Does anyone have/know about coldwater marine aquariums?

I am looking into setting up a Pacific Northwest biotope, particularly interested in barnacles and grunt sculpins (Rhamphocottus richardsonii). Any information regarding suppliers is greatly appreciated. I am going to the Seattle Aquarium to get more information regarding sourcing of livestock.

No, sorry. Does sound like a fascinating tank. Will be looking forward to learning with you.

Nice my friend has a huge salt water aquairum but all he has in there are some shrimpies lol his clownfish all got a virus and died. A person comes over to do maintenance tho

Went for a walk in our balmy 29F to visit aquarium and got some great info. Posting pictures of what I am looking to do:

This is the grunt sculpin! A whooping 1” in size, and a most adorable little critter. Tank requirements look doable, but need to research whether it is legal to have them. They are not endangered, but Washington State has very strict laws when it comes to wildlife.

Cold water and tropical marine tanks are exactly the same except temperature. You don't need a heater in a cold water tank. If you live in a tropical area, then you might need a chiller unit to keep the tank cool.

Barnacles are hard to keep long term and regularly starve in most tanks. Don't bother about them.

Most temperate marine tanks have rock and marine algae. You don't need the algae. The rocks are used to provide hiding places.

I think the chiller may be necessary as our house temperature will be higher than the habitat water. I will wait for the aquarium to confirm that.

The tank size requirements are manageable, and it looks like a tall tank would preferable as they like to hop around rocks. You are correct about the barnacles, but they will not be part of the livestock. I will be using empty barnacles for them to use as dwellings and hiding spots.

I will be looking at some tide pool anemones as well. They can easily be found on the beaches here. I may need to dig up the dry suit and go on a little exploratory outing.

We'll see where all this takes me

Don't get a tank that is too tall or you won't be able to work in it. Any tank that is more than 2ft high is too high.

If you get rock with barnacles, the barnacles will eventually die in the tank.

Ahh, good point. I already have issues with the 15" tall tank, and I have long arms!

We had snow last night, so I have to see how bad visibility is going to be in the next few days before venturing into the water to explore what is on the wall.

The barnacles need to have a 1.5" to 2" opening to house the GS. They grow to about 1.5" from what I have seen. The aquarium specimens were adults and reached about 1.25" - so much fun with all this new world to learn about!

Thank you, @Colin_T

Making progress. Got a filtration schematic from the Seattle Aquarium that shows how they use and filter water from Elliott Bay for their tanks. Yay!

I never filtered my sea water. I liked all the little bits that came in with the natural sea water. I had tubeworms, anemones, shrimp and crab larvae, and all sorts of other things appear in my tanks simply because I used natural sea water.

Precisely! I can do water changes and replace from the ocean! They only use a sand filter to remove particles for the big display tank. The tropical reef tanks go through a more rigorous filtration using Ozone, foam fractionators, UV exposure and other forms of filtration. I am going the simple route.

As soon as the snow/ice clears I plan on going in the water and see what is available. I am going to start with a 5 gal. tank and just rock (and whatever comes attached to it). It has a filter that I will use as a current generator for water movement. Will cycle it with the rock in it to establish the bacteria in the media (probably sponge and biomedia). I won't need a heater so that opens a compartment for more filtering media. I am hoping I can get away with not needing a chiller. Monitoring temperatures in different parts of the house to identify a good spot for the tank.

Like you, @Colin_T , I like the little bits, so won't be trying to remove them.

eatyourpeas said:

I can do water changes and replace from the ocean!

Click to expand...

As a coast dweller transplanted to the middle of a continent, a little part of me died inside reading that. I'm deep green with envy!

It sounds like a really fun project!

eatyourpeas said:

I am looking into setting up a Pacific Northwest biotope, particularly interested in barnacles and grunt sculpins (Rhamphocottus richardsonii).

Click to expand...

These guys are so adorable. I hope you succeed, he got my vote for fish of the year!

OnlyGenusCaps said:

As a coast dweller transplanted to the middle of a continent, a little part of me died inside reading that. I'm deep green with envy!

It sounds like a really fun project!

Click to expand...

I did not intend for that to happen.

Not your fault I miss the Pacific. There is nothing like the cold, misty, salty and kelp-rotting laden smell of the north Pacific. I'm not a great distance from Lake Superior, so when I can get there that helps. A dip in those waters, though not the same, sure feels like a chilly, little slice of home!