Shoreliner11's 62 gal Temperate Reef Tank

Shoreliner11

Shoreliner11

New member
Here are some shots of my 62 gallon (~80 gallons total system) temperate reef tank. If people are interested I could post some of the tank/filtration/lighting/feeding info sometime soon. Thanks for looking

full tank shot


Corynactis viridis from UK


Corynactis californica


Closeup of pink C. californica


Painted anemone (Urticina crassicornis) and Red beadlet anemones (Actinia equina)


Painted anemone closeup


Catalina goby


More corynactis


Oral disc of white plumose anemone (Metridium farcimen)


Corynactis californica
 
Nice I was pondering the thought of a cold water reef as I'm in a coastal town and see the life here at low tide and in our local tide pools.. Have you had good luck ordering online I found a few retailers that have some nice livestock.. I was thinking of starting one at work like a micro tank with a fan driven chiller.. What temp do you run it at? I'm Def interested in seeing equipment shots and a little info on your regimen.. Do you treat it like any other reef?
 
There is only a single place to get coldwater marine livestock I'm aware of and that is http://www.coldwatermarineaquatics.com . The owners Stu and Josh are based out of Portland, Oregon and do lots of collecting off the coast of Oregon but also bring in livestock from Japan, Southern Australia, and the UK. They're a pleasure to buy livestock from, can't say enough good things about them.

I run my tank at 56, which my chiller keeps from 55-57. A thick acrylic tank helps (mine is 1/2 in but others consistently have 3/4 to 1in) insulate quite a bit. I do have some condensation on some of my reactors right now due to a bit of a heat wave here in Tacoma, WA. Good airflow clears this up.

As far as running the system, it's more akin to running a heavily stocked fish only system. You have to process a lot of waste, and because of the rock used (non porous relative to carbonate reef rock) and the lower temperatures, biological filtration moves at a much slower pace. On this system I have a large skimmer, a biopellet reactor, and another reactor running RowaPhos. I dose vodka daily and I do about a 15% water change weekly with natural seawater I collect from puget sound. With all of the filtration, I can't keep my nitrates below 30ppm which is similar to the experience of Stu and Josh and coldwatermarineaquatics. The plus-side, evaporation is next to nothing and there's no need to worry about calcium additions because there isn't a high demand in the tank. I do top off with kalkwasser to bump up the pH a bit but the additions are so infrequent, the effects are probably negligible.

I have an automatic feeder using a dosing pump and a refrigerator which helps keep a constant flow of small food items to the tank. Despite the automatic feeder I often spot feed anemones every day or two.
 
Well here is a bit more about my system specs

Tank
62 gal (36x20x20in)
Dual 1.5" in returns

Sump
20gal AGA sump with homemade baffles

Return Pump
Mag 9

Flow
Tunze Turbelle Nanostream 6015

Skimmer
Reef Octopous XS160 Skimmer

Reactors
Hydra Aquatics Biopellet Reactor
NextReef MR1 running RowaPhos (occasionally carbon)
both are run by a single mag 3 pump

Chiller
1/5 hp JBJ Arctica Chiller

Lighting
24 Cree LED's on 2 heat sinks from RapidLED - Both the 10k's and actinics are generally turned down as low as they'll go to limit algae growth but still allowing some light to see the critters.

Automatic Feeder
4.3cuft Mini Fridge
Marine Magic Aquarium Dosing Pump
Aqualifter Pump
The aqualifter pump is plumbed through the outside of the refrigerator and phyto, rotifers and Real Ocean Eggs (all from Reefnutrition) a dosed throughout the day. I will probably end up switching out the aqualifter. It's prone to getting bacteria buildup in the lines which reduces its flow rate considerably.

Typical Tank Parameters
Temp 55-57 F
Salinity 34ppt
pH 8.0
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 25-30
Phosphates 0

Water Changes
I do a 15% water change every week with seawater I collect here in Puget Sound. I have a spot <5 min from my house that has good water flow I usually collect at. I just take a couple 5 gal buckets and put them in my car and drive home. I usually collect at or near high tide because when the tide is low the water clarity is usually poor and lots of sediment/detritus gets turned up. With that said the water I use always has undetectable levels of Nitrate and Phosphate, salinity varies a bit (31-35ppt) depending on the time of the year and how much rain we've had.
 
Nice to see you over here :) Btw, those are probably the best coldwater photos of a tank I've seen since Steve Weast. :thumbsup:

Loving what you are doing dude :D
 
Looks awesome, thanks for sharing :thumbsup:

FWIW, might consider changing out the MAG pumps over time with comparable Eheim, Reef Octopus, etc. pumps. They give off no heat and consume considerably less electricity. I use a MAG drive to not only mix but heat my fresh made saltwater.
 
First off I love the tank!! Way to go! I like how clean the design is and it's colorful like a Coldwater reef should be. Your corynactis look nice and healthy. I'll be watching this tank for sure. I live in Monroe and have a couple Coldwater setups also, so I'm stoked to find a local reefer who likes to get his hands cold:)
 
Thanks Josh and Stu. I really appreciate it and definitely wouldn't be able to find such amazing coldwater critters from around the world without you. Speaking of which, if you get some more corynactis morphs in, I may be looking for some more ;).

Cichlidconvert,
Thanks so much. If you have some coldwater tanks set up, I'd be happy to give you a polyp or two of the corynactis if you're interested but better yet, get a whole colony from stu and josh!

Stunreefer,

Thanks for the info. I've used these in the past and I've never had an issue with them is why I put them in this tank too. I'll check on prices on the pumps. Any less time my chiller has to come on makes me a happy person :).
 
Hey thanks! I have large colony that I got from Coldwater marine Aquatics. It's on an oyster shell that I'm thinking of busting up and spreading them around my tanks. But as I was typing this I saw my lights come on and the colony was in the clutches of one of my large green surf anemones:mad2: I think stu and Josh are what this side of the hobby needed to get it going. And if you want to check out some Coldwater tanks you can drop by and talk Coldwater:)
 
What a beautiful & unique tank! Great job.

Just curious: Does 52F keep your chiller running constantly? If it were to break & it took, say 5 days to install a replacement. Would the tank & inhabitants make it for that time at around 72F room temperature? How long could it go at that temperature if the failure happened during a week or two vacation?

In comparison to a conventional tropical reef, did you find it more difficult during the early stages...and what about as the tank matured? Are the anenomies & other invertebrates fussy? Thanks for any responses you can provide.
 
Shoreliner11 said:
Thanks for the info. I've used these in the past and I've never had an issue with them is why I put them in this tank too. I'll check on prices on the pumps. Any less time my chiller has to come on makes me a happy person :).
Click to expand...
Don't get me wrong (Danner) MAGs are great pumps and I too have used them on many aquariums and water features. I'm looking out for your chiller use ;)

Congrats on the RB's article as well :thumbsup:
 
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