Interesting Pico and Nano Aquariums

vitalis

vitalis

New Member
I have had reef aquariums for several years, and I love a challenge. I decided to break down my 55 gallon and buy a 10 and 2.5 gallon aquarium. The 10 gallon has Home Depot "Light of America Flood Lights" over it, and the 2.5 gallon has 2 T-5's over it. I have had both of these tanks for over 6 months now and everything is doing wonderful! I feed the absolute minimum for the fish, since I have no protein skimmer, and perform water changes about once a week. Please feel free to comment on my tanks and leave any suggestions for future tank mates.

2.5 Gallon Without Flash

2.5 Gallon With Flash

10 Gallon Without Flash
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Wow that 10G is packed!
I really like the rock work in the 2.5. What are your plans for the clown as it grows?
My only suggestion would be a black background on each tank.
 
vitalis

vitalis

New Member
The background is a good idea, it would help some of the corals stand out more. The little clownfish in my 2.5 gallon is only about an inch in length, so eventually I may move him into the 10 gallon and buy a Catalina Goby for the smaller tank.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vitalis http:///forum/thread/385970/interesting-pico-and-nano-aquariums#post_3387782
The background is a good idea, it would help some of the corals stand out more. The little clownfish in my 2.5 gallon is only about an inch in length, so eventually I may move him into the 10 gallon and buy a Catalina Goby for the smaller tank.
Yeah, he's definitely small enough in there for now, just was wondering what your long term plans were. He actually will probably one day be too large for the 10G as well. Do you know what type he is?
Catalina Goby would be cool, but are you aware that they require much cooler temperatures than most other reef inhabitants and don't have a good survival rate in reefs? They really prefer water temperatures between 60-70F.
 
vitalis

vitalis

New Member
The clownfish is a black saddeback clown and when he becomes a mature adult (4"-5") I may just give him back to my LFS. About the Catalina Goby, I know they prefer cool water since they are from Catalina Bay, CA but I don't have a heater in the tank and it stays about 72F - 74F. Do you have a better suggestion? I just personally don't like Clown Gobies.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vitalis http:///forum/thread/385970/interesting-pico-and-nano-aquariums#post_3388001
The clownfish is a black saddeback clown and when he becomes a mature adult (4"-5") I may just give him back to my LFS. About the Catalina Goby, I know they prefer cool water since they are from Catalina Bay, CA but I don't have a heater in the tank and it stays about 72F - 74F. Do you have a better suggestion? I just personally don't like Clown Gobies.
I hear you about the clown gobies, I am not a fan either.
You could go with a Red Striped Goby (Trimma cana) or a Red Spotted Goby (Trimma rubromaculatus). The so called "Jaguar Gobies" are kind of unique, since not many people have them, but it is hard to find them sometimes.
You could try a barnacle blenny if you have a hiding spot for it, or a Tail Spot. Blennies have great character and either of those would be okay in that size tank. My choice would be the tail spot.
 
vitalis

vitalis

New Member
I like the Red Spotted Goby, he looks really good. I probably will end up buying one of those.
About the livestock list for the 10 gallon it is really overstocked:
Brown Button Polyps
Blue Spotted Mushrooms
Purple & Green Favia
Hammer Coral
Red Blastomussa Merleti
Ultra Symphyllia Coral
Orange Scolymia
Sun Coral
Scroll Coral
Orange Ricordea
Green Brain
Sunburst Zoos (which are closed in the photo)
Red Firefish
Indigo Pseudochromis (he's really shy)
Scooter Blenny
Camel Shrimp
Plus some other clean up crew inverts
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Indigo Pseudochromis
a dottyback ? shy? i had a purple Pseudochromis and he was quite an A hole!!!! most aggressive fish i have owned imoe!
Ya ur 10gal is well stocked lol, i have 2bar gobys, a coral bandit shrimp, and a red firefish in my 10....not to mention an assortment of zoos...lol
 
vitalis

vitalis

New Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1guyDude http:///forum/thread/385970/interesting-pico-and-nano-aquariums#post_3388457
a dottyback ? shy? i had a purple Pseudochromis and he was quite an A hole!!!! most aggressive fish i have owned imoe!
Ya ur 10gal is well stocked lol, i have 2bar gobys, a coral bandit shrimp, and a red firefish in my 10....not to mention an assortment of zoos...lol
Yeah the Indigo Pseudochromis is very shy. He usually hides behind the Scolymia.
The only time he comes out is when i'm feeding everyone. By the way, your tanks sounds nice.
Does the Coral Banded Shrimp not go after your Firefish? When I had one in my old 55 gallon, he ate an Emerald Crab and numerous snails and hermits!
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
no....everyone is telling me how mean they are! I havent seen any aggression out of him! Hes molted twice now so i still may need to rid him from the tank if the time comes. His body is maybe now an inch long so hes still a youngster!
Quote:
By the way, your tanks sounds nice
thxs a tons man...i just purchased a 75gal so more to come from me!!!!
 
bugsman

bugsman

Member
Those are both spectacular. I'm very new and only hope my 28 gallon will one day look like those. Really beautiful.
 
vitalis

vitalis

New Member
Thank you guys for the generous comments! I will continue to mess around with nano and pico aquariums. I'm deciding what I want to do next, either a home built 1 gal or a JBJ 3 gal picotope? Feel free to suggest any other nano or pico tanks.
 
vitalis

vitalis

New Member
Yeah I thought about buying some Acrylic cuttings at Lowe's ,and building a 1 gal rectangle aquarium. I guess the biggest challenge is going to be getting some sort of filtration and lighting on something that small. Any suggestions on filtration? I will probably just buy a desktop lamp and put those Coralife 50/50 screw in power compact bulb.
 
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