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05/09/2012, 07:54 PM | #1 |
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Seahorse Newbie
Hi all:
I've been keeping reefs for several years and I'm thinking about starting up a seahorse/pipefish tank. I've read through the stickies and understand the following: 1. Water flow must be gentle 2. Feeding must be regular and specific 3. Must provide 'anchor points' 4. Must be a 'species' tank Questions as follows: a. I have a successful (meaning fish and SPS/LPS corals do well) 110. I'd like to add the seahorse tank to the same water system. Is this a problem since I keep the current tank at pretty low nutrients? b. I would like the flow to be 'up/down' rather than a side to side flow as is common in reefs. Is this OK? c. From my reading, keeping seahorses and pipefish in a single tank may create problems. Am I reading correctly? d. Can I plant the tank with live algae to provide some nitrate/phosphate removal for the reef? e. Can the tank serve as a refugium and include a DSB and off-cycle lighting? I spend a great deal of time and effort on my reef and want to give this tank the same effort. Any comments/suggestions/criticisms are both appreciated and welcome. Can't wait for my first pony (btw, I have a Mustang so this is close to the heart).
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I want to burn twice as bright and half as long. Oh, and a full tank crash is just an excuse for a new build. Current Tank Info: 125 Rimless Leemar, Apex, Trigger 30 Elite Sump, Vertex 180i Skimmer, 2 X Gen4 Radion XR30W, BM Doser, 2xMP40WES, 2xTunze 6095, Sicce Syncra 4.0. |
05/09/2012, 08:04 PM | #2 |
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the main problem will be temperature as seahorses should be kept around 68-74 degrees to help keep pathogens inline. and on flow they can take a bit more mine like to play in the flow. seahorses are also messy not good for sps tank. i like display macros in my tank but thats a personal choice.
i would recommend a separate tank with a good skimmer and a sump/fuge if possible . my new set up i am doing a sump and hob fuge. about 2.5 inches of sand . only because i like sand others prefer bb tank for easy cleaning. adding pipefish is a risk but is doable . these are just my opinions from 1yr of seahorses i am sure some more experienced keepers will also chime in.
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65g seahorse tank 20g sump with a reef octopus skimmer ,tlf 150 reactor, red sea ozone generator controller,cpr hob fuge with light and 2 China led lights one 42x1 w and one 24x3 w. occupied by 4 ecectus seahorses a couple small gobies and cuc. Current Tank Info: 58g main with 20g sump |
05/09/2012, 08:05 PM | #3 |
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oh and welcome to seahorses we need more people on this forum.
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65g seahorse tank 20g sump with a reef octopus skimmer ,tlf 150 reactor, red sea ozone generator controller,cpr hob fuge with light and 2 China led lights one 42x1 w and one 24x3 w. occupied by 4 ecectus seahorses a couple small gobies and cuc. Current Tank Info: 58g main with 20g sump |
05/09/2012, 08:11 PM | #4 |
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MTC:
Thanks for the welcome and advice. I gather there aren't any horses (or not adapted to a reef) that can be kept at around 79 degrees. If that's the case, then clearly I have to go with a separate system (that's OK). I was hoping to add water volume to the overall system hence the desire to add to the existing system. Your approach sounds interesting. I won't have room for a sump but I'm good about H20 husbandry and could easily do water changes that include the horsey tank. I do them weekly now. Is that OK for horses?
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I want to burn twice as bright and half as long. Oh, and a full tank crash is just an excuse for a new build. Current Tank Info: 125 Rimless Leemar, Apex, Trigger 30 Elite Sump, Vertex 180i Skimmer, 2 X Gen4 Radion XR30W, BM Doser, 2xMP40WES, 2xTunze 6095, Sicce Syncra 4.0. |
05/09/2012, 09:04 PM | #5 |
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no problem . its not so much that horses cant live at 79 80 degrees they do in the wild . its just in captivity it keeps the odd of them getting sick low.
weekly water changes is good but i highly recommend a hob skimmer still.
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65g seahorse tank 20g sump with a reef octopus skimmer ,tlf 150 reactor, red sea ozone generator controller,cpr hob fuge with light and 2 China led lights one 42x1 w and one 24x3 w. occupied by 4 ecectus seahorses a couple small gobies and cuc. Current Tank Info: 58g main with 20g sump |
05/09/2012, 09:59 PM | #6 | |||||
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05/09/2012, 10:53 PM | #7 |
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jck and mtc
Looks like a separate system is the e way to go. Well at least the plumbing will be easier. Thanks for all the advice. Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2
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I want to burn twice as bright and half as long. Oh, and a full tank crash is just an excuse for a new build. Current Tank Info: 125 Rimless Leemar, Apex, Trigger 30 Elite Sump, Vertex 180i Skimmer, 2 X Gen4 Radion XR30W, BM Doser, 2xMP40WES, 2xTunze 6095, Sicce Syncra 4.0. |
05/09/2012, 11:32 PM | #8 |
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I feed my seahorse tank the equivalent of 12 cubes of food a day. I could not imagine adding that bioload to my reef and expecting it to be O.K.
JMO I think seahorses and SPS can live together, I've done it. Most people don't want to take the time to do it right and fail IMO.
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120g mixed reef 90g QT |
05/10/2012, 06:58 AM | #9 | |
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Quote:
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65g seahorse tank 20g sump with a reef octopus skimmer ,tlf 150 reactor, red sea ozone generator controller,cpr hob fuge with light and 2 China led lights one 42x1 w and one 24x3 w. occupied by 4 ecectus seahorses a couple small gobies and cuc. Current Tank Info: 58g main with 20g sump |
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05/10/2012, 02:32 PM | #10 |
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12 cubes???? Holy thats alot of food batman. How big is the tank? I'd love to see a picture.
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I want to burn twice as bright and half as long. Oh, and a full tank crash is just an excuse for a new build. Current Tank Info: 125 Rimless Leemar, Apex, Trigger 30 Elite Sump, Vertex 180i Skimmer, 2 X Gen4 Radion XR30W, BM Doser, 2xMP40WES, 2xTunze 6095, Sicce Syncra 4.0. |
05/13/2012, 09:46 AM | #11 |
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12 Cubes Aday?????
Hi MTC1966,
How many sh have you to feed 12 cubes aday,i have two pairs of sh and they have between 4-6 cubes aday, and thats becouse i have another 3 small fish in with them.Am i not giving them enough food???? Sue |
05/13/2012, 02:30 PM | #12 |
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You addressed the wrong person.
Pledosophy is the one who feeds equivalent to 12 cubes a day. I probably feed the same equivalent though for 17 seahorses.
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Seahorses. Culture nanno, rotifers and brine shrimp. Current Tank Info: Seahorses |
05/14/2012, 01:50 PM | #13 |
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Starting a seahorse tank is no easy feet because of the tank temp and other factors. Good luck I failed with several of my seahorse tanks
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05/15/2012, 08:03 AM | #14 |
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wow I can't get over the 12 cubes a day I have two pair of kuda (I just added a pair of males last week)with a purple firefish,watchmen goby,and a mandarin that may or may not nibble on frozena(i saw him near it for the 1st time yesterday) and I feed them 2 maybe 3 cubes if they seem to be "franticaly"searching for food.They always seem to finish the food so I don't have to remove any,so I guess my question is am I under feeding(their sizes are 1 larger 6-7 inches,1 med 4-5 inches,and 2 smaller 3-4 inches)? They don't seem overly hungry or skinny but I'm not used to having four yet.
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05/15/2012, 12:52 PM | #15 |
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You guys all seemed shocked. LOL.
I have 8 seahorses and a few fish in the tank. I also have some NPS corals that get target fed which takes up a cube or so in one feeding. I feed 4 cubes 3 times a day. The macro keeps my numbers in line pretty well, I do use a skimmer and some GFO as well. I do need to take some pictures of this tank, it's been a long time since I did that.
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120g mixed reef 90g QT |
05/15/2012, 02:29 PM | #16 |
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yes would love to see some pics
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65g seahorse tank 20g sump with a reef octopus skimmer ,tlf 150 reactor, red sea ozone generator controller,cpr hob fuge with light and 2 China led lights one 42x1 w and one 24x3 w. occupied by 4 ecectus seahorses a couple small gobies and cuc. Current Tank Info: 58g main with 20g sump |
05/15/2012, 03:38 PM | #17 |
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The tank is nothing special at this point, only up since nov, but I'll get some pics up one of these days.
Here is a teaser, this was right after the cycle. And this was my 30g which I was feeding 5 cubes a day. Had to take this one down.
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120g mixed reef 90g QT |
05/15/2012, 04:53 PM | #18 |
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love all the tonga branch rock. i can never find the stuff near me.
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65g seahorse tank 20g sump with a reef octopus skimmer ,tlf 150 reactor, red sea ozone generator controller,cpr hob fuge with light and 2 China led lights one 42x1 w and one 24x3 w. occupied by 4 ecectus seahorses a couple small gobies and cuc. Current Tank Info: 58g main with 20g sump |
05/16/2012, 12:14 AM | #19 |
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I've had it for ten years or so. It's nice. The seahorses prefer the macro, leathers, and gorgs for me though. One of the branch rocks in there was a fake acro I got back in 01 or so. It's been around and encrusted with coraline and so forth so long it looks real.
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120g mixed reef 90g QT |
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