Aqueon 8 Temperate/Coldwater Marine Tank. Got a Fringehead in here now ;)

[AquaticEngineer]

Put this big neon green/yellow moonglow in the tank, he looks amazing under the RGB DIY kessil I did up!

 

 

Added some new sea stars since my temps are stable with the new chiller

 

 

 

Also, the new skimmer is cooking up skimmate!

 

 

Managed to catch all three of these guys in one shot during feeding time

 

[RollaJase]

Love this tank, I love seeing all the different creatures you are moving through the tank.

[Nocturnal]

Pure win.

 

I'd like to thank yet another jerk that makes me want to fork over even more money to try and make something similar (and likely not get that close).

 

[AquaticEngineer]

Love this tank, I love seeing all the different creatures you are moving through the tank.

Thanks! Its taken me a long time to settle on what I really wanted in there. Some of it didnt get along, some died, some I had to sell off, but I think its right where I want it now

 

Pure win.

 

I'd like to thank yet another jerk that makes me want to fork over even more money to try and make something similar (and likely not get that close).

 

Lol, If it helps at all I think I'm only into this tank for like $200 since I craigslisted a lot of the hardware or DIY'd it all and collected the livestock myself for the most part

 

Just wait until you see my build thread for the tank that Mike at Micro Reefs is building for me It will likely replace this system when its done.

[astroman of the future]

what did you do with the chiller(s) you were using on the tank before the CL-150?

[Nocturnal]

Thanks! Its taken me a long time to settle on what I really wanted in there. Some of it didnt get along, some died, some I had to sell off, but I think its right where I want it now

 

Lol, If it helps at all I think I'm only into this tank for like $200 since I craigslisted a lot of the hardware or DIY'd it all and collected the livestock myself for the most part

 

Just wait until you see my build thread for the tank that Mike at Micro Reefs is building for me It will likely replace this system when its done.

 

Not that I'm a tropical reef expert by any stretch but I'd have no idea where to start with a temperate tank. One is on my bucket list though thanks to the cool ones I'm seeing here.

 

We moved to KC to be closer to my wife's family from Florida, and I'm a Maryland native so I do miss being able to go in the back yard and grab some critters.

 

I do have an unused wine fridge that I'm itching to turn into a budget chiller.

[AquaticEngineer]

what did you do with the chiller(s) you were using on the tank before the CL-150?

Sent them down to Mike at Micro-Reefs so he can use them to do R&D on other nano temperate tank ideas

 

Not that I'm a tropical reef expert by any stretch but I'd have no idea where to start with a temperate tank. One is on my bucket list though thanks to the cool ones I'm seeing here.

 

We moved to KC to be closer to my wife's family from Florida, and I'm a Maryland native so I do miss being able to go in the back yard and grab some critters.

 

I do have an unused wine fridge that I'm itching to turn into a budget chiller.

Its surprisingly easier than keeping a reef tank IMO. I kept reefs for the last 20 years or so since my freshman year in high school but the coldwater thing was the one I always wanted to do and always came back to try. Now that chilling tech has caught up and the prices are coming down its totally doable. Most coldwater tanks are akin to keeping a fish only system since the lighting and dosing requirements are about the same.

 

If you decide to do the wine fridge idea, dont do the style where others have coiled long lengths of tube in them, they simply down work. I know, I've tried, I've failed, lol. I mean, they do work but just not well enough. So I actually have been thinking about how to make them work

 

If you are up for it, I would find a tank that will fit inside the wine fridge and turn it into a Sump/Chilling reservoir. Thats the way that most thermal electric chillers on the market function and thats essentially what you would be turning the wine fridge into. Just a little bit bulkier.

 

You could probably fit a standard glass 10 gallon tank inside of it and then set a well insulated acrylic tank up for your display.

 

Dang it, I think you may have just watched me talk myself into trying this.

[Nocturnal]

Sent them down to Mike at Micro-Reefs so he can use them to do R&D on other nano temperate tank ideas

 

Its surprisingly easier than keeping a reef tank IMO. I kept reefs for the last 20 years or so since my freshman year in high school but the coldwater thing was the one I always wanted to do and always came back to try. Now that chilling tech has caught up and the prices are coming down its totally doable. Most coldwater tanks are akin to keeping a fish only system since the lighting and dosing requirements are about the same.

 

If you decide to do the wine fridge idea, dont do the style where others have coiled long lengths of tube in them, they simply down work. I know, I've tried, I've failed, lol. I mean, they do work but just not well enough. So I actually have been thinking about how to make them work

 

If you are up for it, I would find a tank that will fit inside the wine fridge and turn it into a Sump/Chilling reservoir. Thats the way that most thermal electric chillers on the market function and thats essentially what you would be turning the wine fridge into. Just a little bit bulkier.

 

You could probably fit a standard glass 10 gallon tank inside of it and then set a well insulated acrylic tank up for your display.

 

Dang it, I think you may have just watched me talk myself into trying this.

 

The coiled rope thing was my first thought, but it seems like the heat transfer from air to the water inside a tube would be too slow. Especially as copper tubing wouldn't work.

 

The insulating factor built into the bridge might be a nice improvement over a standard chiller that just plumbs into a sump.

 

edit, I got it.

 

Buy a stainless steel immersion chiller (used for brewing beer), run cold tap water through it to your RO/DI. This would draw heat out of the temperate tank and in the process pre-warm the water intended for use in the reef tanks. Win win

[FlowerMama]

Ha, wouldn't it be fun to turn an unused fridge into a tank. Front door would be clear It could be a cross between Tanked and temperate tank. Old frigidaire, nice sky blue from back when.

[AquaticEngineer]

Ha, wouldn't it be fun to turn an unused fridge into a tank. Front door would be clear It could be a cross between Tanked and temperate tank. Old frigidaire, nice sky blue from back when.

 

I've actually been watching craigslist for used glass front stand up fridges like they sell soda out of at mini markets just for that reason

[Dr.Brain Coral]

I am planning a coldwater tank with a navanax and will be buying 100 or more periwinkles and am wondering if I can freeze the rest and thaw them for the navanax?

[FlowerMama]

So those are all like cold water rock flower anemones, right? the pinks, greens, whites?

[AquaticEngineer]

I am planning a coldwater tank with a navanax and will be buying 100 or more periwinkles and am wondering if I can freeze the rest and thaw them for the navanax?

I dont see why not, my Navanax never differentiated between fresh and thawed. Just went off of the smell of the food and tagged it every time.

 

So those are all like cold water rock flower anemones, right? the pinks, greens, whites?

All coldwater anemones native to the Oregon coast. The ones with the most variation in color with pink/green/white are Anthopleura eligantissima. They go by a lot of common names, we call them Aggregating Anemones out here

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Okay thanks

[Dr.Brain Coral]

how often do you feed the navanax?

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Also can you feed them other foods besides snails? i read an article and they talked about how navanax poo had fish and shrimp among other things inside o it and was wondering if you have had any success feeding alternate food items.

[AquaticEngineer]

how often do you feed the navanax?

 

I was feeding them every other day.

 

Also can you feed them other foods besides snails? i read an article and they talked about how navanax poo had fish and shrimp among other things inside o it and was wondering if you have had any success feeding alternate food items.

 

I'm sure they would, it would just have to be an opportunity thing. If it was in front of their face I'm sure they would take it. One of the kids I sold mine to occasionally feeds his earth worms.

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Okay thank you. Also what is there life expectancy?

[Dr.Brain Coral]

Also would the evolve 8 be a large enough permanent home for one?