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



## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

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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## zoo minsi (Jan 1, 2006)

i am always amazed by how much you nano guys can do with such a small space, nice looking tank.


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

Thanks! Here is the rest desk it is on, with my plant collection. So far no noise from the powers that be about any of it


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## h2oaggie (Feb 28, 2011)

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?


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

Thanks! Thinking about CRS if I think I can keep them going, have to read up and see if they are just a little more sensitive than RCS or a lot.


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## Elppan (Aug 21, 2012)

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.


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## c_gwinner (Mar 23, 2012)

Love your tank and cubicle by the way. Must be relaxing in there at least not on those hectic days.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

sweet work environment. Can you recommend any orchids that are easy and low maintenance 

For CRS, you have to have a handle on GH/KH/PH as well as a long established tank.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Great little picotope! I almost got one of these tanks, but ended up getting something else. Still have much love for this tank though. Great work on the DIY lid too.. must help significantly in reducing evaporation.


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

acitydweller said:


> sweet work environment. Can you recommend any orchids that are easy and low maintenance
> 
> For CRS, you have to have a handle on GH/KH/PH as well as a long established tank.


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.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

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.


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

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  )


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## Knotyoureality (Aug 3, 2012)

The internet is such a demonic enabler. I'd seen these for sale on a couple sites, but passed 'em by. Seeing how they look set up in real life in your photos tipped the balance. Got two on order.


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## mrchach (Sep 8, 2010)

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.


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

mrchach said:


> Nice layout.
> 
> In another thread you said you were hitting algae issues.
> 
> ...


 Have raised the light and chilled out on the water changes, seems to have slowed things down, hopefully headed in the right direction!


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## Lowe (Nov 11, 2011)

How's the sample workin out for ya?


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## Neatfish (Jun 22, 2012)

What size finnex light did you get? 10"?


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

!2 " actually, 10 wouldn't make it.

Crypts are doing well! More updated pics in the first post in this thread


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

Did you have moss and plants inside your filter? Did this work well as a filter system?


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

Soup12 said:


> Did you have moss and plants inside your filter? Did this work well as a filter system?


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.


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

New pics on front page! Ordered more SS mesh to try to improve the 'spillway'.


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

Spillway working out nicely, pics on front page updated


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## Ntraina1986 (Jun 28, 2013)

This is beautiful. I just started a 3 Gal Picotope my self. Any tips you can share on Co2 or additives?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

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.


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

Ntraina1986 said:


> This is beautiful. I just started a 3 Gal Picotope my self. Any tips you can share on Co2 or additives?


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.



CL said:


> 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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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Hmm thanks for the feedback. What color would you describe the light? Cool white?


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

With the blues and whites on together it is nicely between warm and cool - nicely white and crisp.

With just the whites it is warmer


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## Basil (Jul 11, 2011)

Looks great!


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## I<3<*))))>< (Jun 10, 2013)

This Picotope totally puts mine to shame, and inspires at the same time! Lovely!


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

Lowe said:


> How's the sample workin out for ya?


Real good! I have the bar type Fugeray over the tank and the clip/arm one over the planted HOB - which is growing like a monster:


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## I<3<*))))>< (Jun 10, 2013)

Insane growth! Looking great!


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## BAmico (Oct 8, 2013)

*Picotope light*

Love your tank! I'm planning on putting one in the corner of my kitchen, on the countertop. There's 16 in of clearance under the cabinet and the pictope is 8in tall. What kind of light could I get away with mounting it from the cabinet -I could fit an 18 in fixture up underneath there and hopefully have enough light for a jar/vase on either side of the tank. What would you recommend?


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

have had great results with the Finnex lights (mine are Fugerays), but you would have to rig the mounting, they don't come with an under-counter type brackets. (not that hard if you are a little handy, some pieces of coat hanger and a few screws would do it and be completely out of sight.)

All LED so runs cool and low electric usuage


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## pink4miss (Aug 20, 2013)

BAmico said:


> Love your tank! I'm planning on putting one in the corner of my kitchen, on the countertop. There's 16 in of clearance under the cabinet and the pictope is 8in tall. What kind of light could I get away with mounting it from the cabinet -I could fit an 18 in fixture up underneath there and hopefully have enough light for a jar/vase on either side of the tank. What would you recommend?


the Current Led+ would also work well mounted under a cabinet their 18 -24 inch light is actually under 18 inches slightly without legs on it.


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

Pic from today:


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## That70sfishboy (Apr 2, 2013)

Dude, that tank is amazing. I'm so jealous.


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## Kaduhn1 (Aug 3, 2013)

Knock it off with the awesome tanks, making the rest of us look bad. That little bowl and tank on the sides, Whats all in those? No filter or anything either?


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

The one on the left is some "scud prison" - the main tank had fricken scuds and I turkey baster them out and stick them in there.

The cube on the left now has a family of RCS that started with 3 juvies, here is what it looks like now:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=599530&highlight=


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

Update..

Had a major die off in this tank, still not sure why but I lost virtually all of the shrimp. Maybe I did something wrong, maybe the office had and exterminator or cleaner in at some point and something transfered from the air to the water -just don't know.

wht I do know is the scuds survived just fine and were out of control - so these little guys (below) have moved in, haven't seen a scud out-and-about in a week :smile:


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Photo update of your planted outflow?


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## thefishnoob (Jul 12, 2014)

This... is heaven. I [censored][censored][censored][censored][censored][censored][censored] love it. Its exactly what I hope to achieve! I too have ramshorns and RCS together. So much in 3 galllons!


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

AquaAurora said:


> Photo update of your planted outflow?


sure!









that hydro Japan "clover" vine grows like the invasive weed I'm sure it is above the water line . Have to shred hunks out of it now and then. Its choked everything but that one stem out

Bump: Ok, that didn't work, I'll post the pick when I get back to the office


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

jbrady33 said:


> sure!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You have a blow out or typo with your image link I notice the "." is a "," but when corrected I still cannot get a photo, also there was an "s" in the "http"


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

Tried to share that on my phone from Onedrive, here is the good 'ol fashioned version from right here at TPT :smile:


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Wow nice blob-o-clover! Is that hydro japan?
Whats the upside down bottle to the right for?


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

AquaAurora said:


> Wow nice blob-o-clover! Is that hydro japan?
> Whats the upside down bottle to the right for?


That's the stuff! Hydro japan - its rooted into a damp sponge 

Upside-down water bottle is a home rolled auto top-off :smile: Work like a water cooler, been very stable!
Build:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=539593


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Awesome! May have to try this for my shrimp picos, they loose a lot of water to evap and the sponge filter bubble splash.. have to figure out how to get it to stay on a bubble owl and curved jar though (not as easy as a 90 degree corner).
Not quite the same thing but I've been mulling over a constant water change system (drip out, drip in) for my 20g long since the wood is a tannis leaching mofo and i want to keep the ph stable.. you wouldn't happen to have made something along those lines too at some point (for a different tank maybe)?
Btw I use to have a planted outflow after seeing yours, but I just did a sponge over the outflow, was too impatient to bend wire for the 'spoon'. I'm half tempted to try making the spoon now though... unless you'd like to make some to sell ^_~


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Thanks for the update! Sure looks full of plant mass!!


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

Got tired of all that H.Japan, hacked it back into the 'spoon' inly and replanted the filter sponge:











details on the HOB page:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=303778


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Glad the new stuff didn't turn to mush on you ^^


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## Fishly (Jan 8, 2010)

Any updates? I would love to know the complete plant list.


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

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!


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