chipmunkofdoom2
Well-Known Member
Hello all, it's been a while..
Life certainly can change a lot in a short period of time. I graduated college this spring, am on my second job since that time, and am finally making medium-big bucks! At any rate, I sold my 29G about 6 months ago due to time, space and money constraints. Here I am, back again (I just couldn't stay away ), with my newest venture, a 2.5g pico.
Why a 2.5 you ask? Space is first and foremost. It would be about the same price to set up a 10g as it would to set this up, and about the same or less work, so I doubt I'm saving money or time by going the pico route, but it's definitely the space-saver I've been looking for.
As far as livestock goes, I don't plan on having any fish (2.5 is too small. A clown goby might be okay, but that's extra work). It's mainly going to be ricordea and zoanthids, as I've seen some astounding picos around containing just these. Perhaps a hermit and snail, but that's it!
I will post pics very shortly, but first, a warning: the algal bloom has been TERRIBLE. Part of that is the lighting, which is listed with the specs below. The other part is that when I got rid of my 29g, I saved some substrate, shells, and a small piece of rock. I forgot about this stuff, and it sat in a bucket of cold saltwater in my basement for a month. When I transferred it all to the 2.5g, it wreaked of sulfur and other nastyness. Thankfully, I got lots of copepods and amphipods that survived and are currently scurrying around the tank! I also have not done a water change since this transfer over.. this water is the water that was in my 29g 6 months ago, since my refractometer broke and I didn't have any other salinity measurement. So this period has been an extended cycle if you will. At any rate, my new refractometer got here today and I'm beginning water changes so I'll soon be ready for livestock!
Specs:
========================
Tank: 2.5g glass aquarium
Rock: 2 smaller pieces of dry rock (substrate from old aquarium seeded some life and coralline algae)
Substrate: Sand (coming soon)
Heater: 25w cheap auto-temp glass heater (reputable titanium heater coming soon)
Lighting: Desk lamp with CFL bulb (LED lighting coming soon , build thread to follow)
ATO: DIY (coming soon, keep an eye out for build thread)
Filtration: Natural. Rock, sand, and small ball of cheato
Cleanup crew: 2x snail, 2x hermit crab, or both, or one of each? (coming next weekend)
Water movement: 10g HOB filter (no media, just circulation)
Pics to come
Life certainly can change a lot in a short period of time. I graduated college this spring, am on my second job since that time, and am finally making medium-big bucks! At any rate, I sold my 29G about 6 months ago due to time, space and money constraints. Here I am, back again (I just couldn't stay away ), with my newest venture, a 2.5g pico.
Why a 2.5 you ask? Space is first and foremost. It would be about the same price to set up a 10g as it would to set this up, and about the same or less work, so I doubt I'm saving money or time by going the pico route, but it's definitely the space-saver I've been looking for.
As far as livestock goes, I don't plan on having any fish (2.5 is too small. A clown goby might be okay, but that's extra work). It's mainly going to be ricordea and zoanthids, as I've seen some astounding picos around containing just these. Perhaps a hermit and snail, but that's it!
I will post pics very shortly, but first, a warning: the algal bloom has been TERRIBLE. Part of that is the lighting, which is listed with the specs below. The other part is that when I got rid of my 29g, I saved some substrate, shells, and a small piece of rock. I forgot about this stuff, and it sat in a bucket of cold saltwater in my basement for a month. When I transferred it all to the 2.5g, it wreaked of sulfur and other nastyness. Thankfully, I got lots of copepods and amphipods that survived and are currently scurrying around the tank! I also have not done a water change since this transfer over.. this water is the water that was in my 29g 6 months ago, since my refractometer broke and I didn't have any other salinity measurement. So this period has been an extended cycle if you will. At any rate, my new refractometer got here today and I'm beginning water changes so I'll soon be ready for livestock!
Specs:
========================
Tank: 2.5g glass aquarium
Rock: 2 smaller pieces of dry rock (substrate from old aquarium seeded some life and coralline algae)
Substrate: Sand (coming soon)
Heater: 25w cheap auto-temp glass heater (reputable titanium heater coming soon)
Lighting: Desk lamp with CFL bulb (LED lighting coming soon , build thread to follow)
ATO: DIY (coming soon, keep an eye out for build thread)
Filtration: Natural. Rock, sand, and small ball of cheato
Cleanup crew: 2x snail, 2x hermit crab, or both, or one of each? (coming next weekend)
Water movement: 10g HOB filter (no media, just circulation)
Pics to come