New Possible Forest Tank

Ever since the reef tank came down, I've had a spare 40g and 10g lying around. My thinking is have the 40g be the display, obviously, and the 10g a refugium for pods, exiled species, and if possible - temperate chaeto. I need to know from those of you with experience, your experiences of keeping different kind of kelp and your recommended requirements. I would also like some ideas on how to simulate the wave motion of the ocean.

I pretty much have the whole summer to figure this out.

I did see on Reef Central where a guy who has a 55 gallon coldwater tank collected what looked identical to chaeto in Massachusetts.

That sounds cool. We need more photosynthetic stuffs on here!

AquaticEngineer wrote:I did see on Reef Central where a guy who has a 55 gallon coldwater tank collected what looked identical to chaeto in Massachusetts.

Do you remember the thread title? That could be an interesting lead.

I want more of photosynthetic type species in this tank; in addition to sponges, gorgonians, and a few anemones. I'm thinking of shrimp, crabs, and I definitely want a California Navanax or other nudibranch species. My though is to have the porous coral rock hidden behind the more temperate granite kind, so it looks like a temperate tank, but in theory should operate better.

I do that same thing in my 110 gallon tank. I put about 50 lbs of dried tropical base rock in the lower false bottom above the coolant coil so it is harboring bacteria but not visible.

Here is a link to that guys thread on Reefcentral: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1939645

I really like his sump and the plumbing. I think I would want my fuge larger and deeper. I might end up buying a 20g for that reason.

His traps were also fascinating - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1939645&page=7 I'm impressed with his overall documentation.

I should do that.

Massachusetts FTW!

Massachusetts . Just kidding! I have no problem catching crabs. But I want to try and catch more than the common ones. They breed like crazy. Even in tropical tanks! But they are a nice puffer food supply .

Bump. Should I have a nano and just go with the ten? I don't have a stand for the forty, in a place that I want it, so I'm thinking just having a ten would be the way to go.

That would of course mean mostly invertebrates/anthozoas and perhaps a small goby/sculpin. It would probably be easier to take care off; thinking along the lines of filtration, pruning, and cooling. Thoughts?

The bigger the better. Go with the 40.

Besides, fish stocking options are greatly increased if you go with the 40 gallon.

If I had the stand there would be no question about using the 40. Unfortunately it's lacking.

you could do a DIY stand! Actually I had my own DIY stand for my 40 with some table tops attached with braces

If I did a DIY stand it would be with some nice wood, but I don't have time for that. I really like the idea of a nano right now.

Sounds like a good plan! If you do, what you could do is use the 40 as an oversized sump

Great idea. I could just have really deep sand bed..

lol that would work!

I'm going to be absent for a week so it's going to be a while before I set it up. But I can start planning .

Have fun!

Thanks!

I'm setting up the 10 this week . If I get into it enough I'll upgrade to the forty.

horray! Good luck on the 10, keep us (or just me) posted!

I'll keep everyone posted .

I'm thinking of going with two islands, the larger one on the right side of the tank. The smaller island will be the macro-island and the other will have small sessiles on it.

Nice! And if you get that 40 running anytime soon, be sure too look at another valentini. Seeing your avatar reminds me of how much you loved your previous puff!

I definitely will. Puffers are the best.

I'm debating on whether or not to make a backdrop similar to AquaticEngineer's. Thoughts?

I think just painting the background back would be good. Or you could glue live rock onto the back plane of glass!