Seahorse Tank Going Up

[tjay]

Well I always enjoyed reading others diaries when they set up new tanks so off I go on our latest tank.
We have a Hurricane Katrina Recovery 90 Gallon that is doing well as a mixed reef and now we are learning the how toos on seahorse tanks. I am sure we will make mistakes as we are learning as we go. So all advice is greatly appreciated. Here are the specifics
54 gallon aga corner cylinder tank
12 gallon sump with skimmer and fuge
PC lighting with moonlights
Mag 12 return pump

This is what it looked like just sitting on the table.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853IMG_6462.JPG

Now here it is with the new sand apron that will have a little beach of sand in front of the tank and with water added.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853SH-Tank1.jpg

[pledosophy]

Keep it coming.

[ScubaLuke]

Cool thanks for the heads up on this Waterbug!!! After you get it up and running can I come over to check this out?

[water`bug]

Sure! You can come over anytime! :)

Taking it one step at a time. With a pony tank, we don't want to rush it.

Hoping to put a couple of pieces of live rock from the 90g into the 54g pony tank... in the next day or so.

Only problem we see is that this rock may have bristle worms. I know there is a concern with these worms as Seahorses may go after them to eat them... and the bristles aren't good for them. Just learned this.

I'm so excited! :D

[tjay]

You bet, we had fun sharing our reef on the tour.
I have to start working on the noise levels, two tanks and two sumps running in the living room makes me painfully aware of the noise

It is soothing though. lol

Rock is next. and we already have a few corals and a bottle of pods to go in after the water stablizes. It should not take long. Most of the water in there is from a big water change out of the 90 gallon reef.

You can see pics of that and the tank tour on www.jonezing.com

[water`bug]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6644700#post6644700 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tjay
You bet, we had fun sharing our reef on the tour.
I have to start working on the noise levels, two tanks and two sumps running in the living room makes me painfully aware of the noise
It is soothing though. lol]

Sounds like we have waterfalls in the Living room! LOL

[ScubaLuke]

I do not knowif this might help but I you might want to check into a product call Dynamat. It is a sound deading materail that is used in alot of high end cars. I do not know if it would help but something is better then nothing. If I rember right it is a self adhesive material. It should be pretty water safe as it can be applied to the under side of vehicles.

[tjay]

well it is mostly the overflow noise, the new seahorse tank has a megaflow with duriso in it.
Most of the noise is coming from water suirting out of the anti siphon hole drilled in the return elbow.
I have a new genx pump coming for our 90 gallon main dont know if it will be quieter than the mag 18

[Msoar16]

I believe that all the noise is due to you running too much flow through your overflow. Standard megaflow is rated to 600 gph. The Mag 12 @ 5ft head will push 1120 gph and the Mag 18 will push 1200. I run a Mag 9.5 on my 120 and it works great, about 700 gph and no noise. Most folks recomend about 4-6x turnover through the sump to allow for better contact time with things such as the skimmer

[water`bug]

Purchased the LR today. Still a little cloudy... But it's getting there!

W00H00!

Looks good until we glance over at the 90g! LOL


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/89759PT1-E.jpg


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/89759PT-Closeup-E.jpg

[DebsSisterFlo]

gorgeous!

[wentreefgirl]

Ok, you guys were holding out on me ay! Cant wait to see the finnished work.

[tjay]

Well we finished the sand shelf beach in front of the glass today.
Added some corals from the 90 so she will have pic updates shortly

[tjay]

Here you go todays progress
black back, sand beach, few corals, skimmer upgrade and heaters moved to the sump.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853BeachTank1.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853BeachTank2.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853BeachTank3.jpg

[wentreefgirl]

Looking very cool missy. Nice touch.

[water`bug]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6667151#post6667151 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wentreefgirl
Looking very cool missy. Nice touch.

Thank you girly-girl! :)

The Beach really adds a unique touch! We like it alot!

We worked hard today! lol

[tjay]

We have pods!!!
If you look at the blurry white dots around this feather duster in the new SH tank you will see we have pods. hundreds of them moving up the glass from the bottom

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853SHT-02-16-3-med.jpg

Here is the latest tank shot (diatoms in full swing)
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853SHT-02-16-1-med.jpg

Some cloves recently added
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853Cloves-med.jpg

[wentreefgirl]

Cool green feather duster. Never seen one in green before.

[water`bug]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6760238#post6760238 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wentreefgirl
Cool green feather duster. Never seen one in green before.

Thanks! It's actually yellow, with a greenish tint. :) I liked it so much after I bought it that I went back and bought a second one! :)

[tjay]

Latest update pic, we will most likely pick up horses in two weeks

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853PonyTank.jpg

[Fishfreak218]

NICE!!!! are you going to add any Macroalgea or no???? I love the Gorgonians and the Purpleish Blue shrooms at the bottom in the center.. anyway ... LOVE the tank... good luck...also ya i saw one of those yellow dusters at my LFS.. and i WAS going to buy it... they just got in a shipment of a few stuff (including the dusters)... i went to get my dad and show him and then a BEAUTIFUL White and Purple one was out when we came back.. and i got it.. kinda regret it.. anyway the duster is in the back of the tank.. were no one can see him b.c. my stupid Turbo nocked him down and then he got stressed.. got rid of most of his tube and is rebuilding..so i dont disturb him while he is rebuilding... anyway tank looks great.. but i think it needs macroaglea.. JMO though...
-josh

[DanU]

That is a really beautiful setup!!! Nice job!

Dan

[tjay]

Well so much for patience
The tank was consistant and steady, heck we even have coraline growing on the glass already
Well long story short, our local shop has 9 of 20 reidi that he ordered. These have been in his tanks with pipefish since we started setting up.
He agreed to let us pick them up two at a time until we have 6 total. So today we introduced our first two to their new home. We also picked up one pipefish since they were living in the tank with the horses. They have been in the tank about two hours and they are free swimming around the tank and hitching to everything. Amazing how they can htich to a feather duster and they wont even retract. They have had their first meal and are sniking off the rocks.

[ek9vboi]

wow, tank is coming along nicely!

[tjay]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853NewAddition1.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853NewAddition2.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853NewAdditions1.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853PipeFish.jpg

[tjay]

Am I correct in saying these are reidi and the male is on yhe right

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853Pair-med.jpg

[wentreefgirl]

Oh, they are cute. What colors will the next ones be?

[Fishfreak218]

cool pipefish.... they have great coloration...also i THINK they are Reidi.. but i think that u should wait 4 some more experienced people to answer that..
-josh

[Edge]

Love the tank, the gorgs esp. and the leather on the bottom left.
Off topic, I checked out you're site. Carins are the best little dogs. I had one for 12 years. Best dog ever. If I ever get another dog it will be another Carin.

ED

[tjay]

We lost our lab in the Katrina evac, so now that we are settled we searced for and found that little guy. We love him to death, he is only 10 weeks old so he is all puppy right now

[alien9168]

Beutiful horses! I too like the sandbed in front. Its very original.

[tjay]

we are holding our breath the first week or so, we have four more on hold for us just like these.
We wanted to try these two first and make sure we had not missed something

[Lpabsolute]

Beautiful looking corner tank. I have the same tank with a little bit different set up. I almost got a similar light for my tank but changed my mind at the last minute. Here's a link to my tank below......Again great looking Tank ! ! !

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=759562
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=782817

[tjay]

Yeah they are great tanks, and in your situation more fun to watch than TV
Our 90 gallon mixed reef is near our TV I tend to watch the tank more

[DebsSisterFlo]

Wow! it really has come along beautifully! Great little pup btw! Give him a snuggle for me.
Great minds must think alike as I also picked up a green duster, but mine is very green! I also got another horse, a lady H. Comes this time! I named her Lucy... just got her yesterday and today she's all over the tank, the queen I'd say. The boys are still in the 20g as I has a mild case of ick so I'm doing a full treatment of those fish before I put them in the 38g, so Lucy will be on her own until next weekend. I'll start a post to show her off.

[Swanwillow]

and for your questions: I dunno if they are reidi, but yes, the male is on the right...

[finding nemo]

TJ, beautiful horses.
If you should get any colts please let me know.
I have been looking for a pair locally, can you pm me where you found these and if they have any more?
Thanks

[tjay]

We got them at exotic aquatics in Plano Texas. He may still have more
I am reading as fast as I can on fry, as these two appear to be courting but man it looks so complicated. I doubt if I could keep fry alive

[tjay]

Day 2 pics of the ponies, all is good so far

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853Shot-med.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853Male-Free-Swimming-ERC.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853Pair-02-27-med.jpg

[finding nemo]

Tj, I have raised colts before , lots of fun, get some brine shrimp eggs purchased and also a hatcher. I bought one hand made on ebay that is terrific, has two bottles for hatching with a stand.
Clean water is a must to raise them. Not much water movement at all but clean.
Leave the parents in with them, they teach them how to eat or snick.
Here are some pics , first one is of the daddy teaching one of his offspring hot to eat out of the hitching post I made for the parents. That is a straw he is hitched to.
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/karenssaltwater/baby2-26-04.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>
And some pictures of the new babys just born and hitching.
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/karenssaltwater/seahorsedaytwo17.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>
More pics of babys.
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/karenssaltwater/seahorsedaytwo8.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>
And the parents eating out of the hitching post. They eat frozen mysis shrimp, thawed in the tube and drop as it thaws feeding them, it keeps it from floating around in the tank.
Let me know if you need any help, will be happy to share my experience with you.
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v346/karenssaltwater/1-16-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>

[Swanwillow]

different fry have different needs: erectus fry (NOT COLTS-UGH!!!!!) hitch from birth and are large enough to eat newly hatched brine shrimp...

reidi and kuda fry do not do either... its recommended to set up a kriesel system, and they need to eat rotifers for the first few days of life...

personally, I have a jawfish and a blenny just incase. I can't hatch out brine shrimp, and haven't tried a thing with rots...

[tjay]

I would like to find details on the kriesel system

[Swanwillow]

second picture here http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?showtopic=21838

if you do a search on either seahorse.org or syngnathid.org there are many long detailed threads on the subject of raising kuda and reidi fry.

[Swanwillow]

and heres a 287 post thread on growing out reidi fry

http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?showtopic=8203

[water`bug]

Thanks for the links Swanwillow! :)

[hooterhead]

nice set-up tjay! i've been to exotic aquatics before. they've got a nice store. i actually work at a store in denton, FishMan Aquarium Shop. no ponies at the moment but we do have another bamded pipe like you've got. you might also like tranquil scapes in arlington. mostly corals, only a few fish, but a really nice selection of coral.

[tjay]

Thanks hooter, we have been by by FishMan before and enjoyed it.
Tranquilscapes was moving when we went by and did not have much for sale.

I love visiting the shops. We are members of the club in Dallas, not as active as I was but still members.

[tjay]

Those links were good, that one took forever to read.
The one with the system was missing half the pictures so I am still lost as to how to build one exactly. I know it is two fish bowls in a normal aquarium and they have air lines in them. I assume they are for green water and rotifier rich homes for the fry
But beyond that I am lost as to how it works.
Are there books on the subject?

[whatnot45]

WOW! how do you keep it so clean? i dont see any algea at all!!! lol nice job

[tjay]

Snails three kinds Fighting Konks queen konks and blue leg hermits in large numbers
And it is fairly new. We went through diatoms in less than a week.

[YoungReefer]

Looky forward to be a part of seeing your tank grow up!!
Looking great btw. I'm very interested in setting up a horse tank but scared of well everything LoL

[tjay]

We were too, we are finding it easier than we thought. I just have no clue what I will do with fry
I have pics coming shortly for a 5 week update

[tjay]

Here is the tank and two ponies 5 weeks into our project

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853B-Joe-03-11-2.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853PonyTank-03-11.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853Shot-03-11.jpg

[Swanwillow]

I LOOOOVVVVEEEE the red color on them-is that cyano, or thier real color?

[tjay]

I think it is coraline

[alien9168]

Beutiful red color...agree with swan! :D

-alien

[edshern]

Won't the coraline hurt the horses eventually?

[Swanwillow]

nope-its a natural camoflauge. the only thing that he'll have to worry about is if it starts inhibiting the gill movement...

[tjay]

so If it were to reach that point, how would one remove it?

[tjay]

so If it were to reach that point, how would one remove it?

[Swanwillow]

I'd be willing to bet a toothbrush lightly would do it, or maybe your finger nail GENTLY lifting it off of the gill plate...

I'd not worry about it, and if it DOES happen, ummm, you'd be one of a kind!!! it'll grow on the gill plate, but to affect its breathing, it would have to cover the gill plate: which moves, and is impossible to cover, I believe...

[Snprhed]

It really looks like cyano

[LowKey]

Just chimed in on this thread

What a great tank!!!!

Please continue to post pics.

[tjay]

well here is an update waterbug is at this moment transporting about 30 live fry to someone who might can keep them alive
so we have our first birth way before we were ready

[pledosophy]

Congrat's That looks like cyano to me as well.

[tjay]

well we have rotifiers that were given to us by the recipient of our first fry
now I just have to figure out how to keep them alive until the next batch

[wentreefgirl]

Proud parents already, congrads.

[Swanwillow]

oh- I'm sorry, just re-read half the thread: I don't know diddly about setting up the kriesel system, but I know the air lines are for movement,,, ummm, yeah, I'm no good about that part. hopefully someone else has answered that for ya!!!
http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?showtopic=25271&st=0&p=255796&#entry255796
shows the difference between kuda and reidi-yours look to be reidi.

if they were kuda, I'd try an get one off of ya when they were old enough to sex!!!

[pnsnowboard]

great looking tank !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[water`bug]

Well, he must have had close to 25-30. We transpoted 16, the ones we could save. The good news is... they have all made it through the night and are eating!!

Here is a picture of one of the babies... a nickel placed to the right.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/89759NewBornFry-med.jpg

Isn't it just a little *darling* ???? :)

Thanks for the compliments and words of encouragement. We sooooo hope they pull through. We knew they wouldn't have a chance with us as we were very unprepared. In fact, we werent for sure he was even pregnant... because we were told on another forum that he didn't look pregnant. :)

[tjay]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6968680#post6968680 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pnsnowboard
great looking tank !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, we put a lot of work into the tank and custom beach front riser
We love the little guys and will add 2 more pair.
Between these and our nekid clowns that look to be making googly eyes at one another we have got to get ramped up for babies

[wentreefgirl]

Oh my gosh, he is soooooooo cute, wish i had a seahorse tank. Do they need any extreme conditions to keep them. I have the bedroom 3o gal.

[tjay]

not really any harder than a reef
good water quality lower temps not above 77
careful choice of corals no LPS with stingers and no aggressive fish
or no fish at all we are not going to add other fish just the ponies

[Swanwillow]

and less flow than a normal reef tank... increase in feedings, and algae problems due to low flow/feedings

BUT they are so darn CUTE!!!

[tjay]

yeah the algae is an issue, we run a mag 12 at about half open for flow
weird thing is the algae only grows on the dang horses
I am adding phosban and uv soon to help

[Unlikely_Hero]

Agreed with everyone else: really, really great looking tank (and horses too!).

I've found that leaving the lights off for a day kills off a lot of cyanobacteria. Only I'm willing to bet that the coloration isn't cyano (I've had plenty of outbreaks in my pre-skimmer days). It's brighter than what I've seen, and doesn't look thick enough to me. Plus, cyano usually appears highest in the tank first. The fact that it's only on the horses and nowhere else leads me to believe that it isn't the bad stuff.

Take that with a grain of salt, though. I have ZERO experience with seahorses (for now).

[pnsnowboard]

i just cant get over the fact of how beautiful this tank and horsies are

[tjay]

Thanks snowboard, and Hero

[pnsnowboard]

where did you get thoes horses

[pnsnowboard]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6971822#post6971822 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tjay
yeah the algae is an issue, we run a mag 12 at about half open for flow
weird thing is the algae only grows on the dang horses
I am adding phosban and uv soon to help

tjay i wouldnt add a UV because it might kill the pods that the horses naturally eat in the tank

[tjay]

We picked them up locally from Exotic Aquatics in Plano Texas
I understand they were ora CB's
You might find a local shop carrying ora products and look for the Reidi's

I have to say that ours have turned darker and fluctuate colors now. This morning they were very light and now thy are fairly dark.

Our second pair arrive this morning

[pnsnowboard]

you excited for the new pair ?

[tjay]

well our LFS that was supposed to be holding them sold us out
so we are on the wait for new tankmates
oh well

[water`bug]

For those of you who are following this thread... Thought I'd post a picture of what we woke up to this am... this is after we moved them to the "nursery." :)

2nd birth in 3 weeks time!

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/89759Babies-RC.jpg

[alien9168]

cool fry pic :)

-alien

[water`bug]

Thought this was a cool pic, too! :)

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/89759Baby-RC-med.jpg

[wentreefgirl]

So they live in green water? Wow momma.

[water`bug]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7088160#post7088160 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wentreefgirl
So they live in green water? Wow momma.

Yes! They are eating Phyto and live Rotifers that we are culturing. Will have to keep them in green water for quite some time.

[wentreefgirl]

So comparetively, How big are the first set to the new set now.

[Swanwillow]

yes, fish can live just fine in greenwater, which I have found out now ;) my tank did a crazy algae outbreak, and my fish are doing fine in greenwater.

just make sure to keep up the oxygen excange. Maybe people can do this for ill fish that can eat rots??? I don't know what would though, other than tiny fish...

ok, back to the regularily scheduled topic!

[tjay]

do you mean brood size as in number of fry? first brood was about 20 this one about 40

the size of the fry themselves was about the same 1/4 of an inch maybe

[water`bug]

Well, they had their 3rd brood... exactly 2 weeks from the date of the 2nd brood of fry.

Except this time... ONE HUGE CRUNCH and He popped out close to 200 babies.

This was taken under the actinics this past Friday morning. :)

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/89759Brood2.jpg

[Fishfreak218]

WOW!!! cool pics.... and the baby's seem to have pretty color

[wentreefgirl]

They are so cute. Wow, talk about prolific.

[tjay]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92853fts-04-18-01_193.jpg

[Fishfreak218]

WOW... the tank looks awesome... REALLY nice!!!!

[water`bug]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7208929#post7208929 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wentreefgirl
They are so cute. Wow, talk about prolific.

LOL.. WHo would have thought!?!

FishFreak::: Thanks!! The tank has only been up since February. Its incredible how fast things have just taken off! (Including the mating ;) )

:D

water`bug

[garvondavis14]

any updates?

[clown fanatic]

bump :)

[Gluestick]

I'd like to see a picture and an update of how the tank is doing now :-) I really enjoyed following along with this post!
Valerie

[Susied]

how are the fry?

[Gluestick]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6843265#post6843265 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Swanwillow
different fry have different needs: erectus fry (NOT COLTS-UGH!!!!!) hitch from birth and are large enough to eat newly hatched brine shrimp...

reidi and kuda fry do not do either... its recommended to set up a kriesel system, and they need to eat rotifers for the first few days of life...

personally, I have a jawfish and a blenny just incase. I can't hatch out brine shrimp, and haven't tried a thing with rots...
Swan what do you mean you have a jawfish and blenny "just in case?? " In case what??? :eek2:

[Gluestick]

I've been trying to reach these guys for a while with questions about their tank... are they still around on RC?

[wentreefgirl]

Ive been trying to get a hold of them for you. Just waiting to see them on.

[Gluestick]

Thank you! :-)

[tjay]

Hey folks we are still around. The tank is doing great.
The ponies not so well. We made it to four months with several fry before they all died off
The male had several bouts of gass bubble before he passed
the female is still alive.
We think we are going to just purchase a couple more females for the tanks and leave fry to the pros.
We did add two very bright red manderines and they are doing fine

[Gluestick]

Awww, sorry to hear that. They are a lot of work, I hear. Good for you for giving it a go, though!!!
I'm really interested in knowing what light fixture that is on the tank and if it sits on a glass top or how you have it mounted?
Also, since this thread was started so long ago, is there anything you would have done differently, tank setup wise?
Did you have any problems with the tankmates?
This was a really awesome thread, and I'm really excited to have gotten an update!
I am setting up a 54 gallon corner tank right now, I have the tank itself, but nothing else.

[jpool3]

nice set up tjay. makes me jealose. all i got is little 10g with 1 horse & 1 pipe.

[wentreefgirl]

Great to hear your still around. Tell waterbug ive been looking for her on im lately and she hasnt been around.

[Gluestick]

tjay, what light fixture is that on the corner tank?