3 gallon pico, DIY

[jason the filter freak]

So I went to pet smart today and I had some gift cards laying around. I ended up getting a 3 gallon eclipse for just under 5 dollars in cash after all was said and done.

 

Took it home, added some carib sea live sand and some live sand from my main tank, some live rock from my main tank, and some hermits, a couple of snails, one of those funky little star fish that only come out at night, and a mini conch. Looked nice, but I have to tinker!

 

So far items in use are:

3 gallon eclipse (rated at 38 GPH) with a 6 watt 6500k T5

50w AGA heater by Hydor

80 GPH Aquaclear 10 power head

Hydor Rotating deflector

Coralife digital thermometer

3-5 lbs of LR

5ish lbs of live sand

Wire ties

 

 

OK so ready for the pics?

 

 

Here it is with a full shot of the 55 next to it for scale

 

So here's the aqua scaping

 

 

Ok... so ready for the good stuff? Here's the mods!

 

This is what I'm starting with. An Aquaclear 10 power head with a Hydor rotating deflector.

 

 

I have no idea what this stupid little flat colar is, but it's got to go (takes up space) DREMEL TIME!!

 

There this is better

 

Now what could I be up to.... hmm

Here ya go!

 

The wire ties are only a temp solution, I'll make it look better a bit down the road

 

Fits like a charm

(Bonus points to anyone who can identify the photo on the right)

 

And here's what you'd see if you were standing. So really it's not so bad

 

Thats all for now, there is more to come. A light mod, and a cooling mod. Tell me what you guys think so far.

[mexicanjavafish]

you're awesome

 

ps) i'm in the first pic, can anyone find me?

[Almon]

i'm in the first pic, can anyone find me?

 

That's the 1st thing I noticed.

 

Jason, you've gone tank crazy.

[davelin315]

you're awesome

 

ps) i'm in the first pic, can anyone find me?

 

Christina the Jason Freak? Uh oh, you've been labeled!

 

Interesting approach to the pico! Questions - how hot is the tank with that powerhead added onto it and a very large heater (I would personally go with a 25 watt heater, you might even be able to stash it in the hood) and do you get any water that sprays out of the tank with the hydor rotating head?

[jason the filter freak]

 

Christina the Jason Freak? Uh oh, you've been labeled!

 

Interesting approach to the pico! Questions - how hot is the tank with that powerhead added onto it and a very large heater (I would personally go with a 25 watt heater, you might even be able to stash it in the hood) and do you get any water that sprays out of the tank with the hydor rotating head?

 

I'm going to attribute it to being in my room where my 55 typically gets to 84-86 during the day. But the pico is at 86 right now. The heater is set low (76) the thought being that having a 50 watt heater would bring up the temp quicker if it drops too low. Is that right or wrong to assume?

 

I'm going to louvere the top, or well add cooling vents with a dremel, as well as I plan on installing a small fan over where the bio wheel is supposed to go.

 

Also to answer your question about spray from the rotating deflector. Due to where it's positioned, under the filter area for the eclipse, any spray that does make it above the surface doesn't go anywhere it just harmlessly deflects back into the tank.

 

Any other suggestions?

Edited June 19, 2007 by jason the filter freak

[jason the filter freak]

Dbl. Post

Edited June 19, 2007 by jason the filter freak

[bk_market]

Look good so far. About ur 55 that alot of rock u got.

[davelin315]

Watch out for salt creep! That trim on the top of the eclipse tanks is removable and not mounted on so you're probably building up a whole lot of salt under there. Also, in those models the filter sits on the brace and so you're building up a lot of water there as well. With losing that much salt I think your nano will go through some extreme condition changes. Temperature is hard to control, my guess is that the powerhead is doing it. The tanks themselves run a little bit hot because it's all self contained, but the powerhead is contributing too much I would guess.

 

As far as the heater, I would think that slower changes are better because gradual change won't harm anything. Also, if you have a malfunction, the smaller heater will give you more time to deal with it than a larger one. If you want to cool it, get one of those ice probes and drill it right into the tank itself. That'll keep things cool for you.

[lletellier]

84-86?? isn't that really high... mine hit 83 and I thought all my corals were going to die before I bought the fans from wal mart (hasn't gone above 80 since)

Edited June 21, 2007 by lletellier

[Connor]

i dont think so i have some corals and have my temp. at 85 some corals i think do need cooler conditions though depending on how deep they are found in the ocean

[jason the filter freak]

I'm sorry to say thanks to the few days expirementing here , that this project has been shut down and returned. You heard it out of me, not a good idea, just waaaaaaay to hot over all. The only thing interesting I learned out of this. Is that the hermits (two neon blue, two red tipped), cerith (sp?) narsiuss (sp?) snails, micro star fish, and very tiny conch were just fine at least for 48 ish hours at 88 avrg temp.

 

Good news though... I got my money back and bought yet another project (comming soon, yep it's another pico)

 

Thanks dave for all the advice, everythign you mentioned heat being trapped and salt creep were right on the money!