carolina reefer
New member
WOW! Great idea and execution. Definitely a different and unusual approach. That is something to look at all the time.
The Volcano Tank - Konolua
- Thread starter Konolua
- Start date
Navyblue
Low maintenance first
Certainly an inspiration for me! I had an impulse to make one myself, just that it would take an awful lot of rocks to pile through my 2' tall tank, and I'll have trouble finding animals that would crawl up the hill and at the same time won't eat all the wrong stuffs in my tank.
Btw, would the regular hermits and emerald crab crawl out of water if they could?
Btw, would the regular hermits and emerald crab crawl out of water if they could?
hoffy02
New member
I dont want my tank or any other... All other tanks are now inferior to this one....
To the OP...... Simply, amazing....
if this doesnt win TOTM im sure TOTM is a rigged contest...
lostintheocean
New member
nice look but that sail fin has to go, WAY to small and shallow its fins will be stickign out of the water in no time
Konolua
New member
Acclimated well.....and a large part of that is because of the environment they come from; tidepools. Since they are used to temperature swings from 60* to 100*, they are very hardy to adapt. An interesting side-effect of the slightly warmer water (I run 76*, which is a touch below where other people tend to sit) is the algaes that normal attach to there shells are different. Very odd to see. They let the tangs pick the algae off their shells too.....which is fun to watch.
Konolua
New member
Thanks! The main return pump from the sump is split in three ways (I explained this a touch on page 2 I think), but as such, it is a nice healthy flow. Personally, I would like to see a bit MORE flow on the right, but it is a 1/4" ID tube split 3 ways so what can I expect?!
Evaporation is a lot, but not extreme, as I lose almost no water at night nor until noon. But I do lose more than a normal open top tank would.
Konolua
New member
You may get a stray hermit, but certainly not out of habit. The emerald crabs (and many Mithrax crabs and Xanthidae crabs) do not have the "purging" requirements that the semi-terrestrial crabs need. Sally Light Foot crabs are an example of one that would occassionally leave for the open air, but they fear predation out of the water, where these big guys only really fear air threats. A Sally Light Foot would jump and do they ridiculous "running so fast I am swimming" thing if you were to walk by them while out of water.
Definitely need a typical shore crab.....
Konolua
New member
I'm on board too! He's only got a couple months left here anyway. I love that guy, which is one reason why I couldn't bear him being trashed by the LFS and why I am trying to get him in a nice big tank!
Given the life style of the Purple Tang, he will most likely stay with me. He's as happy as a clam here. On the left, I have a little "tavern" kind of thing built under the sand and he actually spends quite some time there. It stretches from the left (under the staghorn) and connects back to under the left wall of the volcano. I have 2.5" black PVC piping under there (though the bottom is slightly cut along the length so it sits flat to the tank). A little highway system for the crabs. Never did I think the Purple Tang would spend so much time down there!!!
In fairness, a ton of algae grows there (It is lit from underneath by the sump light I keep on a timer).
But, I am on board with getting the Sailfin into a monstrous tank! I have had him for 3 years (aside from his 4 month stint at the LFS) so he's special to me!
HHIreefer843
New member
this is the most incredible tank i have ever seen!!!! i am in LOVE.....you should def be up for TOTM!!! and if uve had the sailfin for 3 years hes obviously pretty happy in that amazing tank, so i wouldnt pay too much attention to that!!!! Congrats on such an amazing tank!!!
jbird69
New member
Stroke of genious!
Konolua
New member
Thanks. I don't think genius is the term, I think it is "insane" you are looking for. Most people don't build big reef tanks for crabs.....
:jester:
trmiv
Active member
Man I keep checking this tank out. Coolest thing I've seen really. No offense to anyone on this site, but we get a lot of tanks that look pretty much the same. Cool equipment, beautiful layouts, awesome corals but really they are all pretty much the same. This is such a unique take on a reef tank, I just love it.
I like the video on your site where the crab walks in back of the anemone. He like knocks on the anemone and it moves making a little opening for him. :lol:
I like the video on your site where the crab walks in back of the anemone. He like knocks on the anemone and it moves making a little opening for him. :lol:
grizwalt333
New member
Awesome Tank I love it. The sailfin should be fine in there, IMO. I just went to the Aquatic Zoo in TO last weekend got a piece on that Green Monti and a great sponge, I like that place. Keep it up
hyperfocal
New member
Very cool idea, well done. Any problem with unpleasant smells?
Konolua
New member
You listed my number one "concern" when I started. I used dried lace rock to stem that potential and that worked. Since the waterfalls are consistent and steady, there is no die off. In fact, it gives off the pleasant sea smell or "ozone" smell we all adore. Almost sea-spray-ish. At any rate, even that is subdued. Now, I had a crab catch a jawfish (poor thing didn't last but a day, and it was because it swam straight into a crabs hidey-hole) and it left the half-eaten jawfish up on the Volcano. That took me a day to find and that did not smell ocean spray-y nor pleasant!
The protein skimmer skims a bit more than normal because the waterfall is technically skimming too....so the sump smells a bit more than a normal sump.
Konolua
New member
I agree with the time lapse video. Frankly, it was interesting for me to watch too, as I have never seen my tank in that light.
I know the crabs run around a lot, but didn't realize the extent of it!
