Small wins: Have you had long-term success with a pico reef?

[Peace River]

Small wins: Have you had long-term success with a pico reef?

It seems that lately pico tanks have got a lot of attention and tiny tanks have been showing up at reef shows, at LFSs, and in advertisements from many online vendors. Do you think these are just a fad or are they sustainable? Is it possible and is it likely to keep a pico reef over a lengthy period of time? Have you kept a pico or nano tank for more than six months? A year? Two years? Tell us about you experience with the longevity of keeping a pico tank and share in the discussion any tips or insights that you may have!

Eshopps Deskmate tank; photo by @aquaman.shalom

 

[NkSde]

I started one then felt bad for the goby in there

 

[Sean Clark]

 

[Mperry622]

I didn't like not having a saltwater tank at work so I started a 2 gallon Pico jar a year ago. Used to do weekly water changes now I do a water change every 3 months it's got lots of macro allergy and seems to be doing good

 

[Buflo]

My Fluval Spec III, up and going for over three years

 

[LetMammoth8940]

I've had my 5 gallon running for around a year and a half. My first saltwater tank and I do around a 50% waterchange every other week or so.

 

[minorhero]

Getting ready to start a 3.8 gallon tank in a week or so. I am excited to try at least

 

[GoM_reefs]

I didn't like not having a saltwater tank at work so I started a 2 gallon Pico jar a year ago. Used to do weekly water changes now I do a water change every 3 months it's got lots of macro allergy and seems to be doing good

The Pico-macro is underappreciated. I had a beautiful little tank full of different macros that fully stabilized and only required semi-monthly fertilizer doses.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

I'm not sure I'd call it a Pico, but I've definitely had success with a nano. My mixed reef 10gal was up for almost 3 years before I screwed up and decided to upgrade.

 

[GatorGreg]

I think the biggest allure with smaller end nanos and also picos is price point for most people. Not everyone especially in light of the way the economy is recently………..has 10k to 20k to spend on a 200 gallon reef tank. Sheesh I’ve probably got close to 2k maybe a little more in equipment and gadgets alone for a dang 22g long with a 10g sump. It don’t have an expensive fancy controller either. It ain’t even wet yet…..so it’ll be even more. You can enter the pico world with top of the line equipment and spare no expense and have a Cadillac 5g system for 1k or under.

it’s all the nickle and dimes purchases that start to add up. Stuff you don’t even think about when you’re dreaming up that system. It can add up quick and easily surpass the price of the tank and stand. Don’t even get me started on rock prices.


tldr….I think picos are not a FAD and have been around for much longer than what most think. They are here to stay for sure. Especially as the hobby keeps getting more and more unaffordable

 

[littlefoxx]

Small wins: Have you had long-term success with a pico reef?

It seems that lately pico tanks have got a lot of attention and tiny tanks have been showing up at reef shows, at LFSs, and in advertisements from many online vendors. Do you think these are just a fad or are they sustainable? Is it possible and is it likely to keep a pico reef over a lengthy period of time? Have you kept a pico or nano tank for more than six months? A year? Two years? Tell us about you experience with the longevity of keeping a pico tank and share in the discussion any tips or insights that you may have!

Eshopps Deskmate tank; photo by @aquaman.shalom

Mine has been running for a couple months! Original idea was to have a maroon clown and a small puffer with no corals. But disaster hit my big DT and I was forced to move all my surviving fish into it for the fallow period. Ive got way to many fish for the biocube but its managing well as my temporary tank, actually a lot better than I thought.

 

[NewCaliCaptives]

i’ve had my waterbox 10 gallon going for 2.5 years I think. It’s going strong and is doing better than ever! Ended up transferring most of the corals to a larger tank and restarted the grow out with little frags.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Small wins: Have you had long-term success with a pico reef?

It seems that lately pico tanks have got a lot of attention and tiny tanks have been showing up at reef shows, at LFSs, and in advertisements from many online vendors. Do you think these are just a fad or are they sustainable? Is it possible and is it likely to keep a pico reef over a lengthy period of time? Have you kept a pico or nano tank for more than six months? A year? Two years? Tell us about you experience with the longevity of keeping a pico tank and share in the discussion any tips or insights that you may have!

Eshopps Deskmate tank; photo by @aquaman.shalom

What defines a pico, or a nano, or a micro, or a mini?
The lines seem very blurred

 

[Peace River]

What defines a pico, or a nano, or a micro, or a mini?
The lines seem very blurred

Good question. There seems to be some overlap in how these terms are used. Nano tanks generally range from more than 5/8/10 gallons to 29 or 39 gallons, whereas pico are less than 5 to 8 gallons, and micro tanks seem to be a subset of pico tanks and are less than 1 to 1.6 gallons. These numbers are meant as generalities, but align with how I have seen these terms used.

 

[52728299]

I have a 9g going strong now for a few months.. at growing algae. I hate that tank lol

 

[Iremember]

Years ago it was always keep the water stable and large tanks were needed. I kept a pet octopus and a banded cat shark but did more with fresh water. Now there are videos of micro reefs on You Tube and must be about 4 years ago I thought I would try. First coral was 3 tiny polyps of Duncan coral. Most of the other items were just anemones and soft corals like Kenya tree. That did well for over a year when I had an algae bloom that smothered everything. It eventually cleared up but the Duncan coral, which had expanded to 6 large polyps now died back to 3. The Kenya tree ended up with a bruised side which the cleaning crew decided to finish the cleaning and ate the tree. 3 years and the micro looked pretty good and I purchased 2 ultra rock anemones. 6 months of pleasure while the Duncan was now at 8 polyps and the anemones looked great. I was doing weekly water changes and I was proud of what I had done. The say pride goes before the fall. first the anemones changed their color and then they shrunk. They might be hiding behind some rock, but I don't think so. All the coral rock became covered with some diatoms, and everything was brown-black. My Duncan still looked great, and I thought I might try something before I quit. I ended up purchasing a cheap light from Amazon. I was using a freshwater light, and this was brighter and lit up the tank. All of a sudden, well next morning all of the diatoms were covered with very tiny bubbles. These bubbles eventually broke off and as they floated up, they removed the diatoms. My coral rock is now cream colored. I was going to add some macro algae but I must have picked up some that was on the way out. It melted; well a piece had broken off so for kicks I tossed it in a brine shrimp hatchery. That only had some indirect light but I thought the new shrimp might eat it. The air stone was kicking it all over the place. No surprise. the macro algae in the micro died while it flourishes in the gallon shrimp hatchery. I now know the algae needs flowing water and I picked up a couple f tiny water pumps. Will have to see.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Good question. There seems to be some overlap in how these terms are used. Nano tanks generally range from more than 5/8/10 gallons to 29 or 39 gallons, whereas pico are less than 5 to 8 gallons, and micro tanks seem to be a subset of pico tanks and are less than 1 to 1.6 gallons. These numbers are meant as generalities, but align with how I have seen these terms used.

From a SI unit science perspective

pico is smaller than nano which is smaller than micro so should it not be:

< 3 gal pico reef
3 - 30 gal nano reef
30 - 300 gal micro reef
300 - 3000 gal mini reef
> 3000 gal real reef

Just jesting of course

 

[Holy handgrenade]

From a SI unit science perspective

pico is smaller than nano which is smaller than micro so should it not be:

< 3 gal pico reef
3 - 30 gal nano reef
30 - 300 gal micro reef
300 - 3000 gal mini reef
> 3000 gal real reef

Just jesting of course

Life mission: build a real reef in my house

 

[ChiCity]

ada mini-m
2yrs old…

i think with everything in there,
it’s maybe 3 to 3.5 gallons

 

[Brit’s Fish]

ada mini-m
2yrs old…

i think with everything in there,
it’s maybe 3 to 3.5 gallons

What light are you using on this tank? It’s gorgeous!
Also, shoutout from a fellow Chicagoan!