2.5g Pico Tank

xiholdtruex · Apr 28, 2018

So I have been thinking of doing something tiny, Have had a empty 10g I wanted to put my betta in, Finally got around to putting him in there so I had his empty tank sitting on my dresser ready for a make over, Decided to covert it over to a salty mini setup, not sure what I want to stock in it to far, Im open to any ideas. So far this is what I have hope you enjoy this journey as much as I will.

Current setup
2.5g tetra mini bowfront tank
Hydor Pico Evo-Mag Circultaion Pump
Black Petco aquarium sand
3.5lb BRS reef saver rock

Future
25 watt heater
(Maybe) Aquaclear HOB
Budget light not sure yet, may just get corallifebulbs and try it that way or experiment with some bulbs

Stocking
open to suggestions
maybe inverts
maybe some tiny goby
Not sure on what corals I want yet open to any suggestions

nautical_nathaniel · Apr 28, 2018

Not a whole lot of room in a 2.5 gallon, you may be stuck to one very little fish like a neon goby and maybe something like a sexy shrimp or two.

Tony Thompson · Apr 28, 2018

Hi @xiholdtruex I love Pico`s. Hope you have lots of fun.

IMO you may want to consider losing the sand and the rock. A small hang on filter can give you flow and room for some bio media for filtration. You can then just use a small design for aquascape and somewhere to put your corals.

Deep sand beds can work on a pico but it is much easier IME to start bare bottom or just a thin layer of substrate. Your rock and sand are taking up about 50% of your water volume. I would definitely not suggest any fish for a volume so small. By the time you take into consideration bioload and feeding requirements, it leaves a lot to handle in such a small volume of water. Why not keep some interesting Crustaceans, shrimp, crab or a small group of Sexy Shrimp. Coral wise you may find mushrooms and blastos are very tolerant of low light and low flow. I would also suggest an ato for top ups and most importantly a heater thermostat control. Any problems with a pico can escalate very quickly.

I would also suggest at least 50% water changes weekly. Its easy to do with such low volume and covers a number of possible problems. Just make sure the new water is on spec to the old water before you change.

Most of all have great fun with your pico and try to be creative with livestock. The beauty of picos is you can observe some of the wonderful creatures that would be lost in a n average size tank. Look forward to following your new adventure. All the best and good luck.

xiholdtruex · Apr 29, 2018

you read mymind lol, I was looking into mushroom and blastos actually, orginally I was thinking bare bottom with the hob and then I saw the sand and said I would try it if it doesnt work out pull it out and do bare bottom, Im going to try this setup and see where it goes. Most liklyhave a few assorted mushrooms for color and a few sexy shrimp, and 2 nerites, some ceriths for sand turning and hopefully it works. I will keep it updated here as I progress.

Tony Thompson said:
Hi @xiholdtruex I love Pico`s. Hope you have lots of fun.

IMO you may want to consider losing the sand and the rock. A small hang on filter can give you flow and room for some bio media for filtration. You can then just use a small design for aquascape and somewhere to put your corals.

Deep sand beds can work on a pico but it is much easier IME to start bare bottom or just a thin layer of substrate. Your rock and sand are taking up about 50% of your water volume. I would definitely not suggest any fish for a volume so small. By the time you take into consideration bioload and feeding requirements, it leaves a lot to handle in such a small volume of water. Why not keep some interesting Crustaceans, shrimp, crab or a small group of Sexy Shrimp. Coral wise you may find mushrooms and blastos are very tolerant of low light and low flow. I would also suggest an ato for top ups and most importantly a heater thermostat control. Any problems with a pico can escalate very quickly.

I would also suggest at least 50% water changes weekly. Its easy to do with such low volume and covers a number of possible problems. Just make sure the new water is on spec to the old water before you change.

Most of all have great fun with your pico and try to be creative with livestock. The beauty of picos is you can observe some of the wonderful creatures that would be lost in a n average size tank. Look forward to following your new adventure. All the best and good luck.