i think im ready for my first octo

[tat2spyder]

ok so i got my lids in. im going to try posting pics

 

[Joe-Ceph]

Slick!
When you drill into the black plastic be careful about hitting the edge of the glass. Those look like metal latches; won't they rust when salt water gets onto them? Most stainless steel will rust in salt water, and galvanized steel would definitely rust. Could you use acrylic latches?

Is there any kind of barrier (screen) keeping an octopus from going against the water flow and climbing up into the HOB filter(s)? I've never used HOB gear, but I would be worried about it. Does anybody have experience with HOB device security?

 

[tat2spyder]

im very confident that my octopus will not be able to escape this. there is less than 1/16 gap anywhere. and with 4 of those gate latches on each lid it's pretty rock solid. my concern now is if i am going to get eneugh gas exchange. the skimmer pumps in a lot of air and the mechanical filter (on the bottom pic) has an open top. do you guys think i should drill a bunch of holes in the lids?

other than that i think im ready to go. right?

 

[tat2spyder]

yes the latches will prob rust. they said they where stainless, but im pretty sure they wont last too long. but then again my octopus isn't going live too long either. a year if i'm lucky, and im confident those latches will last that long. i have thought of acrylic latches. but these steel ones were on hand at home depot. and they were pretty cheap. so if all goes well with this first octo i can try installing a diffrent latching mechanism before i do another octo.

im sure the octo won't be able to crawl into the hob filters. the water falls through thin slits that are slightly larger than 1/8 inch. so unless i get a super tiny dwarf i should be good to go.

 

[CaptFish]

im sure the octo won't be able to crawl into the hob filters. the water falls through thin slits that are slightly larger than 1/8 inch. so unless i get a super tiny dwarf i should be good to go.

my 55 is the same and i have never had any problems with them crawling there, not even the dwarfs tried.

 

[DWhatley]

With the tight fit on the HOB you might want to install a baffel on the top to catch and redirect splashed back into the slit. An angled piece of acrylic with side tabs to surround the spillway will likely work well and should be fairly easy to make.

I have only used a HOB with the dwarfs and have not had a problem however, I have had baby O. briareus climb into my return pipe holes and live there until they outgrew the holes. I have also had them climb into the overflow of a drilled tank but the larger ones were not a problem. I would not trust a HOB with a bimac so a lot will depend upon the species, size and individual animal.

We DO drill all our acrylic tops with peg board style holes (avoid about 3 inches from the edge or only drill the lids if you do this). I have never done a before and after temp measurement to see how effective they really are but always make Neal drill them when we set up a new tank (we actually use a plastic peg board as a template to make them look nice).

 

[tat2spyder]

i super glued a little airline tubing around the skimmer output.gives it a nice channel for the water to sit. it was leaking out a bit before. but now its running perfectly. im drilling about 20 or 30 1/8" holes in each lid as well. then i shouldn't have any issues with gas exchange.

so am i ready to order my octopus?

 

[iAlex]

Make sure you take out the fish, they'd be an expensive lunch.

 

[DWhatley]

IAlex just posted in the octopus availability thread that Live Aquaria has a sale on what is likely aculeatus now so your timing is better than most

 

[kingsnake]

im also going to be orderind either fiddler crabs or shore shrimp from this online site from St Augustine florida.

First congrats and good luck. You have been given some very good advice here.

I live down the road from ST Augustine and am curious if you wouldn't mind either posting the link to this website you plan on getting crab/shrimp from and or PM it to me. This may help me as well if I can PU instead of order online... Thanks