This possibly will be the absolute slowest build thread you will ever witness come together or read. This project will be the ultimate trial of self discipline and patience I've endured since beginning in marine side of the aquarium hobby just over 5 years ago. It actually will be better that this project progresses at a snails pace because 1. I've only in the last year been able to return to the hobby in earnest and 2. I've never kept a ceph of any type and will have plenty of time to read, ask questions and locate a seller. When I say plenty of time, I mean it folks. I'm talking months due to lack of funds and knowledge.
So far all I have is the aquarium. It's an All-Glass Reef Ready. It's not even on the stand yet. Not even in the same room as the stand for that matter. Partly because I haven't exactly figured out where I want it to go. I'm also pretty sure my wife doesn't want to stare at an empty aquarium anyway.
No matter where the tank ends up being placed the plans are for a system with a large water volume, most likely in excess of 300 gallons once complete.
There will be a lot of DIY. Canopy, lighting, escape proofing, sump and even the skimmer will be built by me.
I've done quite a bit of reading this afternoon and most of what I've read is fairly discouraging. I was aware that cephalopods are short lived so that wasn't a surprise. I haven't decided if I would like to keep a species of cuttlefish or octopus. No matter what I decide it appears to be a challenge to even acquire the animal. Let alone have it delivered to my home safely.
I hope that this experience doesn't end up a case of history mirroring itself. 3 years ago I requested and paid for the collection of a rare stomatopod from Indonesia. A male G. glaborous. Females are rare enough in the hobby but a male is unheard of IME. After waiting months one was finally captured. I then waited weeks while the poor fellow was passed from tank to tank, boxed, through two different customs, to New York where he was held in quarantine for another 3 weeks. All of that only to have it arrive DOA because someone forgot a cool pack.
As I've already stated this will be a very slow build. If you get into it and don't want to miss anything I suggest subscribing or bookmarking. The posts will be far between but hopefully worth the wait.
So far all I have is the aquarium. It's an All-Glass Reef Ready. It's not even on the stand yet. Not even in the same room as the stand for that matter. Partly because I haven't exactly figured out where I want it to go. I'm also pretty sure my wife doesn't want to stare at an empty aquarium anyway.
No matter where the tank ends up being placed the plans are for a system with a large water volume, most likely in excess of 300 gallons once complete.
There will be a lot of DIY. Canopy, lighting, escape proofing, sump and even the skimmer will be built by me.
I've done quite a bit of reading this afternoon and most of what I've read is fairly discouraging. I was aware that cephalopods are short lived so that wasn't a surprise. I haven't decided if I would like to keep a species of cuttlefish or octopus. No matter what I decide it appears to be a challenge to even acquire the animal. Let alone have it delivered to my home safely.
I hope that this experience doesn't end up a case of history mirroring itself. 3 years ago I requested and paid for the collection of a rare stomatopod from Indonesia. A male G. glaborous. Females are rare enough in the hobby but a male is unheard of IME. After waiting months one was finally captured. I then waited weeks while the poor fellow was passed from tank to tank, boxed, through two different customs, to New York where he was held in quarantine for another 3 weeks. All of that only to have it arrive DOA because someone forgot a cool pack.
As I've already stated this will be a very slow build. If you get into it and don't want to miss anything I suggest subscribing or bookmarking. The posts will be far between but hopefully worth the wait.