Hi Kcress,Have you ever run a tropical reef?
I had a tropical reef for 25 years!....can't believe I didn't bother with a cold marine,but never realised there was so much colour under the sea on my doorstep....and it's free!
Hi Kcress,Have you ever run a tropical reef?
The vortech has made a big difference.....the jewel anemones come from a very high water movement area,where a huge tidal surge comes and goes twice a day,(I have to be careful with my timing on a dive as the surge can rip me out to sea)....Looks incredible. I really like how it has progressed. How long have you had the vortech? How do the animals react to it for you?
There's no point having a coldwater marine reef without a chiller....the cost is probably no more than running heaters etc. on a tropical marine tank,although I haven't actually sussed the true cost....it's also necessary to oversize the chiller,(I have a 1 horsepower unit on mine,when a half horsepower would probably be OK....the room the tank is located in reaches the high 20's celsius in the summer,and it fires-up regularly to keep the tank at around 15/16 celsius).Once again, the tank is looking fabulous! How largely does the chiller effect your electric bill, I am thinking of starting small, and would like to know how much money it cost for operation. and how did you insulate the tank?
We use celsius down here in New Zealand!!...other than the base there's no other insulation.Thanks Coldmarine, In the summer room temperature is often 80F(26C),are the sides of the tank also covered in polystyrene? Also is there "coldwater live rock" or do you just use base rock? I was thinking of something small like a 20g high to start with,With corals and Invertabrates such as shrimps,snails,crabs etc.
Ah i just realized you said 15 degrees you mean Celsius correct? thats around 59F which isnt that bad ... I thought you meant 15F which is -9.4C lol!
Thanks-
Mark
All the specimens you see are collected on the rocks they have colonised....they do begin to spread once they are used to the tank conditions,but this is a very slow process.Thanks(tropical).
So is all that lovely stuff collected as-is or has it propagated? (The root of my tropical question.) If it does propagate, how fast as compared to tropical?
WAIT !!you just go out to the ocean,have fun snorkling around looking at all the beautiful colors and varieties of fish/corals/ect.:dive2:and you get FREE stock too?:wall: doh !!! now why didn't i think of that?(I would have you know )sweet tank dude!!Actually,was out yesterday,with the water temperature around 10 degrees celsius(it's winter down here in the Sth.Pacific),,but with my 7mm wetsuit I was TOO WARM! Found a few more colour variations,and added a few more to the tank,together with some bright red sponges,and put a couple of starfish back,(munching on the sponges)....great to be able to stock my tank with local stuff after years of buying tropicals ....at huge expense....should have done this years ago,but never realised just how beautiful a coldwater marine tank could be!!