A
Okay here's the details:
55 gallon Reef Ready Tenecor Acrylic Aquarium (We went with acrylic because of the better insulation that is provided. A glass aquarium would be likely to "sweat" like a glass of ice water.
It's on an R&J Black Oak Stand and Cap, AFAIK R&J Enterprises is no longer in business but they were excellent furniture, blows AGA out of the water.
Filtration is a Marineland Tidepool Biofilter/Sump, Mag 7 Return pump, and a CPR SR2 protein skimmer that is performing like an Aqua C EV-200 (colder water means more air saturation which means this thing foams like a rabid pit bull).
Temperature varies between 58 and 60 degrees, managed by a 1/4 HP Custom Sea Life Drop-in Chiller. We calculated that a 1/5 HP would work fine but the 1/4 horse was on sale.
Lighting is two 36W 10K Sylvania AquaStars NO Flourescents on a Advance 2P32 ballast.
I added some fine grain Aragamax sand to give a bit of buffer (bout 2") and we plan on adding some local live sand in the near future.
Life in the aquarium so far include:
Rockweed (Fucus vesiculosus) a marine algae characterized by twin air bladders
Other various marine algae
Amphipods (Gammarus oceanicus) large species that is often found in tidepools
Green Crab (Carcinus maenas) a green rock crab found in tidepools
Green Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) found under rocks in tidepools
Asteriid Sea Star likely (Asteria vulgaris) found under rocks in tidepools.
Little Gray Barnacle (Chthamalus fragilis) found covering rocks at the waters edge
Common Periwinkle (Littorina littorea) algal grazer found on rocks at the tideline
Frilled Anemone (Metridium senile) common anemone found on rocks and wharfs
We hope to add more life in the near future. So far the tank has been operating for about 3 weeks now and the rock we collected to "decorate" seems to be operating like regular tropical liverock, there has been essentially no cycle with this aquarium, and I feed it fairly heavily with brine, mysis and DT's Phyto, we now have a whole slew of 'pods and other critters reproducing.
55 gallon Reef Ready Tenecor Acrylic Aquarium (We went with acrylic because of the better insulation that is provided. A glass aquarium would be likely to "sweat" like a glass of ice water.
It's on an R&J Black Oak Stand and Cap, AFAIK R&J Enterprises is no longer in business but they were excellent furniture, blows AGA out of the water.
Filtration is a Marineland Tidepool Biofilter/Sump, Mag 7 Return pump, and a CPR SR2 protein skimmer that is performing like an Aqua C EV-200 (colder water means more air saturation which means this thing foams like a rabid pit bull).
Temperature varies between 58 and 60 degrees, managed by a 1/4 HP Custom Sea Life Drop-in Chiller. We calculated that a 1/5 HP would work fine but the 1/4 horse was on sale.
Lighting is two 36W 10K Sylvania AquaStars NO Flourescents on a Advance 2P32 ballast.
I added some fine grain Aragamax sand to give a bit of buffer (bout 2") and we plan on adding some local live sand in the near future.
Life in the aquarium so far include:
Rockweed (Fucus vesiculosus) a marine algae characterized by twin air bladders
Other various marine algae
Amphipods (Gammarus oceanicus) large species that is often found in tidepools
Green Crab (Carcinus maenas) a green rock crab found in tidepools
Green Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) found under rocks in tidepools
Asteriid Sea Star likely (Asteria vulgaris) found under rocks in tidepools.
Little Gray Barnacle (Chthamalus fragilis) found covering rocks at the waters edge
Common Periwinkle (Littorina littorea) algal grazer found on rocks at the tideline
Frilled Anemone (Metridium senile) common anemone found on rocks and wharfs
We hope to add more life in the near future. So far the tank has been operating for about 3 weeks now and the rock we collected to "decorate" seems to be operating like regular tropical liverock, there has been essentially no cycle with this aquarium, and I feed it fairly heavily with brine, mysis and DT's Phyto, we now have a whole slew of 'pods and other critters reproducing.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MickAv8r:
<STRONG>...the rock we collected to "decorate" seems to be operating like regular tropical liverock...</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Just to amplify this a bit, this rock was collected from the tideline area at a couple points along the coast between Cape Ann and Rye Beach, NH. It is big solid chunks of granite, with coralline and other algaes on it.
<STRONG>...the rock we collected to "decorate" seems to be operating like regular tropical liverock...</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Just to amplify this a bit, this rock was collected from the tideline area at a couple points along the coast between Cape Ann and Rye Beach, NH. It is big solid chunks of granite, with coralline and other algaes on it.
We hope to get some native New England species, however we aren't quite sure which ones just yet, of if any will be able to thrive long term in a 55 gallon aquarium.
Otherwise we might put some Catalina Gobies, and we may after sometime go with some animals from the Pacific Northwest if we can get them. The whole idea here is to see just how viable this idea is, if we can get these animals to thrive in captivity then coldwater aquariums should become popular. Most of these animals, especially the inverts, are filter feeders. However DT's and other foods on the market seem to be doing well on that end. The anemone is eating and is growing, and the tank is teeming with small crustaceans about the size of newly hatched brine shrimp and the population seems to be increasing so they are getting plenty to eat.
Otherwise we might put some Catalina Gobies, and we may after sometime go with some animals from the Pacific Northwest if we can get them. The whole idea here is to see just how viable this idea is, if we can get these animals to thrive in captivity then coldwater aquariums should become popular. Most of these animals, especially the inverts, are filter feeders. However DT's and other foods on the market seem to be doing well on that end. The anemone is eating and is growing, and the tank is teeming with small crustaceans about the size of newly hatched brine shrimp and the population seems to be increasing so they are getting plenty to eat.
Nice to see a retail outlet explore this avenue, especially in the NE.
I think chillers often scare people away, but put in perspective to MHs, I doubt there is all that much difference in costs.
I had a Chesapeake Bay tank (brackish) for a while when I was in grad school which was interesting. I just let it go at room temperature all year.
I think chillers often scare people away, but put in perspective to MHs, I doubt there is all that much difference in costs.
I had a Chesapeake Bay tank (brackish) for a while when I was in grad school which was interesting. I just let it go at room temperature all year.
Nope. That is the reason why we chose an acrylic aquarium over glass. We really don't like acrylic aquariums all that much because they tend to be so maintenance intensive, yes you can scratch glass but you have to be somewhat creative to do that. However the superior insulation properties of acrylic means that it is the way to go with coldwater aquariums.
Right now the store's ambient air temp is 74.3 degrees. The aquarium water is currently 59.4 degrees. The outer surface of the aquarium is 67 degrees and it is bone dry. We do have A/C on which pulls some of the humidity out, however we do have about 2000 gallons of saltwater at 82 degrees in this store so it's usually pretty moist in here.
Right now the store's ambient air temp is 74.3 degrees. The aquarium water is currently 59.4 degrees. The outer surface of the aquarium is 67 degrees and it is bone dry. We do have A/C on which pulls some of the humidity out, however we do have about 2000 gallons of saltwater at 82 degrees in this store so it's usually pretty moist in here.
A friend of the family had a Pacific Northwest tank set up for a few years but it was taken down when his chiller broke down. He collected all the species himself from the local waters. It is something I'd love to do. I look forward to seeing the progression of your tank.
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