Mediterranean rock pool tank - anyone doing something similar?

[KonradTO]

Hi all,
I am lucky enough to live 5 minutes from the beach (Spain), so I decided to dedicate one tank (18g) to the Mediterranean biotope, and in particular the rock tidal pools biotope. Rock pools are very unstable environments with huge daily fluctuations in salinity and temperature. Here in this area the pools are now really warm with temperatures over 30 Celsius in some sections, so it's the perfect time for moving inhabitants to the tank and not stress them.
The main feature of this tank is that things will come and go every now and then. Everything collected will go back to the pools where it was collected after few months.

The main details of the systems are:
-AIO 18g with HOB aquaclear 70 filter
-no heater or chiller
- kessil a160 for lighting (most inhabitants I will stock with do not need that much light).


I already almost-insta-cycled the tank with rocks collected in the pools. Substrate is pebbles and high grain sand for replicating the pools. I started to lightly stocking the tank, but I will add more things in the coming weeks.
Pics coming soon.

 

[littlefoxx]

@Nano_Man might be able to help! He loves this kind of setup!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi all,
I am lucky enough to live 5 minutes from the beach (Spain), so I decided to dedicate one tank (18g) to the Mediterranean biotope, and in particular the rock tidal pools biotope. Rock pools are very unstable environments with huge daily fluctuations in salinity and temperature. Here in this area the pools are now really warm with temperatures over 30 Celsius in some sections, so it's the perfect time for moving inhabitants to the tank and not stress them.
The main feature of this tank is that things will come and go every now and then. Everything collected will go back to the pools where it was collected after few months.

The main details of the systems are:
-AIO 18g with HOB aquaclear 70 filter
-no heater or chiller
- kessil a160 for lighting (most inhabitants I will stock with do not need that much light).


I already almost-insta-cycled the tank with rocks collected in the pools. Substrate is pebbles and high grain sand for replicating the pools. I started to lightly stocking the tank, but I will add more things in the coming weeks.
Pics coming soon.

Cool idea! Just be sure if you plan on returning the animals that you never mix them with species from other oceans…that’s how caulerpa algae got into your region.

I developed a deep water Mediterranean fishes exhibit at a public aquarium in the US, but it was really difficult to source the animals: boarfish, snipefish, anthias and a few others.

 

[KonradTO]

Some pictures from the tank. Left is a mixed reef.

Anemonia sulcata. I am going to get a couple more of those. Some have pink/purple tips and green tentacles, so I am gonna search for the right specimens.

I am gonna say Aiptasia mutabilis. Cousin of the dreaded aiptasia we find in our reefs.

A fellow reefer I know helped me with the IDs. This one should be Oculina patagonica.

Red-black triplefin blenny (female). The male is beautiful, looks like a red scooter blenny. I am gonna go and try to find the male and make the couple.

This one I am not entirely sure but it might be the incognito goby (Gobius incognitus), and if it is the case it's quite cool because it should pair with the anemone.

Every time I spend time by the tank I am finding new inhabitants that came with the rocks, this is the best part for me. So far I found several small crabs, some hermits, snails of different species, mussels, Palaemon shrimps and countless small planktonic/bentonic crustaceans.
I need to take decent pictures of those, will update this thread in the next few days.
Also it would be sweet to get some feedback from other fellow reefers who tried this kind of experiment before!
I am so happy for this right now, glad I decided to give it a go.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I found some pictures of our Mediterranean exhibit:

https://reefs.com/magazine/captive-propagation-of-the-boarfish/

 

[KonradTO]

I found some pictures of our Mediterranean exhibit:

https://reefs.com/magazine/captive-propagation-of-the-boarfish/

Wow! Interesting experiment. Were the hydroids introduced with the phytoplankton/zooplancton cultures? Did you managed in the end to avoid the hydroids problem?

 

[Jaden9933]

Some pictures from the tank. Left is a mixed reef.

Anemonia sulcata. I am going to get a couple more of those. Some have pink/purple tips and green tentacles, so I am gonna search for the right specimens.

I am gonna say Aiptasia mutabilis. Cousin of the dreaded aiptasia we find in our reefs.

A fellow reefer I know helped me with the IDs. This one should be Oculina patagonica.

Red-black triplefin blenny (female). The male is beautiful, looks like a red scooter blenny. I am gonna go and try to find the male and make the couple.

This one I am not entirely sure but it might be the incognito goby (Gobius incognitus), and if it is the case it's quite cool because it should pair with the anemone.

Every time I spend time by the tank I am finding new inhabitants that came with the rocks, this is the best part for me. So far I found several small crabs, some hermits, snails of different species, mussels, Palaemon shrimps and countless small planktonic/bentonic crustaceans.
I need to take decent pictures of those, will update this thread in the next few days.
Also it would be sweet to get some feedback from other fellow reefers who tried this kind of experiment before!
I am so happy for this right now, glad I decided to give it a go.

I collected some crabs, palaemon shrimp, periwinkles, and macro algae from tide pools near me to cycle my tank then returned the crabs after a bit. I still have the shrimp in the tank and they seem to be reef safe with my corals, for now. I wanna go back and get more macro for my refugium!

 

[KonradTO]

I collected some crabs, palaemon shrimp, periwinkles, and macro algae from tide pools near me to cycle my tank then returned the crabs after a bit. I still have the shrimp in the tank he assembled they seem tired be reef safe with my corals, fir now. I wanna go back and get more macro fir my refugium!

Good to know. I had a shrimp literally jumping from the Mediterranean tank to the reef one. I am gonna go hunting tomorrow then

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Wow! Interesting experiment. Were the hydroids introduced with the phytoplankton/zooplancton cultures? Did you managed in the end to avoid the hydroids problem?

The hydroids must have entered the larval rearing system from the zooplankton culture. It caused us major issues. The problem stemmed from me using the same culture tanks for each attempt. In the end, I sent eggs from the boarfish overnight to a fish breeding person I knew, and he was able to rear them, with no hydroids present, and he could raise one up.

 

[JoJosReef]

Love this biotope! Which part of Spain is this?

 

[KonradTO]

Love this biotope! Which part of Spain is this?

Mediterranean side, near Alicante. There are many different types of pools here, with fine sand, with pebbles and bare rocks, depending on the locality. Also geology changes a lot between sites. The pools where I am sourcing the animals are a mix of sand stone and pebbles.

 

[KonradTO]

Found this little guy yesterday evening.
Sally Lightfoot (Percnon gibbesi)

 

[Nano_Man]

One picture looks like a snakelock anemone
Fish is a goby you can tell by the dorsal fin
Also join Rock Pool reef keepers for more insight full of friendly members

 

[KonradTO]

One picture looks like a snakelock anemone
Fish is a goby you can tell by the dorsal fin
Also join Rock Pool reef keepers for more insight full of friendly members

You are absolutely right, the big anemone is a snakelock anemone

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Hello, and it sounds like you are on an adventure! As a keeper of a tide pool temperate tank, I would caution you to limit your returns back to the environment. It is not fair to the critter you have pulled out of it's familiar environment, only to create a new one with less predators and then to rerelease them back to a natural environment that they have to create a new niche. Not to mention the possibility of spreading pathogens to an established eco system. Not trying to rain on your parade, but there is responsibility to your project.
An example, I have a bat star that I have raised from zooplankton, but would never be able to be returned to the wild because she would be extremely vulnerable to predation. There are certain animals that would not have a problem with reintroduction, like snails and mollusk's. Certain Sculpins never venture more than 100 meters from where they were hatched which they can find there way home by "scent". If their home has a new scent (your tank) will they find their original home? This we do not know.
I am not discouraging your project, I am just relating the scope of your responsibility on taking this project on.
Good Luck!

 

[KonradTO]

New inhabitant:
Actinia equina

I also introduced in the tank a tiny urchin but it disappeared right away, will send pics when he shows up