55° of Coolness - Micro-reefs 2g Temperate Tank

[ccapasso]

Coming soon...

Decided to take the plunge into the cold! Purchased a temperate tank from Micro-Reefs.com. Mike has been a great guy to work with. Answered tons of questions and worked out a hell of a deal on the tank .


Equipment:

• 2 gallon Micro-Reefs black background acrylic tank
• AquaClear 20 filter pre-drilled for Micro-Chiller
• CoolWorks Micro-Chiller with a/c power adapter
• CoolWorks controller for Micro-Chiller
• AA Aquarium Digital Thermometer w/alarm
• Coralife Aqualight mini T5 fixture

Livestock:

• Fluffy Sculpin
• Strawberry anemone
• Sitka Shrimp
• Goose-Neck Barnacle
• Light Bulb Tunicate
• Aggregating Anemone

I'll be getting all of my livestock from coldwatermarineaquatics.com. Talked to the guys there (Josh and Stu) and worked out the stock list. They have been extremely helpful and I look forward to purchasing from them soon.

This tank will reside in my office along with the Peacock tank.

Much more to come once things start to arrive.

 

[pete33]

Awesome. Can't wait for you to get this build going.

 

[ccapasso]

Thanks!

Stock list updated - Adding Mussels.


It looks like the tank should ship today (hopefully). I'm guessing it will arrive early-mid next week.

Hopefully I can get something worked out with the guys at CWA and get things moving for this tank .

 

[jacob.morgan78]

Are you worried about condensation forming on the outside of the tank?

 

[ccapasso]

Not really. From what I understand, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[jacob.morgan78]

I read somewhere about a cold water tank that had issues with condensation forming... It may have been a colder tank though cause I can't think of the thread I'm referencing... They ended up needing to make it double paned essentially insulating it... The more I think about it the more I think it was a northern Atlantic tank or something...

Sorry, don't mind me... I'm getting old or something!!! :-/

Looking forward to following along though! Thanks for the build thread!

 

[Jonahjls]

ccapasso- Thank u for the link to micro-reef. I live in a temperate zone and most of the creatures can easily be collected here for educational purposes!
I will be following this build with intent to Follow!

jacob.morgan78-The condensation isnt a problem because of the thick acrylic used. None of the live seafood tanks at the local asian market have a problem with condensation. ITs allso a good place to buy animals for a temperate tank

 

[ccapasso]

Small update:

There was a small error in shipping and it looks like the tank will now arrive on Monday of next week.

No worries on this end, as I still have plenty of time to plan things out.

 

[acuario]

I'm curious, if you're willing to answer, what drew you to cold water?

 

[ccapasso]

I have been intrigued by it and the different colors/options it has. Micro-Reefs.com was having a sale on their temperate tank so I decided to give it a shot.

I also really like that there is little to no evaporation so topping off won't be a problem and I shouldn't need an ATO.

 

[ccapasso]

Package has arrived!

Looks like UPS doesn't know how to read very well

 

[ccapasso]

Looks like everything is ok. Haven't had time to give a good look over but appears to be good.

All Wrapped Up:

Unwrapped:

 

[fishresponse]

Following along. Excited to see a nano cold water setup.

 

[Kataro]

Following also! I will be building my own in a few weeks here! Very excited

 

[ccapasso]

Got a delivery yesterday!

Everything:

Crabs!:

Scape:

And everything is in!

Red Fluffy Sculpin:

FTS:

 

[premilove]

Awesome! How's the performance of the chiller? Is it holding temperature at 55 degrees?

 

[ccapasso]

Chiller is keeping between 55-60. 55 when the ambient is lower and 60 when it is higher. So far, that is the worst .

 

[Biodork]

Looks great, keep in mind the cycle of a temperate tank can tank much longer than in the tropical systems hobbyists are used to.

 

[brian cummings]

How is this tank doing? I have been thinking of getting one of these setups, or getting a custom made temperate pico with even thicker acrylic.

What are your ambient temps generally?