Tom@HaslettMI's 2012 pico

[Tom@HaslettMI]

This is the official start of my 2012 nano contest tank thread! My entry will be a pico tank that is just shy of 1.5 gallons. Exact equipment and stocking details are yet to be determined. The stock will mostly be frags of existing corals, and the equipment minimal. Good luck to all of the contestants, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's nanos grow!

Tom

Look ma no livestock!

[CalmSeasQuest]

Can't wait to see what you do with a gallon and a half

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Can't wait to see what you do with a gallon and a half

Hopefully I can make it look nice and keep a few things alive! We shall see.

I just cleaned the tank up and took this picture. The gallon of vinegar is for scale.



It's an "Ocean Free" brand glass tank. The inside dimensions are 8.7x5.6x6.75 (LxWxH), which equals about 1.4 gallons.

I don't know the tanks history. My parents snagged it for me at a garage sale for the low-low price of 75 cents. Here's to hoping it will win me a $700 LED fixture!

Tom

[Tom@HaslettMI]

The pico hasn't seen water yet...



I had to visit the local hardware store to get a replacement O-ring for the aquaclear filter. So, now the filter is almost ready. Next I need to find a tiny heater with a thermostat. The tank will be set up in my basement, which is about 60 degrees. If anyone has a suggestion for a good controllable heater that is 6" or less I'm all ears. Finally, I need to decide how I'm going to light this thing. It will either be PCs or LEDs... decisions, decisions.

Thanks,
Tom

[MizTanks]

Sweet lil pico Tom. I used a Tetra 50w heater for 2yrs on my 8g. Very nice little heater for the money, preset temp to 79

[larryandlaura]

Nice pico good luck Tom.

[Sir Patrick]

Cant wait to see what ya do w/ this little tank!

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Thanks for the well wishes everyone!

Progress on the tank has been slow... but I now have a Tetra 50watt heater (thanks for the suggestion MizTanks!) and should have the tank running with saltwater in the next few days.

I'm still not 100% settled on what I will stock in the tank. It will depend largely on the lighting, which looks like it will be LED... if my harebrained scheme works.

Thanks for looking,
Tom

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Tank is running with saltwater! So far just a small piece of rubble sitting on the bare glass. A temporary PC light will suffice until I get the LED components.

Tom

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Pics from last night...

It's running 2 9 watt PC bulbs while I wait for LED components to arrive.


First additions! A small piece of LR and a tiny bit of Xenia from the main tank.


Thanks for looking!
Tom