Newbie cold lobster tank info?

[!xobile]

I was referred here by the people at mustangworld. I work in a butcher shop and just before New Year's we threw some lobsters in our tank and something went wrong. Took the lobsters out and kept them wrapped in wet newspaper. All the water started foaming and started coming out of the protein skimmer. Lost about half the water.

Called out a service guy and he came out and took a look at it. The salinity was way too low, and the PH was so low that it pegged the guy's meter.

Tomorrow the guy is coming back to completely drain the tank and start over fresh. He's gonna train me and give me the supplies to maintain it. Anywhere where I can read up on cold tank info so I'm not completely clueless?

 

[phil519]

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

Cold tanks (i believe) have the same requirements (salinity, ph, etc.) as a tropical tank except you need a chiller to keep the tank at the appropriate temp.

 

[uscharalph]

That's a pretty ambitous project. Hope to hear and see some good things from it.

 

[Vinnie71975]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11635744#post11635744 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by phil519
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

Cold tanks (i believe) have the same requirements (salinity, ph, etc.) as a tropical tank except you need a chiller to keep the tank at the appropriate temp.

Ya its pretty much the same as a normal SW tank but the major difference is you keep the water at around 65 degrees. I have looked into it cause i want a cold water lobster but i cant afford the chiller.

 

[!xobile]

Actually we keep our water at around 40-42 degrees Fahrenheit. Wish me luck.

 

[Ziggy953]

Yeah I'd like to see some pics of that tank too!

 

[WaterKeeper]

Once one of the lobsters died there was a toxic release of ammonia into the water. This killed any remaining livestock and created the foaming condition that you saw.

As you have already guessed a lobster tank is just a cold reef tank and issues such as water quality are about the same. About the only difference is that the guests in the tank are not there for a very long time. Now if they weren't being sold but kept for pets you would need an RO/DI just like a reef. As it is a sales bin you can probably get away with tap that has been dechlorinated. Chlorine will kill the livestock as surely as ammonia.

You can use a good saltmix available at the local pet store or Wally world. Follow the directions and change water often and by often I mean at least half each week. The large water changes make up for the lack of biological filtration that would take a long time to establish at 40° anyway.

Lobsters can go a long while without food but if they get hungry they will chow down on their counterparts in the tank especially if their former friend is molting. That is why they usually have their claws held shut with rubber bands.

If you do keep them long term I make great Newburg if you ship me one in the 8-12 pound range.

Hmm, a Newbie Corner Column on Lobster Keeping?

 

[!xobile]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11637271#post11637271 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
...Follow the directions and change water often and by often I mean at least half each week. The large water changes make up for the lack of biological filtration that would take a long time to establish at 40° anyway.

The instructions on the tank say to never change the water unless directed to by the manufacturer (stark).

As far as filtration the water goes through this (polyester?) media then onto the next chamber where it goes through some white coarse sand like stuff then onto the next chamber where it goes through more of the same sandy stuff. Then in the next chamber is the protein skimmer which is essentially just a PVC tube that sticks above the water line slightly, the water level in this chamber is adjustable via a valve. From there it gets pumped back into the main tank.

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