Updated cold water reef pics

[Elegance Coral]

I am sooo imbarresed! I don't think I will ever post a pic of my system again. The equipment room is unbelievable! WOW!!!!

[luvmylo]

That is nothing but stunning. WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Steve if you could find a way to collect and export that sorta stuff you could make a killing. (I have a business mind)

[superwizbang]

Have to put my obligatory WoW in as well. I loved the initial pictures but the shot of the equipment room took the wind out of my lungs. Good show ole chap!

-Ken

[jnarowe]

Originally Posted by mmn_usn

Have you tried to acclimate any of the cold water creatures to warm water? I was curious on this for the rock and anenomes more than anything. I have successfully added some zebra mussels to my tank... and with that came a couple of jellies... Only saw the jellies for a couple of days... but the mussels are doing good.

I have tried this and it doesn't work. I had an anemone last a few days but it started to decline and I returned it to its home. In hind sight, it really was a stupid idea to even try.

We have a type of blenny here on our beaches and the thought occured to me that since they live under rocks out on the open beach, they must be able to stand higher temps. I acclimated a couple but they did not survive. Again, a stupid idea from a brain damaged guy.

I have acclimated and successfully stocked my tank with local pods though, and in fact one of the local brands sold in LFS are actually Puget Sound pods that are propagated in warm water. I collected the pods right off the beach along the Hood Canal. The mussels and clams I tried did not survive, as well as the live Australian shellfish I got at Costco. I think they were cockles? (sp?)

Steve: The tanks have matured nicely and I gather from your posts that the mollusk covered rocks are working out well? Every time I see these tanks I get miffed I didn't put more research into cold water before starting my reef. And now it would be tough to turn back. I know you are rekindling your warm water reef, but based on your posts I am a bit surprised you didn't take the 850g cold water plunge. Can you give us any insite as to why you didn't take that opportunity?

I am experiencing some success with the warm water reef but still getting slapped by issues that I think would go away in a cold water system...

[steveweast]

Originally Posted by jnarowe

I know you are rekindling your warm water reef, but based on your posts I am a bit surprised you didn't take the 850g cold water plunge. Can you give us any insite as to why you didn't take that opportunity?

It has crossed my mind a few times....afterall....a sea otter might be cool.....or maybe an orca if I can get a bigger net.

Right now....I'm still learning on a small scale....but a large tank would prove to be difficult in a few areas...

1) providing enough food. The small tank allows me to provide a high density of food when feeding.

2) collection.....it's hard enough to collect for my small tanks. The best stuff that I have in my tank comes from areas with VERY difficult diving conditions and access.



Although, I still might do it one day.....afterall, there is nothing that I would have to change other than lowering the thermostat....I still want to learn the nuts and bolts of cold water reefkeeping on a small scale.

[jnarowe]

hmmm...if I had a major "incident", I would really consider it too. Not sure it's safe for me to dive though after the brain hemmorage...probably would be an issue with gas exchange. My doctor told me I couldn't dive based on my loss of executive function, but much of that has been re-routed. Problem for me would be mostly psychological, and since I have narked before, that could be an issue also.

Have you found that any of the animals that you have put in the tank have become invasive? Like spreading too quickly or dominating other animals?

The thing about a kelp oriented biotope would be that in reality, kelp beds support larger animals and I am not sure it would work well in an aquarium. At least it might help with nutrient export, and if you can get kelp to thrive, you could use it for other things. Of course, our reef tanks in no way reflect real wild reefs IMO. We see these astounding tanks, yours included, that are marvelous to the eye, but generally speaking, the real reefs I have seen are usually dominated by one major species of coral that is best suited for the water conditions present.

Great to be able to experiment as you are doing. Gives us all some food for thought!

[steveweast]

Actually....what I have represented is just how it looks in some areas. There really isn't anything that dominates an area down there....it's mostly just rock with a little life here and there.

As for kelp....I grew bull kelp successfully for many months. The problem is....with cold water tanks, you need to feed HEAVILY.....and with that feeding comes nutrients no matter how good your skimmer is. If you provide enough light to grow kelp (and T5's can be enough), you will also grow a ton of nuissance algae. I got tired of cleaning the nuissance algae....so, I finally pulled all the kelp, reduced the light intensity and duration dramatically, and eliminated all nuissance algae. The algae was actually choking off things that I was trying to cultivate like corynactus and coralline. When I reduced the light, everything was right with the world again.....it may sound like a good idea (growing kelp)....but, it's a double edged sword. Not everything warm reef husbandry related is applicable to cold water.

[Sprayin70]

Awesome man. I can't say it enough!!! Thank you for posting all your experience. Some of us may be brave enough to try this one day.

[jnarowe]

sort of counter-intuitive that growing kelp would create a HA issue, but what you say makes sense. And I would guess that sea grass would probably bring the same results. Thanks for the observations!

[steveweast]

Originally Posted by jnarowe

sort of counter-intuitive that growing kelp would create a HA issue, but what you say makes sense. And I would guess that sea grass would probably bring the same results. Thanks for the observations!

Actually....when I go shore diving in most areas....the shallow areas are usually choked with algae too (especially during Sping and Summer). Get down a litltle deeper and away from all that sunlight and things really get to popping.

And....it isn't the kelp that creates the algae problem....it's the strong light needed to grow the kelp that creates the problem. Also...it isn't a hair algae...more like a thick brown mat algae.

[jnarowe]

well, my post didn't express my level of understanding. I realize that it was the light level and heavy feeding that caused the nuisance algae. Bummer though as I really like the look of macro algae in aquariums. Unfortunately, in my reef tank, it's a similar situation where it's either boom or bust with regard to macro, and those cycles tend to cause peripheral issues too.

[jenajet]

Another wow! Love the new shots. I have also been wondering how the rebuild of your large tank was going. Keep up the good work!

[Doug1]

Dayum!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT AN AWESOME TANK

[andregarcia_73]

How did the tank do over the period of time? Anything learned? Expanded? Let us know man! I have been waiting to see how this beauty turned out! When i saw this tank it not only inspired me but it left me like !

[steveweast]

These were just experimental play tanks to explore the possibility of keeping cold water critters. I sold the system to a friend of mine last October while I accepted an out of town year long contract job. I'm now planning a 400 gal cold setup to start sometime this Spring. I visit the cold critters ocassionally....they are still doing well.