Had to take down the aquarium

Sorry for the lack of updates on this blog. As it turns out, I needed to shut down the aquarium because I will just be too busy this year. I also wanted to try something new now after two years with this aquarium. This will probably be the last update this year. When I make a new update in the future I will make sure to post it on the Coldwater Marine Aquarium group on Facebook so you guys don’t have to check this page regularly.

Here are some pictures of the emptying, plus some animals.

Periwinkles

The common shore periwinkle (Littorina littorea) did very well. They lived in the aquarium for two years with very little die off.

Shore prawns (Palaemon elegans)

The prawns did very well. All the ones you see on the pictures have been in the aquarium for two years.

Squat lobsters

These survived very well. I had two species Galathea strigosa and Galathea squamifera. They grew greatly over the two years. The Galathea strigosa was tiny when I caught it. I never saw it again until I emptied the aquarium and it had become a large juvenile.

Steromphala cineraria

These small snail did rather poorly. But a few survived.

Painted top shells and flat periwinkles

The Painted top shells (Calliostoma zizyphinum) and flat periwinkles (Littorina obtusata) did not do very well. The topshells died off steadily and the periwinkles disappeared quickly. I believe the flat periwinkles may need sawtooth wrack to survive, They are only found on that in nature. So that may have been why they died.

Hermit crabs (Pagurus bernhardus)

These did very well. They grew a lot. Just make sure to get whelk shells for them. Because they quickly grow out of the small periwinkle shells.

Sand shrimps (Crangon crangon)

The sand shrimps (Crangon crangon) didn’t do very well.

Sand gobies (Pomatoschistus minutus)

I have never been really successful with sand gobies. They seem to get stressed in aquariums. I won’t try to keep them in the future. They have a close relative, the painted goby (Pomatoschistus pictus), that has a completely different personality. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any this time.

Anemones

I mainly had two species, the plumose anemone (Metridium senile), and dahlia anemone (Urticina felina). The Urticina felina is adapted to living in a high flow environment with a lot of algae. They tend to hide in crevices.

Dog whelks (Nucella lapillus)

These seemed very happy in the aquarium. I found many eggs that they had laid when I emptied it.

Brittle stars

These did well also. I had two species; the black brittle star (Ophiocomina nigra) and Ophiothrix fragilis. I think they did well by scavenging on all the food particles.

Plans for the future

In the future I am planning to set up an aquarium that is about twice as large as this, with sump. It will be a low light non-photosynthetic setup. Focus on anemones, soft corals, clams, starfish, sea cucumbers, sea squirts, etc. It will be a tidal current biotope. I will build the tank myself from plywood, fiberglass, polyester, epoxy and one glass window.

Here is a small test I did of my construction method. I tried t make the back wall as smooth as possible by pouring epoxy resin.