Soupy's 3 gallon TAAM pico reef

SoupySteve · 12/18/2006, 03:50 PM

So I helped Mrs. Soupy pick out a cheap gift for Christmas. I picked up a 3 gallon tank made by TAAM. It has a small HOB filter and an 18W PC fixture that both came with the "tank" - I think the Dr Pepper I got at the movies had a greater volulme

I know that I will have to do a daily top off (not a problem) - and I figure that doing a daily one quart water change (from my larger tank) would be easy and beneficial.
I have about 7 lbs of rock (two small and one large rock with cave) sitting in the garage in a 5gallon bucket of saltwater. I plan to take substrate straight from my display to make a shallow crushed-coral/sand bed.
I'd like to arrange the rock work so that there would be a part of the rockwork that would come out of the water (like an island).
I was thinking of putting a mangrove in it. I'd think it'd look neat with its top out of the water.
If I were to get A fish - are any of the shrimp gobies small enough to keep with their shrimp counterpart - or would this be too much bioload?
If the fish is a no, what would you suggest for an eye-pleasing invertebrate (besides coral) for the tank?

SoupySteve · 12/25/2006, 05:41 PM

Well, I got to open my "gift" today... I used the substrate from my 110g to "seed" the pico.
I put the LR I left curing in the garage into the pico, stole 2.5 gallons from the 110, dumped it in, plugged in the HOB filter and light - BAM!
It looks pretty tough!
I only had to "mod" two things... the HOB filter didn't fit on as near as snug as I'd like, so I had to wedge the letter "H" from my daughter's bath toys! I placed it between the tank-side of the HOB and the back of the tank - that helped. The vibration from the pump made the lid from the HOB hum a bit much, so I simply removed the lid and put it away.
I threw in the lone scarlet hermit from my 110 and one snail.
Should I "cycle" this tank - or will doing daily gallon water changes keep my params in good shape?
I'm definitely new to trying to keep my params in check on such a small volume of water... As far as keeping temperature stable, can this be accomplished w/out a heater? Would/should the lights and pump do a decent job of heating the tank alone?
The light fixture is already connected to a timer (it will tell me when to go to bed

).
I plan on adding a SMALL thermometer when I visit the LFS or Wally-World for that matter...
I've started eyeing my 110 for my nicer zoanthids to plop in the pico

Again, would the SMALLEST goby be too much bioload in this sort of system?

SoupySteve · 12/25/2006, 06:06 PM

here's some pics... maybe they will generate some responses

amiricle · 12/25/2006, 06:21 PM

very nice!

saltycreefer · 12/25/2006, 09:03 PM

I like the rock.

SoupySteve · 12/26/2006, 07:25 PM

Thanks for the kind words!

My LFS gave me the LR for free when I bought the boxed setup - and it was at a reasonable price as it stood - because the setup was on sale the week prior.

I started this thread under the assumption that other folks may have bought the same setup as I did - and I would appreciate any stocking/modding/ maintaining wisdom I could get from them.

So, would I be a fool to put a SMALL shrimp goby of sort in this tank? (After I get my temp/heating questions resolved)
Using the oh-so-scientific method of the pinky test, the pico's water is just barely noticeably cooler than my 110's - and my 110 runs at 82.

Anyone have any experience with SMALL heaters? There's one that's flat on drfostersandsmith.com that I was thinking of getting...

Red Sea Purple Tang · 12/27/2006, 07:49 AM

Sweet gift Soup! Nice rocks.

dohc97 · 12/27/2006, 09:43 AM

I would honestly suggest that you do a search on here, but if you cant find much go over to nano-reef.com, plenty of nano, pico info there.

SoupySteve · 12/27/2006, 01:37 PM

RedSeaPurpleTang - thanks for the kind words as well! Maybe I'll throw that chevron tang I keep mentioning in the pico... (my apologies to all those who read this who aren't on the right side of that inside joke)

DOHC97 - Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check out the site.

SoupySteve · 12/29/2006, 11:35 PM

So I was thinking that I didn't really like the mess of the filter and cords being visible on the backside of my pico... What do for a background? I looked around the house... what could I use? CD artwork? Too small... Page from a calendar? Too big... Then, I got it!
I'LL PRINT OUT MY BACKROUND! So, I did a google search under images for "reef"... printed an 8x10" and did some trimming! BAM! I can customize my backround on a whim! Maybe I can use a screenshot from World of Warcraft while my rogue is ambushing a mage!

I bought a stick on thermometer - my tank sits at 72F at night and gets to 74F in the daytime. My home's thermostat is set at 73F. I'm considering the purchase of a SMALL heater from drsfosterandsmith.com that's made for nanos... anyone have any experience with them - the heaters, that is... drsfosterandsmith had my thumbs UP waay UP as far as that goes.

I also picked up the smallest mag-float I've yet to see - so now I can keep the pico's plastic walls clean!

I tossed a sand sifting snail, a start of some feather calerpa, and a chunk of torquoise zoanthinds from my 110g placed them appropriately in the pico.

Last night I spotted some amhipod activity - I am also considering a 1-LED moonlight system I can rig up...

I rub my chin when I consider livstock options... a shimp goby and its shrimp companion seem to be worth consideration... if I keep up with my daily top-off with ro/di and still do daily ~20% water changes, I won't have bio-load issues, will I?

PICs tomorrow when the lights are back on!

Chaloupa · 12/30/2006, 01:58 AM

dohc97 thanks for that link...forgot about it and had some queries! Thanks again!

Red Sea Purple Tang · 12/30/2006, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Maybe I'll throw that chevron tang I keep mentioning in the pico... (my apologies to all those who read this who aren't on the right side of that inside joke)

55gSW · 12/30/2006, 08:26 AM

That little heater should work fine for you! I use a small heater in my freshwater betta tank and it does a good job...keeps my tank at 78Âº all year round.
Since you have a 110, I think you could try the shrimp goby and if your water parameters start getting out of control you could always put him/her in the bigger tank!
Your tank looks really nice, love the rockwork!

SoupySteve · 12/30/2006, 09:23 AM

RedSeaPurpleTang -
The Chevron in your pic looks like he is healthy and fine in THAT setup - maybe because that's a HUGE 12 or 24G setup - but I'm having doubts it'd do well in the 3g

55gSW -
Which heater are you using? Is it the flat one that's like 5x2"? As far as using my 110g as a second chioce for where to put a shrimp goby goes, that was the back-up plan I had made up... Now if drsfosterandsmith.com would have mangroves, shrimp gobies, and their symbiotic shrimp conterparts all available at the same time, I'd place one niiice order from them and end up with a fully stocked 3g pico!

Red Sea Purple Tang · 12/30/2006, 09:38 AM

It's a 12g. Sohal to follow.

SoupySteve · 12/30/2006, 10:40 AM

Here's the pic I promised last night...

RedSeaPurpleTang - if your sohal/12g works out, maybe i can do that freshwater arowana/5gal-hex setup i've always dreamed of...

Is that a pic from your 12g? If so, looks VERY nice. I like the firefish in there, btw! I had 6 in my 55g - ALL met their doom by hardwood floor surfing...

Red Sea Purple Tang · 12/30/2006, 11:33 AM

Don't want to hyjack your thread.
Here's another pic.

Do you get a lot of water movement from that HOB filter?

SoupySteve · 12/30/2006, 12:16 PM

SoupySteve · 12/30/2006, 12:24 PM

I get pretty good flow from the HOB - although I do not have anything in the compartment made for the carbon pad. At $5 a pop, I figure I can buy a pad of the "trim to fit" carbon sponge if I NEED that kind of filtration. I have used the turkey baster to take detritus out of the filter compartment.

SoupySteve · 12/31/2006, 10:56 AM

Ok - maybe this is a question I should post somewhere else - but...

This is a 3 gallon tank and it has 18 watts of PC light on it. My 110g has 2x150 MH watts over it and SPS and LPS grow fine in it. Is watts per gallon an applicable measurement to use in determining which corals can be under certain lighting?

Could red montipora capricornis (is that right?) do well in this tank?
Could bird's nest coral?

They do well in my 110g - and are at ~3wpg - my 3g runs at ~6wpg...

... just another deep thought...

StephenInVa · 12/31/2006, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SoupySteve

Could red montipora capricornis (is that right?) do well in this tank?

Could bird's nest coral?

They do well in my 110g - and are at ~3wpg - my 3g runs at ~6wpg...

... just another deep thought...

I had two frags of monti caps die in my 10 with a 96 watt aqualight. Could have been my fault though. Either during acclimation or glueing them to a rock. They both looked ok for a week then started to slowly bleach and die. I can't honestly say it was the lighting though. The other corals I added at the same time are doing fine however.

I'll let you know about the birds nest just as soon as I find a frag of some.

Tank looks nice btw.

SoupySteve · 01/02/2007, 08:37 AM

Thanks for the kind words, stepheninva!
I'll hold off on adding the capricornis then...
I have a frag of bird's nest in my 110 that I thought was a goner a few weeks ago (when I got it), but has now started to flourish - I may try it out in my 3gal here in awhile...

12/18/2006, 03:50 PM	#1
SoupySteve Reefer Dadness Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 862	Soupy's 3 gallon TAAM pico reef So I helped Mrs. Soupy pick out a cheap gift for Christmas. I picked up a 3 gallon tank made by TAAM. It has a small HOB filter and an 18W PC fixture that both came with the "tank" - I think the Dr Pepper I got at the movies had a greater volulme I know that I will have to do a daily top off (not a problem) - and I figure that doing a daily one quart water change (from my larger tank) would be easy and beneficial. I have about 7 lbs of rock (two small and one large rock with cave) sitting in the garage in a 5gallon bucket of saltwater. I plan to take substrate straight from my display to make a shallow crushed-coral/sand bed. I'd like to arrange the rock work so that there would be a part of the rockwork that would come out of the water (like an island). I was thinking of putting a mangrove in it. I'd think it'd look neat with its top out of the water. If I were to get A fish - are any of the shrimp gobies small enough to keep with their shrimp counterpart - or would this be too much bioload? If the fish is a no, what would you suggest for an eye-pleasing invertebrate (besides coral) for the tank? __________________ "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion" Current Tank Info: 93g 'cube' in its infancy

12/25/2006, 05:41 PM	#2
SoupySteve Reefer Dadness Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 862	Well, I got to open my "gift" today... I used the substrate from my 110g to "seed" the pico. I put the LR I left curing in the garage into the pico, stole 2.5 gallons from the 110, dumped it in, plugged in the HOB filter and light - BAM! It looks pretty tough! I only had to "mod" two things... the HOB filter didn't fit on as near as snug as I'd like, so I had to wedge the letter "H" from my daughter's bath toys! I placed it between the tank-side of the HOB and the back of the tank - that helped. The vibration from the pump made the lid from the HOB hum a bit much, so I simply removed the lid and put it away. I threw in the lone scarlet hermit from my 110 and one snail. Should I "cycle" this tank - or will doing daily gallon water changes keep my params in good shape? I'm definitely new to trying to keep my params in check on such a small volume of water... As far as keeping temperature stable, can this be accomplished w/out a heater? Would/should the lights and pump do a decent job of heating the tank alone? The light fixture is already connected to a timer (it will tell me when to go to bed ). I plan on adding a SMALL thermometer when I visit the LFS or Wally-World for that matter... I've started eyeing my 110 for my nicer zoanthids to plop in the pico Again, would the SMALLEST goby be too much bioload in this sort of system? __________________ "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion" Current Tank Info: 93g 'cube' in its infancy

12/25/2006, 06:06 PM	#3
SoupySteve Reefer Dadness Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 862	here's some pics... maybe they will generate some responses __________________ "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion" Current Tank Info: 93g 'cube' in its infancy

12/25/2006, 09:03 PM	#5
saltycreefer Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Fairfield,CT Posts: 1,696	I like the rock. __________________ I love being a turtle!!! Current Tank Info: Got out of tanks for a little while.

12/26/2006, 07:25 PM	#6
SoupySteve Reefer Dadness Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 862	Thanks for the kind words! My LFS gave me the LR for free when I bought the boxed setup - and it was at a reasonable price as it stood - because the setup was on sale the week prior. I started this thread under the assumption that other folks may have bought the same setup as I did - and I would appreciate any stocking/modding/ maintaining wisdom I could get from them. So, would I be a fool to put a SMALL shrimp goby of sort in this tank? (After I get my temp/heating questions resolved) Using the oh-so-scientific method of the pinky test, the pico's water is just barely noticeably cooler than my 110's - and my 110 runs at 82. Anyone have any experience with SMALL heaters? There's one that's flat on drfostersandsmith.com that I was thinking of getting... __________________ "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion" Current Tank Info: 93g 'cube' in its infancy

12/25/2006, 06:21 PM	#4
amiricle Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 175	very nice!

12/27/2006, 07:49 AM	#7
Red Sea Purple Tang Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Oak Creek, Wisconsin Posts: 2,878	Sweet gift Soup! Nice rocks. __________________ E Malama O Ke Kai ><))))"> 60g Deep Blue Professional Rimless Cube (24x24x24) Trigger Systems Ruby 36S sump; 2-Vortech MP10wes; Reef Octopus 6 skimmer; Radion LED Fixture; Apex Controller.

12/27/2006, 09:43 AM	#8
dohc97 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 4,183	I would honestly suggest that you do a search on here, but if you cant find much go over to nano-reef.com, plenty of nano, pico info there. __________________ "I upgraded my lighting to HID with angel eyes" Current Tank Info: IM 25 lagoon, diy stand, kessil A360we, mp10 wes qd, apex jr

12/27/2006, 01:37 PM	#9
SoupySteve Reefer Dadness Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 862	RedSeaPurpleTang - thanks for the kind words as well! Maybe I'll throw that chevron tang I keep mentioning in the pico... (my apologies to all those who read this who aren't on the right side of that inside joke) DOHC97 - Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check out the site. __________________ "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion" Current Tank Info: 93g 'cube' in its infancy

12/29/2006, 11:35 PM	#10
SoupySteve Reefer Dadness Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 862	PIMP MY PICO (DECO KIT 3) So I was thinking that I didn't really like the mess of the filter and cords being visible on the backside of my pico... What do for a background? I looked around the house... what could I use? CD artwork? Too small... Page from a calendar? Too big... Then, I got it! I'LL PRINT OUT MY BACKROUND! So, I did a google search under images for "reef"... printed an 8x10" and did some trimming! BAM! I can customize my backround on a whim! Maybe I can use a screenshot from World of Warcraft while my rogue is ambushing a mage! I bought a stick on thermometer - my tank sits at 72F at night and gets to 74F in the daytime. My home's thermostat is set at 73F. I'm considering the purchase of a SMALL heater from drsfosterandsmith.com that's made for nanos... anyone have any experience with them - the heaters, that is... drsfosterandsmith had my thumbs UP waay UP as far as that goes. I also picked up the smallest mag-float I've yet to see - so now I can keep the pico's plastic walls clean! I tossed a sand sifting snail, a start of some feather calerpa, and a chunk of torquoise zoanthinds from my 110g placed them appropriately in the pico. Last night I spotted some amhipod activity - I am also considering a 1-LED moonlight system I can rig up... I rub my chin when I consider livstock options... a shimp goby and its shrimp companion seem to be worth consideration... if I keep up with my daily top-off with ro/di and still do daily ~20% water changes, I won't have bio-load issues, will I? PICs tomorrow when the lights are back on! __________________ "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion" Current Tank Info: 93g 'cube' in its infancy Last edited by SoupySteve; 12/30/2006 at 12:10 AM.

12/30/2006, 01:58 AM	#11
Chaloupa Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Vancouver Island, BC Canada Posts: 412	dohc97 thanks for that link...forgot about it and had some queries! Thanks again! __________________ No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Sarah Current Tank Info: 65g hexagon reef,120g anemone and LPS, 34g RSM, 150g SPS and zoos, 40g frag/Q tank

12/30/2006, 08:26 AM	#13
55gSW Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Pinellas Park, FL Posts: 481	That little heater should work fine for you! I use a small heater in my freshwater betta tank and it does a good job...keeps my tank at 78Âº all year round. Since you have a 110, I think you could try the shrimp goby and if your water parameters start getting out of control you could always put him/her in the bigger tank! Your tank looks really nice, love the rockwork!

12/30/2006, 09:23 AM	#14
SoupySteve Reefer Dadness Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 862	RedSeaPurpleTang - The Chevron in your pic looks like he is healthy and fine in THAT setup - maybe because that's a HUGE 12 or 24G setup - but I'm having doubts it'd do well in the 3g 55gSW - Which heater are you using? Is it the flat one that's like 5x2"? As far as using my 110g as a second chioce for where to put a shrimp goby goes, that was the back-up plan I had made up... Now if drsfosterandsmith.com would have mangroves, shrimp gobies, and their symbiotic shrimp conterparts all available at the same time, I'd place one niiice order from them and end up with a fully stocked 3g pico! __________________ "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion" Current Tank Info: 93g 'cube' in its infancy

12/30/2006, 09:38 AM	#15
Red Sea Purple Tang Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Oak Creek, Wisconsin Posts: 2,878	It's a 12g. Sohal to follow. __________________ E Malama O Ke Kai ><))))"> 60g Deep Blue Professional Rimless Cube (24x24x24) Trigger Systems Ruby 36S sump; 2-Vortech MP10wes; Reef Octopus 6 skimmer; Radion LED Fixture; Apex Controller.

12/30/2006, 10:40 AM	#16
SoupySteve Reefer Dadness Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 862	Here's the pic I promised last night... RedSeaPurpleTang - if your sohal/12g works out, maybe i can do that freshwater arowana/5gal-hex setup i've always dreamed of... Is that a pic from your 12g? If so, looks VERY nice. I like the firefish in there, btw! I had 6 in my 55g - ALL met their doom by hardwood floor surfing... __________________ "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion" Current Tank Info: 93g 'cube' in its infancy

12/30/2006, 11:33 AM	#17
Red Sea Purple Tang Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Oak Creek, Wisconsin Posts: 2,878	Don't want to hyjack your thread. Here's another pic. Do you get a lot of water movement from that HOB filter? __________________ E Malama O Ke Kai ><))))"> 60g Deep Blue Professional Rimless Cube (24x24x24) Trigger Systems Ruby 36S sump; 2-Vortech MP10wes; Reef Octopus 6 skimmer; Radion LED Fixture; Apex Controller.

12/30/2006, 12:16 PM	#18
SoupySteve Reefer Dadness Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 862	__________________ "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion" Current Tank Info: 93g 'cube' in its infancy

12/30/2006, 12:24 PM	#19
SoupySteve Reefer Dadness Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 862	I get pretty good flow from the HOB - although I do not have anything in the compartment made for the carbon pad. At $5 a pop, I figure I can buy a pad of the "trim to fit" carbon sponge if I NEED that kind of filtration. I have used the turkey baster to take detritus out of the filter compartment. __________________ "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion" Current Tank Info: 93g 'cube' in its infancy

12/31/2006, 10:56 AM	#20
SoupySteve Reefer Dadness Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 862	Ok - maybe this is a question I should post somewhere else - but... This is a 3 gallon tank and it has 18 watts of PC light on it. My 110g has 2x150 MH watts over it and SPS and LPS grow fine in it. Is watts per gallon an applicable measurement to use in determining which corals can be under certain lighting? Could red montipora capricornis (is that right?) do well in this tank? Could bird's nest coral? They do well in my 110g - and are at ~3wpg - my 3g runs at ~6wpg... ... just another deep thought... __________________ "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion" Current Tank Info: 93g 'cube' in its infancy

01/02/2007, 08:37 AM	#22
SoupySteve Reefer Dadness Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southwest Missouri Posts: 862	Thanks for the kind words, stepheninva! I'll hold off on adding the capricornis then... I have a frag of bird's nest in my 110 that I thought was a goner a few weeks ago (when I got it), but has now started to flourish - I may try it out in my 3gal here in awhile... __________________ "cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion" Current Tank Info: 93g 'cube' in its infancy