Pic of the new reef tank
Gill Passman
Hi All,
Well this is what has been keeping me quiet for a few days…..this is the current status of the new reef tank……It has around 20 Kilo of dead rock and currently around 30 Kilo of Live Rock. Getting the cured Live Rock has been a bit of a challenge – seems like everyone is buying the stuff around here right now……managed to get just 26 Kilo from my normal place and went to another Maidenhead Aquatics today and came home with a pitiful 4 Kilos – both places are now out of the stuff so it will be another 3 weeks before any cured LR will be up for sale within a 20 mile radius…..however, I think for starters I can make do….afterall the dead rock will slowly be populated and maybe a bit quicker than waiting for the LR from the LFS…..and of course, most corals come on bits of LR so the level will go up quite quickly once I start adding the corals…..and then there is the stuff in the nano…..(around 15 Kilos plus).
I’ve arranged the stuff this way so that I have plenty of flat surfaces for the coral colonies……the water level isn’t as high as it should be but the rock/coral additions will take it up IME.
Overall, I’m pretty pleased with the way it is looking so far…..
Gill
anglerfishuk
Hmmmmmmmmmmm sounds like everyone is going Marine tank lol , I think
I'll stick with my mad FW fish
On 22 Apr, 21:31, "Gill Passman" <g...@taylorpassman.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Well this is what has been keeping me quiet for a few days...this is the
> current status of the new reef tank..It has around 20 Kilo of dead rock and
> currently around 30 Kilo of Live Rock. Getting the cured Live Rock has been
> a bit of a challenge - seems like everyone is buying the stuff around here
> right now..managed to get just 26 Kilo from my normal place and went to
> another Maidenhead Aquatics today and came home with a pitiful 4 Kilos -
> both places are now out of the stuff so it will be another 3 weeks before
> any cured LR will be up for sale within a 20 mile radius...however, I think
> for starters I can make do..afterall the dead rock will slowly be populated
> and maybe a bit quicker than waiting for the LR from the LFS...and of
> course, most corals come on bits of LR so the level will go up quite quickly
> once I start adding the corals...and then there is the stuff in the
> nano...(around 15 Kilos plus).
>
> I've arranged the stuff this way so that I have plenty of flat surfaces for
> the coral colonies..the water level isn't as high as it should be but the
> rock/coral additions will take it up IME.
>
> Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the way it is looking so far...
>
> Gill
>
> reef tank 22-04.jpg
> 85KViewDownload
Marksfish
on the forum selling live rock at the moment as they break up tanks,
some for only £6- £7 per kilo!! Drop in and take a look quick before
it all goes :0)
Nice looking tank BTW, looking forward to seeing it progress.
Mark
Mister Gardener
> I'll stick with my mad FW fish
Good for you! We need to keep the freshwater fish industry thriving. My lfs
is making almost no money on FW, his place has become the mecca for Marine
enthusiasts. Which is good for him but not for me and my angel fish. Maybe I
should run an ad for his store in the local paper, featuring great angel
fish. We're in an incredibly beautiful week right now, temperatures have
been soaring and everyone is out in their yards drinking beer and raking and
drinking beer and digging and drinking beer and setting up the lawn
furniture and drinking beer and washing their cars . . . not exactly high
season for aquarium stores. I'm beginning to look more seriously at internet
marketing.
MG
Gill Passman
On Apr 22, 10:50 pm, "Mister Gardener" <mrgarde...@email.toast.net>
wrote:
> Good for you! We need to keep the freshwater fish industry thriving.
I totally agree with you here......and FW fish are very much the main
thing in this house......but I do like my little flirtation with
marine....
>My lfs
> is making almost no money on FW, his place has become the mecca for Marine
> enthusiasts. Which is good for him but not for me and my angel fish. Maybe I
> should run an ad for his store in the local paper, featuring great angel
> fish.
That suprises me.....obviously the marine stuff is expensive but I
would still have thought that the FW is the bread and butter when it
comes to livestock sales.....especially with such good quality angels
yours can now offer :-). The place I went to today has a great marine
section but also a lot of pond (koi), freshwater, malawi and best of
all....discus....they have some real beauties in there.....my usual
place has just invested in setting up a soft water/lower pH system so
that the fish they sell have a greater chance of survival - their
location has the highest hardness and pH in the local area......
Part of my motivation in going to this other MA was because of the
Discus.....just wanted to show them to hubby.....he has me working on
a new project part of which will include setting up a great looking
tank in the reception area of the business.....I'm thinking Discus and
tetras.....oh, and maybe I'll splash out on the great looking Altums
that the LFS has right now :-)
For me, one great looking reef tank will suffice (and maybe keep the
Nano if I can sustain it) - my FW are still a great
passion.....currently looking at improving the lighting on the 6
footer to T5s - hubby full of enthusiasm having seen how good the new
tank looks with the lights - and I'm sure the plants will say thanks
even if the fish will be oblivious....
Gill
denizen
On Apr 22, 6:29 pm, Gill Passman <g...@taylorpassman.co.uk> wrote:
> On Apr 22, 10:50 pm, "Mister Gardener" <mrgarde...@email.toast.net>
> wrote:
> >... My lfs is making almost no money on FW, his place has become the
> > mecca for Marine enthusiasts.
> That suprises me.....obviously the marine stuff is expensive but I
> would still have thought that the FW is the bread and butter when it
> comes to livestock sales...
That's already a beautiful SW tank Gill, with plenty of rock as viewed
from my FW perspective.
In this northern Ontario town there's one marine aquarium shop, and it
seems to do quite well. Because the owner has a van and goes south for
fish/ supplies regular, I've had him bring in FW items for me - 2l
Excel and 6 bags of EcoComplete.
The FW shops sell other pets too, and they'd probably do better except
for the competition from the pet food-only shops. I even get my Tetra
Min from the pet food shop, because I'm there anyway for cat litter.
One reason Marine may be more(?) profitable is that everything's
expensive, there's a constant need for salt and other chemicals, and
perhaps the livestock only survive long for expert aquarists. My SW
aquarist friend had spent $6K on his system the last time that was
mentioned. Now that I've added a second filter, Eco-Complete and
replaced some heaters, my FW equipment and livestock cost may have
reached $1.5K - spread over 16 years.
With FW once you're set up there's very little expense, so the store
may languish. My biggest cost by far, is electricity for the aquarium
lights.
d.
gadixie
Gill.. the tank looks good!! I love the looks of saltwater tanks
and the variety of colors that they house, from the different corals
and rock to the unbeliveable colorations of fish and other
aquatics... but I too ... must stick to my freshwater buddies..
Mainly financial reasons, but also I'm still learning how to deal
with my guppies... I'm not about to tackle a new objective with
totally different rules : ) Keep showing us the photos.. I
love to watch projects take form..
Gadixie
Altum
and stand.
--Altum
On Apr 22, 1:31 pm, "Gill Passman" <g...@taylorpassman.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Well this is what has been keeping me quiet for a few days...this is the
> current status of the new reef tank..It has around 20 Kilo of dead rock and
> currently around 30 Kilo of Live Rock. Getting the cured Live Rock has been
> a bit of a challenge - seems like everyone is buying the stuff around here
> right now..managed to get just 26 Kilo from my normal place and went to
> another Maidenhead Aquatics today and came home with a pitiful 4 Kilos -
> both places are now out of the stuff so it will be another 3 weeks before
> any cured LR will be up for sale within a 20 mile radius...however, I think
> for starters I can make do..afterall the dead rock will slowly be populated
> and maybe a bit quicker than waiting for the LR from the LFS...and of
> course, most corals come on bits of LR so the level will go up quite quickly
> once I start adding the corals...and then there is the stuff in the
> nano...(around 15 Kilos plus).
>
> I've arranged the stuff this way so that I have plenty of flat surfaces for
> the coral colonies..the water level isn't as high as it should be but the
> rock/coral additions will take it up IME.
>
anglerfishuk
there are some mini species that get overlooked by fishermen
here, and there are some beautiful anenomes around in rocky pools .
> > MG- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Gill Passman
On Apr 23, 9:19 am, anglerfishuk <anglerfis...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Just a thought Gill how about a UK native SW tank ???? I know
> there are some mini species that get overlooked by fishermen
> here, and there are some beautiful anenomes around in rocky pools .
>
Interesting idea - I might be a bit far from the coast to try it
though - it would make a nice little Nano - IIRC aren't you on the
South Coast - maybe you could give it a try. I wonder if you need to
keep up the right level of pollution for it to succeed - LOL.
I agree that there are certainly some interesting creatures in the
rock pools around our coast line - many an hour has been spent on
holiday with the kids digging around in them......
Gill
Gill Passman
On Apr 22, 11:50 pm, denizen <denize...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
>
> One reason Marine may be more(?) profitable is that everything's
> expensive, there's a constant need for salt and other chemicals, and
> perhaps the livestock only survive long for expert aquarists. My SW
> aquarist friend had spent $6K on his system the last time that was
> mentioned. Now that I've added a second filter, Eco-Complete and
> replaced some heaters, my FW equipment and livestock cost may have
> reached $1.5K - spread over 16 years.
I would hate to even guess what I've spent on the freshwater
setups.......and I'm still spending......I do wonder if all the
equipment sold with Saltwater is really necessary though. This tank
was designed by Fluval really to be a state of the art planted
freshwater tank - all we did was add the skimmer (£95).....Yes, the
salt and other additives do cost - but the price of Flourish Excel is
v.high over here as well and maybe comparable to Calcium and a buffer
product. This time I paid a bit more for the salt mix and when I
tested just the straight mix all I needed to do was add a bit more
calcium to bring it up from 300ppm to 450ppm - the Alk and pH did not
need any adjustment.
The livestock is quite expensive but I've learnt from the Nano that it
pays to visit the LFS frequently to find the bargains.....small frags
quickly grow under the right conditions - I have some Xenia in the
Nano that started off really tiny and now in the space of around 6
months is running rampant across the rocks. I guess if I was to fully
stock the tank from the earliest opportunity I might break the bank -
but part of the fun is doing it slowly......
Gill
Gill Passman
On Apr 23, 6:23 am, Altum <Pt.al...@gmail.com> wrote:
> It's going to be a beautiful tank, Gill. I love the look of the tank
> and stand.
>
> --Altum
>
Thanks :-)
I think it was the tank itself that sold hubby on the idea. He's a
little disappointed that the skimmer is above the rest of the tank -
he tried putting it in the cabinet and flooded the floor. The tank is
actually pre-drilled for the external cannister (Fluval 405), which
would be quite a good idea if it wasn't for the outlet being a massive
pipe sticking out close to the back of the tank. This appealed as it
gave the potential for adding a sump at a later date if we decide we
want to.
The major issue we had was actually getting it into the house - it's
wider than a standard door size.....
Gill
anglerfishuk
forgot about the pollution lol , will have to look into exactly what i
would need to set up a "local" nano .
Marksfish
http://www.marinefish-uk.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=5242&hl=
http://www.marinefish-uk.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=5426&hl=
http://www.marinefish-uk.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=5397&hl=
These are a discussion about a member's venture into native marine
keeping. He lived around Cornwall and gained all of his critters and
anemones from the waters off the English coast. There was another
member in Scotland who didn't buy salt or use RO, he used to go to the
beach and collect sea water and filter it through carbon for a day or
so and put it in his tank. It can be done :0)
Mark
Marksfish
http://www.marinefish-uk.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=4340&hl=
Go for it. You know you want to really :0)
Mark
Melissa Phillips
Gill Passman
Would be nice to live near enough to the coast to try it......the
poster certainly lives closer to better quality seawater than we do in
the South - was up in Aberdeenshire a couple of weeks ago but I think
I would have got an interesting reaction from hubby if I'd insisted on
bringing some seawater home with me - lol
Gill
anglerfishuk
Hmmmmmmmmm I think that is a given lol , Well my nearest beach
usually gets a blue flag , so water from there cant be too bad lol,
but considering there is a sewage outfall in the vicinity I would be
wary .
Still its something worth looking into ;)))
Gill Passman
On Apr 25, 3:55 am, Melissa Phillips <melg...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Nice tank:)
>
Thanks - seems to be turning a rusty brown colour at the moment which
is a shame as there was a lot of purple on the Live rock......I'm
hoping it is just a phase as the tank is still cycling. The LFS where
I bought the bulk of the rock are setting up a new reef display tank
and their live rock is also turning this rusty brown - I'll need to go
and check out what they are doing about it.....
Gill