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[Zack]

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Background

After upgrading last year to my ADA 60-F, I learned a lot about what I really enjoyed about the aquariums. As my first "shallow reef" I fell in love with the "top down" style tanks and really enjoyed the challenge of working with such a small space. I have decided to take it one step further and enlist MAAST sponsor Zen Reef in helping me try a tank I've always wanted to build, a pico tank. Below are some good memories of past tanks as a refresher!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VFRrFyy8_A&list=UUGoNb0G-BMUW9DXFJ76tNSw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20eODp6TyOI&list=UUGoNb0G-BMUW9DXFJ76tNSw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEUV3tRCoX4&list=UUGoNb0G-BMUW9DXFJ76tNSw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K5mXrXf2bY&list=UUGoNb0G-BMUW9DXFJ76tNSw



Equipment


Zen Reef 1 Gallon Custom: 7''x6''x5''
Aqua Illuminations AI PRIME


Livestock

TBD, mostly Zoanthids and Shrooms

Plans

Unfortunately the one gallon SPS pico I planned last year did not work as well as I would have liked. I rushed the build and ultimately had to call it quits after I had an equipment failure within the first week. This go around, we will be taking it much slower as well as having a much more calculated approach. Sunday at LMAR I picked up an AI Prime from Joey and Coral Cove and lined up a few purchases that I will be picking up in the future with Raven at World Class, Zen Reef, Clayton, and Coral Cove.

Justin offered me a small piece of live rock from his sump so later this week I will be picking this up and also I'll be finding some equipment such as a heater and filter for the aquarium.

I'm not sure how I'll be handling filtration but I do have my eye on an internal filter that I'll be filling with rubble as well as filter floss which will be changed weekly. If this does not work out, I will have a HOB filter and will need to make a light hanger for the prime. Before I get the tank wet, I'm going to buff out all the scratches that it has accumulated from two moves and being stored so this next few weeks will mostly serve as a 'dry run'/ fw run.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160502/51a6903eb1fd6658e3c57fde29ccc96a.jpg

[SABOB]

Nice......can't wait for updates


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cammed_02]

This is going to be a sweet little build man. What livestock you picking up?

[Zack]

Possibly a green and blue shroom from Clayton and then a ton of Zoa frags from South Seas, Coral Cove, Zen Reef and World Class!

Here's a possible scape I came up with

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160503/c9b0bf94fc723f1d0551ac06b83b111e.jpg

[Cammed_02]

I like it man, nice work

[Zack]

Thanks Robert! So my internal filter and heater should be in tomorrow. Kinda nervous how I'll be fitting it all but if everything does go well, I'll be doing a freshwater test. If all that goes well, maybe Sunday I'll have this tank salty.

Sean at the Fritz booth gave me a small bottle of the Fritz nitrifying bacteria to compare to the Bio-Spira I swear by so I'm definitely stoked to try it out.

[Zack]

Equipment is in!

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160504/08386360886f0140394cd1635a37e10f.jpg

[leliataylor]

I really like the way you did the rock work. Can't wait to see it fully stocked and everything growing out. The FritZyme 9 should really help jump start the cycle, it has worked better for me than any other product I have tried except the Fritz TurboStart 900.

[Zack]

Thanks Cheryl! It serves two functions, the first being a mini bonsai and the second hiding the filter and the heater! I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out!

[Justin]

Looking good man. Going for the Bonsai approach I see. Let me know when you want to come by and get the nano HOB filter. I even have a couple of small nano heaters for you to try as well. Since you have the rockwork setup, maybe you want some of my sand to help cycle the tank. Just let me know, we can figure out what you can use from my spare equipment.

[Zack]

Equipment wise I should be good if this heater continues strong. The filter is actually quite impressive although at some point I may have Zen Reef make me a stand for the light so I can add a hob filter.

Have you had any experience with the two part reef putty for gluing rocks together? If your offer still stood for that rubble rock I'll definitely grab that Sunday if you're free. Probably going bare bottom on this tank.

[Justin]

Them stuff works great. I use aqua mend from home depot. Just come over when you want to get the rubble.

[Zack]

I stopped by South Seas and picked up a pound of Real Reef live rock from their new shipment as well as a two part epoxy, 5 gallons of salt water, 5 gallons of RODI, and a glass thermometer until I upgrade to something more accurate next month (hint hint). I wasn't too impressed with the two part putty compared to some other brands I've used but it'll be the first thing I cover up when I get my first coral.

I also added my first dose of Fritz nitrifying bacteria!

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160508/2590560f7beb010a266df809a707be39.jpg

And here's a shot of the tank from our kitchen table

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160508/2bf735b8de44899f1c445d8d4e827773.jpg

[Zack]

Wasn't happy with the scape so decided to bust out the putty and try again

[leliataylor]

Wasn't happy with the scape so decided to bust out the putty and try again

I feel your pain. I don't know how many times I took apart the bonsai aquascape rocks I got from Justin's demo and redid the whole thing. When I finally got the shape I wanted the putty looked messy. I used frag glue to apply sand to cover all the putty. It took me forever. Now I just need to decide which tank I want to put it in and get my son to help me place it.

P.S. That thermometer looks huge in your tank. LOL

[Zack]

Man this tank has been a trip.

So many of the zoas did not do as well as I had hoped. I think it was largely in part to the putty. I reached out to the manufacturer and basically with such a small water volume (less than half a gallon) the putty was having an adverse effect on my livestock. I did daily 100% water changes for a week and now I'm finally starting to see the signs of life. Diatoms are coming in and corals opening. I did a 30% water change last night and everything's looking great.

Still trying to figure out a CUC for this tank and am leaning towards possibly a few small cerith snails.

At first I thought my issues were related to my light but I've actually increased the light power by 4x it's starting values and the corals are really opening up nicely.

[alton]

Small tanks are tuff to control, keep decent parameters

[leliataylor]

Wow! It sounds like you have had a busy week. I can't imagine trying to maintain a one gallon reef tank. Glad to hear your corals are starting to pop.

[Zack]

So wow.. Kinda crazy algae going on lol..

Did a water change today as well as scrubbed down the tank and added 3 hermits and a small turbo.

Im pleasantly surprised by how easy it is for this tank to maintain temp with the current heater. We keep
our house pretty cool (72-76) and this heater is maintaining between 79-81 degrees. Not bad for $10.

I also think I may have gotten a little cocky with the prime so went back down to the single digit percentages.

Im hoping to have everything in order for the June 12 ER Meeting and the June 18 reopening at world class.