Who has a cold water setup?

[Carson.moran]

I ran a 400-gal coldwater tank for about 10 years awhile back. It was stocked mostly with Puget Sound, Washington critters that I collected myself. Here's a video of it.

What is the animal shown at 1:36 and what type of nudibranch do you have?

It’s a White Lined Dirona

 

[cba191]

Cold water? Id for sure get a blue dot jawfish, and he would open some options for angelfish. (Peppermint anyone?)

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

While I think that looks more like a bat star,

I used to work at an aquarium where the creator of SpongeBob used to work at, and the inspiration of Patrick came from one of the short spine sea stars there

You are correct StarLA is a Bat star... A very uhmm... husky one... I feed her whenever she decides she is hungry otherwise since she is a scavenger everything else in the tank is open season...

 

[UncommonSense]

I’ve been threatening to start up a Monterey Bay tank for years now… this thread is giving me some great ideas!

One thought I’ve been ruminating on for a while now is the viability of making the viewing pane itself a thermopane!

— this would probably be best done on an off the shelf aquarium to avoid any structural concerns… but, a second laminated pane with an argon gap would definitely significant improve insulation value, and completely mitigate any condensation on the viewing pane during hot/humid days!

Thoughts?

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I’ve been threatening to start up a Monterey Bay tank for years now… this thread is giving me some great ideas!

One thought I’ve been ruminating on for a while now is the viability of making the viewing pane itself a thermopane!

— this would probably be best done on an off the shelf aquarium to avoid any structural concerns… but, a second laminated pane with an argon gap would definitely significant improve insulation value, and completely mitigate any condensation on the viewing pane during hot/humid days!

Thoughts?

Your thinking about it too hard... I can count on one hand the number of days I have condensation on the out side of my tank. You need humidity for that and in Cali it just doesn’t exist. My tank is just a RS170, water temp is tide pool temp at 63F. Our place is open air (no HVAC) Buy yourself a tank and a chiller and get on with it...

 

[DD0513]

I ran a 400-gal coldwater tank for about 10 years awhile back. It was stocked mostly with Puget Sound, Washington critters that I collected myself. Here's a video of it.

This is one of the coolest tanks I have ever seen of any type. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Reef Wizard]

That is an interesting suggest about a subforum. It is kind of a chicken or egg situation. Do you start the subforum and hope to get more interest or wait for the interest and then create the subforum. Typically we take the second option. That said, I find coldwater tanks interesting and was just looking at chillers this past week and I came across the TECO chillers which seem to be pushing that space forward.

Subforum may not be a bad idea. The post is getting alot of traction and there is several things that people are not aware of with Coldwater setups. Condensation prevention, chiller sizing, sourcing livestock. These are just some things to name as I am just learning myself. Maybe talk to revhtree Daniel@R2R and others see if they think its a good idea. Regardless if its chicken or egg. The people are interested in the poultry

@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081 Sirs are there any difference in fish diseases/health requirements in coldwater? I do believe cold water holds more oxygen, but species from cooler climates often have higher oxygen demands?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Subforum may not be a bad idea. The post is getting alot of traction and there is several things that people are not aware of with Coldwater setups. Condensation prevention, chiller sizing, sourcing livestock. These are just some things to name as I am just learning myself. Maybe talk to revhtree Daniel@R2R and others see if they think its a good idea. Regardless if its chicken or egg. The people are interested in the poultry

@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081 Sirs are there any difference in fish diseases/health requirements in coldwater? I do believe cold water holds more oxygen, but species from cooler climates often have higher oxygen demands?

Parameters in cold water settings tend to be more stable amounting to less need to monitor. In addition, less equipment costs with low to no use of heaters and ornamental rock/live rock. We see these systems in public aquariums with rock pools, and educational tanks where you can pick up a starfish or touch a stingray as examples

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

That is an interesting suggest about a subforum. It is kind of a chicken or egg situation. Do you start the subforum and hope to get more interest or wait for the interest and then create the subforum. Typically we take the second option. That said, I find coldwater tanks interesting and was just looking at chillers this past week and I came across the TECO chillers which seem to be pushing that space forward.

I recently staryed looking into a coldwater setup, but had to join a Facebook group for it. Would be pretty cool to remain a shut in and stay right on here

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

I'm keeping 2 tanks at 57°F with Atlantic species one at the moment, kept many in the past when I lived on the west coast. Collected green/blue Beadlets earlier this year as invasive species in New Jersey and have them reproducing in my tank now.

I think we just spoke on another group recently and you offered to show me the ropes on collecting! Pictures look familiar!

 

[AquaticEngineer]

I think we just spoke on another group recently and you offered to show me the ropes on collecting! Pictures look familiar!

Yup that's me Where there is coldwater, I'll be there Seriously though, I need more people to go out anemone and Lumpfish hunting with!

 

[AquaticEngineer]

I’ve been threatening to start up a Monterey Bay tank for years now… this thread is giving me some great ideas!

One thought I’ve been ruminating on for a while now is the viability of making the viewing pane itself a thermopane!

— this would probably be best done on an off the shelf aquarium to avoid any structural concerns… but, a second laminated pane with an argon gap would definitely significant improve insulation value, and completely mitigate any condensation on the viewing pane during hot/humid days!

Thoughts?

It would definitely help with the viewing pane, but you would want to equally insulate all the other panels or else it wouldn't do insulation wise but it would make that one panel not condensate. Lobster tanks used dual pane/thermopane panels for this reason to insulate all side to the maximum while still giving fully visibility. Doing a full DIY version on all sides gets to be tough, and starts to fall into the realm of not being cost efficient any longer. Thick acrylic will easily handle most temps needed to prevent condensation and is something that can be more easily obtained or built IME.

 

[UncommonSense]

It would definitely help with the viewing pane, but you would want to equally insulate all the other panels or else it wouldn't do insulation wise but it would make that one panel not condensate.

Oh my initial thought was to use off-the-shelf insulation on all panes short of viewing pane on a glass tank (also insulating sump, of course)! Then simply laminate the front pane, fill the air gap with argon, and seal!

Thick acrylic will easily handle most temps needed to prevent condensation and is something that can be more easily obtained or built IME.

This is the obvious answer, of course… and my next door neighbor has been trying to give me a 80G TrueVue…

— this is probably a silly question, but… would you say that’s still too small of a tank for someone with access to a offshore fishing boat?

 

[AquaticEngineer]

Oh my initial thought was to use off-the-shelf insulation on all panes short of viewing pane on a glass tank (also insulating sump, of course)! Then simply laminate the front pane, fill the air gap with argon, and seal!


This is the obvious answer, of course… and my next door neighbor has been trying to give me a 80G TrueVue…

— this is probably a silly question, but… would you say that’s still too small of a tank for someone with access to a offshore fishing boat?

I think over all it depends on what region, water temp, and species you are trying to keep. IMO bigger is always better.

 

[WilGao]

Gray smoothound

How has it been caring for a Gray smoothound? You don't hear many people who keep those in their tanks!

Well actually it’s a bit tricky, it needs plenty of space, perfect water quality and water not above 68, plus a varied vitamin enriched diet.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Subforum may not be a bad idea. The post is getting alot of traction and there is several things that people are not aware of with Coldwater setups. Condensation prevention, chiller sizing, sourcing livestock. These are just some things to name as I am just learning myself. Maybe talk to revhtree Daniel@R2R and others see if they think its a good idea. Regardless if its chicken or egg. The people are interested in the poultry

@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081 Sirs are there any difference in fish diseases/health requirements in coldwater? I do believe cold water holds more oxygen, but species from cooler climates often have higher oxygen demands?

One of my areas of focus before I retired was cold and temperate marines. There is a subtle, but distinct difference between the two: IMO - temperate is in the range of 62 to 68 degrees F. Coldwater is below 62. Temperate fishes have many of the same issues as tropical species do, (ich and flukes mostly) while cold water fish have different issues, usually other types of protozoans.

Back in the late 1970's, I raised Actinia equina anemones from Australia to sell to the pet trade. When I began working at public aquariums, I got involved with Australian temperates, Mediterranean temperates as well as Japanese temperates. I've also worked quite a bit with cold water west coast species.

Here is an article of about one of my favorite temperate Japanese fishes:

https://reefs.com/magazine/aquarium-fish-the-cherry-anthias-sacura-margaritacea/

 

[goodbalance046]

This is one of the coolest threads I’ve had pop up on my feed. Idk why it never crossed my mind for cold water marine life. I knew goldfish and such use colder water in fresh tanks but I had never thought of the possibility of a cold water marine tank. Gets me thinking about possibilities for my 180 gal tank sitting in the garage right now
Where would you source cold water marine life though?

 

[AquaticEngineer]

This is one of the coolest threads I’ve had pop up on my feed. Idk why it never crossed my mind for cold water marine life. I knew goldfish and such use colder water in fresh tanks but I had never thought of the possibility of a cold water marine tank. Gets me thinking about possibilities for my 180 gal tank sitting in the garage right now
Where would you source cold water marine life though?

Self collected is the most rewarding IMO, even if you have to travel to do it. I grew up in Oregon and collected my own for years and even collected and sold to the public for about 10 years. I helped someone recently get licensed to collect and sell and his website just went live today actually :) trippyfishaquatics.com he collects and sells out of Oregon now.
Gulfofme.com has livestock from Maine
Atlanticaquaculture.co collects out of New Jersey.
There's also some imports from from other temperate regions showing up in the regular marine trade, mostly from Australia like the Ornate Boxfish and such.
I used to import them from Australia and also brought in Coldwater/temperate livestock from Portugal and Japan.
Now I live in New Hampshire and just collect for my own tank :)

 

[goodbalance046]

This is one of the coolest threads I’ve had pop up on my feed. Idk why it never crossed my mind for cold water marine life. I knew goldfish and such use colder water in fresh tanks but I had never thought of the possibility of a cold water marine tank. Gets me thinking about possibilities for my 180 gal tank sitting in the garage right now
Where would you source cold water marine life though?

Self collected is the most rewarding IMO, even if you have to travel to do it. I grew up in Oregon and collected my own for years and even collected and sold to the public for about 10 years. I helped someone recently get licensed to collect and sell and his website just went live today actually :) trippyfishaquatics.com he collects and sells out of Oregon now.
Gulfofme.com has livestock from Maine
Atlanticaquaculture.co collects out of New Jersey.
There's also some imports from from other temperate regions showing up in the regular marine trade, mostly from Australia like the Ornate Boxfish and such.
I used to import them from Australia and also brought in Coldwater/temperate livestock from Portugal and Japan.
Now I live in New Hampshire and just collect for my own tank :)

That is honestly so cool. You probably have the coolest stories to tell. I would love to get driving/scuba certified and collect my own specimen for my tank but I, unfortunately, do not live close to the ocean or have the means to fly to and from the coast at this point in my life. So online purchasing and LFS shopping will have to do for the mean time

 

[LagoonGuy]

I have an approx 800 gallon/3000ltr cold water setup, absolutely love it. Finally fully cycled and happy, bobtail squid and cuttlefish are next in line. All locally collected, very hard to get good video of it though.