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Cultivated Reef

20gal Alaskatope!


AlaskaMatt

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Hi all, i recently just started my 20gal Alaskan biotope yesterday. I was going to do it with a 10 gal tank but i decided i really could do alot more with a 20 gal than i could with a 10. Everything in the tank has been collected locally here in Ketchikan Alaska. Right now i am cycling the tank at room temperature with some tidepool critters. Anyhow here are the specs:

 

Lighting: 15w Cheapo light that came with my other 20 gallon. May upgrade in the future if the kelp starts dieing off.

Skimmer: AquaC Remora Nano (Doing a great job but really loud)

Filtraton: Tetra Whisper 20 filled with pot scrubbies, i just found it laying around so i just threw it in really.

Chiller: Coming soon (Cycling at room temperature)

 

(Salinity tested with Instant Ocean Hydrometer, and API 5 in 1 Test Strips)

PH: 7.5

No2:0

No3:0

KH:60

GH:180

Salinity: 1.022

 

Livestock:

Acorn Barnacles

1 6 rayed starfish

10 hermit crabs

3 Purple Shore crabs

20+ snails, alot came with the rock i collected

1 Seaweed Isopod

4 Tidepool scuplins

(Update 8/10/08)

 

Once the tank is cycled and ready to go (which i hope won't take long because i collected everything from the beach so it should all have some BB on it) I'll be adding a sculpin or two and hopefully a blenny if i can find one, and of course more hermits and some anenomes.

 

I will be posting pics tonight or tomorrow once i download them off of my camera.

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Sorry about delay in pictures still can't find the USB cord for my camera. I am hoping to keep the tank at around 55-58 (water temp here stays in the 50's over the summer) before i start adding any anems, but right now its doing fine at room temp. Ive added a few more hermit crabs and a couple of Tidepool Sculpins (neat little guys) plus this neat little Seaweed Isopod. I found a gunnel but it got away, man are those things fast.

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Mynameskenny19

Hey Matt, cant wait til you get some pictures! That sounds like its gonna be an awesome tank! Our chiller idea for our tank is get a couple 2 liter bottles and fill them with water, freeze em, and drop them into the tank. It works pretty good at keeping our tank at 61 degrees F and it doesnt obstruct our viewing either

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Again sorry about delay in pictures, but here they are!

 

1:FTS

Coldwatertankpics039.jpg

2:Limpet on glass

Coldwatertankpics036-1.jpg

3:Seaweed Isopod!

Coldwatertankpics050-1.jpg

4:Tidepool Sculpin

coldwatertankpics055nz9.jpg

5:Another Tidepool Sculpin

Coldwatertankpics071.jpg

 

So far the tank is going good, allthough i think i am going to need a better light because I am not seeing any noticable growth on any of the kelp/seaweed (i honestly don't know what its called). I have decided to hold off on buying a chiller (I'm goin to try that with the frozen bottles untill then) till dividends (late october) so i can get a nice one. I'm pretty sure i have enough flow in the tank for now so i really don't think a wavemaker is necessary.

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kingwintergreen
So far the tank is going good, allthough i think i am going to need a better light because I am not seeing any noticable growth on any of the kelp/seaweed (i honestly don't know what its called). I have decided to hold off on buying a chiller (I'm goin to try that with the frozen bottles untill then) till dividends (late october) so i can get a nice one. I'm pretty sure i have enough flow in the tank for now so i really don't think a wavemaker is necessary.

Your kelp is Fucus sp. (probably F. gardneri). Since it is a good competitor for light (occurs in upper to lower intertidal zone but doesn't occur in deeper waters), I would suggest high-intensity lighting. I would also suggest keeping the water very cold (this will certainly require a chiller if high-intensity lighting is used). Temperate kelps have a high oxygen demand and therefore require well-aerated water in aquaria, particularly if the water is too warm (oxygen solubility decreases dramatically with increasing temperature). Also, temperate intertidal habitats are relatively nutrient-rich, so supplements (such as iron) and fertilizers may help. Bring on the pics!

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Ok, do you think it would be wise to get the chiller first before the lighting or visa versa? And after browsing a bit on ebay i found a 250 watt metal halide for $105 and a couple current usa 2x65 watt PC fixtures for like $80, 110 watts should suffice shouldnt it?

 

Well i found out today that the rock didn't have all that much BB on it and i'm right in the middle of a cycle, so far all the critters are doing good and diatoms are forming on the sand and glass so hopefully its coming to a close (40-80?!?!?!!?!?ppm nitrates, no way thats right ive been changing 25% over each week. Between 5-10 nitrites... i think i need a new test kit).

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super cool! never seen an Alaskan biotope before.

 

you don't really need to change the water when cycling the tank. that sort of slows down the process. and it's best not to add livestock until the tank is matured.

 

what kind of rock/substrate are you using? the bad thing about collecting from a beach is that you get all the reaaaaaaaaally dirty water that everything's been soaking in that's full of all kinds of chemicals and gasses. best to collect from deeper clean water.

 

and ebay isn't the best place to get "cheap" aquarium equipment from (especially something like lighting). it's a great place to get a house fire started though. your best bet is to look online at some actual aquarium specialist stores for well known brands that are proven to work and work good. this isn't a good hobby if you're trying to save money.

 

Tim

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Thanks for the advice, I guess i'll just order a fixture from Drsfostersmith. I got my rock and sand(collected in the water, only like a foot deep though) at low tide on the beach. I unfortunatly allready added livestock because me and my dad fiquered the rock and sand would have all the beneficial bacteria allready on it, oh well :\.

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kingwintergreen
Ok, do you think it would be wise to get the chiller first before the lighting or visa versa?

Absolutely you will need a chiller before your light, if you can't afford to purchase both now. There is nothing in your native waters that will survive long (certainly not the good stuff) at "room temperature" in a tank that size with a 250W MH bulb over it. Priorities, man, priorities...

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Absolutely you will need a chiller before your light, if you can't afford to purchase both now. There is nothing in your native waters that will survive long (certainly not the good stuff) at "room temperature" in a tank that size with a 250W MH bulb over it. Priorities, man, priorities...

I agree, especially since the only thing you need light for are algaes. The temperature is the single most important part of a coldwater setup.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, so now that dividends are coming in 3 days i am getting $500 of it from my parents. I was looking around at ebay and craigslist and at new chillers and i saw this one on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/CHILLER-REEF-FISH-TANK...1QQcmdZViewItem and was wondering if anyone had any experiance with them and if there chillers are any good? I'm all about saving money where i can but i don't want to make bad choices ethier.

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So, looking at craigslist in seattle yesterday i came upon a 1/2 HP OceanCool chiller for $300, so of course i had to buy it =D. My dad is going to fly down so he can pick it up wensday or saturday! Now i need to buy a pump for it, and another filter. I was thinking of hooking up the output nozzle of a good size canister filter to the input nozzle of the chiller and run it off of the canisters pump.

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kingwintergreen
So, looking at craigslist in seattle yesterday i came upon a 1/2 HP OceanCool chiller for $300, so of course i had to buy it =D. My dad is going to fly down so he can pick it up wensday or saturday! Now i need to buy a pump for it, and another filter. I was thinking of hooking up the output nozzle of a good size canister filter to the input nozzle of the chiller and run it off of the canisters pump.

1/2 HP for a 20 gal? Now were're talking...

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Ok so the 1/2 HP chiller didn't work out because i couldn't bring it home! Stupid 50lbs airport limit =(, and shipping was about the same price as the chiller so I'm going to have to find something like a 1/5th HP or better if possible.

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