Yoshii's 3 Gallon Pico!

Y

yoshii

Guest
Hello everyone!

I'm starting up my first pico from a 3gal acrylic aquarium!
Here's the tank info:[*]3 Gallon Eclipse Acrylic Tank, I got it used a long time ago and someone had ripped out the filter part of the hood, so it just has the light
[*]IDK lbs Fiji, a piece or two of tonga branch. Both will come from my 55gal and 20gal tanks.
[*]IDK lbs of Oolite sand, whatever amount covers the bottom of the tank. From my 20gal
[*]DIY Fuge/Filter using a food storage container
[*]DIY ATO using air pressure
[*]I'm hoping a PH and the pump I'm using for the fuge will be enough to heat this tank, if not, I'll buy a small heater (if I can find one that small)
[*]I'm not sure on the light, suggestions please!
[*]Fuge Light-probably some clip-on light from Walmart
[*]Not sure on the background either, not really wanting to paint, I like to change my tanks' backgrounds
Fish:
  • 1-2x Neon Goby (Most likely 1)
    CUC:
    • 1x Astrea Snails
      3x Dwarf Ceriths (I'm expecting them to breed)
    Coral:
  • Asst. Mushrooms
    Asst Zoos & Palys
    Blue or Reg Xenia
    GSP
    Yellow Polyps
    Maybe some LPS
    Etc, other easy-care corals
I really need some suggestions on a light fixture, a CUC and I'd love coral suggestions!
Pictures coming tomorrow!
 
nikesb

nikesb

Active Member
you should consider a goby and shrimp pair over a damsel. consider adding 10 dwarf ceriths as well. theres a product that can glue on the vinyl bakcgrounds as well for your tank.
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
Originally Posted by nikeSB
http:///forum/post/3282249
you should consider a goby and shrimp pair over a damsel. consider adding 10 dwarf ceriths as well. theres a product that can glue on the vinyl bakcgrounds as well for your tank.
+1 i agree with nike here. damsel ewwww no
 
Y

yoshii

Guest
Yeah, I'm looking at ordering some dwarf ceriths(my LFS doesn't have them :()
The damsel is pretty though

I don't really like any of the goby+shrimp pairs out there :/
I was considering 1-2 neon gobies, but idk if any FS's near here have them in stock :(
 
briight1964

briight1964

New Member
Won't a damsel munch on the corals? I read somewhere (I think on MASNA site) that the decline of staghorn coral (natural habitat for 3 spot damsels) has caused 3 spots to move over to slower growing corals. Apparently these damsels will occasionally bite the staghorn coral, which isn't so much of a problem because the staghorn grows so fast and recovers quickly if not diseased or too warm. Slower growing corals don't have that advantage, and the damsel's damage is more of a problem.
 
Y

yoshii

Guest
Originally Posted by briight1964
http:///forum/post/3282348
Won't a damsel munch on the corals? I read somewhere (I think on MASNA site) that the decline of staghorn coral (natural habitat for 3 spot damsels) has caused 3 spots to move over to slower growing corals. Apparently these damsels will occasionally bite the staghorn coral, which isn't so much of a problem because the staghorn grows so fast and recovers quickly if not diseased or too warm. Slower growing corals don't have that advantage, and the damsel's damage is more of a problem.
I'm not getting a 3 spot, I'm would be getting a yellow tail
Buuutttt, I have decided that I'm going to try to get 1-2 (probably 1 since it's hard to find a mated pair) neon gobies.
Today, I asked at my LFS and they said they were supposed to get some in, but they never came. :/
 
Y

yoshii

Guest
Update:
I've cleaned up the tank, bought some corals, got a nice tonga branch rock, and supplies for the tank and stuff to make the filter/fuge :D
I bought a nice rock of ATL Pastel Palys (8 Polyps, but I got them for $10!
)
And I got 3 green hairy mushrooms(freee yay) they don't look too happy in these pics because they got tossed around in the bag for a bit, and I accidentally poked them and irritated them a few times
Also, that's not there actual color, my camera washed them out, they are really a very bright nice green :D
For now, they are going into my 10gal frag/quarantine tank
Oh, that rock is a rock one of my co-workers picked out, even though he doesn't like small tanks, he said he thought it would look good in my 3gal :) I love the shape!
So then today I went to Walmart and picked up a few things, a food dispenser/container, a thermometer, a light timer, and some super glue gel. The food container will become the filter/fuge later on.
I would have done more today, but after I got home, I had to do yard work, so I'll work on it tomorrow




 
Y

yoshii

Guest
Ok, I got some stuff done today! :)
I got the scape done, I really like it (on the first try!) and I'll put a "tall" coral maybe xenia or kenya tree on the left side since there's the tall branching rock on the right.
Went I went outside I noticed my old pile of sand from the beach(had forgotten about it) and I thought, why not use this? It's free and I know it's clean, aanndd no sand storm :D
I also tested two small pumps to see which one I should use for the fuge/filter. Should I use the one with the stronger flow or lesser flow? Because I want to have slower flow through the fuge, but it will also provide flow for the tank, so maybe I should use the higher flow pump? idk..
Anyways, here's some pics Btw, the reason why I took alot of pics of the scape is because I have to set it up again next week, so I want to try to get it as close as possible to what I did today.




 
Y

yoshii

Guest
Fireworks were awesome, afterwards I set up my tank

What's in the tank now:
-50w Hydor heater
-Glass thermometer
-some random wimpy pump
-3lbs beach sand (dry weight)
-6lbs live rock
-Saltwater, of course! :p
Soo after 45min-1hr of trying, I still couldn't get the rocks like I had them
Oh well, here's the new scape. Not very happy with it, it looks funny and it's not very stable :/
(Sorry, these are phone pics)

^ Just shoved stuff in the tank, snapped a quick pic

^My Fail-scape

^Sand (that I only had to rinse once! :))


^With the sand, a little cloudy from me messing with the rock too much
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Good job, and nice detail! I'm sure it's gonna be beautiful!
 
Y

yoshii

Guest
Update:
So yesterday I cut the piece of plastic I'm using for the "slide" so it would fit better on the side of the container:

Today, I cut the hole for the water to come out, onto the "slide" (and then into the tank)
Omgsh. It took me almost an hour probably. First, I marked where I was going to cut, easy right? Then, I took scissors and tried puncture it, then I planned to cut it with the scissors. Well, the scissors just left a big mark, and didn't go through. So then I tried a box cutter, kinda worked, but then, well..I kinda used too much force and broke it...hehe so then I looked for a razor blade, but I couldn't find one. Then almost went and got a screwdriver to heat up the tip with the stove and try to melt the plastic(I was getting pretty desperate) but then I found a wire cutter and finally "cut" the hole. Right after, my mom told me she had found the razor blades

So, as you can see here, I FAIL.

After that, I used Loctite Super Glue Gel to make it even more ugly..

 
Y

yoshii

Guest
Yaaaay! I think this post makes up for the earlier fail

I just tested my ammonia, and it's at 0! :D
Nitrates are at 5-10(Looks the same on API)
And I think I see some diatoms on the white rock

I won't be tossing a CUC in there just yet (Btw, I've decided not to put the astrea in there)
On Sunday I'm going to my LFS, I'll see if they have dwarf ceriths, if not, should I just get regular ceriths?
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
That's pretty fast. What did you use to start the cycle? What about nitrite?
 
Y

yoshii

Guest
Originally Posted by Shrimpy Brains
http:///forum/post/3285327
That's pretty fast. What did you use to start the cycle? What about nitrite?
Well I used LR from my established tanks, and I think there was only ammonia because I messed with the rocks alot and stirred up some dirt.
I can't find my nitrite kit..but I think it's at my dad's house(my parents are divorced) with my quarantine tank stuff.
 
Y

yoshii

Guest
Update on the Fuge/Filter:
It works :D
Yaay! I need to mess with the glad container thing a little, but other than that, I love it :)
I mixed up 2 gallons of SW yesterday. Today I poured it in the container, plugged in my pump, and viola! Filter/fuge thing :)
Fuge: 2gallons
Total system: 5 gallons! Yay for more stability!
Right now I have a bag of 5lbs of beach sand, but I want more(to put in the fuge) for a kinda-DSB just maybe 3-4"? Not sure yet, I have plenty of sand, so I can just add more if it's not enough.
Originally I thought of putting a light over the top, but now I'm leaning more towards through the side of the container..
I'll move most of the macros from the display into the fuge, and get some random rock rubble from my other tanks. Also, I'll but putting a couple pieces of eggcrate in there, why? Because I have found that pods love eggcrate :)
I still need to find a cover for the fuge and the tank though :(
Anyways, enough blah blah, here's some pics!



^Mini 606 pumping water to the fuge

Side Shot

5lbs dry weight, some of the sand I'm going to use
Also, I'm leaving in a couple minutes to pick up 2 corals, one of which (pulsing xenia) will go in this tank.
(Not right now of course, but in the future)
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Very nice! Great idea with the fuge! I have the same tank(sitting empty)! You got me thinking about it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top