Tamberav Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 Oh yeah, the urchins would probably scratch it up too, only they couldn't climb it! It was fantastic cause they had to stay on the rocks. :-) I never tried snails that I didn't see right out there at low tide. Crossing my fingers that those two will work well for you. These are DIRTY, DIRTY systems! Hair algae was my nemesis. Part of the reason I switched to the Nuvo system. I wanted a back chamber design that allowed for better/easier use of skimmer and media. Though I think you're fine sand will work better than the crushed barnacle substrate I used. You know, yours looks like the beach sand around here. It's filled with crazy worms and isopods. If you're into it, there's a blade eelgrass that grows in the sand and eats up trapped nutrients. Blood starfish, gunnels, lumpsuckers, moonglow& aggregating nems and opalescent nudibranchs, dungeness crabs are usually found there. I have some macro algae in the tank so the urchin would eat it We'll see how it goes and I will add on as needed. I'm going to do the whole filter floss + phosguard + carbon + purigen thing to start. See if a quiet air pump exists for a skimmer. I checked what the rock was composed of in Lake Superior and it is similar to the coast there. So I went ahead and gathered a bucket of sand and rocks locally. It was the visibly cleanest sand I ever had, no cloudiness like bagged sand. Do they have anything like bristle worms there? My one concern is sand stirrers to eat debris in the sand. I don't have any I am not sure if they are absolutely needed for a DSB or not. I can always siphon some sand out for a shallower sand bed but the moonglows will still probably appreciate at least 3 inches. I wonder how hard the eelgrass is to grow. I figure grasses need intense light to do their best. Quote Link to comment
Dr.Brain Coral Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Sand stirrers could be in the form of purple crabs from stu's site. Look into the navanax inermis if you want a good combo of beauty and adorable Quote Link to comment
Belac Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 For the record I think he margarita and even the turbos will be fine. Though with cooler temps they will have slower metabolisms. So they may not be quite as fast at eating up the algae as they are in warmer tanks. 1 Quote Link to comment
Dr.Brain Coral Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Very nice Tamb. Those moonglow nems are beautiful. 1 Quote Link to comment
JLynn Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I wonder how hard the eelgrass is to grow. I figure grasses need intense light to do their best. You are absolutely right about grasses needing intense light. Seagrasses need at least as much light as SPS, if not more! Also, eelgrass, being one of the larger species of grasses, needs a DSB of 6 inches minimum. In such a small tank, it isn't really feasible to grow eelgrass- it needs a lot of vertical space. Personally, I wouldn't try it in anything shorter than 2 ft tall. Smaller species of seagrass (like stargrass) only need 4 inches of sand, and are just fine for a nano tank, but they also need high lighting, and while I am sure there are some smaller coldwater species of seagrass, I have no clue what they are, much less how you would go about acquiring some! Anyways, nice tank! I love the orange-y rock you have in there, and the anemones really are spectacular! 2 Quote Link to comment
Dr.Brain Coral Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 There is surf grass but stu told me he cant sell them. Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 0 ammonia, 0 nitrate. Was going to do a weekly water change but not sure if there is any reason to. Don't really have to replenish alk/ca... soo? More critters coming soon Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 What u got? Waiting on a reply from Stu. Will probably try to get Petco to order me a catalina goby. 1 Quote Link to comment
Horerczy Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Waiting on a reply from Stu. Will probably try to get Petco to order me a catalina goby. I love catalina gobies. They're so adorable. The petco near me had two and i would have bought them both if i had a cold water tank. 1 Quote Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 I am so proud of where you have taken our 7.2 gallon temperate system! Micro-Reefs will be back online in the Fall! 3 Quote Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Amazing just as all your tanks are. 1 Quote Link to comment
AquaticEngineer Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Looking good! Been prepping for MACNA and getting everything ready for our booth there, also just sold our baby Giant Pacific Octopus to Tracy Morgan! I should have a good selection of native stuff to send out for you here after the weekend of the 9th and 10th when I can get back to the ocean again 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 I am so proud of where you have taken our 7.2 gallon temperate system! Micro-Reefs will be back online in the Fall! Amazing just as all your tanks are. Aww.... garsh.. Thanks Looking good! Been prepping for MACNA and getting everything ready for our booth there, also just sold our baby Giant Pacific Octopus to Tracy Morgan! I should have a good selection of native stuff to send out for you here after the weekend of the 9th and 10th when I can get back to the ocean again It's like waiting for Christmas! What will Santa Stu bring me? Quote Link to comment
RollaJase Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Wow, very cool little tank, dunno how i missed this one. 1 Quote Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Wow, very cool little tank, dunno how i missed this one. It's an amazing system! Especially since it's not tropical so it's a rare treat for difference and innovation in this marine world! 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 My E-X-T Inline Pump 210 gph finally arrived today after being on back order. I hooked it up and it is works well but I do have some beef about it. Dr Doster and Smith listed it as 6 watts but the package says 8 watts! So I may end up sending it back and trying something else. Maybe a Rio Plus 180 which runs at 4 watts. Had diatoms a week or 2 ago but they are gone. GHA has finally shown its face, I am happy to see it. Yup, happy to see algae. It signals the tank is aging and going through its phases. The live sand/rock defiantly sped up the cycling process. Will have some new inhabitants soon! 2 Quote Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 My E-X-T Inline Pump 210 gph finally arrived today after being on back order. I hooked it up and it is works well but I do have some beef about it. Dr Doster and Smith listed it as 6 watts but the package says 8 watts! So I may end up sending it back and trying something else. Maybe a Rio Plus 180 which runs at 4 watts. Had diatoms a week or 2 ago but they are gone. GHA has finally shown its face, I am happy to see it. Yup, happy to see algae. It signals the tank is aging and going through its phases. The live sand/rock defiantly sped up the cycling process. Will have some new inhabitants soo The wholesaler I use has several inline pumps that I once tried when I was researching pumps for my termperate systems. I will go back and see what the wattage is to see if I can beat what you have. Remember also that you can insulate both lines going into your chiller and it makes a huge difference. MG 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 The wholesaler I use has several inline pumps that I once tried when I was researching pumps for my termperate systems. I will go back and see what the wattage is to see if I can beat what you have. Remember also that you can insulate both lines going into your chiller and it makes a huge difference. MG Thanks, I appreciate that. The temp is holding below 60 even when the AC is off but I am trying to make everything as efficient as possible anyways. I even had 1 really hot day here where I got condensation on the outside and the tank still stayed nice and cold. Great idea about insulating the lines, maybe something like this? Quote Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Thanks, I appreciate that. The temp is holding below 60 even when the AC is off but I am trying to make everything as efficient as possible anyways. I even had 1 really hot day here where I got condensation on the outside and the tank still stayed nice and cold. Great idea about insulating the lines, maybe something like this? Actually this stuff works best! http://www.lowes.com/pd_24433-1410-P11XB/6_0__?productId=3133245&Ntt=pipe+insulation&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNtt%3Dpipe%2Binsulation&facetInfo= 1 Quote Link to comment
Micro-Reefs Aquariums Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 Great news! We are moving, yeah my own warehouse! In the moving process I found material to make only 4 systems in 3 days.... Order yours if you want to be part of the Cold Water World! Once they are gone that is it, will not fabricate until mid September as we we be in the moving process. Thanks, MG Here is the link: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/350140-fs-4-brand-new-micro-reefs-systems/ 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 Not too much has been going on with the tank since I am waiting till after MACNA for Stu to send me some goodies. Since I don't have much of a CUC, there is quite a bit of algae in the tank. I ordered some Phosguard..... and....Belac was super awesome and sent me some snails this week! They are red foot moon snails and I was a little nervous since online it says they feed on kelp but they are working out great. They have the right corner where I dropped them in completely free of algae and one is currently slurping down GHA like spaghetti. To top it off, they are beautiful snails. Quote Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Very awesome. I've never really looked at cold water setups before I just don't find them as cool or colourful... I guess I'm just not cut out for that un-mainstream life, lol. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 Very awesome. I've never really looked at cold water setups before I just don't find them as cool or colourful... I guess I'm just not cut out for that un-mainstream life, lol. I think they can be just as colorful but getting the stuff is the problem since there are not many sources. I would love to get my hands on the gorgs someday. I am not very mainstream though, SPS is beautiful but I love seeing a new fish or critter for the first time in person. Then again... I did put majano's and mantis shrimp in my tank on purpose... so I am probably a little looney Quote Link to comment
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