Cold water marine aquaria

[zandercatz]

hi all, i have just joined up solely for the purpose of this thread. I am looking to try an experiment with a cold water marine tank. my living room hits a maximum temp of 21c and a minimum of 15. will this be ok for rock pool species or is a chiller an essential piece of equipment. also how beneficial will a protein skimmer be.(I am advanced with freshwater aquariums so i will understand most technical answers)

Alex

[Marineboy]

Hi Alex,
The simple answer is yes, you can keep rock pool species at room temperature - but the higher average summer room temperature will have you considering some form of cooling. You will get so interested in this local marine life that you will want to try more than just the hardy rockpool critters. In this case, a cooler of some sort is a must.
As to the protein skimmer: I have always been amazed at how quickly after feeding for example, the protein skimmer really kicks in. They do help in decreasing the biological load to a tank, but they do make it extremely difficult to keep filter feeders alive unless you are able to feed them directly.

I don't know if you have found the British Marine Aquarists Association - there is a thread, and a link to them on this site, but they can be found at The BMAA

Lots of like minded people on there, quick with help and advice. If you are into technical information there are some who will make the subject as technical as you want, and beyond!

We have some fascinating creatures around our own coasts. To be able to find, study and return them makes for a totally absorbing hobby.

[zandercatz]

eventualy i wanna keep a cuckoo wrasse or somthing in my 5x2x2 tank but am gonna start small with a 36x18x18 first.... what speices do you recomend. am gonna check that link you gave me

[tom00_uk]

Start with some thing simple like Crangon crangon they are common, easy to catch and not that hard to cater for,

If you are wanting to keep it set up for a while then try and locate in the coldest part of the house,

Modern tank lighting systems using LED's are a big help as even when running tropical set-ups chillers are often still needed due to the heat put out by the lighting system used