30 gal Coldwater Tank *Pics*
 

Hey guys. So this weekend I re-did my 30 gallon fry tank into a "coldwater" tidepool tank. I went to some local beaches to get everything from the sand to the rocks and the water. So far, everything has gone really smoothly. The water is still cloudy, either from the sand or the cycle I have no idea.

Temperature: The temp is sitting at between 70 and 73, but it went a bit higher yesterday cus of this hot hot hot weather we are having here in Van. I might need to get that chiller afterall!
Filtration: Aquaclear HOB 200 filter and a powerhead. I have these turned down a bit so there is not too much circulation.
Lighting: 40 watts of flourescent light, 1 20w Powerglo and 1 20w Marineglo Actinic. I keep the lights on during the day.
Inhabitants: About 10 little crabbies, these guys are so cute. A whole bunch of live barnicles and mussels. And a baby purple starfish! Also a bunch of seaweed macroalgae.

:mrgreen:

Now, for some pics!

Full tank shot (water still pretty cloudy):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...coldwater2.jpg

Full tank shot:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...coldwater1.jpg

Mussels:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...00/musells.jpg

Purple Starfish:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...purplestar.jpg

Barnicles on rocks:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../barnicles.jpg


Anyone have any input? I want to go slow with stocking because I dont know if this tank will cycle or not given I've taken everything out of the wild.
:)

More to come soon!
-Diana

I think getting a chiller is a good idea at those temps the animals wont last long ,maybe adding a sump and changeing over your light cycle for the hotter months might help lower the tanks temp slightly. = Test Kit

Also, you may want to investigate whether you are allowed to harvest any/all those creatures without at least a fishing license. I know when we collected in college, we needed permits for some stuff. And since you're posting "evidence" online....... :biggrin:

i wanna see the crabs :biggrin:

Looks pretty neat! Any idea of what else you want to add in the future?
(don't want to start out a debate similar to the "free anemones" thread though :razz: )

yeah im sure himself can hook you up. ha

keeping acold water tank can be awesome, but a chiller really is needed. Also, collecting without a permit can get you in a lot of trouble. Well, if you get caught...

i think you need some halibut in there.

I admit, I think it would be a nice system once all said and done. But....

I have to agree with others though, coldwater tank needs coldwater, not warm water, or room temperature water, etc, etc... therefore I would say a chiller is a must have if you want to keep everything alive longterm and successful.

Otherwise, looking neat so far.

Thanks Willow, but I think I will pass! :biggrin:

coldwater
 

I'd look into this little chiller. Might be perfect for you. Good price too.

http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=17569

You can collect locally with only a fishing licence. Here's a copy of an old post of mine after I wrote the DFO.



Post subject: Cold Water Reef and Collecting locally

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I remember a post awhile back about the legalities of collecting from local BC waters for home aquarium purposes. I was toying with the idea of setting up such a tank and am still concidering it. I wrote to the DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) inquiring about if this was legal.

Here is a copy of their response.

Your inquiry regarding the collection of specimens for a home tide pool
aquarium has been brought to my attention.

You have indicated that you have a tidal water sport fishing licence and you
can certainly use it for this purpose. You may have received a sport
fishing guide at present with your licence. If not, I can mail you one. I
refer you to the species list and limits for finfish on pages 48/49, and for
shellfish on pages 60/62. For a tidal pool arrangement, I expect that most
of the finfish you are likely to collect will be species of sculpins or
eelpouts and blennies. As they are not specifically listed in the finfish
table, they come under the designation for all other species, which allows
for the daily catch limit of 20 specimens and a possession limit (in your
tank) of 40 specimens. Similar daily and possession limits apply to
shellfish species, with more generous limits listed individually for some
types of intertidal specimens such as limpets.

One word of caution about collecting bivalves - they may not be collected
from areas closed for bacteriological contamination or red tide
contamination. Check with the local DFO office for the area where you will
be collecting to find out where these restrictions are in effect. A partial
list of closures is also available in the back of the sports fish guide, and
on the web at:
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/ops/fm/...es/default_e.h
tm
<http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/ops/fm/...ures/default_e.
htm>

If you would like me to send you a copy of the sports fish guide, please
return your postal address by e-mail. Thank you,

Jim Morrison
Resource Management Biologist - Invertebrate Biologiste en Gestion des
Pêches, Invertebres
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, South Coast Area Pêches et Océans Canada,
Secteur de la Côte Sud
3225 Stephenson Pt. Rd. 3225 rue Stephenson Pt.
Nanaimo, B.C. V9T 1K3 Nanaimo, (C.-B.) V9T 1K3
Phone: (250) 756-7233 Téléphone (250) 756-7233
Fax: (250) 756-7162 Télécopieur: (250) 756-7162
Email: morrisonj@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca Courriel:
morrisonj@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Dont worry guys, my boyfriend and I went out and bought a fishing liscene the other day. It covers most things i'll be taking from the water, and even if they arent listed Im sure having the permit will cover my bum :mrgreen:.

That AquaMedic Titan 150 apparently only chills to room temperature, so its not going to be adaquate. I'm in the market for a chiller, and until then I'll only be taking tidepool stuff that can withstand higher temps. Space is an issue as it needs to fit in the stand, and also needs to be quiet as its in my bedroom! Ah well, I'll find something eventually... hopefully by the end of summer. My friend's dad builds chillers so I might be able to get him to custom one for me.

Yeah I havent tested my water in there yet but I will. I figured it was pointless testing the first day I put the water in since that didnt give much time for the cycle to show. :cool:

:smile:
-Diana

chiller and quiet is an oxymoron.

Buy a reeeaaaallly long line of tubing, hook it up to a maxi-jet 1200, run it to your freezer, make a large coil in your freezer, and run it back to the tank! Hahaha, otherwise, looks intriguing! Good luck!

Chris

Should get some of those Perch... feather dusters etc from the docks... they flash really pretty :D

How would you close the door without cutting off the water flow ?,(you would have to drill two holes in the fridge).

Tidal pool critters are used to temp swings. At low tide the pools heat up and when the tide comes in they are hit with the cold right?

So why not use a feezer pack in your filter? Have 2 on hand, one in freezer and the other in the filter. It wouldn't drop the temp too much, but it would on a small level semi re create the natural temp swings of a tidal pool.

Might help until you get a chiller running. But then again, I could be way out to lunch here. :rolleyes:

Ive thought about the ice pack idea, but have also read its a bad idea cus its not consistent. But your right, tide pool creatuers are used to drastic temp changes. Im sure it would have to be fairly regular. If my temp gets above 75 I will definately have to do something about it.

Eventually Im hopeing for an array of stuff in there. Feather dusters, anenomes, gobies and shrimp! There are so many possibilities! :mrgreen:

:smile:
-Diana

No chiller = fish and invert death

Not necessarily. While I do encourage Diana to get a chiller, it really depends upon doing some research on collected species. If you look on this link http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/projects/msap/index.html you will see some of these critters have 23 C as average temp. Thats 73 F. This should make some local livestock possible to keep at room temp.

Ok here I come!!!
 

First of all love your pics and the tank!!!! Since you took every thing out of the ocean you do not have to cycle the tank. The sand is already live and the water is fine. Only thing is make sure you get the local ocean water readings so you know what kind of water you have to mix up later.

I have found that there is quite a bit of water difference in the local ocean waters. For example the water in Stanly Park will be different from Wite Rock. Try to get your tank mates from one location then it would be eassier for them to live together and also the water issue should be solved.

You should try some Ananos they are cool to watch. I found Stanly park is a good place to colect them. Hermit Crabs can be found at Wite Rock when the ties goes out and good place to look for them is on the sea weeds. The snails are also good for cleaning.

Good luck with your tank!!! :biggrin:

P.S...
 

P.S: Feeding those green gobies are hard some times. I found that they only eat something that is moving in front of them. I found that when you feed your crabs the green gobies will fight with the crab for food since the crab is moving the food around. Is realy neat to watch.

Cheers :biggrin:

I would do it! Haha.

Chris

or if you have a small bar fridge you can cut out the hole in the seal and drop it in and have a tub in there with a ower head and then have it connected to a line and back into the tank.

OMG I JUST THOUGHT OF A GOOD DIY.



mike

p.s looks wicked.

Just a little update. Ive added lots of hermit crabs and regular crabbies, and some anenomes! I will have to get you guys some pics, but i picked up a few little tidepool anenomes (they have orange stripes and whiteish tentitcles) that are so far doing fine. One is even living on the glass, which is neat to see its insides. :mrgreen:


-Diana

That would be so cool to go out and collect the stuff for your own tank. Stupid freshwater province.


Scott

Re: 30 gal Coldwater Tank *Pics*
 

Looks nice, but calling it a cold water tank at that temp is a miss use of terms :mrgreen: I just looked you can get a 40 degree pull down with a 1/5 hp UMI chiller or a 1/4 hp Pacific coast chiller.

just the fact that none of your barnacles or mussels are open and pumping is an indication that it is to hot for them. they think the tide is going down because of the increase in temp and are staying closed to preserve there moisture when they tide is low and they are exposed.

Steve

Re: 30 gal Coldwater Tank *Pics*
 

Who said they werent open and pumping? All my barnicles are feeding, more-so at night than during the day (i guess thats more natural for them?). The mussels are also open as well. ;) I am feeding the barnicles frozen baby brine and plankton. I know they are eating it since i notice a rise in thier activity after i feed them.

;)
-Diana

what are the odds of getting some more pix. I for one would love to see the tank as it progresses.

Re: 30 gal Coldwater Tank *Pics*
 

I see the ones along the docks pumping all day when they are covered in water so don't think they feed more at night, I would guess they feed 24 hours a day. a reason for them feeding at night as apposed to the day in your tank could be that the tank cools down at night and they are a little more comfortable.

Steve

Maybe, but so far my tank only drops a few degrees at night. I think maybe its just cus i feed them in the evening, and so they begin to get more active after that at night. All of them are constantly "tasting" the water, just opening a little to get a taste... and then when they sense food in the water they fully open. Its really neat to watch. The mussels dont open much though, just a little to circulate water. They are actually kinda boring. hehe

I will post pictures soon :mrgreen:

-Diana

I would be interested in doing a tank like that. Does anyone know what temp a tide pool is supposed to be? They have some fantastic tide pools out by Port Renfrew. I could spend days looking into those. :cool:

depends, they can get up to 100 degrees during the day depending on how shallow they are but back down to 55 when the tide is in.

Steve

So, theoretically, I would need to cool the tank to 55 for at least half the day? Will chillers get down that far?

get a big enough chiller and not to large a tank and you could do a large temp pull down.

About chillers, someone made a comment to the point of chillers and quiet being an oxymoron.

A correct statement would be cheap chillers and quiet, being the oxymoron.

Get an appropriate sized quality chiller & you will be fine. You just need to get the money first.

Tell Raf to call me & I will let him know what I found.

yup a 1/4 HP will pull 50 gal of water down 30 degrees, so it willpull a 33 down that far.

Steve

So, a not-so-good update for my tank. :confused:

Everything was going GREAT up until monday, when i decided to add some chunks of barincles and large mussels to the tank. Me, being mainly a freshie, didnt realize how much these small creatures would add to the bioload. By today, my tank is a cloudy, reeking smelly mess having been thrown into a cycle (much worse than when i first started the tank). I am so mad i did this. My cute little starfish died, some crabs, some hermit crabs, and snails died. My anenomes are all closed up along with all the mussels and barnicles (hopefully they will make it in thier protective shells). Arg!

:evil: :evil: :evil:

I learned my lesson. My whole room stinks like uncured liverock.

I will wait it out and see if anything survives, and then start over to fix this mess. :bad-word:

-Diana

Well that sucked. REAL BAD.


I NEVER NEVER EVER want to smell something that bad again. Had to completely overhaul the tank cus the cycled killed everything and stunk up my whole house.

*puke puke puke puke*

Tank is currently running brand new with some seaweed in it. Ah well. Future note: barincles and mussels add more to bioload than youd think....