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Well now, I suspect this is the first post I've made in the "dark side" since I've joined FP... anyway...

I've been tossing around the notion for a little while of getting back into the brine (over 20 yrs ago was last marine setup). I'm working on converting a small workshop behind my garage into a fish room and if I ever want to do a saltwater tank, now would be the time to plan for it.
I've always been interested with the native fish, I was thinking maybe a marine tank with critters native to the Puget Sound. Crabs galore, sand-dabs, sole, various species of perch and rockfish, sunstars, brittle stars, countless inverts, octopus, squid, seaweed, kelp... too much to list really...

thinking a 70g would not even come close to doing something like this justice, 200g would probably be a bit better. A good chiller would be the first item obtain, water temp is fairly stable year-round with a 3F change from summer to winter... 62F average if I recall.
The regs set by the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife does allow collection of a vast array of inverts, plants, fish, and so on, of course only with the proper permits and such ( everything standard with the combination fishing license), to make things even more interesting, I've got a few friends that dive regularly in the Sound.
Thoughts,comments, recommendations as to this would be a fruitful set-up,or fraught with problems ( and I do expect a few, parasites and such) but with common sense QT precautions and proper care of such marine life it seems the possibilities would be endless.

Thnx in advance for any input/ advise !!

J.

contact any local aquriums (large public ones) too see if they might have any info on local habitats. If not the Aqurium iof the pacific in CA might have a few hints for you (they have great sets up but a bi t larger than 200g).

You'll probably need a sushi bar or commercial grade chiller because it will be tought work to keep that water below room temp. I thought about setting up on of local inhabitants a few years back but the chiller price put it out of the question (parents couldnt cope with the costs).

you probably wont be able to do many fish because of tank space, but lots of inverts will make the tank great.

I can wait to see how you go about doing this and the scape you create and fill it with native goodies...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Its FANTASTIC fun. I've had a native marine setup for about 12 months now, and I just adore it. Mine is only a nanotank, so stocking options are fairly limited, but from what little collecting i've done, the creatures seem to be in better nick than a lot in the aquarium shops. They adjust well to captivity and seem as tough as old boots.

Honestly, I don't think I'd enjoy a traditional marine tank nearly as much. Go for it.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Water temp may not be as large of in issue as you are thinking. Most fish and creatures can handle the small increase in temp. I have kept several species of fish from the Pacific coast waters in temps around the 70F average. And never had any problems with them. I used to keep a wild breeding pair of Califonia Horn Sharks in my 365 in my living room, and just did not have a heater in the tank. So they did well at my room temp that ranged between 68F and 72F. After all, they did breed for me, so that is saying something right there.

Many people keep Garibaldi fish in setups without chillers. As well as the Cattilina Goby being kept in non-heated tanks without the use of chillers. They all do well in our "normal" room temperatures.

If you are going to be keeping your room with this tank setup in a controled heated and air conditioned place, I would not worry about a chiller. If nothing else, you could start out trying and experimenting with not using a chiller and see how it goes. You can always go back to adding a chiller if the fish do not seem to be faring well. IMO, you should have no problems at all keeping local fish and critters native to your area. After all, many are even found further south of you in slightly warmer waters as well.

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There is always a bigger fish...

might i suggest not keeping a gharabaldi fish, they are illegal to keep and fines can be quite hefty!

They are the state figh of California and if caught with ne in possession (alive or dead) one is in ALOT of trouble!

although i must agree that a slight increase or ranging temp can not be too bad, you still want to keep it as stable as possible. Being inside the house it is more likely to stay a bit more stable. Being outside with out AC or heat, the tank could get quite chilly.

My info was jsut what I had found a while back when trying to set up a similar tank. Appologies if it miss led or was innaccurate.

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Yeah, I'm kind of excited at the notion of doing another salty, is been sooo long... geezz, considering what exactaly I'd want to try to keep in it almost feels like walking into a huge warehouse only having a flashlight to see what all is in there, so many possibilities!!

well, I'm certainly not going to try and keep a 30# chinook salmon nor a 4ft sand shark ( dogfish in these parts) perhaps a nice cabezon or canary rockfish... hehehehe... probably start with something rather harmless, and see what else may come available ..crabs, shrimp... ehhh.. got plenty more time to research.
As far as talking with the folks at Pt. Defiance Zoo& Aquarium, the folks with the real knowledge are never seen by the public and the assistants are "book smart" ( not bashing them in any way) but are really not all that informed of all the life in their own back yard... literally, next time I go down to the water front, I'll chat up some divers and see what they find fascinating and really cool that is not on any endangered species list !

Thanks for the thoughts and input, keep it coming , I could become a loose cannon soon to be out of control !!!

( 200G turns into a 5000G real fast if not brought back to reality !!)

Thanks all

J.

Sorry, was not suggesting you do a Horn Shark, lol. My point about the shark was that sharks are some of the most difficult marine fish to keep. They are e to many more problems than most other fish. So my example was purely one of I have kept some of the harder to keep fish from that environment, in my environment, and they did well.

When did the Garibaldi become illeagle to keep? I just saw one for sale last week at my lfs. And searching the net I have seen several more for sale. Do you have a link to this information? As I could not find it on the net anywhere.

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There is always a bigger fish...

When did the Garibaldi become illeagle to keep? I just saw one for sale last week at my lfs. And searching the net I have seen several more for sale. Do you have a link to this information? As I could not find it on the net anywhere.

Maybe the issue is just in the state of CA?

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

From what I can remember, it's just illegal to collect Garibaldi from California waters. The ones in the trade are probably from Baja California (Mexico), and legal to keep.

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lol, No sweat Acid, a shark never really entered my mind as a possible tank inhabitant ... however the Chirolophis nugator, Mosshead Warbonnet looks kinda interesting... so does the Red Irish Lord... at least habitat and food demands and water conditions seem to be similar.

Found this site a few days ago... all I can say is its gonna be interesting !!! lol
http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/projects/msap/PS/masterlist/index.html

It appears that the Giribaldi has become the California "state marine fish" kinda like the Bald Eagle is the " National bird" >>
http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/California/statefishCAmarine.html
That would make it illegal to capture/ contain it in any way shape of form, but just in Ca. I believe.

Thanks all !!

J