Hilary March 26, 2009 Share March 26, 2009 Now that it's pretty much all set up I thought I'd share my little tank. It's Jason's (jason the filter freak) DIY nano project, and has 5 gallons in the display with a 1/2 gallon fuge/overflow. I'm really pleased with the way it's turned out. It's a temperate tank with catalina gobies and macros, and has been staying at 68 degrees in my bedroom over the winter, but as soon as it warms up I'll probably have to move it to the basement. Shouldn't be too difficult to move this size tank! Setup: 5.5 gallon AGA Penguin 550 return (low flow for tiny fish) Azoo Neo LED light Azoo Mignon skimmer filter (a HOB with built-in skimmer - may take this off it I can't get the skimmer to work) Autotopoff (it actually loses over a cup of water a day despite the LEDs and cold water) Battery backup hooked up to air diffuser bar Livestock/Macros: 4 catalina gobies margarita snail nassarius snails pencil cap fire fern codium (2 kinds) halimeda halymenia chaeto (in the overflow box) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLazar March 26, 2009 Share March 26, 2009 Hilary, This is a really sweet set up, nicely done. Are you planning any additions to the tank? M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary March 26, 2009 Author Share March 26, 2009 Thanks! I'm going to let the macros grow out and then see what I'd like to do. I'd love to add something like a strawberry anemone, but need to do more research to see if they can handle the warmer water and then if they can I'd actually have to FIND one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw March 27, 2009 Share March 27, 2009 Thanks! I'm going to let the macros grow out and then see what I'd like to do. I'd love to add something like a strawberry anemone, but need to do more research to see if they can handle the warmer water and then if they can I'd actually have to FIND one! YAY ANOTHER TEMPERATE TANK!!! looks very nice If you want to try out a strawberry in those temps, let me know. I'm curious how warm they can be maintained. i've never heard of them going above 60*, but I've also never seen research that says they won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary March 27, 2009 Author Share March 27, 2009 Thanks Daniel! Actually, "ask Daniel" was going to be part of my research. I've been trying to think of interesting things to add, and the strawberries are certainly gorgeous. I wouldn't want to doom one, though, if you don't think they could handle the warmer water long term. Any suggestions for 65 - 68*? And, of course, I can't add anything that would be interested in tiny little orange and blue fish.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Magnolia March 27, 2009 Share March 27, 2009 Very nice Hilary! My 5.5g is still sitting empty waiting for me to get to work on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore March 27, 2009 Share March 27, 2009 (edited) Daniel (or anyone else with cold water experience), Do you think it would be possible to run a coldwater tank as part of a larger tropical (normal) reef system? My thought is to use a small tank (~20 gal) and run a chiller sized for maybe a 50 gal tank, so that the CW tank stays at ~55F (or whatever) despite a slow 1 or 2 gph turnover with the main system (in my case roughly 700 gal). Basically just enough turnover in order to eliminate having to care for yet another separate system (ATO, water changes, etc) and hopefully provide some balance to the water quality. I know that the cycle times are much longer due to slower metabolic rates, but my guess is that the bacterial strains probably overlap somewhat between temperate and warm water. Edited March 27, 2009 by ctenophore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw March 27, 2009 Share March 27, 2009 Hilary - they're VERY hardy in other aspects, so they're about the best choice for trying to put in a warmer system. Besides that, they're nearly aiptasia-like in their spreading ability, so sacrificing one for the attempt is but a small loss. With higher temps, you'll have to feed pretty often - daily or every other day - with small meaty foods (they REALLY like cyclopeeze). They're not much on larger foods like mysis, so the fish should have no problem. If you can find some Actinia equina (beadlet anemones), they might make good additions. They're apparently adapted for temperatures between the low 50s up to the mid-upper 80s. I'd be somewhat worried about the fish, but I've seen other temperate tanks with beadlets mixed with Catalinas and no problems (at least none yet). If you're lucky, you can find them in the Diver's Den on Live Aquaria. Gotta be quick though - I know quite a few people searching for them now. Also, waratah anemones are a nice red color and prefer water temps right at what you're keeping. I've seen them on several online stores lately. Feed them a lot, and they'll literally spit out babies. They'll also adapt to tropical systems, although they sometimes lose the red color. Daniel (or anyone else with cold water experience),Do you think it would be possible to run a coldwater tank as part of a larger tropical (normal) reef system? My thought is to use a small tank (~20 gal) and run a chiller sized for maybe a 50 gal tank, so that the CW tank stays at ~55F (or whatever) despite a slow 1 or 2 gph turnover with the main system (in my case roughly 700 gal). Basically just enough turnover in order to eliminate having to care for yet another separate system (ATO, water changes, etc) and hopefully provide some balance to the water quality. I know that the cycle times are much longer due to slower metabolic rates, but my guess is that the bacterial strains probably overlap somewhat between temperate and warm water. I think it would work fine with your system. IMO, the easiest way of cycling a cw tank is to start with a tropical setup, let it cycle, and begin dropping the temperature over a few months, so there is certainly some amount of bacterial overlap. If you leave the system at tropical temps long enough, you should pull over quite a few tropical hitchhikers. I have a few feather dusters that came from tropical systems, and huge numbers of spirorbids all over the glass and rocks. In smaller systems, I'd be a little worried about algae blooms from the amount of feeding needed in cw systems and the slow but continual die off of some critters due to temperature shock, but with 700g and your filtration system, you probably won't see any issues at all. I'd send the dirtiest water you can into the coldwater system to better mimic natural habitat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore March 28, 2009 Share March 28, 2009 I think it would work fine with your system. IMO, the easiest way of cycling a cw tank is to start with a tropical setup, let it cycle, and begin dropping the temperature over a few months, so there is certainly some amount of bacterial overlap. If you leave the system at tropical temps long enough, you should pull over quite a few tropical hitchhikers. I have a few feather dusters that came from tropical systems, and huge numbers of spirorbids all over the glass and rocks. In smaller systems, I'd be a little worried about algae blooms from the amount of feeding needed in cw systems and the slow but continual die off of some critters due to temperature shock, but with 700g and your filtration system, you probably won't see any issues at all. I'd send the dirtiest water you can into the coldwater system to better mimic natural habitat. Thanks for the input. I may give it a try if/when I convince my wife that we need another box of water on our property Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw March 28, 2009 Share March 28, 2009 Sure thing Justin. LMK if/when you get clearance to build O - and Hilary, if you decide to get some waratahs or other temperate livestock, let me know and we can split the shipping costs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary March 28, 2009 Author Share March 28, 2009 That would be great! Maybe in a couple of weeks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw March 28, 2009 Share March 28, 2009 sounds good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st9z April 3, 2009 Share April 3, 2009 Very nice Hilary...I am glad someone was able to put the tank to use Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw April 3, 2009 Share April 3, 2009 Was thinking about the subtropical portion of temperate systems, and you could also get away with some zoanthid species - especially the people-eater varieties and snake polyps. Both occur in tidal areas in Hawaii where winter temps get in the low-mid 60s. My wife and I have seen them above the low tide line and exposed on Kauai and Oahu, so I see no reason they wouldn't be adaptable to those temperatures provided a slow acclimation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capsfan April 9, 2009 Share April 9, 2009 Me likey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary December 19, 2009 Author Share December 19, 2009 So the macros didn't do very well, and I do have a nice base layer of algae, but since I got my first beadlet anemone yesterday I thought I'd post an updated picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capsfan December 19, 2009 Share December 19, 2009 The catalina goby is a nice touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary December 19, 2009 Author Share December 19, 2009 Thanks Tyler! There are three in the tank, which I keep in the high 60s. I still need to work on the lighting so I can get the macros growing, but it's a fun little tank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary January 1, 2010 Author Share January 1, 2010 According to Daniel the anemone isn't actually a beadlet (I also got mine from Diver's Den), but rather "We believe it to be in either the genus Phymanthus or the genus Phymactis". Kind of cool nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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