Coldwater Tank

[musicalmike]

My dream has finally become a reality. It's been an incredible journey and I've only just begain. There are far too many cool things living in here to picture, but I'll post them as I get the time.

 

More.

[RBuddha]

Cold water reefs are awesome. Can you post specs on yours? How do you deal with condensation?

[musicalmike]

29 Bio Cube

JBJ 1/20 chiller

Rena XP2 external pump

I had several people tell me I would have issues with condensation before I started this endevour. I have not had any problems yet. I suppose if the ambient temp in my house got up into the mid 80's I might see some percipitation. My house temp has been in the low 80's though with no problems. When my 2 year old stands next to it and breathes on it or puts his grimmey little hands on it, you can see the condensation.

Do those Sapphire skimmers really suck that bad? Or is it the crappy pump that powers it? I was considering one for my tank. I saw the original post you borrowed that from. <LOL>

[RBuddha]

Im releasing a skimmer soon if you really need one. Cant really comment on sapphires. Just the fact its a copy of cpr and they use questionable pumps.

[musicalmike]

Will it fit inside the cube?

[Maeda]

is that nabernax?

[musicalmike]

Close, it's a Navanax inermis. They have an amazing color but they eat other opisthobranches.

 

[Maeda]

err yah spelling... sorry.

 

SWEET! you sir are living my dream too.

[musicalmike]

When are you going to make it real?

[musicalmike]

The tank is in it's 6th month now. Things are looking good and I've been adding items anytime I dive. I recently got a very nice colony of stawberry anemones and a couple goby's. I really want to put a juv Gharibaldi in.

[musicalmike]

The Red Gorgonian coral is really doing nice and I have a matched pair of Catalina gobys.

[audio101]

Those strawberry anemones are awesome! Where do you dive at?

[musicalmike]

Catalina, Santa Cruz, Anacapa. The strawberries came from Blue Banks @ Santa Cruz.

[spanko]

From what I can see this is a great biotope tank. Could you lighten the pics a little before posting, or is it just my computer seeing the very dark?

[Hoobahans]

What temp do you keep your tanks at? I run the coldwater tanks at my school as a work-study job and as soon as we fix our chiller I will have to pick out all the livestock for them. Because we're an educational institution I have access to pretty much anything...so if you have any suggestions for a 220g and 135 gallon tanks I would appreciate it! We are on a shoestring budget after installing the systems and so far they aren't even hooked up with a sump... In any case your tank looks great! I really like your livestock and set-up.

[ezcompany]

you sure that 1/20th is gonna keep ur tank cool for the summer time? its gonna be on 24/7

[adinsxq]

Corynactis californica will melt in temperatures over 60F

[musicalmike]

I try to keep the tank temp the same as the area I dive. It also depends on the time of year. Currently I'm running at 65. Of course as the winter approaches the temps will drop. When I first started this tank back at the end of February, the local and tank temp was 58 degrees. I have been slowly increasing over the summer. I think the 1/20 does a great job!! It comes on no more then twice an hour and stays on for about 10min. That also depends on the time of day.

Strawberries are generally a colder water species that thrive in higher currents. I have seen them on oil rigs down to 150' and the low 50 degree temp. They may prefer colder water, but these came from waters that were in the 60's at 40'.

Hoobahans, I like your setup!! I would love to step up over the 100gal mark. My problem is space. My tank was originally inspired by my love for diving. Like you, it has become a reality through education. I try to promote marine awareness through local schools as well as private and public groups. I use some of the more hearty species for educational purposes. I collect all of my own species by hand, all within the long arm of the law.

[kingwintergreen]

I try to keep the tank temp the same as the area I dive. It also depends on the time of year. Currently I'm running at 65. Of course as the winter approaches the temps will drop. When I first started this tank back at the end of February, the local and tank temp was 58 degrees. I have been slowly increasing over the summer. I think the 1/20 does a great job!! It comes on no more then twice an hour and stays on for about 10min. That also depends on the time of day.

Strawberries are generally a colder water species that thrive in higher currents. I have seen them on oil rigs down to 150' and the low 50 degree temp. They may prefer colder water, but these came from waters that were in the 60's at 40'.

Hoobahans, I like your setup!! I would love to step up over the 100gal mark. My problem is space. My tank was originally inspired by my love for diving. Like you, it has become a reality through education. I try to promote marine awareness through local schools as well as private and public groups. I use some of the more hearty species for educational purposes. I collect all of my own species by hand, all within the long arm of the law.

Have your strawberries shown any growth/reproduction since they've become established in the tank?

[musicalmike]

Wow....it's been a while since I have updated this thread.

My pump stopped working for a couple days and it kept my chiller from working. I didn't notice untill one of my buddies commented on how droopy my urchins spines were. I can't believe how tolerant Coldwater speceies are to temperature change. Although I did lose all my hard corals....60% of my tank survived. That was 6monthes ago and everthing is looking pretty good now. I went Diving a few weeks ago and found these two new additions

 

 

I have been a bit reserved to collect anything lately because I was waiting for the tank to come back into balance. This weekend I have the opportunity to Dive the Oil Rigs here in So. Cal. If any of you coldwater entusiasts have ever had the oppurtunity to see one up close and personal....it is absolutely amazing.

The rigs are deep...like 200 feet minimum...and the currrent fairly moderate. You must have permission to dive underneath them or it is illeagal!! I have a connection that get's me in the twice a year.

So let me show you some pics of a dive I did there in 2003. You can see how large the colonies can get.

 

 

In the past....I only dove there for pictures and scallops. The scallop shells can grow as big as dinner plates and are loaded with many different varieties of life. When you remove the scallop shell from the rig.....it is so encrusted with anenome's, it looks like a bowling ball. Normally in the past, I would scrape off all the sealife living on them and put them back into the water.This time....I am keeping some of the shells intact. I will have more varieties of sealife then I'll know what to do with. If anyone wants to get in on the goods......let me know.

I'll post a few more rig pics a little later.

[jeremai]

Wow, count me in on some 'scrapings'!

[musicalmike]

Here is a picture of a scallop that is completely encrusted with strawberries. So as you can see, when you remove them from the structure....you get an enourmous bounty!!

 

 

As you travel deeper, you can see how far down the colonies stretch.

 

 

I try to collect all my specimens from within 40' from the surface, ideally within 20'.

 

 

I'm telling you guys...it's like a kid in a candy store...I'm salivating just thinking about it

 

 

I hope i don't crash my tank by putting too much in

 

 

Here is a cool shot of my buddy picking off a few scallops from the structure

 

[jeremai]

 

 

 

 

 

btw, would you like me to move this to Biotopes?

[musicalmike]

If you think that's where it belongs.

[jeremai]

Meh, I linked to it in the resource thread, that's good enough.