Pico thoughts

[waterwatereverywhere]

So, I've been out of the watery scene for a while now. Space for the reef was overtaken by other considerations with a young child! I really don't have much space, and the idea of setting up a pico is starting to nag at me. Probably in the region of 4-5 gallons. Not seeing much in the way of ready made AIOs available in the UK. In the interests of keeping things nice and simple, if I were to go for this I was considering:

- straightforward basic glass tank
- possibly a HOB filter
- water quality maintained by regular near-100% water changes - like the idea I've seen of heavy feeding just before a water change

Couple of things I was wondering about:

- in the UK a heater is a must! - are there suitable tiny heaters you can hide way?
- how do folks control the lighting? I've seen people using things like a Kessil on a pico, but how do you avoid blasting it with too much light?

Thanks in advance!

 

[The Farmer]

You can buy a controllable light and adjust the intensity and duration with and app or a wired controller

 

[SlugSnorter]

So, I've been out of the watery scene for a while now. Space for the reef was overtaken by other considerations with a young child! I really don't have much space, and the idea of setting up a pico is starting to nag at me. Probably in the region of 4-5 gallons. Not seeing much in the way of ready made AIOs available in the UK. In the interests of keeping things nice and simple, if I were to go for this I was considering:

- straightforward basic glass tank
- possibly a HOB filter
- water quality maintained by regular near-100% water changes - like the idea I've seen of heavy feeding just before a water change

Couple of things I was wondering about:

- in the UK a heater is a must! - are there suitable tiny heaters you can hide way?
- how do folks control the lighting? I've seen people using things like a Kessil on a pico, but how do you avoid blasting it with too much light?

Thanks in advance!

you can try your hand. Those tanks are the hardest though IMO, (also 100% wcs seems a bit excessive, and could really stress your animals).

I would look into nano tanks, they are small enough to have on a desk (where my tank is) but large enough to have a decent bit of space. I like the waterbox peninsula mini 15

 

[68Wreefer]

So, I've been out of the watery scene for a while now. Space for the reef was overtaken by other considerations with a young child! I really don't have much space, and the idea of setting up a pico is starting to nag at me. Probably in the region of 4-5 gallons. Not seeing much in the way of ready made AIOs available in the UK. In the interests of keeping things nice and simple, if I were to go for this I was considering:

- straightforward basic glass tank
- possibly a HOB filter
- water quality maintained by regular near-100% water changes - like the idea I've seen of heavy feeding just before a water change

Couple of things I was wondering about:

- in the UK a heater is a must! - are there suitable tiny heaters you can hide way?
- how do folks control the lighting? I've seen people using things like a Kessil on a pico, but how do you avoid blasting it with too much light?

Thanks in advance!

I had a 2 gallon tank for a little over a year before I upgraded it into a 10 gallon. My set up was a plain 2 gallon glass tank, HOB filter, an ato, heater, and a cheep kessil knock off from Amazon. I personally hid the heater behind the single large rock I had in the tank and then later on put it in the HOB filter. I kept mostly Zoas in the tank and a couple monti with great success. I did a 90-100% water changer every week. I also have a buddy who had a similar tank and he changed 16 ounces every day by just taking out a water bottle full and adding a water bottle full. For me this was one of the easiest tanks I have ever owned. The bio load was a few hermits, snails, and a peppermint shrimp. I fed a small amount of reefroids 2x a week and a larger amount a day before my water change with some mysis for the peppermint shrimp and crabs too. I’m not sure what your planning on keeping in your tank but soft corals and hardy sps was a breeze for me.

 

[waterwatereverywhere]

you can try your hand. Those tanks are the hardest though IMO, (also 100% wcs seems a bit excessive, and could really stress your animals).

I would look into nano tanks, they are small enough to have on a desk (where my tank is) but large enough to have a decent bit of space. I like the waterbox peninsula mini 15

Yes seems there are very much two camps as to how hard picos are! I've read a lot about how effective the full water changes can be, but I can see there's another view... as a matter of interest why would say it would stress the livestock?

 

[waterwatereverywhere]

You can buy a controllable light and adjust the intensity and duration with and app or a wired controller

How would you know how much to dial it down by, assume you need it quite low?

 

[SlugSnorter]

Yes seems there are very much two camps as to how hard picos are! I've read a lot about how effective the full water changes can be, but I can see there's another view... as a matter of interest why would say it would stress the livestock?

corals, fish and inverts don't like being in very little/out of water, even if for a moment. so maybe not 100%*. I would say more like 50% so your rocks can stay mostly submerged

 

[Tamberav]

corals, fish and inverts don't like being in very little/out of water, even if for a moment. so maybe not 100%*. I would say more like 50% so your rocks can stay mostly submerged

I always did 90% water changes on all my picos. It is amazing what changing out the water can do for the inhabitants.

I don't thnk corals being out of water is a concern. Mother nature does it all the time under the baking sun

 

[Tamberav]

So, I've been out of the watery scene for a while now. Space for the reef was overtaken by other considerations with a young child! I really don't have much space, and the idea of setting up a pico is starting to nag at me. Probably in the region of 4-5 gallons. Not seeing much in the way of ready made AIOs available in the UK. In the interests of keeping things nice and simple, if I were to go for this I was considering:

- straightforward basic glass tank
- possibly a HOB filter
- water quality maintained by regular near-100% water changes - like the idea I've seen of heavy feeding just before a water change

Couple of things I was wondering about:

- in the UK a heater is a must! - are there suitable tiny heaters you can hide way?
- how do folks control the lighting? I've seen people using things like a Kessil on a pico, but how do you avoid blasting it with too much light?

Thanks in advance!

5g are very easy to maintain as long as you dont stuff it with a bunch of fish. I find 5g picos the EASIEST to maintain. No testing or dosing needed.

Glass tank

Flow - I have a HOB on mine but it is empty.. it is mainly for flow. I only put floss in it after a water change for a day or 2 for all the crud that gets dislodged in the rock. Then I toss the floss and let it run empty. Do what works for you.

90-100% water changes. I do 90% because I have 1 goby so he hangs out in the bottom in about an inch of water.

I use a deep blue heater but they are discontinued so guessing you can not find them there. If you have inkbird controller, I would put whatever small heater you find on a second heater controller.

All the lights I have used over picos have been controllable so I just dim them down. People do use par30's though on vases and they control light by hanging them higher or lower.

Fish are limited to small species of gobies and blennies but they are the most comical anyways. You have small inverts like porcelain crabs and sexy shrimp.

 

[Tamberav]

Inspiration:

Im bored, show me your pico reefs!

Show me your pico reefs!

www.reef2reef.com

 

[waterwatereverywhere]

Inspiration:

Im bored, show me your pico reefs!

Show me your pico reefs!

www.reef2reef.com

Gosh some gorgeous ones! Thanks for the replies!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Yes seems there are very much two camps as to how hard picos are! I've read a lot about how effective the full water changes can be, but I can see there's another view... as a matter of interest why would say it would stress the livestock?

I do weekly changes of 90% on my 5 gallon, my shrimp and few hermits dont seem to mind. There is just one tiny powerhead in the tank to break the surface, and a small heater, no other machines. Its very easy to take care of, as long as you dont mind doing the manual work involved (which, on such a small tank, is pretty easy)

 

[Jim Gomoll]

Seen R2R treads and Youtube topics using this 6.8g set up for Pico Reef.

I set this up as a quarantine tank for $180
Imagitarium Frameless Freshwater Aquarium Kit, 6.8gal 13.7W X 12.25D X 14H - $74.99
Fluval M50 Submersible Heater (in back chamber) - $19.99
HIPARGERO Aquarium Light–2nd Generation A029 Aquarium LED Lights, 30Watt - $68.59
VIVOSUN 120GPH Submersible Pump(650L/H 6w) Upgrade for more flow - $14.99

Been running for 4months. Doing ~35% 2g water changes weekly.
Back chambers are small but can be used, changed in many ways. If not going bare bottom make sure to cover the bottom filter slots or a small mesh. Otherwise substrate gets in there and is hard to get out due to the glass plates in filter chamber. I only using the Bio Ball and Charcoal cartridges from kit. Replaced triangle course floss with bonded floss as well as strips alongside the cartridges. In center chamber is the pump, heater, and a Nano pack of Chemi-Pure Blue.

 

[The Ginga Ninja]

So, I've been out of the watery scene for a while now. Space for the reef was overtaken by other considerations with a young child! I really don't have much space, and the idea of setting up a pico is starting to nag at me. Probably in the region of 4-5 gallons. Not seeing much in the way of ready made AIOs available in the UK. In the interests of keeping things nice and simple, if I were to go for this I was considering:

- straightforward basic glass tank
- possibly a HOB filter
- water quality maintained by regular near-100% water changes - like the idea I've seen of heavy feeding just before a water change

Couple of things I was wondering about:

- in the UK a heater is a must! - are there suitable tiny heaters you can hide way?
- how do folks control the lighting? I've seen people using things like a Kessil on a pico, but how do you avoid blasting it with too much light?

Thanks in advance!

I have a tiny little 50 W aqueon heater I use in mine! I have a 3 gallon and my corals really thrive.

And as for a light for a Pico, I think best bang for buck personally is the AI Prime. It's a good light and you can easily tune it down to whatever you need for that size. Here's my tank: