How would you experiment with a Pico reef [2-5G]

[SomeHappyFish]

-Natural sunlight only
-"Deep" Sand bed
-No sand bed
-Extreme flow for sps
-No water change / No dosing
-Old tank water water change only
-No water change + AFR dosing
-Zoa only pico
-Mushroom only pico



Feel free to share how you would experiment with a pico reef.

 

[Formulator]

I’ve always wanted to do multiple specimen tanks in a window display. Think like 5 or 6 three gallon bowls, each with a single coral and single fish in them, sitting on a few clear acrylic shelves in front of a window so they look like they are floating. No sand bed, just coral and fish with minimal/no equipment in sight.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I dont see SPS only doing well realistically unless you constantly monitor the tank...ive had a 2.5 gallon and really strong flow isnt very doable. Zoas or mushrooms would be a little bland imo.

If it were me, id put a small sea apple in it, a nice sandbed and live rock, with mini scolys and NPS corals that are challenging like a black sun coral. Feeding them is really cool actually!
As you may have guessed, thks is what I did in my 2.5 gallon pico and it was really cool!

 

[SomeHappyFish]

A Multi bowl display would look cool!

I would like to try a small cube, crushed coral, tiny tiny fish or none and a single sps with a full spectrum led bulb to mimic the sun.

I'm curious of the outcome and look.

Waterchange? I would like to keep it to a minimum and dose the missing elements.

 

[SomeHappyFish]

I dont see SPS only doing well realistically unless you constantly monitor the tank...ive had a 2.5 gallon and really strong flow isnt very doable. Zoas or mushrooms would be a little bland imo.

If it were me, id put a small sea apple in it, a nice sandbed and live rock, with mini scolys and NPS corals that are challenging like a black sun coral. Feeding them is really cool actually!
As you may have guessed, thks is what I did in my 2.5 gallon pico and it was really cool!

What is really doable, the strong flow?

A sea apple is a great idea! Idk much about them.

 

[Formulator]

A Multi bowl display would look cool!

I would like to try a small cube, crushed coral, tiny tiny fish or none and a single sps with a full spectrum led bulb to mimic the sun.

I'm curious of the outcome and look.

Waterchange? I would like to keep it to a minimum and dose the missing elements.

Sounds neat! I’m no expert, but no water changes on a pico tank sounds crazy to me. I think you might struggle, and what are you really gaining? The amount of water needed for a change is probably less than the dosing needs of a large tank. You could almost do them with a turkey baster lol

 

[SomeHappyFish]

Sounds neat! I’m no expert, but no water changes on a pico tank sounds crazy to me. I think you might struggle, and what are you really gaining? The amount of water needed for a change is probably less than the dosing needs of a large tank. You could almost do them with a turkey baster lol

I know but I would like to try it. I have seen some huge build doing it.

The waterchange is technically done by the ato and the dose elements and by replacing the lost salt say by using a skimmer if using one.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

What is really doable, the strong flow?

A sea apple is a great idea! Idk much about them.

I dont think strong flow will be easy in dimensions so small.

Sea apples are easy...theyre filter feeders and are constantly eating which makes them interestkng to watch. Theyll move around the tank until they find somewhere theyre comfortable and stay there unless something changes. Just be sure to get a small one. Also, I had a Greissenger Goby in there. Theyre perfect for a pico given how small they stay. Theyre also pod eaters but eat far fewer pods than dragonets. I was able to maintain mine without ever feeding him directly! The pods reproduced fast enough as long as I dosed a little phyto nightly.

 

[SomeHappyFish]

Are they all toxic?

 

[Devaji]

other options:
1.macro algae tank with or with out dwarf sea horses

2.depending on the foot print of the tank how about a single meat coral taking up the whole bottom??

3.gorg only tank. I am a huge fan of sea fans ( no pun intended) and gorgs they look great and would make a neat small display.

4.rock flow nem only tank.

5. sexy shrimp tank. with rock nems or zoas

those would be my top 5 choices

I have always wanted to do a small tank 5 gallons or under. maybe some day.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Are they all toxic?

If a sea apple happens to die (theyre pretty hardy though), theyre toxic to fish but not inverts i dlnt believe...definitely not corals

 

[william Lutman]

Back in Chicago Reefs days, we did a 1 gallon grow out. I still have my 1 gallon and filter. Anyway I can tell you holding parameters with evaporation is tough. So plan out a cover and a ATO.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Are they all toxic?

If a sea apple happens to die (theyre pretty hardy though), theyre toxic to fish but not inverts i dlnt believe...definitely not corals

(I'll address the thread topic after addressing this, but I will say first that a filter feeding cuke would be a neat pico tank centerpiece.)

Yeah, all sea cucumbers (including sea apples) are toxic - some are just much, much less likely to release that toxin than others, and some contain less of it than others in the first place. As a general rule (there are exceptions), filter-feeding sea cucumbers are more likely to release toxins than deposit-feeding (A.K.A. sand-sifting) cukes are, and they are more likely to contain more of the toxins as well.

The toxin - Holothurin - is an ichthyotoxin (so it primarily impacts fish); importantly, however, like many other toxins, it will affect inverts (and people) in high enough concentrations. In most aquariums this isn't an issue, as most cukes kept contain relatively low levels of the toxin and are kept in tanks with enough water to dilute it, but it could potentially be an issue in a pico tank if toxins are released into the water (so don't touch the water in the pico if the cuke dies - just change 100% of the water and move on at that point to be safe).

Sea cucumbers can release Holothurin in a variety of ways when severely stressed and when dead/decaying (the toxin is literally in the body - the body wall, organs, etc. - so the cuke doesn't need to be alive to produce the toxin). So, keeping sea cucumbers in a low stress environment is key to avoiding the release of toxins - don't keep them with anything that might harass them (thankfully, not many things typically kept in aquariums bother cukes), make sure they can't get harmed by the equipment/setup of the tank (cukes and unprotected powerheads don't get along), watch for signs of stress or poor health, remove them right away if they die, and keep carbon and mixed saltwater on hand in case of emergencies.

All that to say, in most cases, sea cucumbers are cool, beneficial critters in our tanks and don't "cuke nuke" the tanks even if they do release their toxins - the rare cases where they do "nuke" a tank are good reminders to be aware of and prepared for the risk that they might though.



Alright, now for the actual thread question:

For experimenting with a pico, my first thoughts would be:

-Setup an Aquilonastra ("Asterina") tank and run various feeding experiments to determine their specific diet/dietary needs.

-Setup an oddball, mini, predatory invert tank with something like Tanaids or Anthuroidean Isopods and see if I can't figure out how to get them reproducing. Sea Spiders (Pycnogonids) would be a fun option here, but not my personal preference (and coldwater ones are easier to obtain than tropical ones).

-Obtain some Sand Castle Worms (or something similar like Barnacles or Bryozoans) and see if I can get them building a successful colony/reef in the tank.

There are definitely other interesting things that could be done as well, but these are the most experimental ones that come to mind at the moment.

 

[SomeHappyFish]

(I'll address the thread topic after addressing this, but I will say first that a filter feeding cuke would be a neat pico tank centerpiece.)

Yeah, all sea cucumbers (including sea apples) are toxic - some are just much, much less likely to release that toxin than others, and some contain less of it than others in the first place. As a general rule (there are exceptions), filter-feeding sea cucumbers are more likely to release toxins than deposit-feeding (A.K.A. sand-sifting) cukes are, and they are more likely to contain more of the toxins as well.

The toxin - Holothurin - is an ichthyotoxin (so it primarily impacts fish); importantly, however, like many other toxins, it will affect inverts (and people) in high enough concentrations. In most aquariums this isn't an issue, as most cukes kept contain relatively low levels of the toxin and are kept in tanks with enough water to dilute it, but it could potentially be an issue in a pico tank if toxins are released into the water (so don't touch the water in the pico if the cuke dies - just change 100% of the water and move on at that point to be safe).

Sea cucumbers can release Holothurin in a variety of ways when severely stressed and when dead/decaying (the toxin is literally in the body - the body wall, organs, etc. - so the cuke doesn't need to be alive to produce the toxin). So, keeping sea cucumbers in a low stress environment is key to avoiding the release of toxins - don't keep them with anything that might harass them (thankfully, not many things typically kept in aquariums bother cukes), make sure they can't get harmed by the equipment/setup of the tank (cukes and unprotected powerheads don't get along), watch for signs of stress or poor health, remove them right away if they die, and keep carbon and mixed saltwater on hand in case of emergencies.

All that to say, in most cases, sea cucumbers are cool, beneficial critters in our tanks and don't "cuke nuke" the tanks even if they do release their toxins - the rare cases where they do "nuke" a tank are good reminders to be aware of and prepared for the risk that they might though.



Alright, now for the actual thread question:

For experimenting with a pico, my first thoughts would be:

-Setup an Aquilonastra ("Asterina") tank and run various feeding experiments to determine their specific diet/dietary needs.

-Setup an oddball, mini, predatory invert tank with something like Tanaids or Anthuroidean Isopods and see if I can't figure out how to get them reproducing. Sea Spiders (Pycnogonids) would be a fun option here, but not my personal preference (and coldwater ones are easier to obtain than tropical ones).

-Obtain some Sand Castle Worms (or something similar like Barnacles or Bryozoans) and see if I can get them building a successful colony/reef in the tank.

There are definitely other interesting things that could be done as well, but these are the most experimental ones that come to mind at the moment.

I like the Asterina idea!

 

[SomeHappyFish]

other options:
1.macro algae tank with or with out dwarf sea horses

2.depending on the foot print of the tank how about a single meat coral taking up the whole bottom??

3.gorg only tank. I am a huge fan of sea fans ( no pun intended) and gorgs they look great and would make a neat small display.

4.rock flow nem only tank.

5. sexy shrimp tank. with rock nems or zoas

those would be my top 5 choices

I have always wanted to do a small tank 5 gallons or under. maybe some day.

Yeah sea horse pico tank could be great!

My main display is mostly gorg only and I'm palnning more.

I like the rock nem idea! Don't they move often? I haven't done much research on them.

 

[NeedAReef]

blastos, duncans, and hammer .... that could look cool and does not need massive flow. use a fire shrimp and some trochus snails the colors could really pop