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Octo Virgin with few ?'s

salth2olvr

Hatchling
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Aug 12, 2006
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Hello all, I have just registered to this site tonight so please bear with me. I am an intermediate to advanced aquarists. I currently have a 90 gal modern series reef set up with a 110 gal sump. I have tangs, chromis, basellets, softies, some monty's, acro's, overall a nice reef set up. I also set up a 40 gal to strictly house a breeding pair of gold stripe maroons with a quad, on a geisman pendant (beautiful light and very effective, but very expensive!!) I have been cycling that for about four months now and am very excited to put life in it!! I also have a 150 all glass that currently has about seven inches of medium to fine substrate in it, with a mixture of crushed coral for agranite buffing capabilities. I have not filled it yet, but am ready to venture forward soon. My question to this forum has to do with my equipment selection and covering. I plan to run two sea clone 150's off the side with two seo's underneath the protein skimmers to help with O2 flow and intake. From what I've read octo's require four times the amount of O2 than a normal reef. I would rather not run bubble stones in the tank for fear that the octo will have dramatic affects on them, but do understand the necessity of O2 at night. I have a fluvial 404 and a 303 that I can use for carbon transfer, the 404 has a mag dual bio wheel set up I constructed. My main concern is hood arraignments to guarantee safe keeping, and a constant source of quality food since I live in Wisconsin. I have considered having Tri Glass cut me pieces according to my specs and equipment, but I'm still worried about O2 fluctuations with that much containment. As for food, it would be great if octo pets happened to still be in service to get a couple hundred clams to put in my 110 sump, it would probably do the tank some good, but that is not an option any more. Can I use a nylon mesh perhaps instead of glass tops? I had planned to house a bimac, but I understand that they still can pull a Houdini!! I am open to ant suggestions and am eager for this project to move forth. I am in no hurry thou and plan to cycle this tank for a good four to five months. Thank you to all who took the time to read this, and thank you again for your input.
Ike
 
Welcome and thanks for becoming a Supporter! You've come to the right place; our resident experts will weigh in, and be sure to have a good read through our existing posts, and especially our articles.
 
:welcome: from another person who will defer tank questions to the experts...
 
Wonderful tanks setups in your description.

If you are looking to fill the 150 with cephs I would suggest 2 options:

  1. O. Vulgaris - Large size octopus would do nicely in the 150 and get a good personality from all accounts I have researched.
  2. S.Officianalis - Large sized cuttlefish. Now difficult to obtain, but would not be as reclusive and you could have a pair in your size tank.

Tops would not be a issue with cuttlefish, but the Octo would be MUCH easier to get since Octopets went out.

I would suggest against seaclone skimmers. With all that high end equipment and the tank size I would do a sump setup. You have the experience to make a DIY sump and will have much better results with a bigger, better skimmer. The skimmer is the backbone of the filtration because of inking and nitrates. Oxygen is extremely important, I have read the same articles you have, but a good skimmer will do this for you. Get one to skim at 3 x the volume and you will do fine.

If you don't have a overflow drilled you can do a nice one yourself without having to worry about losing siphon. Checkout DHyslop's(Dan's) post on his drilled overflow. You can also keep a refugium down there with cheato for nutrient export and live food.

The top needs to be strong and complete for a Vulgaris. If you get glass tops make sure they are heavier than you have ever seen or design a locking system.

The Fluvals are good for filtration, add on a sump for a big skimmer and refugium for cheato and live food and you will be set.

Welcome!
 

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