Finally sorted out the plumbing and today I added sand and rocks.... so we're officially underway.

I will probably change the bulbs out to spiral CF's or 50/50........... I think I might have two of those already. Will check in a few minutes.

Anyway, here we are on day one!

Equipment:
10gal. AGA tank
Hydor Seltz 320gph pump
Current Prime 1/15hp chiller
Magfloat
Alcohol thermometer
Backup Koralia nano if it needs more flow... and a couple of AC hob filters if need be.

ew.




nah, jk lol.

no live rock?

This is going to be full of awesome. I just know it

LR doesnt really apply to temperate tanks. Looking good, hmmmmmmmm what to do now ponies or CW.

Haha, now get to work on yours.


Coldwater tanks function a little different than tropical tanks. Because the water is so cool (58F in this one) the nitrogen process happens a lot slower. The sand should be populated with enough bacteria within a few months.

dt - BOTH

Thanks, guys! I hope I don't screw this up.

Oh, found one brand spankin' new 50/50 screw-type bulb in my supplies, along with a spiral CF...... put them together and you get this:





Dunno, kind of like it.... lol. Will probably switch them out again.

Are you doing anything for an ATO or any other filteration?

ooh, that's sexy!


and as soon as I get around to taking the DSB out of my nanowave I'll hook up the chiller, promise.

ok so the peer pressure is gonna make me do a CW tank. Prob is buying a chiller.

Nah. I have a couple of little AC HOB filters that I could use for filtration later on if need be.


You like the color combo too? It looks really cool irl, and the white balance is off a bit in that pic. The yellow side is more red to the eye.. I'll try getting a more accurate pic later.

And yay, coldwater tanks FTW.


lol! Now that didn't take long.

one more dumb question. Im assuming that your running the chiller on a CL? Tank not drilled just pump pulling water out into the chiller and returning to the tank.

Looks nice.

I really wanted to do a MB biotope when I got back but being able to walk the tidepools I no longer have the desire. Plus 1 coldwater = 1 less reef tank


Nem city?

whats going in it

Exactly!


Thanks! Ya, it'll be strawberry (corynactis) nems to begin with... what else.. we'll have to see.
Bet it's nice to be able to visit the tidepools themsevles, lucky dog.


Strawberry nems to start with. I'll see what else I can coax out of Jamie and maybe Daniel if he has anything to spare. Might get in on that GB also.

Daniel who??


interesting aquascape

Looks kinda like yours, doesn't it?

in 2-d perspective it does

M'kay, chiller CL pics for dt:

uh, I think that hose needs to come up another barb or two in that last pic, especially without a clamp.

Ya I know, I just haven't gotten around to fixing that one. It's been dripping a little.
The hose is on there really tight though, I can't seem to budge it (I'm just a girl.... weak..)
All the rest of them have hose clamps. Gotta make a trip to Ace to buy another clamp this weekend!

Thank you

YW

looks good.

i just bought the same chiller today. what kinda pump are you using?

my tank is at 88F.

Thanky.
And dang, that's hot!
I'm using a Hydor Seltz L30 (320gph).

Wood panels FTW!!!

This tank is going to be sweet!!!

Wood paneling sucks.
But I can't complain...

I love that you're going for it! Good for you.

You said you want to keep corynactis. I've been keeping them for close to a year, and I've found that they don't do really well unless I feed them often (I'm up to twice per day), give them lots of flow, and keep the water quality good (nitrates below 15). I'm not sure your filtration plan will be able to keep them happy. I have a 60 gallon, no live rock (like you) but I have an over sized wet/dry filter, and a DSB. Even with that I need to do weekly 40% water changes to keep the tank happy. Sure, the nitrogen cycle slows down, but the feeding doesn't, which means that you need even more of the cold slow bacteria to get the job done (it took 5 months for my tank to fully cycle because the bacteria grew so slowly.) I can't imagine that enough bacteria will be able to populate your rocks and sand to make much of a dent in the nutrient load that will come from the frequent feedings that your corinactis will need. I would recommend a canister filter. That would increase flow, and provide a lot of biological filtration for a 10 gallon.

I hope you don't mind the unsolicited advice.

yeah kim, and get those new boots shined too while you're at it.


C-rad, welcome to nano-reef. Check out this thread and the tanks posted in it. Lalani is following a pretty well-tested standard for nano coldwater tanks.

Next time dip the end of the hose in hot water first, or warm with a hair dryer. The you can slide it in all the way

You can try the hair dryer now, but I fear the flow will carry the heat away too quickly. So perhaps shut down the pump and try.

Tank looks very nice so far! I'm very jealous. I'd love to do a coldwater tank.

Thank you for the input! I welcome all advice.
As Jeremai's link shows, I'm setting up a relatively low-maintanence nano like some others have. I do plan on feeding the nems, but not heavily. I'll monitor the health of the inhabitants and make any changes if need be, but I've had much success with minimal and natural filtration in my tropical tanks as well.



Thanks for adding me to the list.


Argh, I hadn't thought of that!
I managed to push the hose up another barb, but that's as far as I can get it. It's far up enough that a clamp will take care of the rest.


Thanky! You should start one!

Oooh, lights just came on and the water is much clearer today..

C'mon Kim, git 'er dun! Totally jealous of all these CW tanks popping up, I'd love one someday but for now... I shall have to live vicariously through others


That lighting with the 50/50 and the daylight looks pretty dern sweet

Thanks, Ben.

why the sand? (you might have said for bacteria, but I'm not sure) is that aragonite?

how often you planning on feeding the berries? I feed mine every day to keep them open. They're still happy when I feed every other day, but they stay closed between feedings, which makes them look like ugly pink goobers most of the time. just something to consider...

I very much like your lighting.

Can't wait for livestock! (the sculpin is still yours by the way)

I added the sand, well.. because I like the look of it. Yeah, it's aragonite. If it starts collecting crud and causing water quality issues, there isn't a whole lot in there and it can be vacuumed out real easy.
And I plan on feeding the berries same as you - once every day or every other day.

Please, if you guys notice I'm doing something stupid, lemme know.

I planned on having alittle sand also. I think im gonna need a couple bigger pieces of rock.

well, I don't think it'll hurt, but coldwater areas have lower calcium and carbonate levels, so you might be raising those higher than normal with the buffering of the aragonite - but I doubt it will have any adverse effects on the nems.

so no sand for a tidepool setup?

there's gonna be lots of crap stuck in the river rocks, thats for sure. but your tank looks really good so far.

your choice - I don't think it'll hurt, but there's not much point in adding it. I guess it's be a good place for bacteria to live. I personally don't like how white sand looks with cw livestock, but that's just me. (lani - ). Black sand could look cool.

aragonite buffering won't really take place to an extent that there will be any noticeable effect parameters.

just don't go dosing Ca/alk and there's no problem

Can't wait to see this one go.
I was at Lowe's recently and they sell a black light (Actinic 03) spiral CF. Might want to try that, or I can send you one if you can't find one.

fine! discredit me with your superior education





ooh, I might try this. would look SWEEET!

Hrm, that might be interesting.

hey - i got my chiller today.

wtf are all these o-rings? do you only use two and the rest are extra replacements?

Huh?
Oh, I bought mine used so it didn't come with any extras.

well take it apart real quick and tell me where the o-rings go

now!

+1 on dipping hose in hot water but also put a lil vegetable oil on the barb. I dont know about temperate tanks but I used clear hose on one of mine. It ended up growing algae in it and restricting the flow.