3 Gallon Pico Reef

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Emily's Mirco Reef

New Member
Ok so here is the deal. My b/f has beef nano reefing for over a year now in an Oceanic Biocube 14 Gallon and he is about to move up to a 50 Gallon reef tank. I have been intrested in joining him with this hobby so this morning while we were at our lfs he pick me up a Deco Kit 3 by Oscar Enterprises this is a 3 gallon micro reef kit. It included

Rapids Power Filter PF-80 Filters 80 GPH
Compact Fluorescent Perch-Light Fixture 18W
Dual Reef Compact Fluorescent lamps- 50/50 14,000K Actinic & 7,400K Daylight


He has promised we will return to the Lfs so I can sock my new tank, HOWEVER I must compose a list between now and then of what I want and what I need. The problem is I don't know what I need. I know the basics Coral, LR, Fish and a "clean up " crew (snail and hermit crab). Looking for some advice from my fellow reefers as to what would look right and survive happily.

Thanks in advance :thanks
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
:welcome to Nanotank!

For 3 gallon tanks I would only get one fish personally And since that is an open tank make sure you don't get any fish known to "carpet surf" i.e. Firefish (or any dart fish for that matter), blue spot jawfish, ect. About 6 pounds of live rock would do nicely at first. I would wait for your tank to cycle before I added anything other than the rock, sand, and water. For a small tank like that you can get some pretty cool small frags pretty cheap to fill it up nicely! I like frogspawn and other LPS (large polyp stony) coral as they tend to fare better with less than ideal lighting as they can be fed to supplement the photosynthesis. I personally love ricordias, yumas, and hairy mushrooms.

Clown gobies, sexy shrimp, pom pom crabs, Harlequin shrimp (if you do this you will have to add in food for it every couple of weeks, and food is starfish...), and most other invertabrates will do very nice in your tank! Take a look around at some photos and see if anything catches your eye.
 
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KidNano

New Member
I've tried the list compiling and going to the fish store only to find out that my LFS didn't carry even 10% of what was on my list. Your best bet is to first follow Tims advice and then browse your fish store. do as much research as you can before you go to find out the basics of the most common corals so you have an idea of what you might like. Also use your boyfriend for guidance with your final selection and placement of coral in the tank. He has some experience it sounds like and will probably be able to find a good starting point for you. Don't stock it to the brim right from the getgo either. Buy a little bit at a time. this will give your tank time to adjust to the different demands and give you time to learn.

Good luck and welcome to Nanotank.
 
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Emily's Mirco Reef

New Member
Thank you for your intrest in helping me with the adventure. :mrgreen: The tank actually has a cover it is just clear like the tank if oy look carefully at the first and second pics you can see a round hole near the front of the tank that is the finger whole for the cover. Then major plan right now is to start with just 2 pounds of live rock and a few frags from the lfs. We are going to look for a Green Clown Goby (the b/f has one but won't let me have it) because they don't get very big. This morning he added a Blue kneed Hermit crab(this thing has lived throught 2 diatom blooms and 3 moves one in the middle of january) to the tank along with a hunk of frozen brine shrimp to see if a diatom cycle will start. He also added a small piece of lr from his 50 gal. We are going Sat to pick up a fish and other "cleaning crew" members that will be housed in the 50 gal until my tank is really ready(our lfs is about 35-40 :shock: miles from home and with a 1 month old not a daily trip place).
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
I love it when there is another tank to hold stuff! Just have a plan to get the inhabitant out of the tank. LOL I put in three fire fish in my 90g and I couldn't get ANY of them out later on. Even after removing the rock! They hid IN one of my rocks. Slipperly little buggers... :razz:

That cover may help keep evap down, but not sure how your temps will be affected. Just something to keep an eye on.

P.S. Congrats on the one month old! :wlift
 
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KidNano

New Member
TimSchmidt said:
I love it when there is another tank to hold stuff! Just have a plan to get the inhabitant out of the tank. LOL I put in three fire fish in my 90g and I couldn't get ANY of them out later on. Even after removing the rock! They hid IN one of my rocks. Slipperly little buggers... :razz:

That cover may help keep evap down, but not sure how your temps will be affected. Just something to keep an eye on.

P.S. Congrats on the one month old! :wlift
Click to expand...
did you realize this was your 999th post?
 
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goodreefer

New Member
it will be 1000 when he comments back to my topic... Ms. Emily your getting awesome advice from Tim/Cris they have helped me out as well... And welcome aboard....
 
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Emily's Mirco Reef

New Member
We have added around 2.5-3 pounds of LR and a few mushroom frags. I have selected a Green Clown Goby to be my little tank buddy. Right now he is cruising the 50 Gal in a min tank with mesh top... Will be added to the small tank later. Have pics will uplaod in a bit...
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
LOL nope. I didn't realize it. I am seriously tempted to get one of these little tanks. How is the temperature holding out without a heater?
 
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Emily's Mirco Reef

New Member
We added a heater that is made for tanks 2.5 -5 gal. Can't remember all the technical stuff about it. I just know it is made for the smaller tanks and unfortuitally nonajustable.
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
Ahh I think I know what you are talking about. It's a small square? If so there is a separate controller (but it's PRICEY).
 
Murex

Murex

New Member
I WANT A TANK LIKE THAT!! :shock: It looks awesome!! When you deicide to put the live stock you HAVE to post pictures of it hehe :mrgreen:
 
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