3 gallon JBJ Picotope

Hey All!
Started this tank back in Feb. 2011, its been through one move so far (as of Sept 2011) and is doing great! Had to move a few over ambitious purchases over to the BF's 90G but otherwise is just plugging along!

Here is my short tank page on Nano-Reef: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=275973&hl=

I'll try for an updated pic in the near future.

Welcome aboard! Nice to see some more pico's under 5g on here, I have noticed yours on nano-reef.com, nice looking pico.

Good looking nano. By the way, what is the words on your algae cleaner on the back side of the glass? It does not look like English.

Updated pics to come! Took some on my lunch break....
Thanks J. Davis again for the light! And the coral! It's all AWESOME! :-)

We are already looking to finish up my 20L and new ideas for a Mantis shrimp tank... Very excited!

Looking forward to the new pics! Glad it's coming together for you!

OK! So, pardon.... These are from my iPhone, so quality isn't great but I am VERY EXCITED ABOUT MY NEW LIGHT! :-)

Full tank:


From the top:


Close Up! (ish):

Looks good, but I would be very worried about the optics on that bulb. Anything in the center of the tank will get fried from the looks of it. I went with the 80* optics on my PAR38 for that very reason, that looks closer to 40* or maybe 60*. Anyway, good luck

Very nice little tank you have there.

Byran - We were worried about changing the light from the T5 to this bulb but it is dim-able, and we have it turned down about halfway. Will be adjusting just in case anything happens. Hopefully soon it will be over a Mantis tank and I'll have a diff set of PAR lights over the 20L.

Ritter678 - Thanks!! It's been a fun intro to salt... Glad I have someone with me that knows more than me tho, so I can just automatically have some idea what to do. Thanks again for the snowflakes! I'm loving them!

KellyRRoberts4 wrote: Hopefully soon it will be over a Mantis tank and I'll have a diff set of PAR lights over the 20L.

Ritter678 - Thanks!! It's been a fun intro to salt... Glad I have someone with me that knows more than me tho, so I can just automatically have some idea what to do. Thanks again for the snowflakes! I'm loving them!

Let me know before you get a mantis. Everyone of them are different and have different do's and don'ts. Have you looked at Dr. Roy's list? http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/ There's lots of stuff on reefcentral.com in the mantis shrimp forum too. If you've already read all that stuff then just tell me to shut up.

Glad you like the snowflakes, it's an underrated coral IMO and very pricey if you can find them online which makes no sense to me since it's so easy to grow. What's cool about them is that they will, under good conditions, release larvae every few months and you can see the live larvae swimming around in the tank, if the flow isn't too much like my tank. I haven't figured out when or why they do it but I notice it happens more in the colder months around a full moon.

If you see white spots in them like this then that is the larvae about to be released.


Here's a video from someone on RC that has a tank full of them and releasing the larvae,




Maybe you knew all that already so I'll tell myself to shut up now.

Thanks Ritter, I will never tell anyone to shutup with info unless they are just completely off base! All info is welcome because you never know what I've overlooked!
And I definitely did not know that about the snowflakes but hope I get to see it in person!!!:-)

I've been going thru Roy's list for a while trying to see which would work best (tank size being on the smaller size, temperment, etc) and have come up with a few that if I could get my grubby hands on, I would!
(And I do understand that all should not HAVE to require stable/good water parameters...Just a notation of hardiness)

Gonodactylus Smithii - Small size, interactive, and hardy
Odontodactylus Havanensis - Small size, active, and interactive, picky w/water parameters including higher O2 levels
Neogonodactylus Curacaoensis - Small size, but shy(-), & picky w/water parameters

I'm staying with smaller sized ones because I only want to have the shrimp and maybe a damsel(that I wouldn't be TOO attached to) in there, and not have to have a 40B or anything. Staying probably under 15G.

G. smithii would be the best choice, IF you can find one. Those have been hard to come by. I had a O. havanensis and it was my favorite but it died shortly after I got it. N. wennerae is another good one to look into unless you're wanting to get a multicolored one. They usually come in all different colors but turn bright green under reef tank lighting. Mine was purple and orange when I got it but it turned solid green after a couple of molts in my tank. They stay small and are very interactive.

Nice tank