cold water reef pics

[steveweast]

I've been playing around with a cold water reef for the last 10 months....and I thought that I would show you all a few progress pics. I actually have two small cold water tanks.... one is about 120 gals and the other is about 40 gals. The tanks, and their common sump, are made from 1" thick acrylic to prevent sweating. The only equipment is a single seq 3000 gph return pump, a Deltec 701 skimmer, a PCI 1/2 hp chiller. Lighting is from a few T5's.

These tanks have been the easiest tanks to maintain that I've ever had. Minimal algae growth from the low lights.....no Ca additions required.....minimal power draw since, again, low lights (the chiller is the main draw).....and no fish disease. I keep the temperature between 58 - 60 F. These tanks are by no means finished....I'm still trying to locate a few specimens....especially strawberry anemones.....but, it's coming along.

My male Shaws boxfish.............

My male white bar boxfish........

My blue devil.....

 

[Krish]

Oh man that tank is amazing! I love the colors! Thanks for sharing...

 

[MtnDewMan]

That is a very cool tank (no pun intended). The fish have extraordinary colorations, I wouldn't have imagined. Very nice.

Not bad when all you need to keep it cool is a 1/2 hp chiller.

 

[Blazer88]

Wow, I'm impressed. I didn't know a cold-water tank could be so beautiful. Excellent job!

 

[The Apprentice]

Pioneering Cold water Tanks

Steve Thanks for sharing this Its hard to believe fish this Pretty live in such cooler temperatures as well as the Anomie's and Coraline algea...Such great shots. At that temprature can you keep Catalina Gobies or Is that to cold?

 

[steveweast]

There are about 20 catalina gobies in there now...just not pictured.

 

[The Apprentice]

I see a catalina gobies

In picture #2 Just under the male white bar boxfish I see him now just on the bottom

There are about 20 catalina gobies in there now...just not pictured.

 

[wrightme43]

Thats awesome man. I saw how cool coldwater could look in Bergen Norway. We were tied up to the pier and when the tide went out I could see tons of anemone and starfish and just amazing stuff. Thats just a amazing tank man. Ever thought about writing a article or maybe starting a coldwater forum on here? I think that would be great.

 

[Rock-N-Ruin]

Lovin the coldwater idea!!! Having expensive thoughts again!

 

[matts125]

cold water reef

Hey Steve,
I have been interested in a cold water reef aswell, how and where do you go to get the specimens for the cold water?? the anemones have great color!! looks like fun!!


Matt

 

[LarryB]

that is amazing, where do you get the fish? I have never seen a LFS with a cold water system.

 

[Clownguy]

Hey Steve,
Is that the same white bar boxfish that you had in your sump of your big tank?

Chris

 

[Kensn]

Outstanding job!! Really nice tank....

 

[MikeS]

Very nice....I've always wanted to do a cold water reef....fascinating....

MikeS

 

[edgerat]

thanks for posting the pics steve! I have a few questions about these temperate water tanks. Do the same standards apply for a sand bed as far as crashing goes? Any fighting between the boxfish in the tank? Can us locals get in on the livestock that you are getting? These are mostly tasmanian species if I am not mistaken are they not?
Thanks!
Isaac
p.s. here is a link I found with some pics of other amazing fish from temperate waters http://www.oceanwideimages.com.au/categories.asp?cID=58

 

[steveweast]

My stock comes mostly from southern Austraila and some from off the Washington coast. There is a collector/wholesale outfit in Tasmania that I went through. They usually supply the public aquariums....but, are open to shipping to the general public too. I think that I was their first hobbiest. To make it cost effective, though, it's best to put together a few boxes worth of critters though.

I have actually seen the white bar boxfish and shaws boxfish occassionally available through some of our warm water sites like rarefish or marine center....but, they tend to forget to mention that they come from temperate waters. After talking to the sole collector of white bars (off the coast of Perth), he mentioned that only 10 or so a year make their way to the USA....most of his collections go to the Asian markets.

Yes, that is the white bar from my website. He stayed in my warm water reefs refugium while I readied his cold tank.....he wasn't doing too good towards the end of his stay in the warm water.....but, when he hit that cold water, he picked right up.

These cold systems are much easier to run than our warm systems. The cooler water slows everything down including metabolic rates. I only run a shallow sand bed for aesthetics.It's just a sump with a skimmer in it.....that's it.

The boxfish display no aggression towards each other.

 

[Woodstock]

Superb!!! Kudos to you for doing a cold water reef!! I've read about them but thought the 'sweat' from condensation would be a huge problem.... your 1" thick acrylic prevents this? Excellent! Keep the pictures coming! I'd love to see the catalina gobies!

 

[mungus]

Awsome pictures! Thanks for sharing!

 

[plack]

Beautiful and inspiring. Any plans for a King or Crimson-banded Wrasse ?

 

[NaH2O]

Absolutely stunning!

Steve - thanks so much for this thread. After reading the info you put up in another cold water thread, I have been very interested. Are the rocks you have in the tank from a similar location as the fish? Because of the low lighting, do you have to target feed the cold water anemones more than you would a warm water anemone?