nnewhouse Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 Looking good. Now you just have to plumb the salt water reserve tanks directly into the there respective displays so you can flip a switch and refill the tanks then turn the pump off via remote control. Sorry, I saw it at Randy's house today and was jealous. Really he has it in his garage. Um, yes please!!!! I don't think our landlord would like us putting holes in his house so we could run plumbing.(whistle) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Sorry if this has been asked before in the thread, but how many GPH are you running for a seahorse tank? Don't get me wrong I love the build but am concerned because the seahorses need calmer water than even a fish only system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Sorry if this has been asked before in the thread' date=' but how many GPH are you running for a seahorse tank? Don't get me wrong I love the build but am concerned because the seahorses need calmer water than even a fish only system.[/quote'] That is a bunk misconception. I have run seahorse tanks with turnover up to 60x an hour. In the wild they can live in very turbulent waters. Currents so strong humans can't hang on to the rocks to observe them. It is more about how the flow is broken up with seahorses IME. They don't do well with jetstream type powerheads like the output of a maxijet, but sources that have a wider spread like spraybars or even vortechs are fine. The intakes of the powerheads do need to be protected. Tanks with higher turnovers appear to have less of an issue with some conditions such as Gas Bubble Disease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Good to know, I have never had a seahorse so I was just going on what I've read and been told. I'm just curious though, do all species of seahorse's fall under this husbandry? Also, if that is the case, why do people set up seperate seahorse tanks and not just add them to a reef tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Mainly, I think, because of the fact that so many of the corals that we keep in the reef tank can sting them, that and they cant compete with the faster fish for food. But again, thats just what I've read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Good to know' date=' I have never had a seahorse so I was just going on what I've read and been told. I'm just curious though, do all species of seahorse's fall under this husbandry? Also, if that is the case, why do people set up seperate seahorse tanks and not just add them to a reef tank?[/quote'] I wouldn't keep zosterae (dwarf seahorses) in a high flow tank. The rest of the commonly available species would be fine with the higher flows IMO. I have not kept every species IME. The problems keeping seahorses in reef include out competition from for food, aggression, temperature issues, waste produced and stinging corals. When I first came into the hobby with seahorses the compatible tankmate list included pipefish and manderins. Only soft corals. I think we have expanded past that somewhat. Have you read our article? We spent years putting this together. We still need to update it but it's a start. http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/tankmates/tankmates.shtml Anyways, back to the topic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 I think I'd like to see your setup!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnewhouse Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 I think I'd like to see your setup!!! Sure thing! Shoot me a pm and we can set something up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfisher Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Should see it after the meet n greet tuesday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kemist Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 Nice meetin ya at the meet n greet !! Can't wait to see this tank going. Interested to see how the small nano does with only water changes to. Could start a new fad there haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfisher Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 horses n reefs Mainly, I think, because of the fact that so many of the corals that we keep in the reef tank can sting them, that and they cant compete with the faster fish for food. But again, thats just what I've read. Correct. They are very finicky and slow eaters. The biggest obsticle is getting them to eat. Once you have made a feeding tray on the sandbed or successfully fed with a turkey baster you will most likely do well with them in their 2 to 4 year captive lifespan. They recommend seahorse only tanks due to other fishes quickly getting their food and starving them to death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnewhouse Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 Nice meetin ya at the meet n greet !! Can't wait to see this tank going. Interested to see how the small nano does with only water changes to. Could start a new fad there haha You too! I am currently working on the nano's rock work now. New and improved;) It's not doing what I tell it but it will eventually cave in! HA HA.DOH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TankIt Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 seahorses Correct. They are very finicky and slow eaters. The biggest obsticle is getting them to eat. Once you have made a feeding tray on the sandbed or successfully fed with a turkey baster you will most likely do well with them in their 2 to 4 year captive lifespan. They recommend seahorse only tanks due to other fishes quickly getting their food and starving them to death. Have you ever kept seahorses??? You are sort of right from what sounds like a book written 20-30 years ago. Seahorse keeping has changed a LOT over the last 20 years. Seahorses really are not finicky eaters, they eat what they are used to eating. If you buy wild seahorses you are going to have feed live food since this is what they are used to. Tank bred seahorses will eat, or at leased the kuda and erectus I had and was breeding would eat anything I put in the tank. This is another reason why tank bred is always best. You should always check into the place or person you are buying them from before purchasing them. Ask to see them eat, if they refuse then pass on them. I could feed mine thawed frozen brine, mysis, cyclopees, rods food, prime reef, formula 1 and 2, etc.... I tried to feed them a wide variety and they would eat anything i fed them. They even figured out by the second time doing it, that I could throw a frozen cube of mysis in the tank and they could pick food off of it. Pretty funny to see a seahorse with a cube of mysis on the end of his nose. 1 of the males used to grab the cube and go to the other side of the tank, like he was hording it. It is true they are slow eaters which is 1 of the biggest reasons for seahorse only tanks. They can starve very quickly if not given the proper amount of food often enough. and since they grab onto anything with their tails they will commonly get stung by corals we do not even know sting. Sps are another no no because they like them quite well for hitching posts and will irritate and ultimately kill the sps or get severely stung by it at the very leased. softies are usually ok in most cases though the seahorses can irritate them as well. I had some mushrooms and sinularia and kenya trees in with mine, They would use for hitching to. Macro algaes are the easiest with seahorses though, this way there is never a chance of any accidents and they can hitch where ever they want to.... Just my opinion from my experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfisher Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Yes, I currently have them and are excited to see nnewhouse's set up! When I ordered mine I didn't want Garrett @ Premium Aquarium (awsome guy) to get them in overnight frieght,acclimate them ,get them to eat,stick them in another bag,drive them an hour to Eugene and then acclimate them again. Getting them to eat wasn't as easy as the "20-30 year old books" suggested. I had read a ton of info on the internet and like all husnadry, it is always changing. What works for some is different for others. It's great to have forums,google,etc. To gain as much info as you can whether you are caring for something or are just interested in a different species. When clay and I stopped by to get the yellow tang I missed your seahorses. Would have liked to see what works in your set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnewhouse Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 How about some updates everybody!? We have been working really hard on trying to get the tank up and going . . . . . quietly. But first here are some more pics Aquascaping first try We have made some changes because it never goes together in the tank like you originally set it up. Plumbing Shots The plumbing has been a real headache. When is it not I guess. The two overflows are separated between the sump and refugium. We had it up and running for about two weeks and haven't been happy. The return pipe running through the back was vibrating - got the dremel out and fixed that today. The flow to the refugium wasn't working because I plumbed it to the taller overflow instead of the shorter one - fixed that today. I also needed to valve down the pump with more precision and Algae helped by selling me a 1" gate valve - fixed that today also. Got it fired back up and it is whisper quiet and the flow problems are fixed. YAY! Now I need to get another timer to rig up the fuge lighting. I gutted two nano cube hoods I had laying around and used those for the fuge and to simulate dawn and dusk on the display. Its pretty cool having moon lights on your fuge. HA HA! Until next time.(popcorn) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 . Once you have made a feeding tray on the sandbed or successfully fed with a turkey baster you will most likely do well with them in their 2 to 4 year captive lifespan. They recommend seahorse only tanks due to other fishes quickly getting their food and starving them to death. Getting them to eat and keeping the tank temp down you can easily double that lifespan. 7 and 8 year old seahorses are not that uncommon with more experienced keepers. When I started people thought they lived a year, two at most. IME there are easily a hundred fishes you can keep them with and not worry. That's why we spend so long on the article. If you need any help with them along the way let me know, if I don't know I can probably point you to someone who does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 How about some updates everybody!? We have been working really hard on trying to get the tank up and going . . . . . quietly. But first here are some more pics Ah thanks for the update. Living vicariously through you was begining to get to be slow going. The aquascaping looks good. Should be great for your setup. Is that refugium just being held up by eggcrate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnewhouse Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 No, it is resting on the edge of the tank and a brace you cant see on the other side. We were going to use a 2.5 glass tank but I broke it when I drilled the hole. The glass is way to thin on those tanks for drilling. Plastic holds up much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnewhouse Posted February 14, 2010 Author Share Posted February 14, 2010 Here are some updates The canopy The stand Aquascaping Full tank shot My wife finally picked out the tile.(clap) She did a great job with the design! We hope you like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason7504 Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 nice set up! how deep is your sand bed? i was going to go with a hex stand too but they don't usually have too much room so i just got a cube stand and found a sump to barely fit lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnewhouse Posted February 14, 2010 Author Share Posted February 14, 2010 Thanks! The sand bed is about 6" deep. We had the same problem with the stand situation. I just bit the bullet and built one. We could not find one that worked well. They were all way too small. All together this setup is about 7 foot tall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason7504 Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 cool that's about what mine is too what size sump do you have? haha dang 7ft! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnewhouse Posted February 14, 2010 Author Share Posted February 14, 2010 Its a standard 20g. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miniwhinny Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 oh I just LOVE your 'scaping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Looks good. Tile work is really sharp. When will we see some horses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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