# 4 gal. Innovative Marine Pico



## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

Well I got it going today and it looks good to me? but what do I know? He he
Assorted Crypts like wendtii green, lucens, green geko willisi x lucens.... and Anubias nana, minima, nana petite......with a bit of HC..
Light is 4w 10K LED and 2 moonlight led's. I am running them together for 8 hrs a day with 76 water temps. Filter is stock unit that comes with the tank and is a nice overflow design.
No critters just yet.. Still deciding on that but have a bit of time I believe till thinkgs get going...
Please let me know what you think?
MGO and pool sand sub.....
Thanks


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Post some specs on the tank as well. Flora, fauna, filter, lighting?

*edit* see you did now


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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

i like it


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Tank temperature seems a bit warm for anything besides tropical fish. Is that 76 steady? Or will it slowly go back down when the lights are off?

Since you're using sand I would definitely get a few MTS in there to stir it around for you.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

going to look great when it grows out in a few months!


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> Tank temperature seems a bit warm for anything besides tropical fish. Is that 76 steady? Or will it slowly go back down when the lights are off?
> 
> Since you're using sand I would definitely get a few MTS in there to stir it around for you.


I have the heater set at 76 since I would like to put a few fish in.
MTS I can do.


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

Newman said:


> going to look great when it grows out in a few months!


I hope so...........thanks


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

scream-aim-fire said:


> i like it


I do too...........hope it's not a alage grower like my title says....lol


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh wow. That tank has like a heater built in? Pretty darn cool :]


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

i suspect is just in the back chamber so you cant see it. the thermometer should be back there too  it looks distracting.


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

Yes the heater is in the back and I had to add this. It did not come with the tank. 25 w.
The thermometer will go back there also once I get the temps stable.. Does look ugly out front..lol


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## rollinghills (Sep 19, 2011)

Nice! I was looking at another 4 gallon that looks very similar to this one. How's the noise level on the filter?


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

it looks like it functions via powerhead.


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

It has a sump type pump on the bottom of the filter area and makes no noise at all. It has a adjustment on the side of the pump to control flow rate. I have it set at the lowest right now. Sweet set up in my book.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

btw how does this look w/o flash?


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## madness (Jul 31, 2011)

Newman said:


> i suspect is just in the back chamber so you cant see it. the thermometer should be back there too  it looks distracting.


It is very similar to the JBJ nano tanks. nanocubes, etc.

I think the guys that founded Innovative Marine were big shots at JBJ before founding Innovative Marine recently.


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## Flyin Hawaiian (Apr 18, 2011)

Awesome tank! How does the day & night lights work? Are they on separate switches so you can put them both on their own timer?


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Nice, I was wondering when these would show up on the forum, we have a bunch at work, truly awesome tanks!


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

madness said:


> It is very similar to the JBJ nano tanks. nanocubes, etc.
> 
> I think the guys that founded Innovative Marine were big shots at JBJ before founding Innovative Marine recently.


Correct, some of the guys split off from JBJ and started Innovative Marine


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## madness (Jul 31, 2011)

zachary908 said:


> Nice, I was wondering when these would show up on the forum, we have a bunch at work, truly awesome tanks!


How do you like them?

I am really close to pulling the trigger on an 8 W clip on light for a small nano tank.

I love that Innovative Marine has PAR graphs/photos for the lights.


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## sampster5000 (Oct 30, 2010)

Nice! I love their tanks. I've got an 8w on my 7.6 gallon growig soft coral. It'll do great for plants.


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

Flyin Hawaiian said:


> Awesome tank! How does the day & night lights work? Are they on separate switches so you can put them both on their own timer?


It has seperate power sources for both lights so you can put them on different timers


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

zachary908 said:


> Nice, I was wondering when these would show up on the forum, we have a bunch at work, truly awesome tanks!


I do luv this little tank so far but I would have never bought it for the $150 retail price.. To high for this little china made tank..
$99 it was worth it to me when I found it on sale thou.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

madness said:


> How do you like them?
> 
> I am really close to pulling the trigger on an 8 W clip on light for a small nano tank.
> 
> I love that Innovative Marine has PAR graphs/photos for the lights.


So far I'm really liking them, considering one of the 38gallons with 92 watt Led for a reef sometime actually.

The filtration is great, and the flow rate is nice, plus it's adjustable. As an added bonus you can upgrade to one of the swivel out flows, which is really cool and makes it so you wont get dead spots.

And the lights seem to work quite well, we have a 16 watt growing lots of different corals in an 8g. ( Digitata, zoos, leathers, pretty much whatever)


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

Newman said:


> btw how does this look w/o flash?


Here's some un touched pic's of the tank with co2 running and no flash on the camera.. I've done two water changes since starting the tank a few days ago. Water is starting to stay fairly clear now. Maybe one more time tomorrow morning and I think she'll be good to go..(I hope)


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## narhay (Feb 28, 2007)

I like it. The background color is very unique. That Anubias at the back that is floating above the substrate is driving me a bit batty though.


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## Ozydego (Aug 29, 2011)

My lfs just got these a few weeks ago, and I too am looking at the 8w light for my 20 liter... The whole setup on the tanks is top notch with the chambers in the overflow are professionally done and a VERY nice clean setup.... I believe the price is for the quality of the item, I didn't get the chinese impression at all... Can't wait to see how the light does with plants, that's my only concern, but being that these are made for salties... I am hoping The lights are powerful enough for plants. The light is dual plugged, so moonlights are easy with a dual timer setup... Seems everything was very thought out with these tanks....


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

The reef light sets are a different light spektrum from the fresh water tank lights.
That's how it is on the 4g anyways. 10K for the freshwater (white tank) and 14K for the reef tank (black tank)
You might want to check it out before hand.
My tank is a little sloppy in the back as far as silicone and how they got the separaters crooked in the fitler area..*Looks china made to me for sure*.. Glass up front is a bit scratced where they bent the glass around to make the corner and the filter cage is cracked ( I super glued it back)...........If I was not so far away from where I bought it (and mail ordered) I would have taken it back for a replacment but I am still happy with the tank so far. Luv the look of it.


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## Ozydego (Aug 29, 2011)

Wow, good to know! If I ever picked one up I would be sure to inspect it first then, the display model looked good, would have to look for inconsistencies


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

Ozydego said:


> Wow, good to know! If I ever picked one up I would be sure to inspect it first then, the display model looked good, would have to look for inconsistencies


Ya..........check it out well but get one.............they are great little tanks!


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

Well 24 days later my take has finally cycled and I ordered up some shrimp and a few snails from the fish store... They are about 45 min. away so I will pick them up next Thursday. The tank is looking great and plants are doing well.. Even the HC has taken off well... All in all I would say so far so good..
One thing I would like to know is if I need to run the top on it when I add my shrimp.
I will have 3, Amano's, 3, Cherry's, and a hand full of Ghost shrimp... Hope they all get along. What say thee?
Need a few fish also since I will be shuting off the co2 in a few days and going all natural when critters are added...


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## Ozydego (Aug 29, 2011)

4 gal is tougher for fish, I would take a look at the nano fish list to see what is available Nano Fish List, as far as the shrimp, the cherry's will multiply, so if anything, maybe leave out the ghost shrimp and get a few more cherries... With the overflow setup, you will definitely want to cover the slots, I might even recommend a small sponge that you can slit the center and slide over the vents to keep the shrimp up front. As far as the top, cherry's will jump out if the water is right up to the top edge, but anything below that should be fine w/o the top.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Ghost shrimps can be quite agressive and may harm the other shrimps (especially if they're smaller). I'd skip them.


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

I can live without the ghost's no problem there. They always have them in stock so I didn't order them.
I'll order up a few more cherry's and see what happens. I just added a sponge filter in back of the overflow slots and it looks clean and will keep the small critters from going overboard...lol
I don't have to add fish but would need some sort of bioload and I know the shrimp won't help with this much...it is a small tank so I'm kinda stuck with what fish to use?


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## Ozydego (Aug 29, 2011)

I guess it all depends on what you want to do, a tank will adjust to the bioload, so if it is small, the extra bacteria will go dormant, or eventually die off. If you dont plan to drastically change the bioload, no worries about what it actually is, if you fishless cycled with 4ppm, then you have a large group that wont be necessary, which like I said is fine, but if you want to add fish later, the bioload would go up and the bacteria colony would have to restablilize... (mini cycle)


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## picotank (Dec 6, 2011)

Well my planted nano is now 2 months old and is doing great..............
Crypts are going crazy and the HC is filling out nicely....

Luv this little tank and my shrimps do too.....lol


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