Rory Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 I'm thinking of making a cold water marine tank but can find very little information on theis. Has anyone done this? Are there any resources anout doing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishkeepa Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 search the net and i think a few people have or have had them around here. I'm not a salty but hopefully oneday :roll: People shud see and reply Kiran :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seahorsemad Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 i have got a cold water marine tank with seahorses. What do you need to know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raeh1 Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 In summer you may need a chiller.$$$ But on livestock you will save thousands of $$$$. There are many very cool things in local rock pools. Good luck. and welcome to marine fish keeping Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rory Posted July 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 i have got a cold water marine tank with seahorses. What do you need to know? Basically i want to know what equipment i will need. Is it the same equipment as tropical minus the heater? What about live stock? Can i just get anything from the coast? Do you use a chiller? I must get warm in some of thoes rock pools in summer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tang Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 your local comercial fisherman will tell you the average temp in your area take what you can get save it from the big trawlers and long liners and its free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tang Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 take what you can get you will be saving it from the big trawlers and long liners that send 80 % of it overseas anyway, and it all free, get a chiller with a heater you might need it one day, remember fish allways need to call off ,the water temp down our way goes from 8deg to 17 in the warm currents the normal is 10, they dont hang around in the warmer temp here just move in and out of it ,have just priced a chiller heater 2 weeks ago, was a Hailea HC300 1/4 HP $885 Hailea Pump Hx6540 2880lt hr $150 tap set $40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 Basically i want to know what equipment i will need. Is it the same equipment as tropical minus the heater? What about live stock? Can i just get anything from the coast? Do you use a chiller? I must get warm in some of thoes rock pools in summer! Yes is the answer, but you will need to have a chiller even in Wellington. you will also need live rock etc, the local rock doesn't perform the same filtering function cause its not coral based. Also you wont need the strong lighting unless you plan on keeping seaweed, kelp, etc. But to be honest by the time you pay for a chiller you aren't reallly going to save much $ over tropical, which is probibly why there are so few about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 Im creating a coldwater setup - taken backstage while exams were going, but slowly getting it back on track. 17C is the supposed temp maxium, anything higher might not kill but will stress the livestock. Rock pool animals are pretty tough - so I'm not really sure where this number comes from, but you are probably best to stick with it as a guideline. As for chillers - if you want "cheap" go with an aquaone chiller. I was talking to a guy at a reputable petstore and he said they are very good quality for the price. Not actually cheap though - $600-$1000 depending on the size of your tank. I would suggest about 200L-400L, meaning you can get a smaller 1/4hp chiller. $600 No special lighting is required. You'd want skimmer - something like a weipro 2014 ~$160 new. There are a couple old ones floating around which would be a bit cheaper. Of course you can skip everything - some people have reported success with no fancy equipment, and had good stable tanks , it depends on what you are looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveweast Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 As the owner of a 150 gal (600 L) cold water system, I can offer the following: 1) these tanks are easier to maintain and set up than a typical reef. IMO, they cost less to operate and set up than a full blown SPS warm water reef.... but, maybe a lttle more than a warm water fish only system (only because of the chiller). 2) you really need a chiller for peace of mind. I run my tank at around 12C.....58F. 3) One problem is the sweating....you really want to use acrylic and not glass. In fact, I had my tank and sump made from 1" thick acrylic to prevent sweating. My system has yet to sweat a drop....even on 37C days or more. 4) pretty much all the inhabitants are going to be non-photosynthetic.....so, you will be feeding much more than with a warm water reef....so, a powerful skimmer is a must have. 5) lighting is irrelevevt.....a couple of T5's wil do just fine. 6) I use our local rock....which is very dense....almost granite like. I placed some bioballs in the overflow to aid in biological. 7) obtaining stock is the biggest hurdle since very few online or retail options are available. I scuba dive and collect my own stuff. Your being in New Zealand.....and never being too far from the sea.....should allow you guys a great opportunity for collecting on your own behalf. There is an online cold water outfit, that I've used, in Tasmania that mostly supplies public aquariums....but, will sell to the public....and since you're so close, that could provide you with a few more options. They are at: http://www.aquaticbiodiversitygroup.com.au/ Most of my critters have been collected from Puget Sound near Seattle. Most of the fish, though, are from Tasmania. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 That's amazing Steve. I know when most people picture cold water tanks (or at least when i did), they think of the livestock being varying shades of brown, possibly a bit of silver. But that cold-water tank could rival many warm water reefs. Some practical stuff there about the acrylic too. Many people would have never considered that. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveweast Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 One more tip: cold water tanks tend to want to run with a low pH....since there is little photosynethesis to bump it up.... and they also tend to have little evaporation (mine is about 2 L per day). Try to increase the evaporation rate by directing fans onto the water and replace evaporation with kalk water to help with the pH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 How's the reef looking Steve? Last time you posted, you said you had re-aquascaped? Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 wow...it's like having a rockstar on our little forum Oregonreef.com is always in my explorer favourites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 My system has yet to sweat a drop....even on 37C days or more we'd be lucky to get to half that down here at the moment :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 And you could put a decimal point in between the 3 and 7 for Christchurch's temperatures at the moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Wow that is one cool (no pun meant) tank I'm thinking another tank could be on the cards. Need to up grade my chiller anyway. I think the best method is for me to start a cold water tank and slowly upgrade.....I have enough stuff lying around and the wife won't notice the cost. Steve, I'm assuming water flow is the same? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 Steve can you post a picture of the whole tank etc.... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 duke, I use to keep a very nice local marine tank. You will not be able to get any of those fish Steve has imported from Aussie, maf wont allow it. There are some nice local fish available, used to go down the Moari bay (Muriwai) when there was no swell and a very low tide and find all sorts of great fish in the rock pools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0pius Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 How can we import a fish from that website, I would love to have that puffer. Reef, any ideas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 First build a quarantine facility, second petition maf and pay for an environmental impact study, third, repetition because the first time it was rejected, fourth get the fish rejected again because they think it will become a pest if it gets into New Zealand waterways, fifth, fly to Australia, buy the fish, stuff it down your pants and smuggle it back to NZ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 prices from aussie are quite dear. Get it local, you would be amazed at what you could find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 It would not be a good look if the water bag containing the fish in your pants burst while sitting on the plane.. :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 a what poped out :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted July 6, 2006 Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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