Does anyone have/know about coldwater marine aquariums?

[eatyourpeas]

gotcha

I'm spoilt then. I used to go to Woodman's Point and there was a nice calm bay there. You could walk out 100meters and the water was only 2-3 feet all the way out. It had nice sea grasses growing there and all sorts of wonderful things living in the sea grass. It has nice white sandy beaches and white sand going out to sea.

The dogs loved going there but only one went in the water. She had a field day and would bounce around like a porpoise. I was scooping a weed bed when she come bouncing through the water and deciding to jump up on my back. Needless to say we both went in the water.

She even knew how to hold her breath underwater and she spotted an octopus or squid and took off after it. There were black ink patches popping up everywhere and the dog bouncing around in the water. They were great animals, pity they don't live very long

That sounds dreamy! We have a lot of neighbours with dogs, so it is fun to watch them play in the water.

I grew up with hunting dogs and they were amazing, afraid of nothing! They will get in the river and chase baby caymans out of the water. Imagine a chicken with a long tail running for his life. If they caught them then the game was over, they would leave them alone because they knew the skin was too tough.

I am not sure how our resident octopus would feel if that happened to him.

And, yes. You are spoiled. But we all are, in a way

 

[eatyourpeas]

Crystal clear this morning! All parameters stable. Barnacles doing their water massage. Now that I can see what is in there, the last bit of algae turns out to be Fucus gardneri.

 

[eatyourpeas]

A little bit of housekeeping and a full list of seen inhabitants...

The tank as of today. Crystal clear and parameters as follows:
Ammonia: 0, Nitrites: 0, Nitrates: 0, pH: 7.0, KH: 120ppm, GH: >180ppm, temperature: 55F / 12.8C

Current algae:
Sarcodiotheca gaudichaudii, Cladophora columbiana, Prionitis lanceolata, Fucus gardneri, Alaria marginata

A hitchhiker:
Ilyanassa obsoleta

Several amphipods, and Balanus glandula on rocks.

 

[eatyourpeas]

Today was plankton day. The barnacles came out for it! All is well in this little tank so far!

 

[eatyourpeas]

It has been pointed out to me that this is not a tropical tank, so it should not really be here. Any further updates will be done in a more appropriate place. Thanks for following so far, though.

 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

Wait, there is no coldwater section, is there? I hope it can stay on the forum. If so, could a Mod just move it over to the section that is deemed appropriate?

 

[Colin_T]

The tank as of today. Crystal clear and parameters as follows:
Ammonia: 0, Nitrites: 0, Nitrates: 0, pH: 7.0, KH: 120ppm, GH: >180ppm, temperature: 55F / 12.8C

A pH of 7.0 is too low for a marine tank. It should be around 8.2-8.6.
Take the pH test kit to the beach and test the water there. Maybe get a pet shop to check the pH too.

 

[eatyourpeas]

A pH of 7.0 is too low for a marine tank. It should be around 8.2-8.6.
Take the pH test kit to the beach and test the water there. Maybe get a pet shop to check the pH too.

That is what I understood, so I am a bit perplexed. I will go to the water tomorrow and get a sample to test again. So far things look normal and I am seeing lots of amphipods running around, as well as more barnacles coming out for food. They seem to like their plankton! I also gave them a bit of reef snow and they were quite interested. I will post the pH results once I get them.

 

[eatyourpeas]

Wait, there is no coldwater section, is there? I hope it can stay on the forum. If so, could a Mod just move it over to the section that is deemed appropriate?

I do not know

 

[eatyourpeas]

I'm spoilt then. I used to go to Woodman's Point and there was a nice calm bay there. You could walk out 100meters and the water was only 2-3 feet all the way out. It had nice sea grasses growing there and all sorts of wonderful things living in the sea grass. It has nice white sandy beaches and white sand going out to sea.

I went to see the place on Google maps, indeed looks beautiful. A bit too hot for me so I won't be booking a flight there any time soon.

 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

Ask @Fishmanic where it could go. I'd be very sad if this experiment were taken from us.

 

[eatyourpeas]

Ask @Fishmanic where it could go. I'd be very sad if this experiment were taken from us.

I will leave it here unless someone offers to move it.

 

[eatyourpeas]

@Colin_T I just learned an interesting tidbit. My macro algae might be the culprit in lowering the pH. I will test a few things tomorrow and if that is the case, will remove it from the tank. I am not sure I need it.

@OnlyGenusCaps There is a new possible inhabitant if the grunt sculpin proves to be hard to procure:
Eumicrotremus orbis (I think I am in love!)

 

[eatyourpeas]

Had to laugh at this one. It is all about the peas! ?

 

[Essjay]

It has been pointed out to me that this is not a tropical tank, so it should not really be here.

There is a freshwater section with forums for tropical and cold water, and there is a marine section. I know the description of Marine and Reef Chit Chat has the word 'tropical' in it but there is no forum for cold water marine tanks.

In my opinion, the Marine and Reef Chit Chat forum is the best place for this thread as there is nowhere else suitable.