Garden Eel Room - Stocking begins!

[Benny314]

How wide is the tank?

 

In my 24" wide tank I can get a pretty decent gyre type effect going by having the pump 4 ish inches from the surface pointing horizontally across the tank, the more central, the more even the flow, but I have mine off to one side which gives one side of my scape more flow down low than the other. I also had it pointing diagonal for a while (opposite corner to opposite corner) and got a similar gyre type effect across the tank, like to see anyone manage that with a maxspec gyre lol. I have a similar complaint with the over hyped (in my opinon) vortech's, you can only point them end to end, can't go cross ways or up and down. Pumps that swivel and pivot are far easier to set how you want.

[gavinsepanik]

Whats your LFS?

[dingusplease]

How wide is the tank?

 

In my 24" wide tank I can get a pretty decent gyre type effect going by having the pump 4 ish inches from the surface pointing horizontally across the tank, the more central, the more even the flow, but I have mine off to one side which gives one side of my scape more flow down low than the other. I also had it pointing diagonal for a while (opposite corner to opposite corner) and got a similar gyre type effect across the tank, like to see anyone manage that with a maxspec gyre lol. I have a similar complaint with the over hyped (in my opinon) vortech's, you can only point them end to end, can't go cross ways or up and down. Pumps that swivel and pivot are far easier to set how you want.

18" wide

Sounds like a good setup, but now that I think about it, seems like two pumps would be better than one, for my narrower tank. I def think the vortech and maxspect pumps are over priced, but if I had that kind of money I would still buy them lol.

Whats your LFS?

Mine? Best one I know of within 100 miles is Sailfin Pets in Urbana IL. There's a better one in Indiana called Aquarium Obsessions, IMO, in Peoria IL though.

[gavinsepanik]

There are some really nice fish shops in chicago that are always getting dragon eels, purple tangs etc. Might wanna call em up.

 

Old orchard

Old town aquarium

Tank it easy

 

always gutting unique stuff ^^^

If i were to ever build a tank like this id get a very tall tank and fill it with about 18 inches of sand and id make it so the sandbed sat under the wall(inwall) so when you looked at the tank you wouldnt even be able to tell it had a deep sandbed.

 

Your setup looks sharp

[Sunar357]

I'm just outside Champaigne myself. I miss Detroit area boards/reef activity.

[dingusplease]

There are some really nice fish shops in chicago that are always getting dragon eels, purple tangs etc. Might wanna call em up.

 

Old orchard

Old town aquarium

Tank it easy

 

always gutting unique stuff ^^^

If i were to ever build a tank like this id get a very tall tank and fill it with about 18 inches of sand and id make it so the sandbed sat under the wall(inwall) so when you looked at the tank you wouldnt even be able to tell it had a deep sandbed.

 

Your setup looks sharp

Thanks, Old Town has some great stuff-- once saw the legendary "cone-shell hermit" there that they wrote about on reefbuilders. Will check out the others next time I'm there!

 

They have a setup just like that at the shedd aquarium in chicago, great exhibit. Just wish the tank was taller

I'm just outside Champaigne myself. I miss Detroit area boards/reef activity.

Oh nice, went to Detroit once to a place called kev's aquarium, a couple years back, did you know it? They had a good selection!

[ajmckay]

Thanks, Old Town has some great stuff-- once saw the legendary "cone-shell hermit" there that they wrote about on reefbuilders. Will check out the others next time I'm there!

 

They have a setup just like that at the shedd aquarium in chicago, great exhibit. Just wish the tank was taller

Oh nice, went to Detroit once to a place called kev's aquarium, a couple years back, did you know it? They had a good selection!

 

Kev's aquarium? I know a place called Kee's aquarium maybe? They're a nice shop and they've expanded quite a bit in the last 2 years.

 

It's true though - having good LFS's is nice. Hopefully you find one that will order the eels for you at a good price. Isn't Divers den in Wisconsin?

[Sunar357]

Oh nice, went to Detroit once to a place called kev's aquarium, a couple years back, did you know it? They had a good selectio

 

Yep, Kee's was pretty cool. I haven't been in the last two years though. I wish I could go now, AJ!

 

Sailfin isn't many corals and $$$$. Not that many fish either. I need to head up to Chicago sometime next year.

 

I think you are right, AJ, and Diver's Den is in Wisconsin. I dunno if you can request from them though.

[D Z]

Had to contact a professional diver in the Indoapacific! He's going to ship me the eels through my lfs most likely. Unfortunately not many places will order them but hopefully that will change if people take really good care of them! I'm hoping others can see this build and learn from my experience, since I couldn't find any long term success stories myself.

 

Btw I saw them on one of those shows (forget which) too for the first time

FYI - I think you can buy them from Blue Zoo:

http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productdetail.asp?did=1&pid=647&cid=17

[dingusplease]

 

Kev's aquarium? I know a place called Kee's aquarium maybe? They're a nice shop and they've expanded quite a bit in the last 2 years.

 

It's true though - having good LFS's is nice. Hopefully you find one that will order the eels for you at a good price. Isn't Divers den in Wisconsin?

Yeah Kee's that's it. Never been to diver's den, but unfortunately they don't carry garden eels anymore, checked online. I'll try calling if nowhere else works.

 

 

Yep, Kee's was pretty cool. I haven't been in the last two years though. I wish I could go now, AJ!

 

Sailfin isn't many corals and $$$$. Not that many fish either. I need to head up to Chicago sometime next year.

 

I think you are right, AJ, and Diver's Den is in Wisconsin. I dunno if you can request from them though.

Yeah sailfin is super expensive, but the only place around with livestock lol. I usually just go online

 

FYI - I think you can buy them from Blue Zoo:

http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productdetail.asp?did=1&pid=647&cid=17

Thanks for the link -- unfortunately they have a livestock DOA exception on them so don't want to risk having half die and losing $250.

[D Z]

Yeah Kee's that's it. Never been to diver's den, but unfortunately they don't carry garden eels anymore, checked online. I'll try calling if nowhere else works.

 

Yeah sailfin is super expensive, but the only place around with livestock lol. I usually just go online

 

Thanks for the link -- unfortunately they have a livestock DOA exception on them so don't want to risk having half die and losing $250.

Yeah, I did notice that. I'm sure it has to do with their sensitivity. Are yo getting a guarantee from the diver/LFS?

[dingusplease]

Yeah, I did notice that. I'm sure it has to do with their sensitivity. Are yo getting a guarantee from the diver/LFS?

No guarantee, but should be able to get them $15-20 an eel, and they've worked together with shipping before so I trust them.

[D Z]

No guarantee, but should be able to get them $15-20 an eel, and they've worked together with shipping before so I trust them.

Cool, just trying to provide you with an alternative in case things fell through. You may have already mentioned this, but how many total eels are you planning on?

[dingusplease]

Cool, just trying to provide you with an alternative in case things fell through. You may have already mentioned this, but how many total eels are you planning on?

Thanks for helping find a place! Has been hard so far, and if the guy in the galapagos can't catch any I bet bluezoo could do some sort of bulk discount looking for ~15 eels.

[dingusplease]

Update!

 

The goal is to fill the tank by this Tuesday -- the last piece of the puzzle is a Jebao RW-15, and it should be here by tues. Will be filling with sand tomorrow 7 50lb bags

 

p.s. I decided to go with two huge sponge filters instead of an expensive skimmer, and more on that soon. I would already have been emptying skimmer daily, so wringing out sponges should fit right into maintenance.

[Felicia]

I stopped by Aquatic Collection yesterday and they had 4 garden eels in stock. Made me think of your build. I believe they were listed as $24 each.

[dingusplease]

I stopped by Aquatic Collection yesterday and they had 4 garden eels in stock. Made me think of your build. I believe they were listed as $24 each.

Adorable every time

$24 is a steal!

 

I filled the tank, fixed a plumbing leak, and added 500lbs of sand, not fun to lug up two flights of stairs

 

ended up buying more sand, since anything below 12" can be improved, hoping to earn Eels Choice Award 2015-16

 

Sorry for the quality! Need a new sd for the main camera

 

 

Edit: RW15 will be here tomorrow! Oh, and forgot to mention I only have one LED panel right now, will order the other two or three in the next few days.

[Hammerstone]

You're on your way!! You should watch that cheap and easy video someone put up, hella funny. Do you have a fish room on the other side of your wall?

[dingusplease]

You're on your way!! You should watch that cheap and easy video someone put up, hella funny. Do you have a fish room on the other side of your wall?

Slowly but surely! silicone pieces for sump have 48 hours to dry before I can start the return pump.

 

Haven't built the wall yet, just letting the tank take shape before doing that, plus with finals going on drywall is pretty time-consuming.

Fish room is the dream, and I already built the shelf for it, but haven't installed.

[dingusplease]

Sorry for the general lack of update, I've been searching for the eels since I found out my diving supplier can't get get any they would end up costing $50+ each, and I can't shell out $750 on eels at the moment. Can't find any online suppliers, except bluezoo and they don't even guarantee the eels won't be DOA.

 

Open to suggestions on what to do with a 9" sandbed . Might try to keep a CBB, since I have a pod growing setup already going.

[Hammerstone]

Good luck finding your eels!!? Don't give up!!!

[dingusplease]

Good luck finding your eels!! Don't give up!!!

Thanks for following along I will keep trying, might call some other lfs' around indiana.

[spinycheek]

Cool idea, hope it works out! I've used Blue Zoo before with a special order and they held them and fed, made sure they were healthy before they sent them and the fish came in plump and healthy. Not a DOA guarantee, but good people that will work with you.

 

Also, if you plan on doing seagrass, do your homework, they are nearly impossible to keep alive in a tank. I really tried my best to keep them, did everything I thought was right and they still died within a few months. Macro algae is much more forgiving.

[StinkyBunny]

The reason nobody carries them is that they ship HORRIBLY! I import and I have my fish dripping in about 4 hours after the plane lands and I can tell you that makes all the difference. The last ones I saw ordered had a 40% death rate, not too good. The second issue is they are hard to get eating at times. If one starts the rest will, it's kinda like a monkey see, monkey do sort of thing.

 

Never use a quartz based sand in a marine tank, you will have diatoms and cyanobacteria out the wazoo forever, the silica leeches out and it's a steady food source. Personally I'd do the mix I use for my pistol shrimp and their gobies which is the fine sand mixed with the larger grain so they can make their burrows and reinforce them with the larger pieces.

[dingusplease]

Cool idea, hope it works out! I've used Blue Zoo before with a special order and they held them and fed, made sure they were healthy before they sent them and the fish came in plump and healthy. Not a DOA guarantee, but good people that will work with you.

 

Also, if you plan on doing seagrass, do your homework, they are nearly impossible to keep alive in a tank. I really tried my best to keep them, did everything I thought was right and they still died within a few months. Macro algae is much more forgiving.

Thanks! Well I had kind of discounted bluezoo, but will give them a second look!

 

Still researching the grasses, any recommendations for which species?

 

The reason nobody carries them is that they ship HORRIBLY! I import and I have my fish dripping in about 4 hours after the plane lands and I can tell you that makes all the difference. The last ones I saw ordered had a 40% death rate, not too good. The second issue is they are hard to get eating at times. If one starts the rest will, it's kinda like a monkey see, monkey do sort of thing.

 

Never use a quartz based sand in a marine tank, you will have diatoms and cyanobacteria out the wazoo forever, the silica leeches out and it's a steady food source. Personally I'd do the mix I use for my pistol shrimp and their gobies which is the fine sand mixed with the larger grain so they can make their burrows and reinforce them with the larger pieces.

Ouch : P well that's good to know. Don't want to endanger them!

 

That's exactly what I thought too about the quartz sand, but check this out:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/1/aafeature1

 

Apparently it should be safe

And...

 

Picture time !