custom built seahorse tank

[angieg1123]

This is my new custom built 85 gallon seahorse tank. It is 36"Lx15Wx36"H.

It is still cycling. I have 3 other seahorse tanks as well. Yup...I'm adicted to seahorses.

This one will house 2 pairs of southern Erectus from seahorsesource. I got this tank especially for their seahorses :)
I have a 2" sand bed and about 50lbs of branch rock. In the sump there is a DSB with LR rubble and a refugium. The skimmer will is an ASM G2 and the black tube in the back is a spraybar that will have 2 MJ 1200's attached to the ends.
The chiller is a 1/3 hp. prime chiller.

After 5 years of "short" tanks, I finally have my dream seahorse tank. It will be so nice to watch them do egg transfers without running out of room at the top of the tank.

There are more pics in my gallery of my other seahorse tanks that are full of macros.



Angie
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/15032100_1034.JPG

[angieg1123]

This also the view from my desk :) My desk is a U shape and the tank sits tight against one of the long sections. We made the stand the exact height of my desk so I could see everything. Since I work 10 hrs. a day at my desk I thought it was a great spot for it. I may have to work 12 hrs. a day to make up for all of the time I will spend watching the seahorses ;) Oh well, if I must work at least I have an office with a spectacular view!

Once the cycle is complete the seio pump and Xlarge Powerhead on the bottom will be removed and the spraybar hooked up. The HOB filter will also be removed. (It was clearing the sandstorm and is no longer plugged in.)

Angie

[Amadeusb12]

Beautiful! What a nice tank. Are you going to do macros in this too? They look so awesome clinging in the green :)

Good luck! I want to see some baby pony pics when your delighted new residents start breeding.

Beth

[angieg1123]

yes I will have lots of macros in this tank as well. Here's are pics of my 75g. I love macro forests and the seahorses love it in there. I have 1000's of pics of my fry. I will have to upload them to my RC gallery.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/15032100_0782.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/15032100_0797-med.JPG

[Kzinti]

Those are beautiful pictures, I love the set up. Good luck =D

[shiggs]

That is a great macro setup and good luck with the seahorses.
They look really happy.

[angieg1123]

I talked to Abby at seahorsesource. My Erectus will ship on Wed 2/20/08 for Thursday delivery!! I can't wait. I will post a pic of their QT tank that they will spend the next 8 week in. Then they will be added to the large tank above.

I bought the QT tank especially for them too, lol. The QT tank is 26 inches Tall. Yup...I love the tall tanks :)

[angieg1123]

QT Tank dimensions


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/15032100_1153.JPG


QT tank pic





http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/15032100_1155.JPG

[pledosophy]

Ready for the seahorses yet? Almost time.

What model SEIO is that. I might be inclined to leave it on towards the top of the tank for added 02 exchange myself and a bit more flow. The MJ's will loose some power throguh the bars and from the looks of things you will have little water movement towards the surface.

I'm sure that skimmer will help out a lot too, nice model.

I really like branch rock.

[angieg1123]

The seio 2600 has to go before the seahorses are added. The flow from it is much too strong for them (2600 gph lol). My poor seahorses would be mashed against the glass.

There will be 2 airlines in the tank, no stones just the rigid airlines. That will create surface movement. The return pump from the sump is a mag 9.5 so that will help as well.

As for the spray bar, there will be a MJ 1200 on each end (2) of the spraybar so I think I will have enough flow. If not I have some smaller powerheads that I can add to the tank.

I'm reworking the sump this week. I want to make the refugium chamber larger. I have 8 weeks (while the sh are in QT) to get it all finished and reinstalled. I've built lots of sumps so I can whip this one together in a day. Let the silicone cure for 3 days, rinse for a day, and install. I'm very good at plumbing too so in less then 7 days I will have a new custom sump.

I received a call from Abby at seahorsesource this morning. The seahorses will be here by noon tomorrow. I'm doing all of the housework and errands today so I can keep a close eye on them for the next few days without feeling guilty for not doing anything else :)

Angie

[pledosophy]

Between the return pump and the skimmer I think you will alleviate enough of the C02. That is the real worry in such a tall tank IMO with seahorses.

The Seio might be a bit much :lol:

[angieg1123]

Here is a pic of the seahorses from seahorsesource. (Ignore the date on the pic of the seahorses. I switched batteries and I didn't notice the date had reset. It was taken yesterday afternoon.) They are so cute. They are about the size of my thumb. It will be 8 weeks before I even think about adding them to the huge display tank. Probably longer depending on how well they take to the feeding station in the QT tank.

I added a midas Blenny and 2 peppermint shrimp to the 85g display tank. I originally didn't plan to have any fish besided my mandarin in this tank, but the midas blenny was just too cute to pass up. It is one of the seahorse safe fish. I can't add the mandarin for atleast 6 months.......need to build up the pods first. He's in my 75g tank now. I culture pods for my seahorse fry so I could add a bunch to the 85g tank if needed. No hurry.

Angie

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/15032midas_blenny.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/15032SHS_Trio.JPG

[angieg1123]

The spots on the blenny is sand......no it's not ick, lol. It dug a cave under a large piece of LR so it always had sand on it.

[Sherry13]

Beautiful.

Sherry

[Seanewb]

Great tank. How long do you leave them in QT?

[angieg1123]

They will be in QT for about 8 weeks. I am a FIRM believer in long QT periods. It's better for everyone all the way around. Plus it's easier to train them to a feeding station the 15g then it would be in the 85g. :)

Angie

[Seanewb]

Do you have just air running to it or is that some sort of HOB filter in the back?

[angieg1123]

There is an airline and a whisper 20-40 on the tank as well. I do a 50% water change daily.

[gatorolsen]

Nice pics. Good luck with your new sh - they are going to love their new tank. Just wanted to chime in about Seahorse source - I've had nothing but great experiences with them, friendly and quick to respond to questions.

Gatorolsen

[urbanrat84]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12015868#post12015868 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by angieg1123
I do a 50% water change daily.

Why the need for the large water change so frequently? It must take up a lot of time.

[ann83]

Because its a QT tank, I imagine its not fully cycled and the large daily water changes are needed to keep ammonia levels down.

[urbanrat84]

Ah, I had a blonde moment - I thought she was talking about the 85 gallon!

[angieg1123]

lol, I only do about a 20% water change a week on the 85g. Seahorses are messy. Lots of poop.

Ann83 is correct. I do a 50% water change on the QT tank every day or every other day due to the fact that is is not a cycled tank. Only 4 more weeks and the QT period will be over. I may keep them in the QT tank longer just because they are so small. I'm afraid they will not be able to find enough food in the huge tank. Not to mention the fact that it will be hard to see them in there.

I'll just wait and see how big they are in another month. :)

[Lightsluvr]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11843673#post11843673 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by angieg1123
yes I will have lots of macros in this tank as well. Here's are pics of my 75g. I love macro forests and the seahorses love it in there.

What type of spray bars are you using?

I am transferring my seahorses from a 29G Bio-Cube to a 95G Oceanic Wave Tank. I would so much rather use real macros than plastic wannabes... Where do you find such great looking macros?

Will you have any other fish in there with the h. erectus? What coral, if any?

Ditto on Seahorse Source. That's where we have obtained all of our horses (a pair of Reidi and three Erectus). All are healthy and we have about 20 Reidi "babies" in a 7.5G nursery at this moment...

LL