Puget Sound Biotope

[eatyourpeas]

It has begun. Currently a very small tank since I am new to salt water, but here it is. Still cloudy, but settling in. Just a few specimens of seaweed and a few inverts. I will post a list soon and include parameters as well.

 

[littlefishy]

Great name and a great idea!
Love biotopes, more so than mixed reefs.

 

[eatyourpeas]

The tank as of today. Crystal clear and parameters as follows:
Ammonia: 0, Nitrites: 0, Nitrates: 0, ph: 7.0, KH: 120ppm, GH: >180ppm, temperature: 55F / 12.8C

Waiting for a refractometer so I can measure the salinity, so navigating blind at the moment.

Current algae:
Sarcodiotheca gaudichaudii, Cladophora columbiana, Prionitis lanceolata, Fucus gardneri, Alaria marginata

A hitchhiker:
Ilyanassa obsoleta

Several amphipods, and Balanus glandula on rocks.

 

[eatyourpeas]

Some close-ups:

 

[littlefishy]

Reminds me of the mucky marl we have in mangrove backwaters.

 

[steveweast]

If you have the ability to go a bit deeper, there is a vast, diverse world below about 30 feet.....like non-photosynthetic anemones, corynactus and grunt sculpin as seen in this video of my Puget Sound biotope......with exception of the boxfish in the video that are temperate Australian boxes from Tasmania mostly. I collected these mostly in the 40-120 foot depth range of Puget Sound. Once you get below the depth that algae dominates, the life changes dramatically as seen in this video of my tank.

 

[steveweast]

You are off to an interesting world in temperate reef keeping.....especially if you can collect yourself. What you are doing though is quite challenging since algae tends to dominate everything with even medium lighting (just like in Puget Sound). That's why I eventually migrated to the lower depths with non-photosynthetic inhabitants.

 

[Jeremy K.A.]

If you have the ability to go a bit deeper, there is a vast, diverse world below about 30 feet.....like non-photosynthetic anemones, corynactus and grunt sculpin as seen in this video of my Puget Sound biotope......with exception of the boxfish in the video that are temperate Australian boxes from Tasmania mostly. I collected these mostly in the 40-120 foot depth range of Puget Sound. Once you get below the depth that algae dominates, the life changes dramatically as seen in this video of my tank.

LOOOOVVEE this video! Temperate reefs are so beautiful. Too bad they're so uncommon etc.
I used to love checking out Coldwater Aquatics site when they were around just to see all the critters

 

[eatyourpeas]

You are correct. Puget Sound is absolutely beautiful at depths below 30 feet. I used to dive around here, especially to visit the Giant Pacific octopus dens. Unfortunately my health had other plans and my diving days are over, so I will need to stay in shallower waters.

One of my challenges is to figure out sourcing the marine life. For now, since I am new to marine aquariums, the need to start small and not overly ambitious seems prudent.

I am doing a lot of research regarding the necessary equipment, and tank size to house the marine life I would like to have. The grunt sculpin will be the centerpiece, of course.

It is good to know how light will be limiting my choices, so thank you for that advice!

I am having a great time observing what I have, and hope to go deeper soon.

 

[IanK]

Nice. You should get a king salmon!

 

[zukihara]

You start a neat little biotope and get excited, then Bill Gates comes in with a 400g Hollywood feature film of his tank crushing your soul, smashing the backboard to pieces

 

[eatyourpeas]

You start a neat little biotope and get excited, then Bill Gates comes in with a 400g Hollywood feature film of his tank crushing your soul, smashing the backboard to pieces

Well, that would be some mean special effects! ;Vamp

 

[eatyourpeas]

You are off to an interesting world in temperate reef keeping.....especially if you can collect yourself. What you are doing though is quite challenging since algae tends to dominate everything with even medium lighting (just like in Puget Sound). That's why I eventually migrated to the lower depths with non-photosynthetic inhabitants.

Your tank is simply spectacular! What an inspiration!

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Awesome tank! I've always wanted to do this! What specific tank did you go with? Something acrylic I assume?

 

[steveweast]

Grunt sculpin will not be found in the shallows. The best place to find them is off Burrows Island in Anacortes in about 100ft......but you could hit up some of the local dive message boards. You will probably find someone willing to pick up a few things for you. I hooked up with a few of them in the past....especially when I needed a chase boat for high current areas like Deception Pass or Neah Bay. A great shallow depth fish though is the spiny lumpsucker which are bright red and very small....perfect for a nano. They can be found at a dive site called Three-Tree in the Central Sound.

 

[eatyourpeas]

Grunt sculpin will not be found in the shallows. The best place to find them is off Burrows Island in Anacortes in about 100ft......but you could hit up some of the local dive message boards. You will probably find someone willing to pick up a few things for you. I hooked up with a few of them in the past....especially when I needed a chase boat for high current areas like Deception Pass or Neah Bay. A great shallow depth fish though is the spiny lumpsucker which are bright red and very small....perfect for a nano. They can be found at a dive site called Three-Tree in the Central Sound.

That is great to know, thank you. I am hoping to get back in touch with some diving buddies and see how that goes.

 

[steveweast]

monitoring the local dive message boards will basically tell you where to find what you are looking for since the Sound has very distinct areas in which only certain livestock is present...

Want Grunt Sculpin....go to Burrows Island

Want Gorgonians....go to Neah Bay

Want Corynactus....go to the San Juans and especially Strawberry Island

Want shallow snorkel depth bright red strawberry anemones....go to Sekiu up past Port Angeles

Want brooding anemones....go to Deception Pass

 

[steveweast]

LOOOOVVEE this video! Temperate reefs are so beautiful. Too bad they're so uncommon etc.
I used to love checking out Coldwater Aquatics site when they were around just to see all the critters

I actually gave much of my stock to those boys back in the day when I broke down that tank....the rest went to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium since I know the curator there.

My dry suit diving days are over too. Back in 2014, I suffered a devastating fall accident that resulted in the amputation of my right leg.....so drysuit diving is no longer an option unless I just wanted to swim in circles.

However, I recently started up that tank again....but I'm going back to my roots in warm water reefkeeping.

 

[eatyourpeas]

I actually gave much of my stock to those boys back in the day when I broke down that tank....the rest went to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium since I know the curator there.

My dry suit diving days are over too. Back in 2014, I suffered a devastating fall accident that resulted in the amputation of my right leg.....so drysuit diving is no longer an option unless I just wanted to swim in circles.

However, I recently started up that tank again....but I'm going back to my roots in warm water reefkeeping.

So sorry to hear that. The reason for starting this biotope partly has to do with missing diving, so this could give me a little window into that world I cannot touch anymore.

I hope you are doing okay.

I started following you so I look forward to your new tank adventure!

 

[steveweast]

Life goes on.....you have to make the best of your situation......and for me that means I can now get really good parking.