Granite’s New England Biotope

[Fryguy0201]

Super excited to see this going!

[MainelyReefer]

This morning the water was cloudy with a bacterial bloom and smelled of low tide. Kind of like getting uncycled liverock or using uncleaned pukani to start a tank.  So I added 12”x1/2”x1” of biomedia brick... I had to break that into two pieces for it to fit in the rear chambers.  Based on the manufacturer specs a piece this size could offer enough surface area to filter a 104g tank so it should be well in spec for a small 2g tank

the tank also runs really warm with no light or chiller, so With the pump only the water inside is 78 Or 77.3 on the outside of the acrylic

room temp 73.5

so the cycle should be quick at room temp, but this weekend I will install the tec-all controller and drop the temp to 66 I didn’t expect it to insulate so well the heat from the pump would build.
also the pedestal this tank sits on amplifies the vibrations of the pump and makes an unacceptable hum audible from across the room.  So I will be finding a giant chunk of wood or granite to replace the hollow acrylic pedestal.  When I pick the tank up in my hands the hum stops so I think a better pedestal will work.

I may also consider changing the light from inside the stock hood to hoodless with the light on a gooseneck.  While the look won’t be as clean the heat won’t build if there is no hood so it should be better for my coldwater purposes as the AI prime reads 90f while running.  Who knows how hot it will run in a small hood

[debbeach13]

Sounds like your putting plenty of fore thought into fine tuning the tank. I hope all your fixes work. Let us know when the smell clear up.

[MainelyReefer]

Put the controller on yesterday morning.  I thought I had set the controller to 66f but it wasn’t dropping below 68f.  So this morning when my room temp was 68 and the tank was still 68 I knew it must be the controller setting.  I cranked the controller down to make sure I wasn’t at the little chillers limit and much to my delight less than an hour later and I have shot past 66 and am sitting at 63.6.  Happy day..... now to fine tune it for 66.   The low tide smell has passed BTW but the water still has a visible cloudiness.  Not much of a test as I cycle guy but maybe I should go buy a kit to confirm a cycle so then I can disregard my new England biotope plans and get a Catalina goby😂 if someone was selling nano sized Atlantic Ocean gobies I would plan for those but not sure a suitable fish exists or is legally collectable.  Plus the Catalina is wife approved and has been on my radar awhile.   Being shoved in a small 1g box is likely preferable to cooking in some reef tank.... atleast that’s what I tell myself 

also I added a leveling mat between the tank and the pedestal and the noise has slightly dampened, in reality the audible hum was only really noticeable because the chiller wasn’t running.  The chiller is much louder than the pump so in a way problem solved haha

[debbeach13]

1 hour ago, GraniteReefer said:

Plus the Catalina is wife approved

If I ever had a cold water tank it would be so I could have that fish. 

[MainelyReefer]

46 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

If I ever had a cold water tank it would be so I could have that fish. 

My thoughts exactly, what if it’s my one chance to try.  Plus the fish here are drab at best.  It’s either no fish or Catalina goby

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

On 6/17/2020 at 7:31 AM, GraniteReefer said:

Put the controller on yesterday morning.  I thought I had set the controller to 66f but it wasn’t dropping below 68f.  So this morning when my room temp was 68 and the tank was still 68 I knew it must be the controller setting.  I cranked the controller down to make sure I wasn’t at the little chillers limit and much to my delight less than an hour later and I have shot past 66 and am sitting at 63.6.  Happy day..... now to fine tune it for 66.   The low tide smell has passed BTW but the water still has a visible cloudiness.  Not much of a test as I cycle guy but maybe I should go buy a kit to confirm a cycle so then I can disregard my new England biotope plans and get a Catalina goby😂 if someone was selling nano sized Atlantic Ocean gobies I would plan for those but not sure a suitable fish exists or is legally collectable.  Plus the Catalina is wife approved and has been on my radar awhile.   Being shoved in a small 1g box is likely preferable to cooking in some reef tank.... atleast that’s what I tell myself 

also I added a leveling mat between the tank and the pedestal and the noise has slightly dampened, in reality the audible hum was only really noticeable because the chiller wasn’t running.  The chiller is much louder than the pump so in a way problem solved haha

Another trick, to get the temp to drop to 55F, the more base rock you have once it drops, because they are solid granite and not porous, they become like mini ice burgs that regulate the cold to stay cold!  Trust me, I know!  🙂

[Break]

Cool build - little coldwater tanks are awesome!

[MainelyReefer]

7 hours ago, Micro-Reefs Aquariums said:

Another trick, to get the temp to drop to 55F, the more base rock you have once it drops, because they are solid granite and not porous, they become like mini ice burgs that regulate the cold to stay cold!  Trust me, I know!  🙂

I’m not aiming for 55 though.  The tank is settled in between 64.5-65.4 depending on ambient temperature with my desired set at 66 so it’s doing really well.  My house even hit 84 inside and the temp stayed true with no sweating.  Given the Astrangia will likely be mounted to something and I can really only fit a single rock more in the tank I am waiting to see what it comes attached to.  

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

3 hours ago, GraniteReefer said:

I’m not aiming for 55 though.  The tank is settled in between 64.5-65.4 depending on ambient temperature with my desired set at 66 so it’s doing really well.  My house even hit 84 inside and the temp stayed true with no sweating.  Given the Astrangia will likely be mounted to something and I can really only fit a single rock more in the tank I am waiting to see what it comes attached to.  

Ah fantastic 👍, I was not sure what desired temp you wanted.  Another client of mine had me build him a 37 gallon Coldwater system with 7 probes to reach 65 F for a special Floridian fish that was brought from a depth of 150 feet...  

 

It really required that 65 F be maintained to make it work... The fish alone was $2,000.00 dollars.  Needed to be brought up from the depth by a Biologist.  I will try to remember that fish and find the picture of it that he sent.

[MainelyReefer]

2 hours ago, Micro-Reefs Aquariums said:

Ah fantastic 👍, I was not sure what desired temp you wanted.  Another client of mine had me build him a 37 gallon Coldwater system with 7 probes to reach 65 F for a special Floridian fish that was brought from a depth of 150 feet...  

 

It really required that 65 F be maintained to make it work... The fish alone was $2,000.00 dollars.  Needed to be brought up from the depth by a Biologist.  I will try to remember that fish and find the picture of it that he sent.

7 probes is absurd!

[MainelyReefer]

@Micro-Reefs Aquariums

did you take photos of the other 2g system On the old set of the shining or something? Super creepy!  I would have commented on the actual page but it’s a closed thread, truly nightmarish though

[Break]

Any progress on stocking this bad boi?

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

2 hours ago, Break said:

Any progress on stocking this bad boi?

Any updates? Wanting to see any more progress if occurred, tanks... Lol

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

BTW instill have this tank the 2 gallon with canopy and base the reefer backed out at last moment due to shipping...

 

It is still boxed and ready to ship....

[MainelyReefer]

I have sourced an Astrangia Poculata!  It just so happens the local seacoast science center started a display dedicated to them 10 months ago.  They sourced theirs from woods hole oceanic institute in Massachusetts.  I reached out to the lead aquarist and am in the process of setting up a time to meet him and talk coldwater reefing and hopefully exchange one of my tropical blastos for a frag of northern cup coral(Astrangia poculata)!  Also have had an order for a Bunodactis stella (silver spotted anemone) but the collector in Maine can’t seem to locate any so I just opted to have him send a small CUC.  Hopefully it will include micro brittle stars and super tiny periwinkles.  I found a glass shrimp being sold as feeder shrimp that has acclimated well to the coldwater as I think it is a temperate species anyway.  For 50 cents he is quite the character!  And a few macro shoots from another reefer who had some local species like bladder wrack and other unknowns, I think the bladder wrack is growing finally but without constant feeding I think I’m up against a lack of nutrients.

can you see the shrimp eating his pellet? He also likes uprooting my macros

next update this tank will have achieved its goal of housing the only New England stony coral! Dreams coming true over here,  next goal is to propagate the Astrangia so it will be easier for the next reefer to source one without stressing the local wild population and the dedicated researchers collecting them

[debbeach13]

7 minutes ago, GraniteReefer said:

Astrangia Poculata

I have no idea what that is but I am happy for you. Nice update it had been awhile. Sounds and looks like things are doing well in there.

[MainelyReefer]

5 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

I have no idea what that is but I am happy for you. Nice update it had been awhile. Sounds and looks like things are doing well in there.

It is the only stony coral found in New England waters! It’s actually a really cool coral(no pun intended). It can be photosynthetic in the summer but becomes NPS in the winter.  Lots of research is performed on it due to its wide range of acceptable living conditions.  IIRC it’s range extends down towards Florida, though regional variations made me desire getting a true New England specimen.  And from my understanding the one I am setup to recieve will be from its northerly most recorded range(MA). I danced when I found out I might get one. 

[debbeach13]

Nice what a interesting coral. Can not wait to see it and follow how it does.

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

48 minutes ago, GraniteReefer said:

I have sourced an Astrangia Poculata!  It just so happens the local seacoast science center started a display dedicated to them 10 months ago.  They sourced theirs from woods hole oceanic institute in Massachusetts.  I reached out to the lead aquarist and am in the process of setting up a time to meet him and talk coldwater reefing and hopefully exchange one of my tropical blastos for a frag of northern cup coral(Astrangia poculata)!  Also have had an order for a Bunodactis stella (silver spotted anemone) but the collector in Maine can’t seem to locate any so I just opted to have him send a small CUC.  Hopefully it will include micro brittle stars and super tiny periwinkles.  I found a glass shrimp being sold as feeder shrimp that has acclimated well to the coldwater as I think it is a temperate species anyway.  For 50 cents he is quite the character!  And a few macro shoots from another reefer who had some local species like bladder wrack and other unknowns, I think the bladder wrack is growing finally but without constant feeding I think I’m up against a lack of nutrients.

can you see the shrimp eating his pellet? He also likes uprooting my macros

next update this tank will have achieved its goal of housing the only New England stony coral! Dreams coming true over here,  next goal is to propagate the Astrangia so it will be easier for the next reefer to source one without stressing the local wild population and the dedicated researchers collecting them

BEAUTIFUL!  I AM MAKING ANOTHER FOR REEFERS TO PURCHASE!

 

 

[MainelyReefer]

Astrangia poculata is here!  Picked it up this morning and got to talk coldwater reefs with a professional, it’s been a great day.  I got a small colony that appears to lack symbionts, so it isn’t photosynthetic currently.  They did have a specimen with symbionts but these corals encrust onto hard surfaces which is often stone like granite which doesn’t lend itself to easy fragmentation.  Perhaps in the future I will get another specimen that is photosynthetic, as I don’t think my current one could become photosynthetic without another photosynthetic specimen present to inoculate it.  Nature can surprise though, regardless feeding will be important with this coral.  I turned 50% acclimation mode on my light until December 1st.

I swear this was releasing red eggs upon arrival to my system and even in the transport cup, a testament to the quality of care it had been receiving(I hope I can do just as well).  Could it be eggs or sperm? In the close up you can see the little “egg sacs” within the transparent body of the polyp with a few working up the inner neck of the polyp.  Perhaps this is a female?  In the research papers they state female A. poculata expend more energy in the production of eggs and therefore exhibit less growth and might be more sensitive to ocean acidification etc.  

Maybe it is just poop

Reefroids 🤤 

[debbeach13]

That is beautiful. I hope it does well in your tank.

[MainelyReefer]

Horrible at updating this but it is largely an uneventful tank.  I actually did the first water change in months the other day, mostly because of being busy with three kids(including a newborn in November).   I forgot to spot feed my coral for months and slowly watched as it withered down.  Feeling down about the corals health I neglected the tank.  Now I have more time again so I began a new habit of feeding reefroids while the kids are brushing their teeth(I try for daily but succeed at 2-3 times per week lol). Glad to say the A. poculata has recovered with almost 100% of the polyps remaining alive, This coral is bullet proof, at its worst each polyp had exposed skeleton between them and were constantly recessed, it took a few weeks of consistent feeding to make the polyps extend all day long to near normal amounts.  A recent trip to the ocean during the spring tide yielded some coralline encrusted rocks and some Botrylloides violaceus (orange tunicates that are invasive). The tank has been deficient of HH’s and I lucked out with some pods hitching in and even a few micro brittle stars and this purple worm who has been working the sand since introduction(you can see his tunnels in the FTS). Most excited about the pods though because no one markets coldwater pods.  And since almost nothing in this tank ended up being actually native to New England I have reached out for some pacific species as well to spice up the tank(gorgonian, strawberry nem, and maybe a Catalina goby)

[MainelyReefer]

Loaded up the fam in the minivan and drove them 3 hours round trip to All Things Aquatic.  The only LFS I’ve been to with an above ground pool for sharks and rays(with actual livestock too).  I over paid for a Catalina goby but given the rarity I forked over the $70 happily.  I haven’t cleaned the acrylic in months to help feed my snails so sorry for the haze

he already took some pellets, his fins seem to be quite frayed.  He was in an unheated tank but not a chilled tank at the LFS, perhaps that was stressing his fins.

hoping to get out to the ocean to grab him a few rocks to create a pile on the bottom left that will provide him a bit more hiding room.  Even considering the penn plax synthetic granite hide if it looks real enough

[debbeach13]

59 minutes ago, GraniteReefer said:

 I over paid for a Catalina goby but given the rarity I forked over the $70 happily

Oh exciting. I hope it adapts and does well for you.