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- Thread starter mangomike
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I am south of Miami. Dry season 80 to 85 degrees F. Wet season 85 to 90. 8x11 feet and 3.5 feet deep. To keep the rain out I plan an umbrella, but this will mean no direct sunlight. I have aerators and a pump and small waterfall to keep the water moving and filter it. Previously had tilapia in it until a power outage. It is about 2 feet above the surface so no flooding.
So, you're looking at approximately 2,300 gallons.
The optimal temperature range for a reef tank is 76-80F. So, temperatures could be a concern. You might need to invest in a chiller to maintain the temperature in that range. If it gets cooler at night you might need to invest in a way to heat the water. Stability of the water temperature is important, you don't want large swings in temperature.
Even with the umbrella, you might have trouble maintaining a stable salinity. The salinity for a marine aquarium is 1.023-1.026 specific gravity or 32-35ppt. Again, like temperature, maintaining a stable salinity is important.
In addition to temperature and salinity, other water parameters are important to maintain and could get pricy with a pond/aquarium that size. You will need to maintain Calcium (380-450 ppm), Alkalinity (8-12 dKH), Magnesium (1200-1400 ppm), and pH (8.1-8.3) at a minimum. Here's a chart with recommended water parameters for a captive marine environment.
Excess nutrients (nitrite, nitrate and phosphate) could also be more of a concern with a saltwater pond than they are with an indoor aquarium.
Now, most of the available "plants" for marine aquariums are actually macroalgae, as opposed to true plants. There are a lot of varieties and some people have luck with them and others do not. Personally, I feel that macroalgae and corals generally have opposing needs in a captive environment. Some hardier corals such as Ricordea florida and Zoanthids might be more compatible with a system that also includes macroalgae.
All that said, I hope I'm not coming off as trying to dissuade you from moving forward with this, I'm just trying to help think this through. In fact, I'd love nothing more than to have you proceed and be able to follow along on your journey.
So, to start, I'd suggest you decide what kind of corals and macroalgae you'd like to keep. You an check out some of the livestock offered by our sponsors at:
Dr. Reef's Quarantined Fish
Corals.com
Extreme Corals
Tampa Bay Saltwater
There are a ton of other vendors of corals out there as well as vendors of macroalgae.
Another consideration, is you'll want to build a reef structure for your corals, fish, plants & macroalgae. So, you'll need to decide if you want to use dry rock, live rock or a combination of the two.
Another of our sponsors, Premium Aquatics, has a nice selection of dry rock.
Some reputable sources for live rock are:
Tampa Bay Saltwater (link above)
KP Aquatics
Gulf Live Rock
@Reefing102 Did you ever hear if Salty Bottom Reef Company ever re-opened?
The optimal temperature range for a reef tank is 76-80F. So, temperatures could be a concern. You might need to invest in a chiller to maintain the temperature in that range. If it gets cooler at night you might need to invest in a way to heat the water. Stability of the water temperature is important, you don't want large swings in temperature.
Even with the umbrella, you might have trouble maintaining a stable salinity. The salinity for a marine aquarium is 1.023-1.026 specific gravity or 32-35ppt. Again, like temperature, maintaining a stable salinity is important.
In addition to temperature and salinity, other water parameters are important to maintain and could get pricy with a pond/aquarium that size. You will need to maintain Calcium (380-450 ppm), Alkalinity (8-12 dKH), Magnesium (1200-1400 ppm), and pH (8.1-8.3) at a minimum. Here's a chart with recommended water parameters for a captive marine environment.
Excess nutrients (nitrite, nitrate and phosphate) could also be more of a concern with a saltwater pond than they are with an indoor aquarium.
Now, most of the available "plants" for marine aquariums are actually macroalgae, as opposed to true plants. There are a lot of varieties and some people have luck with them and others do not. Personally, I feel that macroalgae and corals generally have opposing needs in a captive environment. Some hardier corals such as Ricordea florida and Zoanthids might be more compatible with a system that also includes macroalgae.
All that said, I hope I'm not coming off as trying to dissuade you from moving forward with this, I'm just trying to help think this through. In fact, I'd love nothing more than to have you proceed and be able to follow along on your journey.
So, to start, I'd suggest you decide what kind of corals and macroalgae you'd like to keep. You an check out some of the livestock offered by our sponsors at:
Dr. Reef's Quarantined Fish
Corals.com
Extreme Corals
Tampa Bay Saltwater
There are a ton of other vendors of corals out there as well as vendors of macroalgae.
Another consideration, is you'll want to build a reef structure for your corals, fish, plants & macroalgae. So, you'll need to decide if you want to use dry rock, live rock or a combination of the two.
Another of our sponsors, Premium Aquatics, has a nice selection of dry rock.
Some reputable sources for live rock are:
Tampa Bay Saltwater (link above)
KP Aquatics
Gulf Live Rock
@Reefing102 Did you ever hear if Salty Bottom Reef Company ever re-opened?
It doesn’t look like saltybottom ever re-opened and their domain is for sale now.
Yes, yes it would. And I still say cool but, I'm getting up there in years
Although, you have a few years on me.
