Latest pics of the Tank

[Dave420]

it is comming along nicely -more pics to follow

[Toyotathon]

Looks good bro!!!!

[HomeBrew]

Dang Dave... You've been busy.... Looks great....

HB

[Fred Raud]

so when you going to get a big tank?

Fred Raud

[Dave420]

is anyone intrested in the filter system -and stats or the time line and cash it takes to set up a salt water tank?

[RacinRN]

Originally posted by Dave420
is anyone intrested in the filter system -and stats or the time line and cash it takes to set up a salt water tank?

Oh, absolutely! It's not very realistically for moi' to set up a salt water tank up in here in Montana, but nonetheless it's still very interesting to me.

Start from the beginning and explain what it takes to set up a system like this...the filtering system, to the color of paint you should have on your walls in your "tank" room, and go from there. Build a system from the ground up, include all the little odds and ends and then give me a cash price that it would take to get me into a system. :)

This is going to be SO cool!!!

Oh, here's a few question;sfor you. Can you have octopussie's (don't know if that is the right plural for an octopus, but it looked good) in your tank? How about eel's? What's the most expensive fish you've ever owned? What's the most exotic fish you've ever owned? How do your cats interact with your tank? Do they leave it alone or do they like to go fishing....

[Anaconda]

Well I can say that cat's will go fishing! My brothers cat spent every possible moment on top of the tank, with his paw in trying to swat at the fish as they swam by.

Who said that cat's were afraid of the water? :P

[RacinRN]

My cats aren't big water fans...and I doubt if I'll ever catch them dogpaddling around in a bathtub of waterl Still fun to watch 'em dip their little paws in the water and try and flick the water off...their such prissy pussies!

[Dave420]

my cat loves to sit on the chair next to the tank and paw at the fish -I will start from the beginning on the tank tonight.

[RacinRN]

Originally posted by Dave420
my cat loves to sit on the chair next to the tank and paw at the fish -I will start from the beginning on the tank tonight.

Cool! Thanks and I mean it. You had a beautiful system when I was there...I was absolutely in awe of it. Even the color's of the fish are beautiful, it's like the colors are so vivid they aren't real...ya know what I mean?

[Greg]

Originally posted by RacinRN
Even the color's of the fish are beautiful, it's like the colors are so vivid they aren't real...ya know what I mean?

Yes!!! I know exactly what you mean. It's like that for alot of folks after livestock.

[RacinRN]

Originally posted by noppid
Yes!!! I know exactly what you mean. It's like that for alot of folks after livestock.

LOL, What's even stranger...the colors were that way for me BEFORE Livestock!

[Scarecrow28]

I think when I have visitors, they spend more time looking at my fish tank then they do me. IE: 50Gal fresh water. Beautiful setup you did on that one Dave. Hope you post more Pic's.

[kittygator]

Gorgeous Tank Dave, We've been talking about it from the beginning, as you put new babies in. Boy, you weren't kidding, they are reallly growing. That's the beauty of that big backyard they have lots of room to swim and grow.

Love It, Thanks for Sharing Kitty Meow, this kitty would enjoy sitting on a chair, and just relaxing and watchin the world in your Tank, You should name the Tank, or did ya? ;)

[JoeCool]

i'd be interested in knowiing the cost difference of the saltwater tank you've built vs. a comparable setup with fresh water. (minus fish) I know that the saltwater setup is more expensive, but how much more?

[Dave420]

well they would be almost the same except salt water has-
a protein skimmer -you would never use this in fresh water because it wouldnt work-~$150
live sand -in this case 150lbs @ $6/lb
live rock -also 150lbs in there @ $7/lb(you can go with less liverock and buy the rest in dry rock @ $2.99/lb-but I already had a bunch of live rock)
and a metal halide light(not a nesesity but I had an extra one from another project -it is great for macro alge and it makes that cool funky moving water pattern on the floor in front of the tank).you also have the cost of salt for the water -I pay $50 for a bucket that will make ~100 gallons of saltwater(the first time I filled the tank it almost killed me that is was $90 for water and salt).
as for the fish you are looking at between $4-7 for a damsel and the $125 I paid for the harliquin tusk.most of my fish were between $50 -$100.I figure with all the fish I have $4-5k in it.

[Zero Tolerance]

IMO saltwater is trouble free once you get a good system running. And you dont have to add salt that often because with evaporation only removing water....your salt pretty much stays in the tank....unless you use over the back splashing filters....a good wet dry system with a drilled tank will take care of the salt creep!

:D

[Dave420]

yeah I only use salt with water changes -and to be honest I do not do them that often-the way I see it that is why I got the skimmer and I add trace elements.my nitrate level stays low so I mostly just add fresh water as needed.BTW the tank is not drilled -but because I made glass tops to go under the black lid ,I dont loose much water (about 1 gallon a week)

[Zero Tolerance]

yeah dave....alot of BS sales people at pet stores scare people off from saltwater setups...but you and i both know that once you get a properly established system...salt is alot less headache than fresh....not to mention the beauty of it.

I would also recommend to anyone interested in salt....or freshwater tanks for the matter...to invest in a good UV sterilizer to be run inline of the filter system. This will save you from having a disease spread thru the tank...so if a fish does get sick...it will be less to contaminate the other specimines within the tank

[Dave420]

yeah for tanks with inverts ,definatly.in a fish only tank you can hit the tank with some copper then just keep copper in the hospital tank and put all new fish in there for a week first.I have 2 tangs-a yellow and a purple-and I never get ich.but be sure you remove all the copper from the main tank after 30 days-it is bad for the fish long term.