Fishy Business

PizzaOven '25 Budget Build

PizzaOven said:
Since I don't have any fish/inverts, I haven't been feeding the tank. I was dosing N/P, but very recently switched to feeding some leftover LRS juice prepared for my other tank. I'm hoping this helps. I'll try to scrub/siphon it off. I should stop being so lazy, it's only 3g haha.

Thanks for the mini sea cucumbers btw! They're super cool looking critters. I put them in my 65g.
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I have one tiny Molly Miller and some hermits in the tank, so i'm really feeding the corals. I am experimenting with dosing a 'competing' bacteria to the tank as well this time to see if that speeds up the process.
 
July update
  • Moved the light up a few inches and angled it away from front glass (thx for the tip @Darkxerox ).
  • Trying to be strict about weekly 50% water changes.
  • Added Playboy Zoa from DBTC (@rxx2rxx2) and Bam Bams from the swap.
  • Weird gunk is starting to die out. Tank is looking better.
Bam bams came with aiptasia :( I didn't notice when I picked them. I superglued over them. Hopefully no more pop up.
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Yesterday, I noticed my ATO was empty, even though it was half full the night before. I then noticed water on my floor!

Seam is leaking...
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Everything went in a bucket until I could find something better.
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Some good news is that Petco is having a 50% sale, so I picked this up for $16.50
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I'll post pics when I set everything back up...

-Andrew
 
August Update:
Transferred everything to the new 5.5g and updated my budget. Ditched the sand in favor of crushed coral. I think this will be better for propagating mushrooms (long term goal of this tank). I'm aiming to keep this <$250, I think I have just enough for a small fish left, I'm thinking a tailspot blenny if I can find one for ~$30.

New Corals:
  • Zoa from @Nguyenz28 (PIF)
  • Playboy Zoa (DBTC)
  • Yellow Zoa from Neptune ($10)
  • Paly from Neptune ($20)
  • Orange Yuma (grown in my main tank)
  • Frogspawn (grown in my main tank)
  • Birdsnest (grown in my main tank
Total Cost: $217.48

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September Update:
Pico tanks are hard!
  • Some corals started looking pale with reduced polyp extension. I've been struggling to keep up nutrients, even with feeding the corals LRS frozen food 2-3X per week. Every time I check Nitrate and Phosphate are bottomed out. I started manually dosing N/P again, hopefully without algae/dino bloom this time.
  • Upgraded the light to a Noopsyche K7 mini 60W (+$66). I have it on a pretty low setting, but I think some of the corals are still adjusting to the more intense lighting. I find it more challenging to photograph as well, it looks much better in person.
  • Added POTO golden dragon and JF bugout stylo from the very generous @divewsharks (thx again!!). Acro is a bold choice for this build, hopefully I can grow it in here. If not, I'll move it to my main tank. Stylo seems to be doing well so far.
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Total cost: $283.48
 
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