Quote:
Originally Posted by justinl
If you do a coldwater tank, the key is knowing where your inhabitants live in the wild and what they're exposed to. Go talk to public aquarium staff for suggestions. I highly discourage just setting up a tropical tank without a heater. I really think a chiller is mandatory, not optional. in the end, a CW tank should cost less than an SPS tank... about the same as an LPS tank probably.
random tips:
-skip intertidal photosynthetic organisms like nems and algae. They need lots of light (halides).
-stick to "other" intertidal animals for ease of collection. Stuff from the intertidal will also be a lot hardier.
-know what you're collecting. that rock prickleback may look cute at a mere few inches, but when it's two feet long and has eaten all your other fish, you'll start to have regrets. same goes for inverts. i suggest bringing an ID book or a knowledgeable friend (both would be ideal) with you when collecting.
- on a related note, no filter feeders. mussels, clams, barnacles, crinoids will not do well without daily target feedings.
-most of the local stars are heavy carnivores that require target feedings of clams (which is easy), not detritivores. some of them can be a danger to fish. again, just know what you're collecting.
-don't break laws. you can't collect some stuff, and i suggest you get a permit when you do this... i believe most places require nothing more than a fishing permit.
-if you want exotic CW animals, steve weast (on RC) knows some international suppliers.
-think about the cold water. your glass tank will sweat. you can ignore that (it isn't vital), or splurge on an acrylic tank. Ive also wondered about trying a zero edge CW tank... or trying a DIY zero edge. how much it will sweat really depends on the humidity in the place you put the tank.
-VITAL: remember that at cold temps, the nitrogen cycle will slow to a crawl. don't even bother with filtration that depends on it. even LR will lose it's efficiency in this regard. you have to get the crap out before it decomposes. low stocking (low bioload), huge sump (volume), big skimmer, frequent water changes, etc are good ways to deal with this.
-things you can skimp on: lights (just aesthetics... a single bulb T5 strip would be fine imo), any reactors (no need at all).
-things you should splurge on: skimmer, chiller.
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Thanks for the tips, I considered doing sort of a tidepool thing... But what I though would look cool was a small zero-edge cube, with pink strawberry anemones, some small algae and encrusting organisms. Not much, nothing large at all, very low bioload. I do realize that a chiller is a must, I've been looking for a reason to use Peltier modules
Rocks would be granite or limestone, bottom would be dark gravel and rounded stones (or sand with the limestone), no live rock to speak of. I would definitely get a license before I went collecting, I'm not into poaching... though buying them would be preferable, I'll look into your lead with Steve Weast, thanks
If that's the case, I can have this project going in 6 months. A 12" cube would look awesome, hmm...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldwater
I do have a 75 right now that I am upgrading to a 112 soon. I can try to answer questions but overall I just have a tank while Justinl probably knows alot more than I do. I collect by stuff from diving and have found a liking more for local stuff than tropical species. Few fish rival the awesomeness of a Grunt Sculpin or a Decorated Warbonnet. I also agree with justinl about the chiller too, you can not skip this. I keep my tank between 49-52 degrees farenheit. The sweating in the summer is rediculous though since my tanks only glass, I wish that I had an acrylic. I might have a picture somehwere when the condensation was reallly bad.
Matt
EDIT: By the way, don't expect local fish stores to know anything about a coldwater tank.
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I probably won't attempt fish, unless I can find a really tiny one, and even I'll only get one. Yes, I agree about the chiller also, if you're going to do something, do it right, right?
There isn't a such thing as a LOCAL fish store for me, so that's not a problem... closest LFS is 4 hours away, 5 if you want saltwater. When it comes to things like this, I'm a planner not an impulse shopper anyhow
Thanks for your input guys! I'll take it all into consideration, and you may see a new CW tank on here in a while. Or next year