Nemcrazy Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Well here is how it started, I had a bta tank with 9 bta's in it and had it running for almost a year and upgraded to a 46 bow. I started with new sand. But I loved the last sand bed and kept it in my basement. Thinking maybe I would use that sand for another reef tank. Well after drooling over the tanks at the Seattle aquarium I thought hmmm. So after adding water from the bta tank I checked parameters and it was registering nitrates and no ammonia or nitrites and saw worms here and there. Again I said hmmm. I talked to a friend who said he had a friend was trying to find someone rescue his aggregating anemones( no chiller, no knowledge of nems) so went out got rocks and washed up seaweed. Setting it up was fun and I noticed many of the rocks had live barnacles. And used my shellfish license to procure some clumps of muscles. Those had crabs and other goodies attached. Steamed and ate the excess muscles and thinking about nems. So off to pick up the nems and they were closed in a warm tank. But opened within hours of being in the tank and ate the next morning:) they are looking settled and the macro perked up under the pc lighting. So when I get home late tonight I will post pics or video Link to comment
JoshColdWater Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Well here is how it started, I had a bta tank with 9 bta's in it and had it running for almost a year and upgraded to a 46 bow. I started with new sand. But I loved the last sand bed and kept it in my basement. Thinking maybe I would use that sand for another reef tank. Well after drooling over the tanks at the Seattle aquarium I thought hmmm. So after adding water from the bta tank I checked parameters and it was registering nitrates and no ammonia or nitrites and saw worms here and there. Again I said hmmm. I talked to a friend who said he had a friend was trying to find someone rescue his aggregating anemones( no chiller, no knowledge of nems) so went out got rocks and washed up seaweed. Setting it up was fun and I noticed many of the rocks had live barnacles. And used my shellfish license to procure some clumps of muscles. Those had crabs and other goodies attached. Steamed and ate the excess muscles and thinking about nems. So off to pick up the nems and they were closed in a warm tank. But opened within hours of being in the tank and ate the next morning:) they are looking settled and the macro perked up under the pc lighting. So when I get home late tonight I will post pics or video Just a friendly reminder, very large fine when taking live rock from the beach! If you need rock look at the rockcorrys around the beach, or just pay for shipping and all send you as much as you need. Also make sure to check the site your collecting at to make sure its legal, some areas you collect at might not have sighns but still are protected. If you need a list of sites you can go to fish and wild life's websight for more info a d if you already knew all about this than ignore. Josh Link to comment
AquaticEngineer Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 This wouldn't happen to be Paul from Facebook would it? Link to comment
Nemcrazy Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Just a friendly reminder, very large fine when taking live rock from the beach! If you need rock look at the rockcorrys around the beach, or just pay for shipping and all send you as much as you need. Also make sure to check the site your collecting at to make sure its legal, some areas you collect at might not have sighns but still are protected. If you need a list of sites you can go to fish and wild life's websight for more info a d if you already knew all about this than ignore.Josh Well I checked to make sure that I wasn't in a protected area. Or so I thought. After looking at the wdfw website they discourage any removal. So now I'm not feeling so slick. Most of the rock in the tank isn't live. But I took a handful of small pieces which are live. And the alae wasnt picked it was found washed up on the beach. Which I thought was good. I'm not using anymore live rock. I thought I was being ethical and responsible. Well I may take you up on the offer for liverock if your able to. I'm not looking for any right now though since live rock doesn't work the same in these tanks. I'll prolly just use standard rock from a field or something. I've been waiting to hear from Coldwater marine for livestock questions and ordering livestock. I'm still posting pics and a video tonight. And yep it's me Paul lol. Link to comment
AquaticEngineer Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 With the "native live rock" in the PNW its more or less granite or other solid rock with stuff growing on it. Not the same as taking rock out of a reef that is actually old coral skeletons. The reason DFW both in Oregon and in Washington doesn't allow take of rock isn't really about us and our aquariums, but more about if everybody who visited the beach took a piece of rock home with them how it would look. So for the most part as long as you can get some rock that looks like it should be in the tank, like Josh said from a quarry, or if you can make your own rock that you're happy with than you should be good Or you could go complete sand bottom with just one rock covered from head to tow in anemones.........if you're really Nem Crazy (Btw, I personally think that would look cool as hell) Hit us up on Facebook, or on here, or on Temperate Reef, or pretty much anywhere anyone is talking about coldwater, lol. Link to comment
Nemcrazy Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Ok I don't feel so bad and I love the anemone rock idea. Do the macro alges take care of the nitrates in this cold of water. If not I just might go with a minimalist feel for the tank. Heck i may anyways and add a canister filter. Right now i run two bio wheelsRight now it's a bit jumbled. IMO. I am making plans for a diy chiller so I can bring it out of the basement, and upgrade to a 45g, but we shall see. For fish I am thinking Catalina goby pair, maybe a spiny lumpsucker or a gunnel. Having trouble posting pics but they are on the way! Link to comment
AquaticEngineer Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 You probably wont have much luck controlling nitrates with macro algaes in a coldwater tank. I say that in a general term, because most people doing a coldwater tank keep animals that require heavy feeding. If you were to keep a heavily planted macro tank with a few fish, I'm sure it would handle it. But for the most part I would count on having chemical and mechanical filtration to the bulk of the work. If you can provide a good place for bacteria to thrive it will help, but the native rock is not that place. Are you going to have a sump on your system? If so, thats a good place to just pack full of something porous like old base rock, or ceramic media, or even bioballs. Do you think you will heavily light the main tank? It sound like you're planning on keeping tide pool anemones and macro algaes. If you are, than I would hit it with a good LED light so you put out the most light and the least heat. Also, if the DIY chiller you are planning on doing is a mini fridge with coiled tube in it, just save your money. My first setup included one of those back in highschool and the compressors just aren't meant to work that way. Just keep an eye out for a screaming deal on a used chiller and you will be much happier in the long run. Give craigslist a good look, and you can usually find one under $200. Also, check the classified sections on your local reef clubs forums, there is usually someone selling one Link to comment
Nemcrazy Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 OK so here it is. I am refiguring a few things. LIke get rid of the algae and use my LED light bar. Thanks Coldwater marine I am seeing it bit more differently and go minimalist. So it may look way different the next time yall see it. But here it is the link Visit My Website Link to comment
Nemcrazy Posted May 29, 2012 Author Share Posted May 29, 2012 Sorry that link didn't work. But that may be academic anyway after ordering a painted anemone and some strawberries I have a different vision so when the vid finally shows it may be time to show off the new look. Think 45 minimalist style. But would that ge me kicked of nano reef? Hmmm Link to comment
Nemcrazy Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 I was thinking of using t5 normal output for lighting in the 45 since I won't have to worry about macros now I figure the nems won't need more than that. My led light bar won't work because it's only 24" just some late night musings Link to comment
Nemcrazy Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Woo hoo I just confirmed the order for a painted anemone and some strawberry nems! Thanks coldwater marine! They are doing great work over there I was impressed with their thouroghness and have plenty of tips. Plus they have some great deals going on. I cant wait I am washing the pea gravel right now and buying last minute supplies for the 45 and it should be running tonight after work. And no I could not get the link to work but have run out of time. gotta go to work. I am pretty excited if you cant tell. Link to comment
Nemcrazy Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 Here is the video of the "old tank" yep I called it old. Here is what I have been working on. Link to comment
AquaticEngineer Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 NIce Shoot me a text if you have any requests for stuff over the weekend. We are going out collecting on sunday morning Link to comment
Nemcrazy Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/...ds/IMG_8779.jpgPics of it up and running Link to comment
Nemcrazy Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 I'm back to describe the setup and get feedback because very soon I will be recieving a large shipment from my friends at Coldwater Marine Aquatics. And I want things good by wed. So I am running two biowheel wheels rated 30 gallons a piece. In one bio wheel I am running chemi pure elite. And in the other I used nitrifying bacteria in gel binder on the back side of the filter. Im hoping that it should coat the biowheel. I have been treating the bio wheel with special blend and nite out nitrifying bacteria. Hoping it will prepare the wheel. My figuring is to dose that wheel good so it can do the job that the rock can't. And I used pea gravel because it looks good and there are bunch of rocks that look a little porous. I hope it's easy to clean. Should be easy to vacuum at least. I also dumped a bunch of tigger pods hoping they will get into that gravel and start producing. Eh I was taking a stab at it. The lighting consists of 24" led bar and a 18" t5ho actinic. It looks fine but don't know how much light I'll need for the macro algae or how much light a snakelock needs. so I'm gonna use two 23w 6500k cfl's. While I'm at work. Heck I have an extra 150w metal halide if necessary lol. The parameters are steady and the new residents are enjoying it all. The two tiny Catalina gobies are cruising around chomping plankton and two of the aggregating nems split this morning. So the stocking list on wed. Goes like this -Two painted anemones -one green surf anemone -Some strawberry nems And maybe a few more items. I just put in a giant turbo snail. We shall see how that goes. I run a pump during daylight to simulate tide:) I know it's lame but I'm just starting. I'm sure I will have a wave maker going before it over. I'm gonna try to post links to pics. Link to comment
Nemcrazy Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/...ds/IMG_2069.jpg Link to comment
Nemcrazy Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 http://s1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/...nt=IMG_2964.jpg http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/...ds/IMG_2462.jpg Link to comment
Nemcrazy Posted May 14, 2013 Author Share Posted May 14, 2013 This tank is about to hit the year mark this weekend. It has been flying under the radar for a while now. It's in my basement and has no chiller so summer temps are 64 -68f and winter 50-55 I'm about to put in a sump so I can put in jugs of ice to chill during the summer. I have the over flow and tank I just need to get to it:) but I got projects happening everywhere! The tank was going to house cuttlefish at one point while they hatched and grew out. But now it sits ready for some new inhabitants be they piscavores or cephalopod:) the macros are doing better again and the overall stability of the tank is amazing and almost self sustaining with the healthy pod population. Well enough talking here is a fts. Link to comment
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