Anyone keeping a cold water reef tank

[Reefer Dude]

Just curious if anyone out there is keeping a cold water tank. Over the years I have been getting more and more interested in cold water reefs, I know there are not a lot of cold water corals and the fish are not as colorful, but the Anemones are amazing along with the inverts. I was reading an article the other day and it stated that there are a lot of people out there keeping cold water tanks, but is just is not as talked about out there as the warmer water reefs. If anyone is keeping them, I would love to see them!Any

 

[tedu]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=810595

 

[huig]

i do, i have a medditerean sea aquarium. you need a good chiller or have a large loop underground. the thoughest animals are those that occur in tidal pools as they can withstand large swings in salinity and temperature.
in europe there are very nice colored fish eg thallasoma sp.
check out the pics in this thread on the Dutcg and Belgian marine forum
http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2037
and Bert Roos his gallery he is a dedicated coldwater marine aquarist.
http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/gallery.php?userid=554&pp=10&showthumbs=1

 

[Reefer Dude]

Very nice posts. I know I would not have problems maintaining the tank and the temp, I just have to figure out how I get the creatures in Minnesota. I may have to wait until I take a trip to California next summer and ship some stuff back.

 

[huig]

the easiest way is to collect them yourself but be carefull not to take endangered species, or species that don't survive captivity. be sure to check whether you need a permit to collect fish in a certain area.
http://www.guba-mittelmeeraquarium.at/

 

[huig]

oeps already pushed on submit button. that guy's website is great. if you want to transport yourself, find some baterydriven airpumps (used for live bait) and get as much styrofoamboxes (or similar) as possible.
try to know in advance what species occur in that area and are suited for aquaria.

 

[poedag]

a bunch of guys in the lab next to mine are currently keeping 6 250gal tanks for breeding black foot abalone, and endangered temperate reef invert. it's proving fairly challenging for them, but then again they are trying to get them to spawn. they have had success with massive UV sterilization and chilling, even though they use NSW that is less than an hour old. hope this helps,

 

[Cody Ray]

You can find a couple species available that are from temperate areas. Catalina gobies come to mind.

 

[yeame]

well I had one until a game warden was at my house for a cook out! he didn't like my lobsters and urchins so there went that