urbaneks Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Great job on your DIY projects. Specifically the stand, light and the back wall. I'll be keeping track on the progress of your pico. Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I like the video of the crab. My 2 gallon temperate is all that I have running, since getting swamped with orders. I will have to video tape my decorator crabs, I have two that Stu sent me. They are adorable and when I turn off/on the current, they lift there tiny claws searching for food. Must be written in there DNA from evolution to react this way! I love it! I cannot believe these animals have biology to live in these parameters, it just blows me away when I enter the cold kitchen and I'm all bundled up and they are just chillin in 46-55 F degrees! Ouch! that is cold! Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 so beautiful and totally Kanuk, love this! Thanks Maria, really this is just a shore crab, one of 3 I collected along with some barnacles and other stuff. I wanted to test out the system. Turns out things are doing great in the tank, no losses. I am having a hard time managing nutrients, well algae to be exact. I have 4 tanks running right now, I just haven't have the time to explore nutrient reduction on this tank other than 80% water changes weekly. I will be heading over to Vancouver Island soon for some collecting, also I need to get this tank "show quality" and get some new pictures Great job on your DIY projects. Specifically the stand, light and the back wall. I'll be keeping track on the progress of your pico. Thanks for following, the biggest challenge with working on this tank is it's size. I am excited to get everything in place, livestock wise. I like the video of the crab. My 2 gallon temperate is all that I have running, since getting swamped with orders. I will have to video tape my decorator crabs, I have two that Stu sent me. They are adorable and when I turn off/on the current, they lift there tiny claws searching for food. Must be written in there DNA from evolution to react this way! I love it! I cannot believe these animals have biology to live in these parameters, it just blows me away when I enter the cold kitchen and I'm all bundled up and they are just chillin in 46-55 F degrees! Ouch! that is cold! I am finding cold (temperate) water organisms extremely resilient and easy to keep, at least so far. I truly have not been fussing at all with this tank and I have had no losses, in fact, everything is growing, blows my mind because I have been doing nothing but water changes since getting it up. I think this in itself is a great selling point for people wanting to start a cold water tank, much easier than tropical I am debating adding a tiny amount of GFO in with the carbon to help with nutrients. I have been feeding phytoplankton twice a week which isn't helping matters, I would like to keep the water nutrient rich but not sure if that will be possible in the future without 80% WC's twice a week. Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Resilient? Absolutely! I remember bringing back five tiny rocks from our California coast to experiment with back in 2011. Being a diver, I was able to find three very small rocks in around 20+ FSW. I never thought the colors could be so vibrant as I was only use to tropical live rock, I was wrong: Close up of the colors: The rocks were not only vibrant but reselient as life continued to grow on them. They had tiny little barnacles that continued to filter feed for 6 months before I ordered my first critters/corals from Cold Water Marine Aquatics! When my order came in from CWMA, I was speechless as my anemones/critters came to life in this 2 gallon volume of water and well the rest was history! Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Thanks for sharing Mike, this is what I know also from my dives off the coast of Vancouver island, colours on the rocks were superb. Sediment often covers this beauty in low flow area outside of the cities. Usually all you need to do is blow off the sediment and there it is. Link to comment
Reefwiser Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Hope you get a chance to collect some life for the tank. Would love to see a green Nem in there. Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Hope you get a chance to collect some life for the tank. Would love to see a green Nem in there. Collection has happened, but not by me, one awesome member has helped me out... details in a couple days. I'm pretty excited. update? Coming soooooon Link to comment
Flin Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Cant wait for the update Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 So I was lucky enough to find a local member "Flin" here on NR that is sourcing some temperate life for me. Collections are from Campbell River on Vancouver Island, probably one of the best collection sites in British Columbia. So I wait for what surprises appear on my doorstep in a week or so. For now here is a sampler, a tiny plumose anemone Metridium farcimen doing great in the tank. More updates in roughly a week Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I'm not a huge anemone fan,but that is awesome !!! Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 So I was lucky enough to find a local member "Flin" here on NR that is sourcing some temperate life for me. Collections are from Campbell River on Vancouver Island, probably one of the best collection sites in British Columbia. So I wait for what surprises appear on my doorstep in a week or so. For now here is a sampler, a tiny plumose anemone Metridium farcimen doing great in the tank. More updates in roughly a week Sweet! Plumose nems are super pretty. Turning blue over here holding my breath. ;-) Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 Thanks Deborah, it is growing super quick, doubled in size in the two weeks I have had it. Weather has been a factor in the last week so things are a bit delayed but I am expecting some more anemones and other goodies. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Gorgeous nem, any updates? Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 I cant even accurately describe how impressed I am. From the initial design of the tank. (Impressive sketchup skills.) To the stand, which is insanely beautiful, and does not get enough attention, imo. All the way to the artificial rear wall. The symbiosis you achieved, by allowing the crab to do its thing while helping you keep the place tidy, Is also very cool... I'll be watching, for sure. Link to comment
pmang6 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Aww man, this thing is sweet!! So any updates? Hope I'm not bringing back too old of a post. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Temperate tanks need more updates... I get all excited only to find no pictures Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Sorry guys, The tank came down last week. The IceProbe was not able to keep the temp under 62 degrees anymore and the pump died on me. I haven't had much time to care for it anyway. The tank itself is awesome, and Micro-Reefs did a bang up job on it I must say. Maybe I will set it up again in the future. Thanks for your interest and complements. Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Damn ice probes. They failed me too. Sorry to hear Christine. Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Damn ice probes. They failed me too. Sorry to hear Christine. Ya, bit of a bummer. I might try again in a few months, thinking to plumb a 1/10HP chiller to it if I do. Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Ya, bit of a bummer. I might try again in a few months, thinking to plumb a 1/10HP chiller to it if I do. yeah, I'm on that chiller page too. There will be lumpsuckers in my home sometime in the next 5 years. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Aw Sorry to hear. Hopefully the CSXC-1 I am trying proves reliable (no ice probes!). Link to comment
Flin Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Well if it helps, I have a couple little strawberries for you Just let me know when you start it back up. Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Sorry guys, The tank came down last week. The IceProbe was not able to keep the temp under 62 degrees anymore and the pump died on me. I haven't had much time to care for it anyway. The tank itself is awesome, and Micro-Reefs did a bang up job on it I must say. Maybe I will set it up again in the future. Thanks for your interest and complements. Very odd that the ice-probe failed you Christine. Mine hasn't failed me at all and is still going with all the negliect I have given my 2 gallon I am amazed it runs. The temps go from 65F - 59F now in the summer. From what I have heard the probes can go for as long as people own their tanks. Just cannot beileive yours went bad after all the hard work you developed on this build. Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 Very odd that the ice-probe failed you Christine. Mine hasn't failed me at all and is still going with all the negliect I have given my 2 gallon I am amazed it runs. The temps go from 65F - 59F now in the summer. From what I have heard the probes can go for as long as people own their tanks. Just cannot beileive yours went bad after all the hard work you developed on this build. Just one of those things I guess mike. I may start it up again with a 1/10HP chiller if I can find one cheap, but it won't be for a while. Love the tank and I do look forward to getting it up again, better than before Thanks for your support Mike, you rock Link to comment
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