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Jbrady33's 3 gallon "Picotope" LOTS 'O PICS

21K views 51 replies 23 participants last post by  jbrady33 
#1 · (Edited)
1/3/2018
Last Update! I have RAOKed away the 3 gallon, still looking good but no time for proper care. For the first time in years no tanks in my life, weird!




5/2013

UPDATE!

Heavy trim again, the result:



Planted spillway is coming along (how to over here http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=303778&highlight=)



I got 2 hunks this size out of that little tank! (Crypt Wendtii green)


Feeding time!


pile on!



3/2103
UPDATE

Finally did a trim, you wouldn't believe how much crytp wendtii green I got out of that left side! :)



Feeding time!



3/2013

UPDATE, latest pics - Time for a trim don'tcha think! :smile:





Some of the gang:



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The Begining:

Picked up a 3 gallon JBJ Picotope (Didn't even know they existed until h2oaggie had to go and make me aware of them over here :)

Built nice, all glass and fairly cheap. (little over $40) comes with 9 watt cfl light (in actinic, swapped mine for daylight - thanks again h2oaggie!) and tiny little HOB filter (which seems to work just fine so far!) EDIT - Swapped the HOB for an Aquaclear 30, the little ones are ok but I feel better with the 30 - can have lots of bio + a purigen pillow

Might swap the light out for LED someday, but a fugeray on top would be way to bulky. Maybe the Finnex Mighty Ray? EDIT - ate my words, the Fugeray worked out just fine :)

Leftover EcoComplete from my main tank, found wood (dried, debarked and soaked), mostly Petsmart plants and a few trimmings form my main tank. The petsmart plants are actually ok, but too pricey for a big tank. (Anubias nana glue to the wood, Anubias Congensis blued to a rock (half price - was dropping leaves), amazon sword compacta, micro-sword & bacopia carolina in the little envelopes, and there was needle leaf ludwigia in an envelope but it browned and died right away.

11/14/2012
Did a "rip it all out and rescape" Treated all the old plants & wood with Excel to fight some old BBA that seems to have stopped spreading since I raised the light. Added some new 'grasses' and a Red Tiger Lotus from OVT (Thanks again!) Somewhere along the line I added a mirror behind the tank and some floaters.

The shrimp were a little annoyed during all this, but they seem to be enjoying the wood immensely. Must have exposed some yummy eatin'!


the new:









11/6/2012 a few CRS and little Amano's added to the mix, as well as Assassin snails (that immediately ate the ramshorns I had, not the pond snails :) ) Added a little Fissidens, Java moss was getting on my nerves :)

Had to raise the light to combat BBA, which means I had to cut a new top! I like it, feels much more open that the light on legs.






10-2-2012 some PFR shrimp, new Fugeray light, Aquaclear 30 filter, some new plants and a marimo ball:




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Minor update, 10/2012

Added DIY lid (see here), detail of foam pre-filter on HOB (For the intake I sawed off the stock strainer (was too long for the tank anyway), sawed a few notches in the side of the pipe, and covered it all with the round foam prefilter from an Edge (off the shelf at petcosmart) with a small ziptie to hold it on.)








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slight rescape & cleanup Sept 2012:










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Initial pics from August 2012:


With 700ml water bottle for scale


Close up


Closer up
 
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#4 ·
Very nice, looks much better than mine. I think a Fuge Ray would actually look really nice on it. I have one on a 4 gallon tank and it is very slim and compact, overall a great light. Although I am getting good growth with the just the stock light and that replacement bulb, so no real reason to swap yet.

Not sure if I overlooked it, but what fauna do you have/plan on keeping?
 
#6 ·
Oh wow! That looks great. I also love all the plants around your desk. It looks like my writing desk at home, sans tank. Though I am rectifying that in the next month or so with my own nano tank.
 
#10 · (Edited)
CRS - Have a few going now, started bringing in gallon jugs of my home well water (super-super soft, tests at 0) After treating with Seachem Equalibrium & a little baking soda I end up with soft (about 3) hardness. Ph is neutral (would like a little lower but stable seems more important. Have pre soaked IAL in tank) and KH is on the low side, but not sure what more I can do with that.

Orchids - absolutely! I couldn't keep them if they weren't low maintenance. I know when I first found them I thought orchids were always complicated, hard and would die if you stared at them the wrong way. Turns out the cheapest, most common ones are almost as hardy as a cactus. Short version - buy one you like, pay less than $20, water once every 2 weeks for a large one, once a week for a tiny one. Put in indirect sunlight or under a nice florescent light (right above it, just like a planted tank) enjoy the flowers once or twice a year for several weeks to a month each blooming, nice green plant the rest of the time.

Long version:

Get an orchid from Home Depot, Lowes, grocery store, Wal-mart - almost anywhere like that.
The ones on sale this way are Phal orchids (short for Phalaenopsis). Fleshy leaves, long stalks with flowers. Buy for the color flowers you like, just keep in mind that the bright blue ones you see today are injected with dye, they will grow back to thier natural white or purple on the next blooming. They usually come in regular size ("normal" flower pot sized) or mini-phals, dwarf versions in tiny pots, like the size of a traditional orange juice glass.

If it is marked "Just Add Ice" it is still ok, but ignore the watering by ice cube thing, it's crap. Same thing with "self watering" orchids (Its just a pot with a gap at the bottom to hold extra water - doesn't work well for orchids).

Don't buy ANY in a pot with no drain holes unless you want to repot immediately. These thing handle dry with no problem, standing water kills them.

A lot of them come in a pretty outer pot for looks with a plastic inner pot that has lots of drain holes - these are good , just remove the inner pot when you water and put it back in the fancy pot.


They will be planted in either sphagnum moss or tree bark chips. Either one is fine. (In nature these thing grow high in the air clinging to the side if big trees, hence the bark). In moss you can go longer between waterings but have to be more careful to let it dry out in between. (Tank water works great!)

That's the real trick - let it dry out before watering! They store water in their big leaves, if their feet stay wet it will rot from the bottom. If you aren't sure it is dry enough yet, wait a few days to be sure. (you end up in a rythym, and can tell by the weight of the pot)

When you do water, soak it good until it runs freely from the drain holes. Let the extra drain off and ignore for another week or 2 :)


And they like to be a little crowded in in the pot. If you repot in a big pot (no dirt! moss or bark), it will spend a lot of energy filling the pot with roots and not do much growing or flowering up top for a while.

Lighting - bright windows are good, but no direct un-filtered sun. The leaves will burn an ugly color. You don't need a window - They love florescent light, but it has to be close - just above them like a planted tank. LED would work fine too.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the level of detail. going to have to try this out though i think it might be the wrong season for me to find one, i'll have to see.

also crystals appreciate a low KH so having as you have is good. Baking soda however will raise KH so be careful and use sparingly. Neos on the contrary appreciate the higher kh.
 
#12 ·
The greenhouse growers have them going all year (and supplying the retail big box stores), and weather changing cooler is one of the things that prompt them to bloom. You should be able to get them any time of year (I usually look for the half priced ones that have no flowers :) )
 
#14 ·
Nice layout.

In another thread you said you were hitting algae issues.

In my experience algae in tanks is usually light (like you said), but I think it has more to do with intensity than duration. Don't forget to keep an eye to that also.

Another thing is that algae rises and falls like roman leaders for a while in the new life of an aquarium. So that could also be an issue is that their just a lack of competition at the current time.
 
#20 ·
I have moss, anubias, and ricca in my HOB Filter, but more for looks than filtration. It's an aquaclear filter with 2 sponges blocks, purigen and ceramic media providing the filtration. the moss and stuff are growing emerged-style on top of the "stack" of sponges (no lid on the filter) and on a piece of plastic grid in the spillway.

Would like to swap out the plastic grid for stiff stainless steel - the plastic doesn't hold it's bend as well and the Ricca/moss doesn't seem to get a good grip on it.
 
#25 ·
No Co2 on this tank - but I do add one drop (from an eyedropper) each of Excel, macros and micros once or twice a week. I also add Fluval shrimp mineral supplement to the water change water.

How are you liking the 12" fugeray? I'm considering buying one but I don't know if it'd be enough light for me.
it was MORE than enough light. The tank is less than 9" tall, when I first put the Fugeray on I ended up with BBA, had to raise the light an mount i under the shelf over the tank (and cut down on water changes, I was doing way too much)
 
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