[Pico] 2 Gallon Cookie Jar by ReefJar

[ReefJar]

Hey everyone! I have 2 gallon cookie jar turned pico reef.

Last updated: Feb. 15, 2016

Current Video:
Notes: I called this video "recovery" because I had some serious algae issues and now recovering. Almost better!

Corals:

• Candy Cane
• Teal, Orange, and Pink Birdsnest
• Warcoral
• Pavona
• Various Zoas & Palys
• Montipora Spongodes
• Montipora Confusa
• Ricordia Floridas
• Blastomussas
• Octospawn
• Acans (just added not in the video)

Live Stock:
Stomatella snail
Brittle stars
Pods
Peanut worm
Feather duster worms
Who knows what else is lurking...

Equipment:

• 2 Gallon cookie jar
• Air pump
• 50w Heater
• Plant saucer as a lid
• ABI 12w LED (6x 15000k white, 6x blue 450-470nm)
• Ikea work lamp

I look forward to sharing my experience as things progress!

Cheers,
Justin

 

[ReefJar]

All Clean!

​

 

[Flameback Pair]

I would try a pom-pom crab. Looks really good, what wattage is the heater?

 

[ReefJar]

Thank you!

I'm using a Theo Heater 50 watt.

A pom pom is an interesting idea, but I'm just going to focus on corals until the jar is packed!

 

[ReefJar]

Stomatella Spawning

Just a little video update of a stomatella snail spawning:


Recent top down view (I changed the placement of a few things since this picture)

 

[ReefJar]

Just a quick April update:


Life is good in the jar!

 

[helen ann]

That is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen!!!!!!!!!

 

[brandon429]

RJ you have reached pico zen sir

Coral density and pop is wow factor algae excluder

 

[ReefJar]

Haha thank you! Your guidance made this possible!

 

[samdizshiz]

how dose the filtration work ?

 

[samdizshiz]

ohh i understand there is none ... so how often is water changes wat type of light how are u curculating ? i want to build on bad for a frogfish

 

[LetItReef]

Used to have the ABI bulb and the lamp I purchased could not hold the bulb's weight. Good mixture of blue and white though

 

[ReefJar]

LetItReef:
I'm using a similar bulb to the ABI one. It has 4xwhite 8xblue. I could get away with even less white, so I'll probably cover up two of the whites with some duct tape.

I'm using an IKEA work lamp and it seems to be okay for holding the bulb up. They are pretty heavy unfortunately.

samdizshiz:
Circulation = Air bubbles create some great variable flow.
Water changes = Right now I'm doing 2x per week because I'm feeding heavily 2x per week. But if only feeding once per week, then I just change the water 1x per week. Simple and easy

 

[fretfreak13]

Awesome little tank! I had a 2 gallon for a few years but it was an AIO so it was a bit easier to manage. Great job, your jar looks beautiful!

However, I would recommend pulling that war coral out of there before it gets too comfortable. I've never seen another coral put out longer sweepers than those buggars. In an ecosystem that tiny, it could wreak havoc in a matter of hours.

 

[A+Aquatics]

So cool! Thank you for sharing! - Maybe I'll do something this size in the future. Eight gallons is the smallest system so far.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Man I love this so much!

 

[ReefJar]

My cookie jar is doing awesome! I don't even scrape the glass these days. I hope you enjoy the video and thanks so much for all the kinds words!

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Love it!

 

[Hogan]

Do you run a top off or dosing? What do you do for maintenance on the tank?

 

[ReefJar]

Do you run a top off or dosing? What do you do for maintenance on the tank?

I feed heavily once a week with mysis/calanus/reef roids and then a few hours later I do a 100% water change. That's pretty much it. The glass has been staying pretty clean on it's own. I do a quick clean with a nano magnet before the water change.

For the past couple months, algae and pests are under control without intervention. The key was to address issues right away (I love 35% H202).

I dosed with c-balance for about a month, but to be honest I've been lazy and haven't done it in quite some time. I don't top up with water unless I go more than a week between water changes.

I don't test for anything other than the temperature of new salt water and its salinity (1.025 / 80F). I observe the life in the jar to help me understand if there are any problems.