1 gallon reef

cliferton · Jan 6, 2013

Well I was in Goodwill yesterday and I ran up on a 1 gallon fish tank, and being new to the hobby it instantly went into the buggy. After doing some thinking and talking to the guys at BSL. I have decided to go for it and do a 1 gallon reef. So today I ran by petco and used a giftcard and got some filter media for the powerfilter. Then went by the dollar tree and bought 5 led flashlights (I know they may not be the best choice). but anyways I am $16 into this little project so we will see what happens. Today I pulled out the little incandesent bulb and with the use of an old plug I had laying around and my little flashlights I did a little soldering. my hands were still a little shaky after the soldering session here are a couple pics.
suggestions, thoughts, warnings welcome

caudill187 · Jan 6, 2013

Cool little project. There are tiny little skimmers and LED fixtures you could use. Hopefully others will chime in with specifics. It's should be easy to do water changes

jefstathiou · Jan 6, 2013

Can't wait to see what you do next. You are embarking on a really fun challenge, good luck!

Mr.BAdams · Jan 7, 2013

This is really cool! Are you going to set it up like the one at BSL, as far as livestock?

cliferton · Jan 7, 2013

LOL i don't know yet.i put 1 zoe in it for now. it may end up something like 1 fish. and a snail if anything makes it. I guess I'll just get something like a damsel and a snail. and try adding some pieces from my main tank. We will see what happens. I need to find a heater for it.

Raquel12771 · Jan 7, 2013

Wouldn't a damsel be too large for a 1 gallon? I thought most require about a 30 gallon tank? I may be wrong.

cliferton · Jan 7, 2013

your pprob right that was just the cheapest thing that came to mind. I havnt had a chance to see what would go in a small space

scubadiva · Jan 8, 2013

I have had a 3g pico for 5 years. I have mushrooms, polyps, toadstool, cabbage leather. I have had a tiny damsel as well as a tiny goby in the past, but they always disappeared. I now have 2 sexy shrimp and may get a third. They have lots of personality. I have had one of the tiny skimmers on this tank in the past and it did not work. I have one of the heaters that looks like a credit card in it in the past. I now have the smallest heater I could find. It raises the temp like 3 degrees. I also have a tiny little powerhead and a hob filter. Water changes are a snap using a turkey baster. This has always been my favorite tank. I have nacirrius and cerith snails. Lots of asterina starfish too. As well as a couple of hermit crabs. Hope you enjoy your one gallon!!

Raquel12771 · Jan 8, 2013

Disappeared?

TechDiver · Jan 8, 2013

Raquel12771 said:
Disappeared?

They owed someone money. Now they swim with the fishes.

TechDiver · Jan 8, 2013

I would put the sexy shrimp in there. It would work out perfect for them.

Raquel12771 · Jan 8, 2013

How about sea horses instead of shrimp?

Raquel12771 · Jan 8, 2013

Now that I think about it, sea horses may not work with that small of a tank considering the potentially drastic temperature changes with changing the water.

revhtree · Jan 8, 2013

That's cool!

Mr.BAdams · Jan 8, 2013

techdiver said:
they owed someone money. Now they swim with the fishes.

rofl!

scubadiva · Jan 9, 2013

The longer you are in the hobby, the more "critters" will just up and disappear. You look around the outside of the tank for a crispy critter all to no avail. I suspect when small fish die, for whatever reason, the hermit crabs pull them up under the rocks and feast. For a beginner especially, seahorses are extremely hard to keep.

zsteph · Jan 10, 2013

scubadiva said:
The longer you are in the hobby, the more "critters" will just up and disappear. You look around the outside of the tank for a crispy critter all to no avail. I suspect when small fish die, for whatever reason, the hermit crabs pull them up under the rocks and feast. For a beginner especially, seahorses are extremely hard to keep.

I would hope the longer you are in the hobby, the better you get at not letting critters just disappear.