In order to be able to feed the tank artemia on a regular basis i built this four stage hatchery so that i can stager my batches and always have some hatching out on a given day. I will allow some to grow a bit larger to feed my fish and corals in my other tanks as well. The non photosynthetic anemones going in the tank will require regular feedings so ease of hatching is a must

I was able to make it out on my first night collection run, and i didn't get much of a dive in the fog was so thick we couldn't see the short from 15 ft out, but we stayed out for a short one.

Our collection gear, i made some small containers out of 4" pvc, a couple caps and a threaded adapter, these actually worked great, but the larger trout net was useless and resulted in several fish getting away



A very small lobster, he's probably 2 to 3 years old



Green crab - in all his invasive glory



Radiated Shanny (Ulvaria subbifurcata) settled into the tank

The Tank is now up and running, temp hit 55 from 75 degree water in 5 hrs, which makes me fairly confident that it can handle keeping the water cool even on the hottest days

Here is a shot of the plumbing for the tank, this will change down the road as i am going to be building a custom sump, but that won't be in the works for awhile, so for now this will do the trick nicely.

Chiller is in, 1/4 hp and i have a quiet 1 4000 to go with it:




The chiller looks great and is overkill for this size setup (given i live in a very mild area all year round) Although i am disappointed a bit they come geared up to be plumbed in with flex hose, and i picked up some today, plumbed it in and just wasn't happy with the way it looked. I'm going to pick up some 3/4 hose barb to shc 40 pvc adapters and plumb it in with sch 40, i just don't like the look of the flex hose at all.

Updates!!

I built this rock structure to support the rest of the rock in the tank, and provide some much needed hiding spots for young lobsters and fish



Rock structure in and buried with the slate on top



Tank with the Canopy



Lights on (looks a bit too blue right now)

Start of a new tank

I have decided to take a departure from my comfort zone with warm water reef systems and try something that I have wanted to do for years and try my hand at a coldwater system. I began diving in the waters off the coast of Maine and New Brunswick about three years ago, the same year I graduated from my undergrad in Biology. I had been into reef tanks for several years at this time and I was truly amazed at what I saw and started planning out what I wanted in a coldwater reef.

I plan on using this small setup as a learning experience to help plan for a larger coldwater system in the future, since the literature out there on this style of tank setup is sparse I’m also hoping that others can learn from my experience (and mistakes) and hopefully try a coldwater tank of their own.

If anyone out there knows of any other good Northwest Atlantic reef tanks please let me know, as I would love to see what type of setup they are running.

I am going to use a custom tank / stand and canopy for this setup, and the tank will be approximately 40 gallons. The tank and stand I made and setup as a freshwater system until I was able to purchase my chiller. The canopy I am starting this week and will post pics as I get them.

The goal is to mimic the environment in my area, and so I will try to maintain my water temperature in the 50°F to 55°F range. The water where I do most of my diving ranges from 34°F to 51°F seasonally and I will do most of my specimen collecting in the summer to minimize the acclimatization required.

I am still in the preliminary stages of this setup, so I will post more information as I progress.