Stuff for a pico?

[SeaSerpant]

what kind of lighting would i need for a pico?

[GrimReefer]

what size tank are you using?

[SeaSerpant]

i'm thinking of a 5g

[mr_alberta]

This is a nice little light:

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=pc-al0909

[SeaSerpant]

i've seen people with desklights with coralife bulbs, would this work?

[GrimReefer]

Not for a 5 gallon. There is a 12" Coralife Aqualight available that I think would work best for a 5 gallon. It's 36 watts. Just put some legs on it otherwise you'll cook the tank. There aren't a lot of readily available lights other than that which would be adequate.

[SeaSerpant]

grimreefer do you have a pico or thread because i think i saw one somewhere?

[GrimReefer]

grimreefer do you have a pico or thread because i think i saw one somewhere?

I've had a couple picos over the last few years. They are a lot of fun!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/gnx/newcam018.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/gnx/DSC00405.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/gnx/pico109.jpg

Both were of the exact same design. 2L Marina Betta tank, Elite mini filter, Coralife 10W CF bulb.

[SeaSerpant]

wow awesome. I'm going to ask more stuff about a pico. If you keep on top of your WC and you have a fuge do you need a skimmer? what would be the average cost?

[SeaSerpant]

and what kind of heater?

[GrimReefer]

That really depends on the corals you'll be trying to keep. I'd suggest all softies. You won't need a skimmer or a 'fuge. In my opinion, simplicity is a beautiful thing when it comes to picos. Use a hang-on or submersible filter, add a decent light and you're ready to go. You could use a heater if you want but if you're just doing softies, it shouldn't matter. Just keep it away from sunlight, windows, and vents.

Picos are cheap, but the cost depends on what tank and equipment you choose. My old picos were no more than $50.

[SeaSerpant]

thanks for everything. what kind of light as in watts and everything?

[Brent F]

A peco could be a way to get a tank up and running cheaply.

Excess heat is more likely to be a problem with a peco so you usually don't need a heater.

Softies are a great recommendation because they are less sensitive to change which is hard to avoid in a peco.

[SeaSerpant]

what kind of stuff can i have in a pico. I'm thinking of 1 seahorse and 1 clown and some assorted softies. would this work?

[albert_dao]

No, the amount of food you'd have to feed a seahorse would quickly overwhelm anything under 20 gallons.

[SeaSerpant]

look at this for a second please http://www.melevsreef.com/pico.html he has a seahorse a cleaner shrimp and a clown goby. and it's all in a 2g not a 5g.

[albert_dao]

I guess my question to you is "how confident are you with your experience?"

[SeaSerpant]

i'm confident enough to start with one fish at the beggining and will progress to the seahorse would be my anwser. lol

[SeaSerpant]

any ideas?

[albert_dao]

:) Just as long as you're comfortable operating on a razor thin line, I don't see too much issue with that. Just keep in mind that neither the clown nor the seahorse can be considered long term residents for anything between 2-5 gallons.

[SeaSerpant]

ya i guess. thanks for everything.

[SeaSerpant]

is there anything important that i need to know? or any basics of making one?

[likwid]

If you dont have this basic knowledge, I would suggest against starting up a nano. Like they all said, it is way more work to keep a nano tank. I just saw that you are only 13 years old, and I may be wrong, but I don't think most 13 year olds have the discipline to keep a high maintenance tank like this.

If you feel you can do it, check out http://www.nano-reef.com for some great information and articles.

[GrimReefer]

If you dont have this basic knowledge, I would suggest against starting up a nano. Like they all said, it is way more work to keep a nano tank. I just saw that you are only 13 years old, and I may be wrong, but I don't think most 13 year olds have the discipline to keep a high maintenance tank like this.

If you feel you can do it, check out http://www.nano-reef.com for some great information and articles.

I don't think that's really fair. I've known a few young kids that keep nanos. You can't judge a person solely on their age. People mature at different rates. I know lots of 25-30 year-olds that don't have the discipline to keep a nano.

It's funny how a lot of us reefers portray reef keeping as this near impossible feat. It does not need to be complicated, nor high maintenance. Honestly I think a larger tank is a lot more maintenance than a nano... and I'm not sure where the popular idea of the opposite comes from. Sure a larger tank is more stable and this is very important when keeping SPS. But a nano that is properly stocked can be just as healthy, with far less sweat going into water changes, glass cleaning, filter maintenance, etc.

SeaSerpent, check out nano-reef.com as likwid suggested. It is a great site. I'll write up a simple guide to keeping a pico or nano and post or PM it to you.

[Mattgesy]

ok i have to put my comment in on this one lol
i am 21, and feel like i am in my 40s alrighty lol no afence to the 40 year old :) not saying that i dont like it lol but please dont be mean to us becuase we are young, becuase i can put you to shame (not trying to be a jerk)but i have to watch out for people like me, its my job :P


SeaSerpant : no seahorse please, they are hard to take care of unless you know and read alot, go with a bigger tank for these guys, they like to move around alot, but not with alot of flow, becuase flow can kill them causing them to bash into rock and hurting them, which isnt good at all go with a clown or damsel , something :P its eaiser and cheaper :P and cheap is good:P

added note: i know alot of people older that cant even take care of a tank, becuase its "oh i have to party and drink my life alway"

[richtg]

Maybe we can substitute the word "age" with "experience"...

The bottom line is that any reefer should do the research first and have the discipline and pacience to properly maintain a system, as well as willingness to continually improve knowledge and skills (experience). Anything less is wasteful of time, money, and prescious life.

[Mattgesy]

aggreed, we are human though and we make mistakes :)

Maybe we can substitute the word "age" with "experience"...

The bottom line is that any reefer should do the research first and have the discipline and pacience to properly maintain a system, as well as willingness to continually improve knowledge and skills (experience). Anything less is wasteful of time, money, and prescious life.

[SeaSerpant]

If you dont have this basic knowledge, I would suggest against starting up a nano. Like they all said, it is way more work to keep a nano tank. I just saw that you are only 13 years old, and I may be wrong, but I don't think most 13 year olds have the discipline to keep a high maintenance tank like this.

If you feel you can do it, check out http://www.nano-reef.com for some great information and articles.

yah. i now alot of people judge me by my age but i ahve done A LOT of research maybe a month without stopping (night and day. just an example) thats about 744 hours of research. (no exageration. maybe even longer) i put this much effort into it because i'm (sortof addicted) and i can't have any other animal so i needed a hobbie and fish has taken part of my life. Ask me a few questions and i'll answer honestly from my research. no offence taken tho.

I won't keep a seahorse then. any ideas of what kind of fish i can keep in there. i know a panda goby would work, maybe 1 or 2 clownfish alone with a anemone would look great in my mind? (would that work) thanks for the input and thanks for helping out.

and i am apart of www.Nano-reef.com too :D i have a thread started there too but get better help here :D

[likwid]

If you have done the research, you would know that a clownfish needs at least 10g to stay happy and live long, let alone 2 clowns and an anemone.

An anemone will produce a ton of waste, and unless you want to be doing daily water changes, I wouldnt get one for a 5 g.

If you want something, I would go with one clown goby and no other fish at all. Maybe a shrimp as well, if you want more movement in the tank.

[SeaSerpant]

i was thinking of making 2 pico tanks with a connector inbetween so fish can go through and have a common refuge or something. i'll draw something up. :D any ideas of how it could work like this?

[Mattgesy]

fish have a 2 second brain span, i dont think they could learn that unless it was a big space between them not like a hamster tunnel size

[SeaSerpant]

that has been disproved u know :D

[fishoholic]

look at this for a second please http://www.melevsreef.com/pico.html he has a seahorse a cleaner shrimp and a clown goby. and it's all in a 2g not a 5g.

Remember just because someone does something, doesn't mean it should be done. If I was you I'd go with a 10-20g nano to start with. That way (if your a fish person like me) you will have more choices of what you could do available to you.

[GrimReefer]

fish have a 2 second brain span, i dont think they could learn that unless it was a big space between them not like a hamster tunnel size

You're thinking of the common belief of "goldfish have a 2 second memory". I don't know if this is true or not. My experience with goldfish leads me to believe that it's BS. They are capable of exhibiting conditioned responses. ie. Swimming to the surface for food when you approach the tank.

Intelligence in fish varies between species and even between individuals in a particular species.

[SeaSerpant]

i'll be getting a pico or maybe even a nano because it will teach me the ropes before i set up my 60g sitting in the garage.

[Mattgesy]

Intelligence in fish varies between species and even between individuals in a particular species.


Kind of like people LMAO! lol
yeah i thought of that after lol about that whole brain span thing

[SeaSerpant]

well i know thats not true because i have a pleco that goes into the same hole every time i turn the lights on in my room :) any suggestions on what i should do?

[Stumped]

i'll be getting a pico or maybe even a nano because it will teach me the ropes before i set up my 60g sitting in the garage.

If you're going to set up a 60 reasonably soon anyway I would just forget about the nano/pico entirely. A 60 will be a lot more forgiving in terms of stability than a nano/pico so you'll end up saving money and frustration in the long run. Just go with the 60 and start slowly (imagine its a pico/nano if it helps). The problem with really small tanks is if anything goes wrong, it goes really, really wrong and you lose most of your livestock. In a larger volume tank that rarely happens because there's enough water to buffer the effects of whatever potential mistakes you'll make.

[SeaSerpant]

would i be able to have a fish only tank then add live rock then add corals after a period of a few years?

[Stumped]

would i be able to have a fish only tank then add live rock then add corals after a period of a few years?

If you're talking about in your 60 then yes. In a nano, pretty much no. Live rock acts like a filter and hosts a ton of beneficial bacteria/etc. used to break down waste products expelled from the fish. So you'd end up having to filter/skim or somehow otherwise regulate and purify the water in your nano w/o any sort of liverock. It would end up costing you a lot of money upfront to do that, especially considering you say you'd eventually want liverock anyway.

I'm not sure if you're considering this based on your estimated costs, but I will tell you outright that nanos are not cheap. Since you seem pretty undecided on what you want, I would sit down and make a list and say I would like this, this and this in 2-3 years and then compare that to the price figure you have in mind and see where you stand.

Also I wanted to add that if you really have a 60 gal and presumably the stand/some misc. equipment to go with it, it's definitely a no brainer to go that route regardless of what you do. If you get a tank set up, every reefer will tell you that you're always, always, always going to want more room.

[Marlin65]

Why don't you make your own rock use cement and crushed coral.
You will need it to neutralize but it won't take a lot off cash just time.
You should be able to get that cheap or almost free if you ask on the board.
If you ask people might give you some leftovers as far as plumbing etc just to get rid of it as we all know you are 13 and your funds would be limited.
Not the cheapest hobby to go into.:wink:
I might have a few things left over after I finish setting up my tank.

[SeaSerpant]

yep i'll be looking around for free and cheap stuff. once i get a job i won't be that limited. i know it's not that cheap but it will be fufilling when it's done. it will cost alot more because i have a 50g Fw tank and will make it into a 60g Fw planted tank before i set up the Sw tank.