Cold Water Reef Plan

[Knobsmith]

70 Galons if I go with the 1" insulation.

[fishmaster]

A 1/4 horse chiller shoud have enough pull down for that tank. Don't forget to factor in your sump as well. For the extra money a 1/3 might be a better choice as you can use it on a much bigger tank if you decide to go bigger down the road. Also, make sure the one you buy has a thermostat that goes low enough. Some only go down to 15 degrees. You might want to consider a drop in over a flow through-one less thing to plumb.
Shaun.

[Knobsmith]

Thanks. A drop in sounds like a good idea. I think with the insulated tank and sump that a 1/4 HP will do fine, but I see your point about flexability for the future.
What do you think about the filtration? Is the combination of the skimmer and the refugium going to handle the load? I plan on growing some algae and having some barnicle clusters and rock down in the sump/refugium.

[justinl]

the filtration will be ine. bioload rules apply the same to coldwater stuff same as tropical SW. coldwater stuff have lower metabolism i believe but it's better to err on the side of caution. just watch your nitrogen levels.

you may want to rethink the barnacles. I was discussing that with someone else on canreef. if you get those small intertidal barnacles, they very well may infest your tank... kinda like the aptaisia of coldwater.

Don't bother getting giant barnacles. I got some experience with these. They die. that simple. they need lots of food that isn't provided in a home aquarium (unlesss you know what to feed. i don't think it's worth the effort) otherwise they will starve. they can quickly foul water but it's hard to know when they die until they're really decomposed. whenever i take these dead shells out of the water, i gag at the smell. thank god those tanks are flow through (plumbed to le ocean) otherwise they would have crashed for sure.

[fishmaster]

Well, I'm still in the building/reasearch phase like you. What I can tell you is info that I have researched and planned on my own. I would totally avoid the barnicles, they can cover everthing in your tank over time. If you want a filter feeder, oysters would be a better choice. I don't know how much they would improve your water quality though.I plan on running a sump with macro as well, a skimmer, charcoal & phos. media, and a uv-to kill barnicle larvae I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming that local rock would act as "live rock". I can't find any solid data on this, so it would be a matter of trying it ourselves.

[justinl]

as far as i know the cycle thing witht he bacteria still applies to cold SW as it does tropical. same for FW at all temps. So i would set up the tank, sand rock, mechanics and throw in a frozen uncooked shrimp and then just watch the nitrogen levels (NH4, NO2, NO3).

so yah i would assume the local rock would be "live". but i could be wrong.

as for filter feeders, I would consider an oyster (only one so you can keep a close eye on it) . scallop would be fun too. if you want the ultimate cool filter feeder though, think about a crinoid. now those guys are fun.

huh i never realised there was actually more than one or two people on canreef really interested in cold water tanks.

[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.