Fluval Spec, 2 Gallons Total.

[MGDMIRAGE]

Since i broke my 2.5 gallon I decided to try one of these little all in one picos.

K This tank is great but some things really bugged me. I don't like the lower intake so i covered mine up with a piece of acrylic and glued it in place. Secondly the surface skimmer section i feel is way too big so i covered most of it up so my water level can be higher, also done with acrylic(painted black). Third the return pump is too gutless so i replaced it with the minijet 404 which is 2.5x more flow than the stock pump. Also I wanted to use that large sponge that comes with it but only half of it so i chopped it in half and I may put chaeto down in the bottom of the first chamber below the sponge.

Here are some pics of my finished rockwork. I also put 3 mangroves in the back held in place by the sponge.

 

[Peppie]

Way to cool.
I like it when someone takes an of the shelf item and makes it better.
What is the stocking plan?
Any pics of the tank before you did your mods?
Will you add an ATO?

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

Well I have a tiny Eviota Goby I'm going to put in there. I'm going to get 2 or 3 sexy anemone shrimp, and for corals zoanthids and some LPS. Don't really have any pics before mods but visually you can't really tell i've done anything unless you know better. So right now it looks stock but just works much better hehe. Yes I have a electronic float switch i bought a long time ago that I'm going to hook up to a battery powered air pump for an ATO. I plan on changing 32 ounce per week water changes.

 

[Peppie]

I have a sexy shrimp!!! They are awesome!!

32oz water change? I hope you are approximating, Or do you have a measuring on hand? lol

BTW. The rock scape really works for that shape of tank.

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

Well I have a bunch of Gatorade bottles that are 32oz lol. I figure I'll clean them up and have some water mixed up and ready in the stand and use 1 bottle for draining out water each week. I like those Gatorade G bottles they are fairly rigid. I plan on using one of those for the top off water too.

Thanks for once I'm fairly happy with the rock work.

 

[noobaquariumust]

hows the tank coming along?

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

Great, I put my first coral in lastnight, a tiny kryptonite green candy cane frag.

 

[noobaquariumust]

well wheres the picture?

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

Haven't mounted it yet its still sitting in the sand hehe.

 

[Krish]

That's very cool!!

 

[noobaquariumust]

smh lazy

 

[keener1830]

Looks good but trust me your going to have to move that light if it is a Par38 like mine. My light is about 13" off the water of a 7 gal cube

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

Yeah, this one is fully dimmable whites and blues independently. I run blues at max and whites at 75%, also the optics are off the par38.

 

[keener1830]

cool I wish mine was dimmable good luck with it I will be tagging along

 

[chickenofthesea]

In the world of reefing bigger is "always" better so what is the maintance on these pico's? I have noticed a building trend with them. Is it because you have pretty much mastered the larger set-ups and the pico's are a challenge? I think they are awesome and would be interested in letting my son start one if it is something he can maintain. Very interested. I will also be following this thread

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

I really enjoy the smaller environment for reefs as you see many little details that you would otherwise miss in a larger system. Maintenance takes on a much easier role with a smaller tank. Can you say 1 cup water changes? The main obstacles I've found are finding a good reliable yet tiny heater and keeping up with evaporation since salinity rises super fast in such a small body of water once the water line falls. I plan on doing 32 ounce water changes once per week using Gatorade bottles. I am also building a battery powered auto top-off and its almost done. Once the top-off is finished I'll experiment with different sized reservoirs, I may use another 32 ounce container or maybe a 1 gallon although should the float switch ever stick a smaller reservoir is much safer. Typically i like to have a skimmer even in a smaller setup but this one is so small I can't even get one to fit. All the nutrient export will have to be through macro algae and water changes.

 

[chickenofthesea]

Have you tried any of the nano skimmers they use on the 29g cubes? those are pretty small. like the Biocube nano skimmer from oceanic. Im sure not the best skimmer but would probably work for your needs. it's only 2-1/4" x 8-3/4" high

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

So I got my ATO finished and installed and it works great.

Here are some pics of it:

And I was bored and decided to try and build a Glazer style skimmer.

Here is what I came up with:

I haven't really gotten to test it out. I need to pickup a wooden airstone, the glassbead one i tried produces really large bubbles

 

[keener1830]

Nice DIY I had a ato just like yours great idea

 

[chickenofthesea]

I haven't seen this style of skimmer. I am excited to see how it works and to see more pictures.