5.5 gallon pico build

[Chefwheredyougo]

Newer to saltwater. I had a 56g tank, but recently upgraded to a 75 bowfront. The tank came with a stand and a 5g "hospital" tank. I planned on using this as a standalone refugium for pods, but after a trip to petsmart, decided why not try a nano instead? 30 dollars later. I got a top fin 5.5 gallon pico, (I think this is considered a pico??? ) AIO. Brought it home, added water, live sand, and rock from my main display, (with a Astreia snail hitchhiking).

Tank is about 1 hour old as of this post. Not sure what to do with it, but would love some suggestions. I do still want to use this as a refug for pods, but I can add a light to the back chamber for that. Any ideas???

Also, any help from the nano/pico members on maintaining and what to look out for would be very beneficial to me. I do know about water parameters swinging more wildly with the MUCH smaller volume of water. But all help is good help!

Thank you guys in advance!

 

[myinvalidname]

You might have to switch out the pump or add a power head for higher flow. Those tanks are for freshwater I think.

 

[chopdrop]

Are you intending on using the light it came with, or upgrading?

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

I plan on upgrading the light. However, I only have about 5-6 inches of space between by the top of the tank and the top shelf. So, finding a light that will grow something decently and not heat the water too much is crucial. Any ideas??

 

[PerplexyHexy]

I plan on upgrading the light. However, I only have about 5-6 inches of space between by the top of the tank and the top shelf. So, finding a light that will grow something decently and not heat the water too much is crucial. Any ideas??

Kessil a150... thats what im using... same size tank... its a perfect light... my zoas are actually growing already and its only been up a few weeks... dude was selling one with a gooseneck I think on here for like $90... smokin’ deal

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

Does it heat the tank very much??? I'll look into it. Are you only growing zoas? This is my "2nd" tank. With the 75 above it being the first, (which is only a few 4-5 months old). I don't have any corals, but do have a GBTA that's looking great. Tbh, I'm kinda worried I'd kill off corals

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Does it heat the tank very much??? I'll look into it. Are you only growing zoas? This is my "2nd" tank. With the 75 above it being the first, (which is only a few 4-5 months old). I don't have any corals, but do have a GBTA that's looking great. Tbh, I'm kinda worried I'd kill off corals

ive got a nuclear palythoa grandi polyp... multi polyp frags of utter chaos, bbebs, illuminatis, gobstoppers, rainbow infusions, fire and ice and I have a nice chunk of firework cloves and a RFA. I have a Yasha goby and two sexy shrimp in there right now... picking up a candycane pistol shrimp this week... been up and running for 2 weeks... I have been doing water changes with my frag system water though and used liverock and matrix from it as well... no cycle basically... that light is awesome for that sized tank... little to no heat and has the best spread for such a small area... I also hooked up a tunze 3152 from day one... salinity in those size tanks fluctuate so rapidly without one... The most important piece of equipment you could buy for that small of a tank right now is a solid ato... its my first as well with a tank this size, so im still learning

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

Whoa. Do you have pics? I used about 5ish pounds of live rock from my main and some sand. I monitor it about 3 times per week, (3x more than my main). So far everything is still pretty good. Theres an astreia snail hanging out in there atm, and I may be shamed for it, but housed my 2 baby maroon clowns for about 4 days while I made sure the big tank was set up properly. It's definitely a neat little tank. I think I'll still use it to grow pods, but will probably test out some zoas and some others or something in there. Or maybe use it as a partial grow out tank before moving it into the main. Thanks for the advice on the kessil. Using them for my main would be severely out of my budget, but it is cheap enough for the small tank..

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

I believe they both have potential!

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Newer to saltwater. I had a 56g tank, but recently upgraded to a 75 bowfront. The tank came with a stand and a 5g "hospital" tank. I planned on using this as a standalone refugium for pods, but after a trip to petsmart, decided why not try a nano instead? 30 dollars later. I got a top fin 5.5 gallon pico, (I think this is considered a pico??? ) AIO. Brought it home, added water, live sand, and rock from my main display, (with a Astreia snail hitchhiking).

Tank is about 1 hour old as of this post. Not sure what to do with it, but would love some suggestions. I do still want to use this as a refug for pods, but I can add a light to the back chamber for that. Any ideas???

Also, any help from the nano/pico members on maintaining and what to look out for would be very beneficial to me. I do know about water parameters swinging more wildly with the MUCH smaller volume of water. But all help is good help!

Thank you guys in advance!

Very cool, following, comrade

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

Thanks!!!

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Whoa. Do you have pics? I used about 5ish pounds of live rock from my main and some sand. I monitor it about 3 times per week, (3x more than my main). So far everything is still pretty good. Theres an astreia snail hanging out in there atm, and I may be shamed for it, but housed my 2 baby maroon clowns for about 4 days while I made sure the big tank was set up properly. It's definitely a neat little tank. I think I'll still use it to grow pods, but will probably test out some zoas and some others or something in there. Or maybe use it as a partial grow out tank before moving it into the main. Thanks for the advice on the kessil. Using them for my main would be severely out of my budget, but it is cheap enough for the small tank..

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Bad pictures i know... its late..

 

[chopdrop]

No way dude, that tank looks sick. I've looked at your other thread a bit and you have got some really good stuff. I really wanna see where you go with the pico!

 

[PerplexyHexy]

No way dude, that tank looks sick. I've looked at your other thread a bit and you have got some really good stuff. I really wanna see where you go with the pico!

Woops... didnt mean to hijack your thread... my bad

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

no worries! you're tank is awesome!

 

[PerplexyHexy]

no worries! you're tank is awesome!

Cant go wrong with that light though... im very happy I had that lying around... I got mine for $100 with the gooseneck from a local reefer... I bought a kasa wifi plug and set the timer on it... love it

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

You've convinced me on the light. I've also been looking for a smart strip so thanks for that as well. Every surge protector I've gotten that comes with a timer has just been shi*. This looks like a much better buy

 

[PerplexyHexy]

Be prepared to do LOTS of water changes... my god... Ive been doing 2 gallon water changes every 2-3 days since I started... Your either gonna be awesome at small water changes or be completely sick of small tanks in a real hurry!!! Hahahahaha

 

[Chefwheredyougo]

Is it safe to change 40% that regularly? I was doing 3/4 of 1 gallon and that keeps my parameters in check so far... also I guess this is a good place to ask, do corals add much to the bioload?