LoCo Reef 3.8g Pico

[swormke]

LoCo Fish & Reef 3.8 Pico Tank​

This is our 3.8g pico tank started in October 2022 in my home office next to my desk.
Updates to this post with the tank's progress.
See replies for all the details.

Tank Details​

Model	Eshopps Deskmate 3.8g AIO
Display Dimensions	11" x 9" x 10"
Total Capacity	3.8 Gallons

Equipment​

Device	Model	Details
Light	Kessil A160WE Tuna Blue LED	Mounted with the Kessil Mounting Arm (KSAGN02)
Return Pump	Sicce Syncra Nano Pump	110 GPH
Auto Top-Off Kit	Reef Breeders Prism ATO	https://www.sicce.com/en/products/multifunction-pumps/syncra-nano.html
Auto Top-Off Reservoir	Innovative Marine/ AuqaGadget Hydrofill Reservoir	5-gallon capacity
Heater	Eheim JAGER Aquarium Heater	25 Watt
Lid	Kraken Reef Premium Feed	Orange Feed Cover
Filter Cup	Custom 3-D Printed	Contact me if you would like to buy one of these

​

Environmental​

Element	Model	Details
Salt	RedSea Coral Pro (Purple Bucket)	This is what I use in my other tanks Mixed to 34ppt
Sand	CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink
Rock	CaribSea LifeRock Nano Rock Kit
Filtration Media	Seachem Matrix	In filter cup and media back in rear-sump
Filtration Pad	Pinky Filter	Disk cutout in filter cup on top of the filter media

Livestock​

Photo	Specimen	Acquired From	Qty	Details
​	Sexy Shrimp	Aquatic Art	2​
	Nerite Snail	The Fish Crew	2	Escape artist requires a lid
	Nassarius Snail	The Fish Crew	4
​	Miami Hurrican Chalice	Aquatic Art	1
​	Dragon Soul Torch	Biggs Lagoon	1
​	Rock Flower Anemone	Aquatic Art	1
​	Dragon Soul Favia	Aquatic Art	1
​	Platygyra (Purple and Pink)	Aquatic Art	1
​	Zoa (Blondies)	Zoanthids.com	1
​	Discosoma Mushroom (Deadpool)	ReefStock Denver	1	Transferred frag from my RS-XXL-625
​	Ricordea Mushroom (Green/Blue)	Aquatic Art	1
​	Montepora Digitata (Bubble Gum)	Budman's Corals	1	Was a broken fragment from shipping for my RS-XXL-625

Maintenance​

Frequency	Day of Week	Task	Details
Weekly	Monday	Feed RedSea AB+	1 ml
	Monday	Water Test	pH, dKH, Ca, Mg, No4, Po4, Salinity
	Monday	Change Pinky Filter
	Thursday	Feed Benepets Coral Food	Leftover drips from RS-XXL-625
	Sunday	Water Change & Vacuum Sand	25% of water and section of sand
	Sunday	Clean Glass	Inside/Outside

 

[blaxsun]

Corals look really great!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Love the pico!!

 

[sharkyahd]

Idk how you made this thread look so good, but it’s very exciting to me

tank looks great with that kessil on it! Can’t wait til things fill in

edit: just saw you’re from Longmont! That’s awesome dude. I’m headed to Englewood this weekend to pick some stuff up

 

[DrummerWithFish111]

LoCo Fish & Reef 3.8 Pico Tank​

This is our 3.8g pico tank started in October 2022 in my home office next to my desk.
Updates to this post with the tank's progress.
See replies for all the details.

​

Tank Details​

Model	Eshopps Deskmate 3.8g AIO
Display Dimensions	11" x 9" x 10"
Total Capacity	3.8 Gallons

Equipment​

Device	Model	Details
Light	Kessil A160WE Tuna Blue LED	Mounted with the Kessil Mounting Arm (KSAGN02)
Return Pump	Sicce Syncra Nano Pump	110 GPH
Auto Top-Off Kit	Reef Breeders Prism ATO	https://www.sicce.com/en/products/multifunction-pumps/syncra-nano.html
Auto Top-Off Reservoir	Innovative Marine/ AuqaGadget Hydrofill Reservoir	5-gallon capacity
Heater	Eheim JAGER Aquarium Heater	25 Watt
Lid	Kraken Reef Premium Feed	Orange Feed Cover
Filter Cup	Custom 3-D Printed	Contact me if you would like to buy one of these

​

Environmental​

Element	Model	Details
Salt	RedSea Coral Pro (Purple Bucket)	This is what I use in my other tanks Mixed to 34ppt
Sand	CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink
Rock	CaribSea LifeRock Nano Rock Kit
Filtration Media	Seachem Matrix	In filter cup and media back in rear-sump
Filtration Pad	Pinky Filter	Disk cutout in filter cup on top of the filter media

Livestock​

Photo	Specimen	Acquired From	Qty	Details
​	Sexy Shrimp	Aquatic Art	2​
	Nerite Snail	The Fish Crew	2	Escape artist requires a lid
	Nassarius Snail	The Fish Crew	4
​	Miami Hurrican Chalice	Aquatic Art	1
​	Dragon Soul Torch	Biggs Lagoon	1
​	Rock Flower Anemone	Aquatic Art	1
​	Dragon Soul Favia	Aquatic Art	1
​	Platygyra (Purple and Pink)	Aquatic Art	1
​	Zoa (Blondies)	Zoanthids.com	1
​	Discosoma Mushroom (Deadpool)	ReefStock Denver	1	Transferred frag from my RS-XXL-625
​	Ricordea Mushroom (Green/Blue)	Aquatic Art	1
​	Montepora Digitata (Bubble Gum)	Budman's Corals	1	Was a broken fragment from shipping for my RS-XXL-625

Maintenance​

Frequency	Day of Week	Task	Details
Weekly	Monday	Feed RedSea AB+	1 ml
	Monday	Water Test	pH, dKH, Ca, Mg, No4, Po4, Salinity
	Monday	Change Pinky Filter
	Thursday	Feed Benepets Coral Food	Leftover drips from RS-XXL-625
	Sunday	Water Change & Vacuum Sand	25% of water and section of sand
	Sunday	Clean Glass	Inside/Outside

Expert level organization. Tank looks great! I am gonna start setting up a pico tomorrow and now I have inspiration!

 

[swormke]

Expert level organization. Tank looks great! I am gonna start setting up a pico tomorrow and now I have inspiration!

Good luck! Can’t wait to see your progress

 

[Giantclownfish]

This is so cool!! Do you dose alk and calc?

 

[swormke]

This is so cool!! Do you dose alk and calc?

Not yet. I have been able to maintain levels by doing weekly water changes. I measure the values every week the day after I do the change and so far I have been able to keep them pretty stable. This is from this week's measurements.

Salinity	ph	Alkalinity	Calcium	Magnesium	Nitrates	Phosphate
1.025	7.8	7.7	434	1215	1.1	0.01

 

[Giantclownfish]

Not yet. I have been able to maintain levels by doing weekly water changes. I measure the values every week the day after I do the change and so far I have been able to keep them pretty stable. This is from this week's measurements.

Salinity	ph	Alkalinity	Calcium	Magnesium	Nitrates	Phosphate
1.025	7.8	7.7	434	1215	1.1	0.01

I was looking to getting a chalice but was worried that I would need to start dosing. I'm going to try your method to see how it goes for me. Is the chalice hard to keep?

 

[swormke]

I was looking to getting a chalice but was worried that I would need to start dosing. I'm going to try your method to see how it goes for me. Is the chalice hard to keep?

The chalice is doing well as is the favia and platy. Each of them has started to grow off the plugs and encrust the rocks. It takes so little water and time to do the change if I had to I’d do it twice a week. I just feel like dosing in this tiny little tank will cause more harm than good. It is way too easy to make a small mistake and the. You have a really bad outcome.