Pico reef 4.5g

[Wizard4s]

Hi i have kept freshwater for years and want to start a pico reef, I know its harder to start small but i have very limited space I want this tank http://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/WhatsnewInfo.aspx?id=211 it's comes with an aqua flow 50 internal filter, what media would I need for it? It comes with 31 LEDs will this be suitable? I really like this tank and dont want anything else. I need all the advise I can get, thanks.

 

[carey]

Hello. Welcome to the forum!
I looked at the link but can't tell what wattage the lighting is so i cant comment on that. I would guess though that it is only for show and not able to sustain much if any corals. But otherwise looks to be a decent setup.

The only other thing thats not so great is its an internal filter, so it will take away valuable space within the tank.

I had a 4g pico myself but I broke it down to upgrade tanks. It was alot of work by the way, more work than my 125g reef tank. LOL But it was nice while I had it up. If I did such a small tank again I probably would just go with shrimp and inverts.

 

[Wizard4s]

Hi the internal filter and heater is hidden away in a section at the back of the tank, what do you think I should use as the filter media, would I need a powerhead? I'm new to keeping marines. I'm staring the tank at christmas, what other equipment do you think I need? I looked at your old pico and it's looked amazing

 

[carey]

I passed on the powerhead, toomuch flow in my opinion. I used the regular filter cartridges that were for the filter. They had carbon and filter floss pretty much. It's up to you whether to run carbon or not, kinda a personal thing. Some people dont run it some do.

It may sound like overkill but I would get a refractometer to measure the salinity. thats one battle you will have in a tank that small is keeping the salinity stable due to evaporation. I also did twice weekly water changes of about a gallon each. I did have a fish in there though that I was feeding so my water parameters did have some ups and downs. Thats the other thing to worry about, such a small tank and even the tiniest amount of ammonia can be lethal.

Good luck though, looking forward to a build thread by you!! LOL

 

[Wizard4s]

Thanks for your advise I will start a build thread as soon as I get the tank at Christmas, I can't wait.