World Wide Corals 3 Gallon Pico Reef Tank Madness

Pico is a term used to reference things at the smallest scale. In this video Bobby Melton of WWC takes us on a magical tour of his amazing 3 gallon Pico Reef Tank. He explains step by step the tank setup and shares the secrets to his success with this tank. Bobby is a long time hobbyist with years of experience. He has achieved recognition in the hobby as a former winner of "Reef2Reef Tank Spotlight" on Reef2Reef.com This tank is on display for all to see at the World Wide Corals Superstore in Orlando.
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[@ninetysnano6071]

100% water change,That’s amazing, one of the nicest Picos I’ve ever seen. Thanks for the content!

[@WorldWideCorals]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@1979brettmc]

Awesome tank. Went and saw it in person this weekend when we were visiting Orlando. Everybody at the store is super helpful and nice to talk to. Actually convinced the wife with my daughters help to get a tank set up after visiting.

[@WorldWideCorals]

Thank you so much, we appreciate it!! Enjoy your new tank!

[@sunshinesammy7219]

First time in the shop yesterday and i was amazed it was like taking a stroll through the ocean

[@WorldWideCorals]

Thank you, we appreciate that. We hope you come back again, because we are constantly changing things in the store

[@corypapczynski463]

Thank you Bobby! I shop at worlds all the time!

[@WorldWideCorals]

Thanks Cory!

[@Dmnaaa]

Bobby thank you for the amazing inspiration. I have a 40 breeder and decided to give this pico a try when Jake showcased it awhile ago. So far I'm having great success, with all your helpful information. Thank you Diane

[@WorldWideCorals]

Thank you for checking out the video

[@JayMoodley]

Thanks for sharing. Awesome video

[@WorldWideCorals]

No, thank you for checking out our video. Stay tuned for more to come 😎✌

[@aerynstormcrow]

Awesome! I have that same tank that I raise shrimp and guppy fry in. I never thought of doing a pico reef in it. 🤔

[@WorldWideCorals]

Nice. If you follow Bobby's tips, you can turn that pico into a mini-reef :)

[@EddiesReefAquaria]

Great looking Pico Bobby! Eddie

[@WorldWideCorals]

I'll let Bobby know! Thanks for the shout out!

[@spike_4174]

Beautiful. Well done!

[@WorldWideCorals]

Thank you very much!

[@StudioGhibletz]

love that shroom in the back

[@WorldWideCorals]

So far it's sticking around 😂😂😂

[@cegentry]

Looks great Bobby!

[@WorldWideCorals]

Thank you!

[@kingtidecorals]

What an awesome little tank! Talk about mushroom heaven!

[@WorldWideCorals]

They love the higher nutrients :)

[@knels5288]

Beautiful tank, Bobby! How did you place the mushrooms at the top/back of the tank?

[@WorldWideCorals]

Bobby uses super glue and epoxy

[@connorm6724]

Been wanting to set up a pick since I came to the Orlando store last month

[@WorldWideCorals]

Do it! You'll love it!

[@chasingnature]

I was just at Worlds Underwater in Fayetteville day before yesterday actually.

[@WorldWideCorals]

That’s awesome! How was it? Have you been to our WWC Superstore yet?

[@happybone1978]

Holy CRAP, Bobby!!!! I had no idea that you are working at WWC. I live literally 2 miles from Worlds Underwater. I live right next to Cheers and the Springdale Country CLub up the street from Lake Fayetteville. I bought all of supplies from Brandon at WU. Were you the one that did the big freshwater planted tank right by the front door with the badass substrate aquascaping? I got my start in freshwater and doing carpeted monte carlo tanks with CO2 and eventually got sucked into the salty side because I am such a tech junkie. I believe that the key to keeping people in the hobby is automation. The more we can automate the more successful we can be....because stability is key when it comes to keeping corals especially. I would love to ask you a few questions regarding building a frag swap tank and/or a propagation/grow-out tank. Is there a way that I can email you or contact you on here? Thanks a bunch and congratulations on working for an amazing company like WWC.

[@benspicoreefing2169]

Awsome little pico.

[@WorldWideCorals]

Thank you so much! We are amazed by it too!

[@ManuelCastillo-kq3xy]

How many gallons or liters per hour is the return pump you use?

[@ultramaximusreviews]

Pretty tank

[@willrobertson9481]

Beautiful pico bobby! Hope to set one up myself one day! Is a small group of anemone shrimp to much for a pico like that including coral?

[@bobbymelton9828]

I think they would be fine.

[@WorldWideCorals]

That would be cool!

[@willrobertson9481]

@@WorldWideCorals wouldn't though?? Thank you for the Lps frag pack everything arrived alive and well!! Just thought y'all should know!

[@WorldWideCorals]

@@willrobertson9481 just seeing this now. Thank you for your support!

[@aleksandrafanasyuk1539]

Seriously changing water 100 percent weekly? Can you just add supplements to make up what gets used up?

[@WorldWideCorals]

It’s such a small tank that doing a water change would be the easiest best way to care for it. Dosing one drop wrong could crash the tank.

[@apdroidgeek1737]

Do you dose it? Can you talk more about the corals inside cuz im having trouble with compatibility, theyre always in coral wars.

[@WorldWideCorals]

We will keep that in mind when we do an update video on this tank

[@joaopedroalbuquerque8787]

Thank you for sharing this! I am planing on doing something similar. How did you cycle this tank? Same process? Should I start the water change schedule from the beginning or should I wait a little? Thanks!!

[@WorldWideCorals]

We recommend cycling the tank for 2-3 months. No changing water at that time, just topping off with RODI water. You will be growing the necessary bacteria that you will need to run the tank. The rock will get darker and you will notice little critters in the tank. Then slowly add the hardiest corals first. Target feed the corals a small amount so you don't shock the system. Then begin a weekly water change of about 20%. Once the tank starts to mature after a year, then you may need to do the 100% water changes which exports the higher waste output and replenishes the calcium, trace elements, etc. Please let us know if you have any more questions. Thanks!

[@Devildog81]

If you already have an established tank you can use that water and some sand from it and boom no need to cycle. Maybe transfer a sponge over

[@bluefathoms3236]

So u let water evaporation go on for a week before a water change?

[@WorldWideCorals]

There is a daily water change on this tank

[@darrylgovindasamy]

Wow, this is so beautiful. Well done Sir. I have a 3G tank and planning to put a pair of clowns. Would that work out? Also I was told that I cannot put any live corals in the tank at all. Is this true. Sorry I’m a first timer on this. Any advice would be appreciated

[@jojoorsmth]

Don’t do a pair, I have a pair in a 15gal and they use the whole space. Ngl I feel like 1 is pushing it bc they get HUGE

[@thilinadammika508]

How do you care about the algae issues in this kind of tanks ?? Or you dont have any algae issues ?

[@WorldWideCorals]

Great question. Snails and blue leg hermit crabs really help. If it gets bad, we manually remove it.

[@Tom-jw1pe]

They tank don’t get too clean with the 100% water changes weekly?

[@WorldWideCorals]

We feed a lot which introduces higher than normal nutrients to the tank.

[@quantumXkyle]

How does the 100% water change process work? Do you do two 50% or move livestock to do 100% in one go?

[@Zarathustra851]

Which one are your setting of your kesil? Thanks

[@3rdstoneinteractive]

Nice!

[@WorldWideCorals]

We appreciate it very much!

[@84latinray]

World wide corals is the best Shipping is fast Corals are healthy

[@WorldWideCorals]

Thank you for the kind words, we really appreciate that. And thank you for the business :)

[@tallzxdriver]

What is being used for flow? I have a cube 4 and cant seem to get the right flow, its either not enough of the fish are pinned to the wall.

[@WorldWideCorals]

The flow is provided by the return pump.

[@umutkoymen3968]

Hello. I am using kessil A80 and control unit. Do you have any suggestions for day simulation? Thanks

[@WorldWideCorals]

You can have a more "white spectrum" for 4 hours.

[@Grant5321]

Is there any chance you would be able to tell me the equipment you have on that tank, including the tank itself...pretty please!

[@WorldWideCorals]

The light is a Kessil A80. And that's it, the sump connected to the tank has some filter floss. Nothing else to it

[@Grant5321]

@@WorldWideCorals that’s incredible! What tank are you using? It looks like an innovative marine or something.

[@WorldWideCorals]

@@Grant5321 Thanks! It's actually a Marineland

[@justinnorman6175]

@@WorldWideCorals so you have no carbon or sponges. Just have the back are filled with the filter floss?

[@WorldWideCorals]

@@justinnorman6175 correct! The rock is the main filtration :) we just use the filter floss to catch any floating particles.

[@BingBoing652]

It looks like that pump is no longer for sale. I use this tank now and have been looking for info on what pump to buy. My zoas have been acting up and I am convinced my flow is just to low. Any recommendations?

[@jakedemeritt6481]

Late reply, but I just upgraded to a sicce mi mouse. Works great, and a direcr drop in upgrade.

[@nickzimmerman5260]

I have a 3.8 Tank that I’m getting ready to set up what fish could I have that I won’t stunt its growth and health

[@WorldWideCorals]

There are a lot of small gobies (Griessingei Goby) that you can do in that tank or an Eyebrow Barnacle Blenny.

[@nickzimmerman5260]

Thank you

[@nyxandnick9339]

Im going to be doing a 3.5 gallon half moon style as my first saltwater tank since I’m very limited on space and would love to know some tips and suggestions for successfully keeping it and what to stock it with, It’ll probably be a few inverts and 1 fish. I’ll be buying the live sand and rock to jumpstart bacterial colonies, and is mixing your own salt water really as difficult as everyone claims? Thanks in advance for any input I know this is a long winded comment

[@michaelmyers5027]

On a tank that small just I buy water. My lfs sells saltwater for 1$ per gallon. So if you do a 2 gallon water change like I do 1 time per week it's $2 per week.

[@waynehawcroft398]

@@michaelmyers5027 how did it go ?

[@eltiburon5240]

Do you top off with water daily ot at all before your weekly water change?

[@WorldWideCorals]

Hi, great question. We do top off all the tanks in the store and farm each day.

[@eltiburon5240]

@@WorldWideCorals thanks for the quick reply. So this specific tank gets topped off everyday? Is manually or by some sort of ATO system? Just wondering because I would love to set something like this up but not sure if evaporation would be an issue.

[@WorldWideCorals]

@@eltiburon5240 We top it off everyday by hand because the store is open each day. You could easily setup an ATO system for it.

[@aslamabraham4555]

Awesome tank, any media or an ato being used?

[@WorldWideCorals]

Nope, just filter floss

[@don_chuwish]

Beautiful - what were you tweezing at 3:11?

[@WorldWideCorals]

He's just cleaning and doing some daily maintenance

[@alphawolfxz3497]

I having troubles keeping my hammerhead happy in my 2 gallon pico. Do you have any tips to what I can do?

[@WorldWideCorals]

Are you target feeding it?

[@kennygrove3227]

What salt due you use

[@guhitsalangit7257]

How do I improve the flow? The wavemaker is so strong for the 3 gallon setup.

[@WorldWideCorals]

We don't use a wavemaker on this tank

[@duck6795]

What color do you have the Kessil set at?

[@WorldWideCorals]

We set it to all blue.

[@arielbalangue6489]

Wow 🎉

[@gookle3060]

Your pico looks awesome. What is your Kessil A80 daily schedule as far as color and intensity?

[@WorldWideCorals]

It usually runs for 10 hours a day. We manually turn it on with some whites for a couple hours and then manually tune it to all blue for the rest of the day :)

[@ARREGLALO2021]

Muy bonito

[@WorldWideCorals]

Gracias!

[@apdroidgeek1737]

How is algae growth on pico

[@WorldWideCorals]

Pico tanks are basically daily maintenance. Bobby does a daily water change on this tank

[@OlivernMaple]

Does this tank have a skimmer if so where did you get it?

[@WorldWideCorals]

No skimmer

[@apdroidgeek1737]

Why would you need a skimmer on such a small tank

[@bogeymanshankers3904]

How do you prepare your water for 100% water change

[@WorldWideCorals]

You want to make sure the new saltwater has had time to mix properly and do your best to get it to the same temperature.

[@ericsfishingadventures4433]

What pre-made salt do you do you guys at wwc prefer.??? Beautiful Pico aquarium!

[@WorldWideCorals]

Brightwell Aquatics

[@tysonl9782]

Do you have a link for the pump? I just ordered tank

[@WorldWideCorals]

No we don't. But you can search Bulk Reef Supply for a pump

[@nc474]

Please what is the link to the pump?

[@bobbymelton9828]

I misspoke. It’s a 404. It looks to be discontinued.

[@bobbymelton9828]

Not 100% sure. But I believe marineland still makes the 404. You can find them online.

[@WorldWideCorals]

www.amazon.com/Marineland-MN404UL-Mini-Jet-Adjustable-18-108/dp/B000HHQGM2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pdt_img_top?ie=UTF8

[@Bryan_Burns]

@@bobbymelton9828 I spoke with Cobalt back in June and they confirmed the 404 and 606 have not been discontinued. They said COVID has made getting parts very difficult, but they will continue making them as the parts come in.

[@blakekretovics2322]

What advice would you give to setup a nano/pico tank at college?

[@bobbymelton9828]

Keep a close eye on it and hide the fish food from your roommates. lol

[@WorldWideCorals]

And don't let the power go out (you might consider a battery backup). That will be your number one killer (besides overfeeding as Bobby mentioned).

[@salami352]

the tank is a Marineland contour 3.

[@WorldWideCorals]

🙌🙌🙌

[@dysfunctionalgamer1319]

can that clownfish stay in there its entire life or does it need a grow out tank. ive been considering a 5 gallon reef tank for my home desk and wanted to know if it was even possible to house fish in one long term

[@WorldWideCorals]

He should be fine, they get territorial in small tanks 😎

[@nc474]

How do you guys have the filtration set up?

[@WorldWideCorals]

Its super basic! Filter Floss in the sock compartment. Change it once a week when you do your water changes.

[@fayzaanabdul3537]

Where can I buy the tank?

[@WorldWideCorals]

We don't have any pico tanks in stock, but you can find some on Bulk Reef Supply's website

[@gadamwoll]

What tank set up is that?

[@WorldWideCorals]

www.amazon.com/Marineland-Contour-Glass-Aquarium-Light/dp/B00GOFSB6U

[@EquariaYoutube]

What materials did you use to make the lid?

[@WorldWideCorals]

This particular tank came with its own lid :)

[@nc474]

Where can i get the colbalt 202 pump? Cant find it

[@bobbymelton9828]

I misspoke. It’s a 404. It looks to be discontinued.

[@nc474]

Bobby Melton thanks a lot for getting back to me! Any recommendations on a different pump? Do you run carbon or chemi blue?

[@WorldWideCorals]

@@nc474 www.amazon.com/Marineland-MN404UL-Mini-Jet-Adjustable-18-108/dp/B000HHQGM2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pdt_img_top?ie=UTF8

[@nc474]

World Wide Corals you guys are awesome!

[@WorldWideCorals]

@@nc474 Thanks so much!!

[@jemerbautista]

where can i get this exact tank?

[@HogwartsTR]

That one is called a MarineLand Contour Glass Aquarium Kit with Rail Light

[@jemerbautista]

@@HogwartsTR thanks 😊

[@fangsandgames5533]

Is this tank R2R

[@WorldWideCorals]

We don't have a thread on R2R for this Reef, but we should! We'll work on one soon :)

[@anizato]

but wait, he never said what salt he uses... it's the key to keeping it stable besides the 100% water changes, what is the salt Bobby uses? @worldwidecorals

[@reeftheseaforever]

What salt do use

[@WorldWideCorals]

We use Brightwell Aquatics NeoMarine salt.

[@adamkwek5888]

Which brand of salt you are using ?

[@WorldWideCorals]

We use Brightwell Neomarine - www.bulkreefsupply.com/neomarine-salt-mix-150-gallon-brightwell-aquatics.html