Galveston/Texas Coast Tank (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

I am set on collecting everything for my next tank.

How much light do you think I would need to keep ther "Sea Lettuce" and local anenomes alive? Tank will be a 20G 150W VHO, 65W PC, Normal Output?
Fish
Molly Miller Blenny
Puffer
Other Ideas?

Suggestions?

 

[Niko5]

I think all you need would be normal output becuae your not going to have any high light coral in it other then maybe the anamonies from galveston...

When you get it setup let me know ill make you an acrylic bracket that will aim your maxi jet down into your sand so the tank is always cloudy.

 

[Guest]

I think all you need would be normal output becuae your not going to have any high light coral in it other then maybe the anamonies from galveston...

When you get it setup let me know ill make you an acrylic bracket that will aim your maxi jet down into your sand so the tank is always cloudy.

It might also help to pour a quart of 10w40 in there every couple months.

 

[Guest]

Don't knock my soon to be tank.
I'll be looking for litter to put in it for decorations too. I may have coral in other tanks but in this one I'll have at least one beer can or bottle and a coke bottle.

So do you all think 4 x 20W NOs would be enough light?

 

[texasreefer]

You can order 40W HO bulbs from Hamilton. You can run them on a regular 40W ballast and they are 24" long so they will fit over a 20G High. They only have them in 50/50. That is what I run on my 20.

 

[Niko5]

I still say NO is fine. Also make sure you cover that beer can in epoxy I think you galveston tank could be really cool.. when r u looking to have it going?

 

[Guest]

I think I can have it up and running in less than two weeks that way it will be well ready for the prized "Molly Miller" Blenny when I come home from the Galveston Collecting trip.

I was poking around my unused equipment and I have 3 24" NO bulbs 2 x 14k and 1 x 10k. I'll need to go by a LFS and pick up a 24" Actinic. Then I need to find something at Lowes or HD to fire them worst comes to worst I'll have to get one of the Tar Ballasts they sell. Plumbing will take less than 30 Minutes I have a Mag 7 that will be the return and all water movement in the tank. I also have a skimmer I'll use but only at night on a timer because it tends to send bubbles back in the tank. I guess I'll use one of those cheapy 10G tanks asa sump.
Then the fun part.
Water...
100% Collected or Instant Ocean
What SG?

Sand Bed
I am thinking the crushed shell that was on the bottom near the dike mixed in with some Carib-Sea that I have left over.

Live Rock
Mark showed me some coral skeletons and some of the agrocreate rock that he has picked up along the dike. I was amazed that it will work well for this kind of tank.
I am going to have a ton of nasty hitchhikers. I am wondering if I should let it be or try to drive all the animals out of the rock.

Do you think the local fish can survive the local hermits?

Cleaning crew?

I am thinking aloud please chime in with experience or ideas.

 

[Guest]

All kidding aside, this sounds like a neat project.

 

[Niko5]

Is it easy to catch Molly Miller blennys in galveston?

I like your idea for the crushed shell bottom and Ied almost think you would want to collect rocks from the dike or wherever and elt them dry out because even though its a galveston tank alot of the stuff just wont work well with others in such a small tank.. the same for the hermits I sitll thing they will eat the fish but you could just go with the smaller ones and trade them out when they get big

The salinity at the dike wat .017 ppm and i beleve iv checked galveston before and its the same... and ied mix up your own water at that salinity you dont want the nasty galveston water.. in such a small system i dont think ited be a good thing

 

[Guest]

There is Texas "Live Rock" along the dike.

...coral can many times be found along the Texas City Dike and Bolivar peninsula. They were used as road metal or fill that was originally mined from the Oligocene (40 million years old) coral reef in Damon, Texas.

Invertebrates of Galveston Bay
http://www-bioc.rice.edu/precollege/k12resources/fieldguide/resources/invert.htm

 

[texasreefer]

Is it easy to catch Molly Miller blennys in galveston?

Yes, you just walk along the rocks at the jetties in the water and dip your net underneath the rocks. At the right time of the year you will catch Mollie Miller's, peppermint shrimp, and a lot of other fish. A couple of years ago I caught a cling fish at the jetties.

 

[Niko5]

Be sure to bring a chisel with you to the Galveston trip so you can chisel off some barnacles. Those are really neat to watch.

 

[Guest]

If you have the time and the shoes I've heard that there are pistol shrimp living in the oyster beds.
For fish you can try and get a small mangrove snapper, gulf or leopard toadfish, lyre goby, violet goby, southern stargazer (be careful), smooth head scorpion fish (again be careful), or when sargassum starts coming in a sargassum angler.
Those anemones are very hardy and will most likely eat your peppermint shrimp. They seem to be able to survive no light cold water with no water movement, being out of the water for a few days, thrown in the street ran over put back in a tank and still live (I hope PETA doesn’t call me). Ok I have not seen the last case but all others are true. They love to eat, I do know that. My friend had six in a 30 hex with a dozen plus bait shrimp and over a two day period over half were gone. Now that could be the stupidity of the shrimp or hungry anemones.
Michael

 

[Guest]

I have been trying to read as much as I can on all the species that I am going to collect. How difficult are those fish to collect? Can I bend the rules and buy some things? (Species found in the gulf sold at the LFS.) I am probally going to not worry about small inverts like pepermint shrimp. My idea is to do a reefesque tank with local species so 3 or 4 of the anenomes that I believe now are in the condylactis genus and vegatation should be focal point of the tank. Of the fish that you mentioned which are must haves?

May be I should plumb in a second sump to pump out half the water out of the tank to simulate low tide.

I think this will turn out well and the good thing is when I want to add something to the tank it will only cost me gas. 8)

 

[Cakepro]

Yeah, gas and a little blood. After seeing your bloody ankles when we got back to Mark's I finally understood why that bigass gar kept swooping by you. Man, if I only had been able to snap a pic of Jaime bailing out of the water like a great white was bearing down on him and you on the opposite end of the spectrum trying to wrap your arms around him. ROFL!!

~ Sherri

 

[Guest]

Anemones-Not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure they are not in the Condi genus. Also, not photosynthetic. I had 2 in a 10 gallon for like 2 years with no light.
"Sea lettuce"-I'm pretty sure I'm thinking of the same stuff you are. I got some a couple weeks ago. Not to hard from what I've seen. I can figure out the genus of it for you if you want. I'm think Ulva but not positive. Haven't paid that much attention to it.
small mangrove snapper-after (long) time will get big
gulf or leopard toadfish-has a big mouth and "elastic-like" stomach, can and will eat anything that will fit in its mouth
lyre goby-cool fish
violet goby-cool fish
southern stargazer-cool fish, do have a slight electrical pulse but i've never felt it, also will eat smaller fish
smooth head scorpion fish-never heard of one caught in galveston. only seen them caught in trawls at least 1 mile offshore.
sargassum angler-very cool fish but voracious appetite, same rules as toadfish apply here

There will be a variety of gobies and blennies that we will catch at the collecting trip. Also, least puffers, a variety of livebearers, 2 to 3 species of pipefish, clingfish, a variety of flatfish, and a variety of family Sciaenidae (drums, croakers, etc.) can all potentially be caught on the trip.

If/when I think of anything else i'll post.

Anymore ???'s just ask.

 

[Guest]

stupid debug error thingy caused double post. pleez delete Mrs. master of baked goods

 

[Guest]

Man, if I only had been able to snap a pic of Jaime bailing out of the water like a great white was bearing down on him and you on the opposite end of the spectrum trying to wrap your arms around him. ROFL!!

Your use of pronouns is confusing. The pronoun "Him" is refering to Jaime in that sentence. I was not trying to wrap my arms around Jaime I was going after the Gar. I really didn't realize how bad I banged up my ankle until I looked at it today. Wow those Oyester shells are razor sharp. I am all fired up about this new tank. I am planning on collecting my rock on Saturday afternoon anyone is welcome to meet me at TX City that missed out on the last collecting trip. I have been researching the fish that Micheal and Josh suggested and when I get home I'll post pictures I have pilfed off of other sites.

 

[texasreefer]

The nice thing about a tank like that is it is easy to care for. The fish and other things you can collect are real hardy and will live in almost any water condition. You don't need a lot of expensive equipment or lights for them to live. Also the price is right.

 

[Guest]

I am new to saltwater aquariums, but over the last couple of weeks have set up a 30 gallon hex with a few fish and anenomes from Galveston. When I was collecting the anenomes from the jettys they looked alot more colorful than they do in my tank, and all the ones I see in pet stores, or on the internet look so much more colorful. They have only been in there one day, so it's not their diet. I have a flourescent light(like for a countertop) that is lighting the tank. Is there another light that would make them show their colors more. Please be basic on your answers because I don't know anything about these ballasts and such I see yall talking about on here.

Thanks,

Chris