briank Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 Bummer!! :-? Well have to keep searching.. a great challenge lies ahead. I have read on the net about those Marine tank chillers, but they were so so expensive!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris.L Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 Wow Brian, that Nudibranch looks VERY pretty! How long is it? Chris- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briank Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 chris, it was only 1 inch long. The macro setting of the camera made it look large! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJackJack Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 yay, just found out im moving to a house walking distance from the beach! so the tank that i have half-made right now will be a coldwater marine! cant wait to go search all the rockpools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 Lucky you! Send us pics when you have it set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris.L Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 really brian ? it looks pretty big ! It's very pretty though, hope I can find one ! I'm not gonna get a big tank, cause I don't have the $ to afford the bigger equipment you need so I reckon either a 2-3ft tank ! Now .. anyone got a skimmer they could sell me ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJackJack Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 yeah im just using a 2 foot tank. going to make my own air run skimmer, its just going to be a cheap setup. from reading this thread i think i can set it up quite cheaply, but when it comes time to actually do it i bet i'll be on here asking you guys questions! and i have a new digital camera so yes i'll make sure to get some pictures once i find enough critters to put in there. any tips on actually finding stuff to put in there? because i have a feeling that might be the hard part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briank Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 JackJackJack, Good on you. What is the climate in western australia?? Is it cold in winter and hot in summer? I would like to see your pictures when you have setup your tank. Remember not to over stock your tank, otherwise its going to be high maintenance. Start with sand and rocks from the beach and rockpool, and let it settle for awhile before collecting critters. change 20% sea water every week to keep it clean. Chris, that nudi is indeed nice! I did not go out looking for it, it came with the rock. I only noticed it after having the rocks for more than 6 months. It is not always visible, it hides all the time. So I am lucky when I get to see it!! :lol: DIY the skimmer is cheaper. The ones I saw at the shop is around $80++, even for a air driven one. I suggest getting a power head to move water around the tank, it would improve airation. IMO, a 1 inch sand bed and lots of rockpool rocks is a must, the rock would have bacteria for natural filtration for the tank. Change water more often, and you would not need the skimmer for the mean time. Don't over stock your tank, I know the temptation is great to catch everything you see in the rock pool!! I have been guilty of this before, hehehe!! :oops: You would have to experiment to find out what type of critters that are suitable for your aquarium. The gray blenny that I had is dead, it was not eating the food I fed it. I believe it like live food like brineshrimps and copepods. Another critter I find hard to have in the tank are big star fish, they eat everything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris.L Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 Your DIY skimmer looks good, but I'm not very good at DIY >_ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJackJack Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 i am in one of the northern suburbs of perth, so it is hot in summer and moderatly cold in winter (but not as cold as where you guys are!) but the room in which the tank will be in is the room where the air conditioner is, so hopefully i will be able to control the temperatures, if not i might have to make one of those bar fridge coolers ive seen on DIY sites. i love DIY! so DIY skimmer it is! and hopefully will have the tank setup in a week or 2 weeks from now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 BrianK They blenny you had that died, is that the 'tripple fin'. If so it will only eat micro inverts. All is not lost, there are some things you can do to keep them (or fish like them). Keep as much rock as you can, and have a sand bed (less than 1 inch). Then leave the tank for quite some time to get breeding populations started. Load the tank with snails and shrimp, as these breed easy and provide spawn into the tank (skimmer makes sure nothing survives). Then after the tank is mature, add the fish. It should survive in the tank on the food living in there. Don't get disheartened if it doesn't eat food you prepare, many fish won't. I keep a manderin and a scooter blenny, these only live on the little critters in the tank and nothing else. My mandarin is so fat now (compared to when I got it) that I assume it means there is lots of food in there Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briank Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 thanks for advice pies. yeah, i believe its a type of triplefin blenny. I think my tank is too small to sustain a large population of macro inverts but its ok.. I prefer to keep fishes that are easy feeder. I dont want to kill another even if they are free. WOW, I have seen the mandarin and scooter blenny, they are really beautiful fishes!! The mandarin fish is especially hard to keep, you must have a very good setup! How big is your tank? what is the specifications? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briank Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 JackJackJack, since you enjoy DIY projects, visit this web site they have all sort of DIY project for marine aquarium: http://saltaquarium.about.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 BrianK my tank is 700ltr + a 160ltr sump + plumbing. Over 150kg of live rock. The mandarin is awesome. I have a web site for my tank, will be revealed very soon (tommorow or tonight). Get Ready Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris.L Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 Can't wait ! Brian, how often do you water change your tank? Or do you just top it up with water from the beach? Im after a cheap skimmer that runs off an airpump... if anyone can help me out please get in touch ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 Chris L. Please remember that top-up needs to be done with freshwater not saltwater. Salt doesn't evaporate away, so when evap happens you need to use fresh. Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris.L Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 ah good point pies, thanks for that. Do you just top it up without adding any chemicals etc or do you have to add something in the water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briank Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 Chris, pies is right. Firstly, if your water level has gone down due to evaporation DO NOT top the water up with salt water, use fresh water from the tap. This is to avoid the salinity of the water going too high, because evaporation leave the salt in the water and if you add more salt water to the tank the water would be get saltier and saltier. I have read that other people use filtered water because they are cleaner and do not have disolved phosphate, and other unwanted minerals. Get your water from a clean beach to avoid introducing bad stuff into your tank. I do my water change once every 1 - 2 weeks, it depends oh how much I am feeding the fish. So before you change water, top the water up to the original level with freshwater, leave the tank for half hour for the freshwater to mix into the saltwater, then take about 10 - 20% of the tank water out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briank Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 pies, I look forward to browsing your web site. Give us a tinker when have it online. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 7, 2003 Report Share Posted November 7, 2003 www.aqua.net.nz/mark.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted November 8, 2003 Report Share Posted November 8, 2003 I use filtered water for my top off (replacing evap). I run the water through a 5 Micron sediment filter, then a carbon filter than an RO membrane and finally through Ion Exchange resins. Phosphate, nitrate and anything else is well gone by then. Caryl, a new web site & domain name is comming. Tommorow... Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 8, 2003 Report Share Posted November 8, 2003 Looking forward to it Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briank Posted November 8, 2003 Report Share Posted November 8, 2003 Mark, Awesome tank! Your have sofisticated purifying method for top up water. The cost of setting up and maintaining your tank must be tremendous!! I went to Hollywood fish farm in Albany yesterday, they quoated me, for a 3 feet marine tank the cost is around $1500++ for all the equipment, rocks, filters, skimmer, etc!! I feel so down now coz I know I will never be allowed to have such a tank due to the cost!! good on you mark! post more pics lets we less fortunate ones weep in admiration!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted November 9, 2003 Report Share Posted November 9, 2003 Sophisticated maybee, but i'm not the only one. Many people use RO/DI systems for their water. Its funny to be because the water is the single most important part of any fishtank, so I don't think it hurts to make sure its as good as you can make it. Good water = success. The cost of setting up and maintaing my tank. Well the setup was expensive, no doubt about that, infact I don't like to think about it to much so lets just move on. The maintenance however I think is cheap. The fresh water, if I had to hazard a guess would cost about $50.00 a year ish (6L a day). Other than that, its just electricity and a few other bits and bobs, got to be less than $200.00 a year including everything (excluding power). So thats not too bad. Would have to factor in wear and tear on pumps etc too, but who knows, I am hoping those Eheim pumops will be going for longer than me $1500.00 does not sound very expensive at all for a marine tank, but $1500.00 is still a lot of money. Although I don't advocate doing things on the cheap, there are ways to save money, and there are lots of people out their willing to help people out. Remeber most pet shops are aiming for 100% markup or more, so if you can find 2nd hand gear or buy from the internet you can chop it in half. I know a guy close to me. He has a 3 ft marine tank done on the cheap. he successfully keeps some coral, several fish including yellow tang and coral beauty angel. A great tank, a labour of love, and done on a shoe string budget. He has brought the nessessity gear, skimmer and good lighting (DIY), the rest he has made do with what he had from freshwater, what he could get for free or 2nd hand on T&E etc. Good tank. Keeping marines is expensive, no two ways about it. But if you want it to happen, one day it will. I had wanted a marine tank since I was 17 years old. Now I am almost 30 *gulp*. Ohh and new website and photos with lots of tank info etc. www.homereef.co.nz. This is the new design and final resting place for my reed site. Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJackJack Posted December 8, 2003 Report Share Posted December 8, 2003 ok, i finally set it up. after all the painting, clenaing and moving in has finished i went down to the beach and got some water, rocks, sea weed and critters. just caught a few crabs and an urchin for now. saw an anenome but decided that i should let the tank cycle for a week before adding too much. all the rocks were from inside the pools and so is the water. couldnt believe the amount of living things in my tank when i set it up. little invertibrates swimming everywhere! the sand was from one of the pools aswell, and seems to have heaps of tiny living things burrowing in and out of it. well cant wait to stock it properly. just catching the crabs was an adventure, running after them as the retreated into the water! have an 'australian seashore life' book ariving tomorow so i can identify anything i get. oh, the tank is filtered by an aquaclear with crushed coral in as a filter medium and hopefully after this weekend it will have a skimmer aswell. tank has been set up for about 8 hours now and the crabs seem happy, roaming around the tank and not hiding even when i get close. anyway as u can tell im happy with my tank! hopefully have some pics of it tomorow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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