hi

well i have been thinking about making a CW tank since i started my reef tank, bout 6 months now. actually before the reef tank, now that i think about it. just wanted to say hi, i live 15 min away from the water of the Puget Sound. So live stock is easy for me to get. Family lives on the water, so time to go get some live rock, and gravel and water today.

need to get a chiller. which si my biggest problem. been searching around for one in the area but cant get a hold of one. but this will be placed in my shed which may get a little warm but i should be able to get a hold of some type of chiller by this weekend.

Anyone ever do the DIY chiller out of a mini fridge? i would imagine that the water is not going to be chiller that much. Maybe 1 to 2 degrees? cant find much info on them, but seems like a decent idea to start with, since well a normal chiller used is about 200 dollars and i don't feel like spending that kinda of money unless i have to.

Back to the tank, its a 10g i have sitting around in my shed, with a 15g hob filter.

would get pics but seem boring right now. but should be post pics in a few days after i have things set up a tad.

well done with the long introduction, great site.

Well, welcome to TR! (:

I can't say I'm not jealous of your whereabouts... So close to those lovely lumpsuckers.

You may be wanting to upgrade the 10g after about, say- two weeks? Give or take a few days. It'll fill up really quickly!

Sorry to say I'm no help with the DIY chiller, but you could look on NR (nano-reef.com). I've seen a few threads around there that may be of use.


~Brent

ya been looking around, didn't end up going to get the stuff to start the tank today. kinda looking around more for used chillers, since well i will prob want a larger tank in a bit. so looking around for other alternatives.

also i wouldn't mind sending fish if needed, its just getting a hold of the fish would be the issue. also shipping costs would have to be compensated since well, next day shipping aint so cheap

also i would not be able to guarantee live, livestock, never shipped anything before. And lump fish?

You can pick up the commercial live seafood systems on craigslist for pretty cheap, thats what I've been doing I have a 110 gallon I picked up for $300, and just got a 40ish gallon system for $50. They have built in chillers.

ya ill have to check around for those, i would love one of those, i saw the one in Oregon but don't have the time to go down there :/

what do you put int he search engine to find those systems?

Most of the time I just type in "Lobster" in the search engine. Most people who have them dont know much about them besides that they can be used for a live lobster tank. The other thing to search for is "Marineland Commercial" or "commercial seafood tank" or other variations.

When looking for info on the net about them use the model designations for more accurate results or checkout MARINELANDS WEBSITE

ya, ill be searching that daily. do they show up often or is it very rare? i am thinking about holding out till i find one, seems like a good deal. tank/chiller/pumps for sub 1k that is normally a good deal on a tank. may set up the 10g if the temp stays down without a chiller ( set outside in a shed, sorta a shed) got to wait till tomorrow and check what the temp looks like throughout the day.

ya e-mailed the guy with the 110 in Oregon, but no reply great deal but about 8 hours away :/

Welcome to TR!

lol i am a Louisiana folk and I dont really live in a coldwater area. I am near the gulf coast to but sadly my coast is now destroyed. So you should feel very lucky. All i can do is continue my sad little cleanup efforts.

As for the seafood tanks. I can never find any for sale in my area. Good luck to you though.

I have seen them pop up around larger cities mostly. The best deals on them are on Craigslist. Ebay they want between $700 and 2k usually.

Use one of those search all of craigslist sites like www.searchtempest.com and you can cover a larger area. Thats what I did when I was looking. Also don't be afraid to explore peoples post that dont have pictures or ones that have weird measurements.

When I found my 110 all the ad said was "110 gallon aquarium made by marineland" No mention of coldwater, seafood, lobster, nothing. I had to google it because it didnt sound like a standard size tank and that's when I found out the only 110 gallon marineland made was the commercial seafood system.

never seen searchtempest before but great site, ty for that. ya ill look around for them, only 1 hour away from seattle so i bet i can find one here soon enough. most are looking like the price of a chiller+tank themselves so not a bad deal.

One thing I dont know for sure is the amount of tank sweating these systems will have. I may end up not running mine as cold as I could just to prevent the sweating. I will update once mine are up and running and I know for sure. Fingers crossed I'll be water testing the small tank this weekend.

ya, i have sen many of them in stores and restaurants, i can not remember any of them having sweating issues at all

well just picked up a 135 gallon and canister filter for a 175 gallon, all for 150.




so its my new temperate tank, i honestly dont think i need a chiller this summer here in WA, its weather on the west side has been colder/wetter then alaska... ( at night 50 degrees) i have had a 10g set up with out a chiller for the past few days, it never went up above 60 at all.
so i think ill start with out a chiller then get one in some time here in a bit when i find a decent deal

yes the tank will be outside in my shed, not going to move it into my house till i build my new one here when we get permits situated. so should stay colder due to that.

Nice deal.

You'd normally pay $600-700 (Canadian) here for those items new.

Plus the general rule for a used tank w/o any extras is $2 per gallon, so... Haha

Good luck with the tank! (:

yup building the bench that is sits on better by this weekend. maybe get some gravel/rock/water in it this weekend. all going to be live, yes live water also due to the fact is i need as much plankton in there to start with, hopefully it lives well in there.

water 3/4 full with gravel/sand in

found out the canister filter is broke leaks in a one place, going to get a new one tomorrow

Welcome to Temperate Reef!

Sorry about the canister. Shouldn't be to hard to replace though.

got the filter working today, clearing up slowly but surly. got a few rocks with barnacles and an algae (on one) to start. yes need better squarer rocks for aquascaping. but still looking around for some. got to go and get some suitable rock, very picky.

so that is the start. barnacles are alive and fine int he tank, the water is low for a reason cause when i add rock its going to rise fast. just need to go out and get the rock and start.... also found like 10 tiny snails in the bottom of my buckets today... so sweet some unknown tiny snails.

Nice gravel! been lookin for that stuf for a while.

Ya crushed shells small rocks plus larger rocks golf ball size also, but carrying them in 5 gal bickets but a 55 foot incline was horrilbe, never doing that again. May go out picking today a bit at lower tide :/ low tides are 1 and 1, sleeping for the am and working for the pm.

I might get some sand and clear a space in the rocks and put it there. Might add a nice little aesthetic touch.

Look at local laws first some stade do not alow it