Filtration for 35gal hex?

[mrreef]

Im just bought a 35 gallon hex tank and want to turn it into a seahorse tank. I have a filter from my old freshwater tank which is one of those penguin emperor 400 bio-wheel filters. My friend said that i could turn it into a mini-refusum by replacing the media with lr. would that work or is this a bad idea. Any help much appreciated, thkks

 

[rykna]

Originally Posted by MrReef
http:///forum/post/2787773
Im just bought a 35 gallon hex tank and want to turn it into a seahorse tank. I have a filter from my old freshwater tank which is one of those penguin emperor 400 bio-wheel filters. My friend said that i could turn it into a mini-refusum by replacing the media with lr. would that work or is this a bad idea. Any help much appreciated, thkks
Hi!
1.) old freshwater tank which is one of those penguin emperor 400 bio-wheel filters.
DO NOT USE. These bio-wheel filters are a deathtrap. The bio wheel will not support the bio load needed for your tank. And using old freshwater equipment for saltwater is not a good idea. Freshwater equipment is not sealed correctly to withstand the corrosion from the salt.
This is my favorite AquaClear 110~

I use these on all my seahorse tanks. I have used them on my pony(dwarf seahorse) tanks too. You MUST cover the intake flow!! Seahorses love high water flow, but are not strong swimmers. Once they get stuck they are not strong enough to get away.
2.) My friend said that I could turn it into a mini-refugium by replacing the media with LR.
IMHO, I would not try to jury rig old equipment until you have more experience caring for seahorses.
The 35 would be to small for horses(seahorses) and much too big for ponies. A seahorse needs a tank that is at least twice as high as it's adult length.
Just curious, have you kept seahorses before? The smallest tank I have kept my H. Kuda in is a 45g.

This is Aurora, my female H. Kuda:

I'd be happy to help you set up a tank.

 

[mrreef]

Dont kudas get 11" tall? my tank is 2 feet deep, so isnt that tall enough? I have never kept seahorses before, but have always wanted to. I had a 26 gallon reef tank a couple of years ago so i have a little expirence with saltwater.

 

[novahobbies]

What we really needed was the tank dimentions, and yes, 24 inches is tall enough to keep most horses. A 35 gallon hex with your stated height is big enough to keep a pair of large horses, or 3 to 4 medium (H reidi, H erectus) sized horses.
As my lovely friend Rykna already stated, a biowheel filter is not enough by itself to maintain a healthy horse tank. Besides...if your tank is 2 feet tall, I doubt an Emperor 400 will fit anywhere on the tank! (I have one sitting in the garage myself). Consider the Aquaclear that Rykna suggested, and get the larges-rated one that will hang on your tank. I have a Cascade on my 35 gallon, personally, and it's a good one too.
One thing I can't stress enough: LIVE ROCK! The filter alone just isn't going to cut it for Nitrite and Nitrate filtration. If you can, get 1 lb of live rock per gallon, so for you, try to find 40 lbs. You can always go for less actual live rock and substitute tufa rock for the remainder -- the tufa will grow bacteria colonies, and coralline algae, eventually to fill out your filtration.
You can also use a powerhead to increase some circulation in the tank, but if you do this, use. a. sponge. filter. Don't let your horse get trapped from the powerhead intake!
Last but not least......Welcome to the Hobby!!! Seahorse keeping is almost a completely separate entity from regular saltwater keeping. Don't be shy, ask lotsa questions.....there are plenty of people here who can help.

 

[dingus890]

35 gallons if fine for seahorses.My only concern is that Hex tanks really aren't the best for horses.It is sometimes hard to create the proper flow in a tall hex tank and there is not alot of surface area for gas exchange in a tall hex tank.You may need a few powerheads.
I use Tetra filters for all my tanks including my seahorse one and they have ajustable flow which is really nice.

 

[novahobbies]

I think the hex tanks are OK, you just need to make small adjustments for the gas exchange. Air-driven protein skimmers are great for this: I use a slightly-modified Biocube skimmer. It fixes two problems: it increases dissolved oxygen, and of course, helps filter out DOC's. A modified skimmer's efficiency is reduced a little in this case (as it's not actually "skimming" the surface) but it is still pretty effective! I empty my skimmate cup every two or three days, and the gunk it pulls out is almost as rancid as the cup from my 110 gallon sump skimmer.
If it was my tank, I'd do a small powerhead near the surface, a small powerhead near the sand (both with covered intakes!), a protein skimmer, aquaclear or similar filter, and live rock. Are you planning on housing anything else with your horses, or are you just doing species-only?

 

[mrreef]

I wanted to also get a mandarin dragonet for the tank.

 

[novahobbies]

Mmmm...hotly debated topic. The most conservative school of thought will be "Nope, not in that sized tank." And they are pretty much correct....you would need a lot of live rock and a breeding stock of copepods to keep a mandarin, and a 35 gallon hex wouldn't hold enough live rock.
A more progressive answer would be this: "Wait." You could set the tank up with as much rock as you can, then seed it with copepods while you're cycling the tank. The pods get a head start on breeding and flourishing. But I can pretty much guarantee you that you'll need to keep a breeding culture of pods on the side to add in periodically, because mandarins go through a TON of pods daily to survive. Also, in a seahorse tank, the horses will quickly re-learn that pods=food, so they'll actively compete for the copepods.
Yes, I have a female green mandarin in my 37 gallon tank. I also breed pods, and most importantly, my mandarin eats mysis. That was a lucky break, and I'm not sure I would have been able to keep up with her pod consumption if not for her supplemental mysis.

 

[mrreef]

I was looking at the aquaclear 110 powerfilter, but i think it is too big to fit on my tank. It says its 13.5" long and the sides can only hold about a 10.5" long filter. would the aquaclear 70 powerfilter be strong enough or is there other good filters that i should look at for my tank?

 

[novahobbies]

I'd go with what Dingus says, he's right on the money. The problem with hex tanks is flow.....by limiting the size of any singe tank side, you limit the size of the filter you can use. I honestly don't know if the aquaclear will fit, but regardless, you'll probably need two powerheads in the tank: one near the surface to break surface tension and promote gas exchange, and one nearer to the bottom to ensure a good mixing of the water column.
Maybe someone else can answer this: if we're talking about large horses, Kudas or Erectus, can he use koralia powerheads safely?

The problem with impeller-designed powerheads is the water inflow gets very strong, creating a potential deathtrap for horses if the inflow isn't covered with a sponge filter. However, koralias are propeller driven, and I think the intake is greatly reduced. Seems like they would be fine as-is! A pair of Koralia nanos should do the job.....K-ones might be overkill.