homersimpsonlikesfish
Active Member
What are my options if I want to have a coldwater saltwater aquarium? Are there coldwater saltwater fishes that will fit in a 29 gallon tank? And do aquarium chillers work in hot weather?
Can you have a coldwater saltwater aquarium?
- Thread starter homersimpsonlikesfish
- Start date
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To answer the questions here:
-You have quite a few options, though coldwater livestock are somewhat harder to find than.
-Yes, there are some coldwater marine fish (and inverts) that could work for a 29 gallon tank. Importantly, though, the term “coldwater” covers a wide range of temperatures, and not every coldwater fish is suited to the full range of temperatures (some prefer just under tropical temps, some prefer literally arctic temps, others prefer somewhere in the middle) - because of this, I’d recommend finding your favorite coldwater fish species and researching what their ideal temperature range is, then picking other fish you like that can thrive in that range as well. Generally speaking, fish that are found in the same location are usually okay at the same temperatures (exceptions for fish that tend to migrate for seasonal temperature changes), so if there’s a coldwater area that has fish you like, researching the fish found in that area may be a good place to start.
-Yes, they work in hot weather (though if the weather gets really hot, a more powerful chiller may be necessary to keep a coldwater tank at its desired temperature).
livinlifeinBKK
5000 Club Member
I was literally about to write the same thing!
If you're really in San Jose, even with a chiller you'd need to be running your air conditioner constantly to keep a lot of the fish many think of as "cold water" but different people have different definitions. It would likely take a lot of money to maintain the temp in a hot climate imo.
OP
OP
homersimpsonlikesfish
Active Member
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. If I go fishing in the bay will the fish I catch fit in a 40 or 55 gallon tank?
Depends on the fish - there are some little fish in the area (I know a few different species that stay by the shore stay small), but a lot of the fish you could catch (including some of the tiny ones close to shore) could end up growing to be well over a foot.
It has been awhile since I’ve looked at the fish in the Bay Area (and my list of cool coldwater fish is on my computer), but I know you can find things like Tidepool Sculpins and other fish that do well in smaller spaces.
Yes, or no. That’s why they call it fishing. The cold water fishes of California are not as beautiful as the tropical ones available in stores. The cost of running the chiller year round is enough money to buy a new tank, live rock and beautiful tropical fish that can live through a power outage much easier than the cold water tank.
bushdoc
Valuable Member
You can catch fish in rock pools with a net or small hook.
The biggest problem with cold-water tank is filtration as biological proceses, including nitrification are temperature dependent and higher the temp, faster proceses, to a certain point when they slow down and stop as protein denatures. Inversely with lower temp proceses slow down.Basically you would have to rely heavily on water changes and chemical and mechanical methods to get rid of nutrients.
The biggest problem with cold-water tank is filtration as biological proceses, including nitrification are temperature dependent and higher the temp, faster proceses, to a certain point when they slow down and stop as protein denatures. Inversely with lower temp proceses slow down.Basically you would have to rely heavily on water changes and chemical and mechanical methods to get rid of nutrients.
You need a commercial fishing license to take Catalina gobies. They are not found anywhere near San Francisco in the wild where the Op is fishing.Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Below an example:
Coldwater tanks are certainly possible and not that difficult. However, they differ in a few key areas from tropical reef keeping.
First, the water temp results in sweating and condensation generation on all non-insulated tanks, pipes and equipment. It’s just like leaving a glass of ice water on the counter….it sweats. My system eliminated sweating by using a tank and sump made from 1” thick acrylic. Plumbing was 80 schedule. Equipment was always in-sump.
Second, biological processes run quite a bit slower. It takes many months to cycle a tank.
Third, lights are mostly irrelevant since most livestock will be non photosynthetic. Heavy feedings are thus required along with powerful skimmers and extreme nutrient export.
Fourth, a powerful chiller is needed depending on the desired set point. I ran my system for several years which mimicked the Puget Sound environment with a set point of 55F. Attached is a video of that system
First, the water temp results in sweating and condensation generation on all non-insulated tanks, pipes and equipment. It’s just like leaving a glass of ice water on the counter….it sweats. My system eliminated sweating by using a tank and sump made from 1” thick acrylic. Plumbing was 80 schedule. Equipment was always in-sump.
Second, biological processes run quite a bit slower. It takes many months to cycle a tank.
Third, lights are mostly irrelevant since most livestock will be non photosynthetic. Heavy feedings are thus required along with powerful skimmers and extreme nutrient export.
Fourth, a powerful chiller is needed depending on the desired set point. I ran my system for several years which mimicked the Puget Sound environment with a set point of 55F. Attached is a video of that system
My temperate tank is one of my easier tanks. I do run a chiller and keep it at 63 deg F. I run a 1/15 hp Artica and it uses less watts than my heaters in an equivalent tank. You can purchase Catalina Gobies that have been acclimated for warmer tropical tanks and re-acclimate them to there proper temperatures. Don't listen to @bushdoc... about the biological process being difficult. that is a bunch of Hooey! LOL... I am having low nutrient issues at the moment.
TheClown
New Member
I have tried that with The smaller crabs there, they did fine with a moderately cool aquarium, though given the time of my reply I might be too late
