DO NOT like small Tanks

[rykna]

The water quality in my 15 gallon dwarf seahorse tank keeps me on my toes. I would gladly put these ponies into a 90 gallon, except you'd never find them again. I've been planning/designing different tank ideas to move the ponies into a larger tank to balance the water quality. But flow and dead areas are a huge concern. So far I've come up with this idea for a 45 gallon. using PVC pipes and tubing I want to create a subdued water flow that is pushed through the large bottom tube and then pushed up and out into the arches.

 

[bronco300]

haha...45 denied IN MY OPINION..too big for horses that are the size of a quarter and babies the size of a dime...with how much food you need for these guys to have such a big tank you are looking at having to hatch TONS of eggs per feeding, and then do major water changes each time because they don't go to the feeding dish like bigger breeds do...if you think about it, you don't really change the water quality issue...it would be different if you could do a 45 and keep the same amount of food as the 10gallon....but you cant, you have to make it bigger because there is more room for the seahorses to hide and swim to and possibly not get enough food since they need it at least two if not three times per day....and so essentially you remain with the same water quality issues that you did in the 10...except water flow isnt nearly as much of an issue because you dont have to have as much water movement...I'd really recommend to do normal horses in the 45, and do your rock idea in the 10. i know you hate all my answers,sorry.

 

[ct_vol]

Have you ever considered keeping your 15g tank, drililng it out and then using the 45g tank as a sump??? One of my friend's wife makes him keep a smaller 30g reef because she doesn't want to give up the furniture space... In order to keep stable conditions and so he can have hassle free maintanence, he keeps a 100g sump in the basement... Just an idea... You could keep your water quality better with the use of a skimmer and whatnot and still be able to find the little guys...

 

[renogaw]

you'd have a tough time making sure the flow doesn't go all the way to the end of that tube and just up the last outlet. you could do something with bushings or reducers, but you'd want that last outlet to be small, the first outlet to be big, and the two inner ones somewhere inbetween so they go bigger to smaller (over all four). this way everything balances out.
also, same with the outlet pipes themselves. you'd have to cap the end, of each, so connecting wont work. then drill larger to smaller holes to make sure there's even flow through them.
there's no way you would be able to connect the tubes in that ushape and have the main tube connected at the bottom--water would just keep going through the main tube and not out to the outlets.

 

[smartorl]

Great idea but Luke has a point. I have babies and am really struggling with feeding enough and crashing my tank. I am thinking of setting up a 5 gallon nursery for my babies but now thinking about it, I would most likely have the same issues just on a smaller scale. I am talking to a lady now who has been keeping dwarf ponies for years and she is helping me to create a natural balance within my tank by adding things that won't harm the ponies but will eat the left over brine (without competing with the ponies). My main fear is adding something to the tank without knowing that would upset the balance or ultimately kill my ponies.

 

[bronco300]

i like the sump idea, that would help with the water volume, and you could still be safe with the small tank and feeding proportions, just shut down the pumps etc during feeding so all the brine stay in the DT instead of going down into the sump...maybe ozmar the worried about big wateroverflows and messes wouldn't like that though, haha.....you could also go with things that will help eat the brine without getting to it before the dwarves like Julie mentioned...thatd be helpful too...or like some people do syphon the remaining brine shrimp out, resoak them in enrichment and refeed later on(mentioning this to gow ith small tanks still, not to help with a bigger setup)....but with such a big tank you're setting yourself up for the same if not worse disaster on a bigger scale.
Dont forget panacur, if you worry is critters that do not belong, like hydroids

broken record? haha

 

[rykna]

Originally Posted by Bronco300
haha...45 denied IN MY OPINION..too big i know you hate all my answers,sorry.

It's not that I hate your response, and there is 100% percent chance that you are right. But I can still ask...right

I also wanted more input regarding this flow system

Thanks Luke

 

[bronco300]

Originally Posted by Rykna
It's not that I hate your response, and there is 100% percent chance that you are right. But I can still ask...right

I also wanted more input regarding this flow system

Thanks Luke

how long is that nose by now?

 

[rykna]

Originally Posted by Bronco300
how long is that nose by now?

....I trim it every day

 

[rykna]

Originally Posted by Bronco300
i like the sump idea, that would help with the water volume, and you could still be safe with the small tank and feeding proportions, just shut down the pumps etc during feeding so all the brine stay in the DT instead of going down into the sump...maybe ozmar the worried about big wateroverflows and messes wouldn't like that though, haha.....you could also go with things that will help eat the brine without getting to it before the dwarves like Julie mentioned...thatd be helpful too...or like some people do syphon the remaining brine shrimp out, resoak them in enrichment and refeed later on(mentioning this to gow ith small tanks still, not to help with a bigger setup)....but with such a big tank you're setting yourself up for the same if not worse disaster on a bigger scale.
Dont forget panacur, if you worry is critters that do not belong, like hydroids

broken record? haha
No broken records here...I just have a really hard head

it takes awhile for reality to register