First Post here...

[Reefer22]

Hi everyone I started up a few freshwater tanks a few years ago after a lot of research and I have to say, I love this hobby. My plan was to start off fresh and work my way into salt. I bought the 3G picotope for my desk and just started setting it up.

The substrate I used is CaribSea's Ocean Direct Caribbean Live Sand:
The sand came with a packet of "Bio Magnet Clarifier" that cleared up the water within hours.




I have a Mini-Jet 404 pump for movement:


One question I had is about the sand. Will this sand cloud up the entire tank every time it's disturbed? Or is it just doing that because it's new? Also, what sort of inhabitants do you recommend I keep in this 3G if any? Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Parrothead]

"The Picotope 3 Gallon Aquarium is the meaning of elegance. This sleek, curved glass desktop aquarium is perfect for any advanced aquarist who wants to create a zen-like mini reef. The Picotope features a 9 watt clamp-on compact fluorescent lamp, which is great for low-light corals and invertebrates like mushroom corals and other reef creatures. Also included is an efficient compact powerfilter for keeping the water crystal clear and providing the necessary filtration to keep a nano reef aquarium alive and thriving".

I would like you to pay attention to the "advanced aquarist" porition of the above statement a tank this small will require alot of care and management that a beginner in saltwater has no business playing with, the smaller the water volume, the harder to maintain, this is the type of tank that IMHO would require 24/7 care, 3 gallons is not taking into effect the water displaced due to live rock and the so called bagged live sand, adding even a small piece of rock will lessen the water volume not to mention the sand that you have added, taking a guess you have less than 2 gallons of water in the tank, not good, anything goes wrong it will happen instantly and you will not be happy with what happens, I can show you advanced aquarist here who have large, large tanks, and have added very large sumps and fuges to increase water volume, basically the less water you have the faster diaster will strike, please rethink what you are doing. This reminds me of a craze I once saw involving a betta and a plant with its root in the vase, again, a bad idea, I would not attempt what you are about to do, It's to small

Tanks,
Robert

[reefhead728]

I agree with Parrothead.

Hope it works out, for you..

[reefhead728]

Btw Welcome To Reefland

[Reefer22]

I appreciate your advice and have taken that into consideration. I am not a complete beginner to aquariums and take them very seriously. I know that the picotope is not the best choice for a beginner and that is why I will be monitoring the tank frequently and most likely will only be hosting live rock with the possibility of some coral. Thanks for the input Robert.

-Reefer22

[TimH07]

im going to go right out and say that ANYBODY starting a reef tank for the first time should consider a 55g minimum.

i can say this with experience starting with a 26, alot of people will argue and they can have their opinion but if you arent a chemist and figure you can mix some salt and buy a carpet anemone for a 10g tank you are not only in for failure but your "pets" demise.

nobody buys a great dane and figures he'll be ok in a 10th story 300 square foot apartment with a 30 sq ft balcony and a weekly walk......

[Parrothead]

Thanks Tim

[Reefer22]

Read guys, read... notice the words in bold.

what sort of inhabitants do you recommend I keep in this 3G if any?

I will be monitoring the tank frequently and most likely will only be hosting live rock with the possibility of some coral.

I know you guys are just trying to start me off right which I greatly appreciate. However this pico is already set up. I don't plan on stuffing as many things as I can fit in there. Again, this hobby is not foreign to me. I have two other tanks that I will be reef tanks someday. This little pico is just something to look at while I'm at my desk. I picked up a few small pieces of LR from the LFS today which look pretty good. I will upload a few pics when I get them. Oh and thanks for the warm welcome.

[TimH07]

if i ever did another nano tank i think i would keep it fishless, and have a zoanthid garden of many colors and a few mushrooms, a shrimp, and snails.

i honestly dont think any fish should be kept in a 3 gallon tank, that is up to you of course.

good luck though