Novice Ecopico Build - Research Stage

[Pailines]

Warning, before reading, please note that "A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words" doesn't applie to me right now, so there WILL be a thousand words.

Introduction

Hi ARC members, this is Pailines, Pat for short.

Im new to the ARC, but i have been reading and stalking* ARC member's questions and personal tank builds.

*(if you want to get technical)

This thread is purely for information and research, nothing posted in this topic (by me) should be considered professional or advertorial.

As for other ARC members, you know who you are, who have extensive knowledge and experience, please share them.

Equipment / Plan

EcoPico - 5.1 gallons

(5) OEM LED Strips.

• EcoPico LED Strip, 12K White/453nm Blue (2)
  
  
• EcoPico LED Strip, 453nm Blue (2)
  
  
• EcoPico LED Strip, 12K White (1)
  
  

EcoPico stock Filter and Pump - Pump flowrate: 80 gph/300lph

Im thinking about getting a Marina i25 Internal Filter to act as my Chaeto fuge.

So currently i have just these figured out

for sure

, as in like this is what im already purchasing.

However, i have some question, which i really can't find a definite answer to.

Question 1:

Using the setup above, Can i keep anything else other that Zoa and Mushrooms?

Question 2:

If i can only keep Zoa and Mushrooms, what supplement, if any, should i introduce? If not, what do other corals ingest?

Question 3:

What kind of invertebrate has a successful reputation in the setup?

Question 4:

What CUC should i start with? Turbo, Skunk, Emerald?

Question 5:

Is this setup worth it?

I hereby, thank anyone who took their time to read and if possible, answer my questions. It's only a quick draft that i typed up in the middle of the night. SO if you find mistake or incoherent sentences or whatever, please excuse me. Time for sleep.

Edited September 23, 2011 by Pailines

[Timfish]

Question 1: Using the setup above, Can i keep anything else other that Zoa and Mushrooms? Yes, Acans should do well. Birdsnest and Montipora sp. should do well also. But a pico dedicated to Mini/Max anemonies would be cool!

Question 2: If i can only keep Zoa and Mushrooms, what supplement, if any, should i introduce? If not, what do other corals ingest? For the most part I do not go out of my way to feed corals. Whether or not you directly feed your corals be very careful about how much food you put in. In a 100 gal tank I may put in a gram of food (dry weight, very roughly 6-8 cubes) in a feeding. That translates to about a 1/20th of a gram in a 5 gal setup.

Question 3: What kind of invertebrate has a successful reputation in the setup? I would want to do 4 or 5 Fire Shrimp

Question 4: What CUC should i start with? Turbo, Skunk, Emerald? I don't like snails. Skunks should cohabitate with Fire shrimp.

Question 5: Is this setup worth it? That's subjective, the only reason I see for going small is if space is a serious premium otherwise I'm in the "bigger is better" camp.

[jestep]

Welcome...

You could probably get away with some lower light sps like monti caps, pavona cactus, maybe a birdsnest, and some lps like acans, favia, frogspawn, blastomusa, calustrea, a small fungia if you have room. No supplements needed, just do a 1 - 2 gallon water change per week and you should be fine.

Are you looking to keep the filter internal? I would definitely opt for an aqua clear with the refugium mod over the internal filter, but it is a HOB and would definitely hurt the look of the rimless tank.

As for the CUC. No turbos in that size tank. Some nerites, ceriths, and nassarius if you have a sand bed. Crabs are debatable as they often turn on corals and anything else alive in the tank. Many people like them. Many people don't. I don't mind small emeralds, but I'm not a fan of hermits or large emeralds.

Whether it's worth it is up to you. You're paying a premium because of the manufacturer, but it's a clean and very retro looking tank. The main drawbacks IMO is the lack of filtration options. Any PICO tank is going to have a high cost-per-gallon compared to a larger tank. They're also more unstable and have extremely limited fish stocking. Even a single clown would seriously stress the stability of a 5 gallon tank.

[Teresa]

I'm going to be honest - I don't think the tank is worth the money. I got the fluval chi and modified it for saltwater. Ended up taking out the filtration/light cause it wasn't suitable for saltwater. That left me with the cube. I could have gone to ikea or some other place and found a nice glass cube for much cheaper.

I added a mini canister filter for filtration. TOM'S makes one for cheap, but that one leaked, so I bought the 504 canister filter they sell at Petco for turtles. It's been working great. I hide the intake and outtake behind decorations.

I bought the finnex Epoch Cliplight (http://www.finnex.net/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=176&category_id=4&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=61&vmcchk=1&Itemid=61) and my macros have been going crazy for it! The light was cheap, looks nice and is the perfect amount of light for any coral, including sps (I have a tri-color valida that is doing amazing).

If you want an all-in-one, I recommed the fluval spec. I just purchased it for work and love it! It's got the hidden back compartment that gives many options for filtration. I did substitute a coralife mini aqualight for the led.

I prefer snails to crabs. Hermit crabs are little devils. I think the size is too small for 4-5 fire shrimp. I'm going to get 3-5 sexy shrimp for my fluval spec. I would recommend you stick with smaller shrimp.

I recommend deciding first what you want to keep - researching the requirements for that coral/invertebrate/fish - then choose a tank you like that meets those requirements.

Another consideration for nanos - water evaporates quickly out of an open top tank. I have to top off my tanks daily using a pitcher.

Feel free to pm me any other questions. I've done all different size nanos - 2 gallon, 2.5 gallon, 5 gallon, 12 gallon, 24 gallon and 29 gallons. I'm happy to share my own trials and errors with you.

[Pailines]

Ops, totally forgot to respond Sorry.

Thanks for the advice Timfish, Jestep, and Teresa

I've decided to get a 30gal as starter. Hope it wont crash on me