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Stephen's 2.2g Pico


Stephen

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Here is my cascade pico reef, it comprised of a 2 gallon tank that overflows a rock wall(not built yet) and runs into the aio 4 g tank below. The bottom tank is divided into two section; the rear section will house a maxijet 1200 to pump the water back up to the small tank , it will also house refugium chamber with chaeto and chamber for filter media.. Might also put a maxijet 400 the bottom tank for more flow.. Just not sure yet. The top tank sits an an aluminum bracket that rest on the bottom tank. Whats neat about this bracket is that it allows me to slide the top tank over to service the rear chamber of the bottom tank without turning off the pumps and disrupting the equipment. I need a heater too, almost picked one up at petsmart, but was unsure on how many watts to get?

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My light will be a diy led setup with 12, 3watt leds. 3 RB, 3 B, 3 NW and 3 Violets. I’ll be using two dimmable drivers, not sure which ones yet. Also, undecided on how I will be mounting/hanging fixture.

Livestock is currently undecided, but it will be a bare bottom tank.

I’ll update again when I make some more progress. Thanks for looking.

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Yeah, it really does depend on the flow from the waterfall, I need to try and get it plumbed up sometime this weekend. Then I can test it to see what kind of flow I am dealing with and see if I'll need the powerhead in the bottom tank or not. Having a lot of micro bubbles from the waterfall are also a concern. I'm thinking if I put some LR right at the base of the waterline of the fall will help eliminate bubbles.

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I really like the tank and this would look nice on my desk at work.

I do wonder about random water running down the sides of the tank though since the opening is the whole length of the top piece. Also if you happen to get a snail on the lip or side he could also redirect water.

Is that any issue?

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I haven't tested it out yet. So I can't say how loud it will be. It shouldnt be too loud though, I hope.. . it really depends on the placement of the rocks And how water is directed off the fall. I have been collectin LR rubble and hope to have water by next weekend

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Small update: I had time to work on the Rock wall for the waterfall. What do y'all think? I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out. Though, I might need to make some adjustments to the rocks that control the falls based on how much flow I decide to have.

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I hope more parts arrive in the mail soon! I'd really like to have the tank up and running..

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  • 3 weeks later...

Small update: tank is water tested, painted and ready for plumbing. :) I have to remake the bracket that holds one tank on top of the other though.. I originally used gorilla glue, but as you can see it came apart pretty easily.. Any ideas on an adhesive?

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Had to dremel out a 1/2" plastic bushing to use as a nut for the 90 degree air fitting/bulkhead. Also had to make a gasket.

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Here's part of return plumbing to the top tank

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Full tank shot before plumbing

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That's a really cool idea! I've always wanted a nano with a waterfall coming off rock like you would see in a tide pool with waves and low tide. Are you worried about watering trickling to the sides of the waterfall and down the sides of the tank? It may not happen, but a 1 inch acrylic edge on the sides of the waterfall would keep any wondering water from escaping. Just my $.02

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Finally got a heater and finished up the plumbing on my tank. Using a Mj 600 for the waterfall and Mj 606 for circulation on the bottom. In the sump there are two partitions. Media bag with carbon in the small and chaeto in the other.

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Everything looks great so far except the run off for the waterfall splashes on the sides a bit. Anyway, it needs more work. What y'all think?post-662-136141332116_thumb.jpg

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Thanks. I have few ideas that I am addressing right now 1) The MJ 600 isn't producing enough flow. Right now the water just trickles over the fall.. So I'm thinking a mj1200 would work a lot better. 2) Is to build the rockwork from the backside of the water fall up to the lip of the tank and to also build the rock work in the bottom tank to match up with the fall. I will be filling in the sides of the fall to cover up the gap between the rockwork and tank. This way it will look like one large rock structure separating the two tanks by an increased elevation and waterfall.

If I don't like the way it turns out then I'm going to scrap the rock wall and add a lip to the waterfall to create a simple modern look.

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  • 1 month later...

Ok, so needless to say I haven't had much time to work much on my lil pico reef. I am still having a problem with the waterfall and haven't had time to cut the acrylic I need to fix my problem.. Also, haven't found a pump that is the right size and is strong enough to handle the 1' of head. Thinking I might have to go to a Mj 1200.

After being tired of looking at my empty, dirtyyy tank I decided to just setup the bottom for now since its good to go. I will add the top whenever I can. I had specifically bought some pukani rock off BRS for this tank. However, I was dissatisfied with the look of the piece and changed them out with some pieces I had in my sump. What do y'all think of the aquascaping?

I am going to run both tanks barebottom with hopes to keep this system very clean and low nute. It's been up for 3 weeks now.. I've been doing 50% water changes biweekly and have been dealing with some ammonia spikes.. Not sure why though..

Livestock is currently one blue mushroom, one loose head of candycane, some yellow button polyps and a small Gorgian frag. Some snails and one blue leg hermit. I forgot there is also a piece of gsp in there.

For lighting i did a diy led buils comprised of 6 royal blues and 3 cool whites powered by a single driver(dimming). The housing is made out of some aluminum angle scraps I had laying around. It's mount to a 1x2" right now and looks ugly as funk.

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I'd like to add a fish or invert.. Any ideas?

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