tring to find cuttle supplier in the uk

[zacuis]

hi all

im new to reef tanks in general but ive been a long time fan of cuttle fish. i saw some at the blue reef aquarium in newcaslte, about 10 years ago and ive been fascinated by them since.

ive spent the last couple months getting my hands on as much info as possable im a bit ocd once i get hooked on a subject. and tonmo forums has been very very helpful.

i have decided im gonna buy my self the orca tl 550 all in one tank. it seems like it has a lot going for it and is cheap. im planning on building my self up a small reef to train my self up on saltwater tanks before getting hold of some cuttles.

so my questions are

1,can anyone point me toward a local supplier of S, bandensis i live in Dumfries scotland. but im form newcaslte England and travel home about once per month.

2, is the orca tl 550 a decent tank for cuttle if not why and can these problems be fixed by adding equipment.

oh on the subject of the tank i have every intention of adding a sump with refugium at some point in the future. but will have to wait till my finances can afford it.

 

[CaptFish]

to TONMO

The orca tl 550 seems like a good tank but it is a little small for S.bandensis. You could get one for it but they really do a lot better if you have at least 2. you need to look for something closer to 200 liters or 55 us gallons

As for obtaining a cuttle keep an eye on the "Cuttlefish Availability" thread.

There is one member in France that has had eggs lately. You could try sending him a a message but keep it simple as I dont think he speaks English. CharlyStaff

 

[zacuis]

thanks for the warm welcome

Hmm 200 litres u say. I've looked about and I've only found 1 all in one tank close to that size its called the aqua reef 200. main problem is that the actual tank is only 140 with the built in sump making up the last 60. Nice looking tank read a few people saying the skimmer is crap tho. Twice the price of the 550 too. Guess I should keep an eye on eBay for a red sea max 250.

 

[zacuis]

just thought id give a brief update on how im coming along. ive bought a second hand tank its 375 litres (88 gallons) its never been used so hopefully no problems with copper medicines. its a 26" cube but its 36" tall. ive got a sump tank a further 150 litres. been looking into getting a cabinet built atm. had thought of making one my self but as SWMBO insitsts its going in the living room thought it best to get something that looked nice.

ive also bought a turboflotor 5000 shorty its rated to 1500 litres which is over kill for my tank but im hoping over kill isnt a bad thing.
ive been doing a lot of reading on reef keeping on some uk sites and i have to admit im gonna have to add a few corals as they are very pretty especially like the zeos ( are these cuttle safe ?)
bought some pumps 1 for the return pump which is 3500lph and a second to drive the skimmer if i have the skimmer out of the sump which is looking likely. im a little stuck on what else should be in the sump tbh. im thinking a live rock rubble section and a miracle mud section with some cheto. maybe a couple mangroves if there is room. ive been advised to go for a phosphate and a nitrate reactor and dosing pumps for calcium and magnesium. but im still reading up on these so its a little ways off yet. any help people feel they can give is very much appricated.

oh ive also managed to sourse some eggs for s, band my local lfs says they can get them from time to time. but i know actually getting cuttle eggs is a distant problem for when my system is up and running. but a least it lets me know im not spending all my time researching and working loads of over time to buy gear and then finding out ive no hope of getting eggs.

 

[DWhatley]

Cephs do not need a lot of the more technical equipment. Good carbon filtration, a good skimmer (you cannot over size for a ceph but you can for hard corals), gentle flow throughout the tank, lots of areation and regular water changes that include vacuuming the substrate are the most important factors. Using a sump allows for more water volume, more air exchange surface, esthetics and ease of maintenance. For carbon filtration, I use a simple filter sock with a bag of charcoal at the entrance of the water to the sump.

 

[zacuis]

just thought i`d do a quick update

i have started a build thread on an english reef site that has been very useful for buying second hand equipment and learnig about reef keeping

http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=432870

thats the link if anyone wishes to see how im progressing

 

[DWhatley]

Glad to know you are still with us