3 Gallon Bowl to 6 Gallon Cube

[Mr. Roboto]

So after being out of the hobby for almost 4 years, I am trying something. The "jar reef" bug bit me hard. I have had everything from 20 longs to 250 gallon setups with over 500 gallon total. This go around I wanted to keep the cost low and the challenge a bit more fun.

 

[Nano sapiens]

I've seen a few 'reef jars' that have stood the test of time and still look great.

Good luck and have fun with this!

 

[Mr. Roboto]

I've seen a few 'reef jars' that have stood the test of time and still look great.

Good luck and have fun with this!

That's the plan. I am trying to set this up simple but effective. I just got it going tonight but I look forward to this and seeing the progress.

 

[Guynamedfish]

Looks really cool I was thinking of doing something like that

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Looks really cool I was thinking of doing something like that

I have wanted something but I was never sure what. All I knew is I wanted it small. After looking at dozens of these and seeing the way that people maintain them, I think it will fit what I am shooting for.

 

[Nano sapiens]

I have wanted something but I was never sure what. All I knew is I wanted it small. After looking at dozens of these and seeing the way that people maintain them, I think it will fit what I am shooting for.

I think you will find the 'up close and personal' experience that only small nano and pico aquaria can provide quite fascinating and rewarding.

 

[AydenLincoln]

That’s awesome have fun! Are you planning to just have corals in it? Definitely too small for fish maybe a sexy shrimp or snail.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

I think you will find the 'up close and personal' experience that only small nano and pico aquaria can provide quite fascinating and rewarding..

I have played with them before when I worked in the industry but the way this bowl magnifies everything is going to be interesting for sure!

 

[Mr. Roboto]

That’s awesome have fun! Are you planning to just have corals in it? Definitely too small for fish maybe a sexy shrimp or snail.

I think snails are going to be the key here. It's too small to feed on a regular basis. With 100% water changes that they recommend I don't see anything but corals. Then again I am a coral person more than a fish or anything guy so this should fit my lifestyle a lot easier.

 

[strawberryfish]

Super cool, what are you running for filtration on this? Very Interested in seeing how you are planning to create flow.

 

[jabberwock]

following

 

[Nano sapiens]

I think snails are going to be the key here. It's too small to feed on a regular basis. With 100% water changes that they recommend I don't see anything but corals. Then again I am a coral person more than a fish or anything guy so this should fit my lifestyle a lot easier.

One thing I would be concerned with is the type and size of the snails since even a normal Astraea or Trochus that dies could quickly pollute and foul such a small system. I'd be more inclined to add something small like a mini-trochus, dove snail, collunistas and the like. Reefcleaners.com has a selection of unique small to tiny snail species that would be perfect.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Super cool, what are you running for filtration on this? Very Interested in seeing how you are planning to create flow.

Filtration isn't really needed in this small of a setup. No fish, no regular feedings so, it depends on full waterchanges weekly. There is a air pump bubbling when it's running as well as a small 25gph pump (this thing is like an inch long) that kicks on and off behind the rock to keep things moving.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

One thing I would be concerned with is the type and size of the snails since even a normal Astraea or Trochus that dies could quickly pollute and foul such a small system. I'd be more inclined to add something small like a mini-trochus, dove snail, collunistas and the like. Reefcleaners.com has a selection of unique small to tiny snail species that would be perfect.

I am certainly going to have to keep a very small CuC. In most of my research, people use one or two snails at most or a handful of small narsarious (sp) snails and the like. With it being looked at regularly and being able to mix 100% up fairly quickly a flush of the whole system seems to take care of any crazy problem. Then again all I have done is the research, I am used to keeping something like this along side a larger tank for instances like this. Time will tell how easy it is alone.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

It cleared up a lot over night and the temp probes finally got aclimated. I turned the heater down to 78 this morning and will probably take it on down to 77 overall just to keep the heater from being over worked. I also sealed up the hole I drilled in the back. The curvature of the bowl makes the water level look a lot lower than it really is so I am going to see if I can raise it a bit more.

I am going to let it do its thing for a week or two before doing anything else. The substrate is fresh crushed coral so i believe it will go through a little change. I am hoping to avoid the unglyness but i am bound to have something pop up that needs to be addressed at some point in the early stages.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

I know I am putting a lot of pictures of an empty bowl on here but, yall all know how fun it is to look back in a year and see the progression.

I put a crap ton of silicone where the hole is in the back that the wires pass through. It seems to he holding so I have been able to raise the water level by about an inch. (Every little bit counts!) It's sitting stable at 78 degrees 1.025 salinity. PH was good yesterday. Not much else to test with live rock and clean water.

I finished putting the tubing around the top so that the plate fits really snug. Tubing will also help with the evap dripping back into the tank and hopefully minimize the salt creep. We know we are all going to get some though.

Other than that I messed around with the light. Took a couple shots before turning it off. I know I said I would leave it alone for a week or two but I am itching to put something in it to gauge so, I might just ease on over to the LFS tomorrow. Maybe just a couple of zoa polyps to have something to give me some feed back. The haze in the photos is just from the dust that settled and line around the top you can see how much I was able to raise the water level. Glass cleaner is supposed to be here tomorrow so I will have something get down there with beside tongs and a wet paper towel.

Anyways it's Friday! Yall have a good weekend!

 

[strawberryfish]

Filtration isn't really needed in this small of a setup. No fish, no regular feedings so, it depends on full waterchanges weekly. There is a air pump bubbling when it's running as well as a small 25gph pump (this thing is like an inch long) that kicks on and off behind the rock to keep things moving.

I figured as much as far as water changes go, What do you plan on stocking in this LPS, SPS, Softies? It'd be cool for a Blasto or some other LPS that you could feed directly IMO. Looks like a really fun little project.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

I figured as much as far as water changes go, What do you plan on stocking in this LPS, SPS, Softies? It'd be cool for a Blasto or some other LPS that you could feed directly IMO. Looks like a really fun little project.

I really don't know yet TBH. I would love to have it SPS dominated, so many people say how much easier they are in a small bowl like this as long as you are consistant but, then again a bowl of euphilia (sp) would be cool too. If you look at the top down pic this this has a lot more room than you think for a sand bed. There could certainly be small plates or a blasto and still have others on the rockwork.

 

[Nano sapiens]

I really don't know yet TBH. I would love to have it SPS dominated, so many people say how much easier they are in a small bowl like this as long as you are consistant but, then again a bowl of euphilia (sp) would be cool too. If you look at the top down pic this this has a lot more room than you think for a sand bed. There could certainly be small plates or a blasto and still have others on the rockwork.

I like LPS, so for a 3g I'd go with the relatively smaller ones like B. merletti, M. pacifica, M. amakusensis. For branching SPS, Ponape Birdsnest would be a good fit (small branches, compact growth form, very easy to trim). Maybe a nice SPS encruster like a Jack'o'lantern Leptoseris to spread around the rockwork and a few types of colorful Zoas to top it all off

So many nice choices out there these days, literally something for every size tank and personal tastes.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Well, true to my nature. I couldn't help it. Knowing I would be doing regular 100% water changes on this tank, I knew I would never see anything register on any test. I had nothing to really gauge what the tank was actually doing so, in my "every tank I have ever started" fashion. In go the "test" corals.

Stopped by the LFS and asked what they had laying around I could get for little or nothing and walked out with two monti's and two Zoas. The digi is supposed to have come off their display which is super pink and the other is just a browned strange some sort of encrusting piece. The Zoas are odd ball. One set is green and orange kinda cool but kinda rough too. The others almost look like jokers but they are so small that you can't really tell. They have yet to open fully so I am not sure what their deal is. Everything else is open. I can see flow patterns and how heavy it is, least now I have something to look at and hopefully in the super clean environment they will rebound and come alive.

Anyway. Everything still going good as of Sunday evening. We will see how next week goes.