Cold Water Reef Plan

[fishmaster]

One thing I've read about cold water cycling is that it takes alot longer than warm. It's recomended that you cycle your tank a little warmer-say 15 then slowly bring down your temp. There's some good info on wet web media, I think I did a search on "cold water marine"

[Knobsmith]

Thanks again. More great info. Not sure if you have seen this yet, but here is a thread from RC:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=890751

Amazing cold water set-up.
As far as local rock is concerned, I don't think it is as effective as it is not as porous as tropical rock.

[fishmaster]

I'm sure you could add some more porous base rock.

[justinl]

have you guys seen steve weast's coldwater tanks? OMFG amazing. he has some of the most beautiful set ups in the world and they're only experimental! shame about his tropical tank crash though. that had to suck big time.

[fishmaster]

His tanks look great! I've really got to get mine going! Going through that thread, maybe a sulphur reactor would be a smart addition. Although the macro sump could eliminate allot of nitrates. Some of our macro's grow at amazing rates.

[Quagmire]

Those tanks of his are fantastic.I think if I was closer to the coast I would give a cold water tank a try myself.As it is living in Calgary finding livestock would be very hit and miss.As far as cost,it seems you must spend $$ on a chiller,but the cost is offset by not having to spend alot on lights.Other than that,is it just the insulated tank that is needed? and the rest of the equip pretty much the same as tropical tanks?

[justinl]

yeah pretty much same equipment minus the chiller and acrylic or insulated tank. remember you save on lights and livestock as well if you collect wild.

[Dale]

If I could offer any insight at all it would be to determine what livestock you intend to keep and work backwards from that. If you are mixing species it gets very complicated very fast. A specific filtration system might service some species well while causing certain death for others. Dirty tank - clean tank??? Depends what you keep.
A related point to really consider as well is food sources. Unlike many tropical species that have commercial foods available to them, coldwater species are probably going to require live foods whether it be zoo plankton, phytoplankton or micro fauna. It may get pretty expensive to repetitively dose and skim your water column.
Also, where do you intend to keep the tank? If you set it up in an unfinished basement (or garage like I did) you could take advantage of the passive cooling offered by the cement slab floor. My sump sits directly on the slab and it pulls the temps down. If you go that route the insulated cooler/sump would be a detriment.
You can also reduce heat input by using a drilled sump and a larger inline return pump (not submersible). Tee lines off of the return to create more flow in the display thus eliminating intank powerheads that will add heat to the system. I eliminated about 5*F by doing this.

Just some thoughts to keep the ball rolling.

[justinl]

just to add to the livestock question: since most coldwater tank owners will be collecting their livestock wild, it is hard to work backwards from something you can't really predict by species. instead think about WHERE (deep? shallow? intertidal?) you're collecting from and what general creatures you want (coral? fish? inverts?).

Dale has a point that all these creatures have different requirements that you may not be able to meet, so it would be best to research GENERALLY before diving and know what you might enncounter when collecting. That way you can pick and choose what you want without too much worry about its needs.

[danny zubot]

Wow, after browsing "Steve's" pics on RC its like a whole new world full of alien creatures. We get so used to seeing the typical Reef aquarium creatures that we can become numb to their beauty. Seeing these new fish and inverts makes me wonder if a cold water tank is in my future. I'll be watching the progress made here.

Danny