if you can. Mantis enjoy rebuilding also due to the size of the pico. Yours may not do much building since he is a little feller but he will as he grows.
My Mantis Building
Hey, after watching the video, you made me want to set up a mantis shrimp tank. Now you gave me the mantis shrimp bug!
lol
 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by shogun323
It should cycle rather quickly. I reccommend using rubble if you can. Mantis enjoy rebuilding also due to the size of the pico. Yours may not do much building since he is a little feller but he will as he grows.
My Mantis Building
What size tank is your mantis shrimp in?
 
bjoe23

bjoe23

Active Member
Originally Posted by gharner
yeah it doesnt look much different except some of the rocks are turning a little brown and i added the start of my cuc. im gonna add some more corals from my 12 gallon soon as well as more snails and hermits. i really would like to get the heater though before i add anything else, last night the tank's temp went down to about 68*ferenheight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was at a ***** the other day and they sold undergravel heaters for pico tanks (1-5 gallons). Looks cool and was cheap (like $12)
 
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sexyshrimp101

Guest
All well on the mantis tank home front?
We are going through a total nightmare getting our mantis here. It was supposed to be overnight (shipped out yesterday from Montana) but have now found out it won't be delivered until tomorrow. I have been calling everyone and their mothers trying to intercept the package. We are patiently waiting a call from a local post office where the Express packages come into so we can hopefully pick it up tonight instead of getting it (possibly dead
) tomorrow. I hope your's goes better when you get it.
Hey, by the way, did you see on "the site" forum announcements that they didn't get in any G. Smithiis or N. Wenneraes from this last shipment? It was very disappointing. Hopefully this mystery mantis we are getting will be a good one.
 
gharner

gharner

Member
all seems to be well here except i still didnt get the heater yet....ive been so freakin busy with school and wrestling its rediculous. temps still goin down to about 70* at night. diatoms are getting worse but my cuc looks good and the little margarita snails are devouring the diatoms. hopefully ill get the heater this weekend. ill probably do a water change as well this weekend.
sexyshrimp101: yeah i saw the other site and was quite mad when i didnt see any smithii's as well.....i just wanna see some. i hope all goes well with your little mantis thats coming in........hopefully it will all work out for you.
 
gharner

gharner

Member
ok so i did my first water change on this little tank and cleaned the glass. still need to get a heater.....although the temp has only dropped to 70 degrees the past 2 nights. ill post the params tomorrow after everything settles and ill try to take some pix as well
 
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