I'm back!!! And Dwarf Seahorses will be coming down the chimney for Christmas!

[rykna]

Hi All,
I'm Rykna, I haven't been on line for over a year, but I have a new tank brewing for ponies!!!
I bought a 24"h x 13"x13", about 20 gallons. Two inch sand bed, and about 20lbs of live rock.
Equipment:
5-stage Canister Filter with UV 9W- 525 gph
Small Power Filter for extra cleaning media
Epoch Clip light 30000K-10000K Bulb Blue/White
20lbs Live Rock(LR)
Corals:
2 rusty gorgonians(GG)
1 Purple Tree gorgonian
1 star polyp mat
3-4 mushrooms
1 Purple Clove
1 leather devil's hand
I've been spending the last year grooming all my LR down from my 90 gallon tank to the best choices and then annihilating every last aptasia anemone. It was a good thing I retired the tank after almost eleven years of use. After cleaning everything off the glass I could see huge hairline fractures criss-crossing the back wall like spider webs. When I put pressure on the glass I could feel it give ever so slightly.
The new 20 gallon tank has been set up for 7 months and has cycled for 5 of those 7 months now. I am not expecting much of anything to grown in the sand bed. A few tiny things, but not enough to feed even one Nassarius snail consistently.
The two Rusty GG have continued to thrive with a mixture of algae phytoplankton soup and supplements(which also feed the few tiny clean up critters that have emerged including 4-5 tiny bristle worms). I got the little Purple True GG free, the stalk was dieing and I got the store to give me the dieing stalk. It is recovering and feeding now, but still fragile. The others I have I got by traded a mismatch of coral frags I had with my saltwater buddy next door(I started her addiction!!!).
The current in the tank is quite strong, and I still have a lot of revamping with the intake valves, they all need secure covers to keep the ponies safe. I am also rethinking my tank setup for hitching posts. I am wondering if it would be better if I made 4-5 columns of live rock(LR) and attach frags from my rusty GG for hitching posts and then have one tall post with LR to support the corals that need to be closer to the light. It would make giving the GG their daily scrub down to remove any debris easier, as well as checking up on the health of all the ponies, and feeding times for everyone. Sounds like I'll be making some columns in the near future!
I will get some pictures up ASAP!!!
~Rykna

 

[novahobbies]

Hey stranger! Good to see you back; it HAS been a while!
Yikes...the 90g tank sounds like it was a ticking time bomb. The new tank sounds like a lot of fun. I've never been too tempted to try keeping dwarf horses, but I can't wait to see yours!
I have a rusty gorg in my 37g. It's not the fastest growing gorg in the world, but it IS hardy. For a tank this size I'd stick with a small bommie style LR in the center and a few small gorgs arranged around it.

 

[meowzer]

YAYYYYY....Welcome back...so excited for you and can not wait to see pics

 

[flower]

Hello, you were before my time I think...but welcome back anyway. I'm following along to see your little horses when you post those pics..

 

[floridacowgirl]

Hi Rykna!
I'm hoping to find some dwarves in my Christmas stocking too! Maybe we can keep in contact and help each other raise our little critters!
Good luck!

 

[rykna]

Hi, Glad to meet you! I have several projects to finish before I'll post some pictures, I'm hoping that I can post some on Monday! I do have one major snag right now, my star polyps are not happy. There is a beautiful mat of them, but with out leaving my metal halide lights on they close down big time. But with only 20 gallons there is no room for algae blooms. So at the moment I am trying to decide what to do with my little mat. I don't think it's a chemical war...every one else is out and happy.
The only other nightmare I have is cynobacteria. The sick little Purple tree frag I got continues to bloom and has closed up all the open dead gaps on the skeleton. I knew it was a risk. I wish I could stick some of those fish store employees in a tank and let them starve for two weeks and see how many yucks they have!!!

Since there has been no more die off in the last month I am finally starting to relax. I have plans to return to the store and check on the parent coral, if I find more die off I am gonna be ticked. I've know people from this store for over 5 years. Only a couple of them are actually honest about what type of products you need and actually know about the corals and other critters they're selling. Sad but true... my favorite fish store has had to fall back to setting up big tanks for businesses and other big companies that want cool decor for the front entrance and such for income.
~Rykna

 

[rykna]

Hiya!!! That sounds awesome!!! I have a star polyp mat that is not a happy camper. I believe the problem is not enough light, however, I thought they were more feeders that photosynthetic.
What's filling you tank right now??
~Rykna

 

[tamiw]

Hi Rykna. Am I reading this wrong or are you planning on using that 20 gallon aquarium for dwarf seahorses? I ask because dwarves don't tend to do well in tanks with live rock and the life that comes off of them, including bristle worms.
Also, star polyps are photosynthetic. They may also filter feed but they get most of their energy from light.