7.2g Cold Water Reef Build

[allesluge]

15 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

 

Mysis and LRS, he hasn't shown interest in algae which is too bad as I have some I wish he would eat lol

 

I found someone who kept one at 58 degrees and survived two hurricanes where their tank got to 85 degrees. It lived 6 years which is probably a normal life span for these guys.

 

There is a good chance this guy would do fine at lower 70's. 

Do you think  it would be fine in a 2.5 gal? Or need bigger tank? 

 

[Tamberav]

4 minutes ago, allesluge said:

Do you think  it would be fine in a 2.5 gal? Or need bigger tank? 

 

 

Well mine is in a 7g but I will say he is a pretty good size, much larger than a tailspot. Like a chunky 3 inches. He is a perching blenny so doesn't need a ton of swim room. He probably has a good size bioload though. 

 

I don't think he will necessarily stress out in a 2.5g but you would have to be able to keep up with his bioload. Something closer to 5-10g is probably more ideal. 

[Tamberav]

Got these guys today... 😮

 

My camera freaks out and has a hard time focusing....because these guys are so brightly colored... 

 

 

 

 

[Horerczy]

Nice catalina gobies

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

Catalina gobies what a great addition....  Support them in there natural world of 60-65F degrees!  

 

Thanks.....

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

How are the Catalina gobies doing?

[Tamberav]

6 hours ago, Micro-Reefs Aquariums said:

How are the Catalina gobies doing?

They are doing fantastic! I tell them they are lucky to end up in my tank and some poor unsuspecting beginners reef tank. 

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

18 hours ago, Tamberav said:

They are doing fantastic! I tell them they are lucky to end up in my tank and some poor unsuspecting beginners reef tank. 

What can I say?  I salute you, I really do and any other hobbyist that keeps to the guidelines of what natural habitat means.  Cold Water aquarist are a unique blend of curiosity and respect to the ecosystems in which they pull from.  Once again, I salute you for others to follow your lead!

 

Sincerely,

 

Mike Guerrero 

[Tamberav]

Here is one of the boogers..  that is his little bolt hole in front of him. It is hard to get him in focus... he is so neon my camera just has a melt down....

 

 

[Tamberav]

I figured I would update with some photos...some sort of red turf algae sprung up recently so battling that. Funny how no new rocks of corals are added for years but algae still knows how to surprise ya. Its growing on old barnacles only...must have been there the whole time. Can't remove the barnacles because nems are on them.

 

The gobies are shy and will have no part of being in the photo...one is hiding inside an empty snail shell which I thought was cute but I better be careful not to throw any snail shells away without counting the gobies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MainelyReefer]

Tank is looking epic! What’s the white coral on the disk?  And are the green guys in the third pic nems?

[Tamberav]

7 hours ago, GraniteReefer said:

Tank is looking epic! What’s the white coral on the disk?  And are the green guys in the third pic nems?

Thanks! 

 

The green guys are jewel nems 🙂

 

The white coral is a northern star coral...it is a stony coral. It grows very slow at cold temps/winter and much faster in the summer. So it has grown some but I would have to up the temps to get it to grow fast.

 

In summer it also turns brown/tan as it houses zooxanthellae and becomes photosynthetic but in winter it expelles the zooxanthellae and turns bright white/clear because it isn't energy efficient to keep the zooxanthellae at the cold temps. Instead of feeds off food particles like a NPS would. 

 

It is a coral researchers are studying because it can withstand such great shifts in temperature and range (tide vs depths) unlike the reef cousins. It basically survives bleaching like it is no big deal. They are hoping it will bring insight to help conserving the reefs.

 

Here is the tan version

 

 

It hides a stony skeleton underneath:

 

And an older photo on my star coral when it was just a few heads:

 

 

 

 

I realize that was a long response for a simple question lol but it's kind of a strange coral.

[MainelyReefer]

9 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

Thanks! 

 

The green guys are jewel nems 🙂

 

The white coral is a northern star coral...it is a stony coral. It grows very slow at cold temps/winter and much faster in the summer. So it has grown some but I would have to up the temps to get it to grow fast.

 

In summer it also turns brown/tan as it houses zooxanthellae and becomes photosynthetic but in winter it expelles the zooxanthellae and turns bright white/clear because it isn't energy efficient to keep the zooxanthellae at the cold temps. Instead of feeds off food particles like a NPS would. 

 

It is a coral researchers are studying because it can withstand such great shifts in temperature and range (tide vs depths) unlike the reef cousins. It basically survives bleaching like it is no big deal. They are hoping it will bring insight to help conserving the reefs.

 

Here is the tan version

 

 

It hides a stony skeleton underneath:

 

And an older photo on my star coral when it was just a few heads:

 

 

 

 

I realize that was a long response for a simple question lol but it's kind of a strange coral.

So it’s Astrangia poculata! That’s the stuff I plan on keeping I thought it looked like it without it’s brown zooxanthellae.  Super cool!

[Tamberav]

50 minutes ago, GraniteReefer said:

So it’s Astrangia poculata! That’s the stuff I plan on keeping I thought it looked like it without it’s brown zooxanthellae.  Super cool!

Yesss! I think it's pretty stuff. Don't normally get pure white corals that are healthy and it gets quite fluffy when hungry.

[Tamberav]

I put in a mexican turbo snail a few weeks ago and he is doing great cruising around eating algae. I do wonder if he will out-live the mexican turbo in my 80g. I have margarita snails in here that are several years old but they never last that long in my tropical reef.

 

Also these guys like to come out and do the macarena whenever I do a water change. Not sure what kind of worm they are 🤔

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

40 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

I put in a mexican turbo snail a few weeks ago and he is doing great cruising around eating algae. I do wonder if he will out-live the mexican turbo in my 80g. I have margarita snails in here that are several years old but they never last that long in my tropical reef.

 

Also these guys like to come out and do the macarena whenever I do a water change. Not sure what kind of worm they are 🤔

 

 

Is it just me or does it move like a nematode/roundworm? 

 

It's so wiggly though!

[Tired]

It does kinda move like a roundworm, but I think a lot of swimming worms do. Who knows what the little bugger is up to. 

 

I love the tank! All the different types of anemones and corallimorphs. Lots of nice circles. Where do you tend to get them? 

 

Has it been tricky to keep the water cold enough, or is it just a case of plugging in the chiller and letting it run? 

[Tamberav]

Central air broke...so this is the view...

 

Luckily the chiller is a beast so the only thing not feeling like a roasted turkey are the Catalina gobies.

 

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

3 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Central air broke...so this is the view...

 

Luckily the chiller is a beast so the only thing not feeling like a roasted turkey are the Catalina gobies.

 

WOW, THAT LOOKS LIKE MY DISPLAY TANKS AT REEFAPOLOZA 2012 WHEN SOMEONE WOULD EXIT THE DOOR NEXT TO OUR AQUARIUMS AND THE HUMIDITY WOULD RUSH IN, OUR COLD WATER TANKS GOT A BLAST OF CONDENSATION, BUT AS SOON AS THE DOORS CLOSED THE TANK WENT BACK TO NORMAL...  AND I WAS USING THE NOVATECH ICE-PROBES

[Tamberav]

2 hours ago, Micro-Reefs Aquariums said:

WOW, THAT LOOKS LIKE MY DISPLAY TANKS AT REEFAPOLOZA 2012 WHEN SOMEONE WOULD EXIT THE DOOR NEXT TO OUR AQUARIUMS AND THE HUMIDITY WOULD RUSH IN, OUR COLD WATER TANKS GOT A BLAST OF CONDENSATION, BUT AS SOON AS THE DOORS CLOSED THE TANK WENT BACK TO NORMAL...  AND I WAS USING THE NOVATECH ICE-PROBES

haha ya the broken central air = hot box house... which is evaporating my other tanks and turning the place into a sauna.

[Tired]

Hey, it's probably good for your skin!

[Karen00]

Hello Tamberav. I've been reading your thread and want to congratulate you on your accomplishments with your coldwater setup!!! So impressive! I have been keeping a coldwater freshwater setup for years and love it! I also know what you mean about things growing much slower than tropical.

 

I have recently been researching saltwater tanks but of course 99% of the info out there are for tropical setups. Ironically, even though I keep coldwater freshwater setup, I didn't even think of a coldwater saltwater setup. I am excited to pursue this rather than tropical.

 

I originally came across a post on nano-reef where you were mentioned for a spotlight feature back in Sept 2017. The post provided a lot of detail regarding your build (tank, equipment, livestock, etc.) but I couldn't find anything on your water parameters. Can you provide this info and the type of water you use (rodi, other, etc.) and the type of salt you use? Also... do you dose like most of the tropical folks do (calcium, etc.)?

 

My only other question is where do you get livestock now? I think the post from 2017 mentioned Stu from Cold Water Marine Aquatics (as do the few other coldwater posts I've been able to find, LOL) bit from my understanding he's not selling anymore (maybe I'm wrong?)

 

Thanks!

[Tamberav]

18 hours ago, Karen00 said:

Hello Tamberav. I've been reading your thread and want to congratulate you on your accomplishments with your coldwater setup!!! So impressive! I have been keeping a coldwater freshwater setup for years and love it! I also know what you mean about things growing much slower than tropical.

 

I have recently been researching saltwater tanks but of course 99% of the info out there are for tropical setups. Ironically, even though I keep coldwater freshwater setup, I didn't even think of a coldwater saltwater setup. I am excited to pursue this rather than tropical.

 

I originally came across a post on nano-reef where you were mentioned for a spotlight feature back in Sept 2017. The post provided a lot of detail regarding your build (tank, equipment, livestock, etc.) but I couldn't find anything on your water parameters. Can you provide this info and the type of water you use (rodi, other, etc.) and the type of salt you use? Also... do you dose like most of the tropical folks do (calcium, etc.)?

 

My only other question is where do you get livestock now? I think the post from 2017 mentioned Stu from Cold Water Marine Aquatics (as do the few other coldwater posts I've been able to find, LOL) bit from my understanding he's not selling anymore (maybe I'm wrong?)

 

Thanks!

I don't dose and don't test! I just do water changes (I try for weekly but that doesn't always happen). If I did dose, I may get more coralline or such... but maybe not since everything grows slow regardless. 

 

I use RODI and whatever salt I have on hand lol... fritz for awhile... instant ocean... blue bucket... I am not sure it makes any difference. I just mix it up to 1.026 and put it in a small bucket in the fridge to get cold for awhile.

 

For livestock:

https://gulfofme.com/ordersealife

http://www.matsucollections.com/home.html

 

I would also join Coldwater Marine Aquarium Owners on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ColdwaterOwners

 

 

[Tired]

Ha, I like this listing: https://gulfofme.com/all-sea-life/3rmgfefw9t0reapbbmpx09f4ecrwm5

"Live rock", only it's not what we consider live rock, it's a calcified macroalgae. Fair enough description, I suppose. 

 

Speaking of, does anywhere sell coldwater live rock, or does it have to be 'built' from things that come in on snails and seaweed? 

 

My next tank might have to be coldwater, this stuff is really cool. So much color. And I love cryptic little sneaky fish. 

[Tamberav]

1 hour ago, Tired said:

Ha, I like this listing: https://gulfofme.com/all-sea-life/3rmgfefw9t0reapbbmpx09f4ecrwm5

"Live rock", only it's not what we consider live rock, it's a calcified macroalgae. Fair enough description, I suppose. 

 

Speaking of, does anywhere sell coldwater live rock, or does it have to be 'built' from things that come in on snails and seaweed? 

 

My next tank might have to be coldwater, this stuff is really cool. So much color. And I love cryptic little sneaky fish. 

I collected my sand and some rock from a freshwater lake but you can buy poolsand or the playsand from sand ranch company is right off the Oregon beach.

 

Colombia river basalt rock is from Oregon as well.

 

Ofc that is all dry stuff.

 

I believe there are laws against live rock there but if an animal is attached to the rock then you can get some that way...at least that is the loopholes I remember when I purchased animals. Then stuff spread from there. I ended up with several types of worms and pods and so forth.