New Seahorse Owner Tank Diary - Will need help along the way!!

[hallzy]

I have finally retrieved my 20 gallon tall from the basement, and got a spot cleared out in the bedroom for its new location! I plan on getting a pair of horses, but have never dabbled in them, so I decided to start this diary in hopes I can get a few followers that would like to help me during this process! Just a warning, I will probably have alot of "dumb" questions along the way, because I want to make sure I do everything right in starting up this tank for these fragile creatures! lol
First off I wanted to give a little bit about my saltwater experience. My dad has had a saltwater tank since I was young, so I've always had an interest in the hobby. About 5 years ago I finally purchased my 1st saltwater tank, a 75 gallon hexagon that I got off of my uncle for a very good price, couldnt turn down the chance to start the hobby myself! I kept it as a FOWLR, and had alot of learning experiences with it along the way to say the least. lol After about a year I decided to downgrade to a 29 gallon, because the Hex was just too much for me to care for. On top of not really having the space for such a large tank, I also didnt enjoy cleaning such a large, and DEEP tank! lol
I kept my 29 gallon as a FOWLR as well at first, and successfully kept it for about 3 years before I decided to invest in a nice T5 lighting setup for it, and tried dabbling in coral. So far for about a year I have been keeping my reef tank going strong, and am very happy that I went with the switch to reef! Now I have decided my next saltwater adventure will be with Seahorses! Not knowing much besides the threads I have read here on the forum, I am hoping to get some much needed advice along the way from you guys!
Heres the equipment I have for the tank right now:
- 20 Gallon Tall (24 in long, 12 in wide, 16 in tall)
- Emperor 280 bio-wheel filter
- 96 W T5 Lighting
- Heater (if needed)
- Large bubble air stone
- I also have an extra powerhead. It has adjustable speeds, but I have never used it, so I'm not sure if it will be too powerful for this tank. I would like to avoid using one comepletly if possible.
Heres what I hope to keep in the tank:
- A pair of seahorses.Not even sure of what kind yet because I really dont know the difference at this point, and have heard that 20 gallon may be too small for many species, and am kind of hoping on input on the species once it comes time to add them!
- Live rock. I have some extra rock sitting around, but it has been dry for quite some time so I realize it wont be live. But it was at one point.
- Coral. Mostly mushrooms probably. Probably a few other non stinging coral that would be easy for the horses to hitch on.
- Would like to avoid adding plants because Ive heard they can dirty the tank quicker. I would consider fake plants, but I'm not sure how they look in saltwater tanks.
- Probably wont add any fish. May think about a maderin, but only after I sucessfully keep this tank for a few years.
Now that I have written a book, my first question for you guys is what is the best way to clean out this old aquarium. I cant remember the last time it was used. It has been sitting at my dads for awhile, and I took it off his hands when he wanted to clean his garage out, and so it has now been sitting in my basement for a few years. Its got a white buildup on the walls.Kinda looks like dried up salt, but doesnt look like its gonna come off without a fight! lol
After i get it cleaned up, I hope on filling it up and some rock put in, and filter running tonight. I was planning on using about 5 gallons from my reef tank, and filling up the rest with new water. Is this a good idea?
And last but not least I would like to thank anyone up front that offers me help during my journey as a new Horse owner!

Im very excited to be starting this up, and look forward to the day I finally add these lil guys to my tank!

 

[meowzer]

First get rid of the bubbler....if you use a powerhead you want a small one...like a nano
to clean the tank, fill it with water and bleach...let it soak over night.....RINSE RINSE RINSE...refill with water and a dechlorinator....let it soak for a few hours....RINSE RINSE RINSE
You should not need a heater....probably a chiller...especially in such a small tank....seahorse should be kept about 75 degree water
You should research the horses....a 20G is kinda small for a small size horse....a 28 cube or 29G would be better
I am sending you a pm with a great place to get info an breeds
FORGET a mandarin.....20G IMO is too small, and seahorses eat pods all day.....as do mandarins..IMO you will never be able to keep enough pods

 

[teresaq]

opps, lois, he needs the air line. Lrg bubble only. I use just a ridgid tube attached to an air line.
T

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by TeresaQ http:///forum/thread/384563/new-seahorse-owner-tank-diary-will-need-help-along-the-way#post_3369063
opps, lois, he needs the air line. Lrg bubble only. I use just a ridgid tube attached to an air line.
T
But not a bubble bar.....

 

[teresaq]

no, not one of those fresh water bubble things. Just an open line stuck in a corner or something.

 

[teresaq]

for the white residue, try white vinager and a razor blade. let it soak a while.
And 20 gal is a bare min for erectus or barbs, since reidi can get up to 12 inches in thier old age.lol

 

[teresaq]

Fuscus and breviceps (cold water-need chiller) are the smaller species and hard to find.
T

 

[hallzy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by TeresaQ http:///forum/thread/384563/new-seahorse-owner-tank-diary-will-need-help-along-the-way#post_3369063
opps, lois, he needs the air line. Lrg bubble only. I use just a ridgid tube attached to an air line.
T
What do you mean by a ridgid tube?
And thank you for the info meowzer. and i will forget about a manderin. And I know this isnt all that important right now since i know I'm long ways away from gettin horses, but are the erectus breed going to be ok in this tank? I know Teresa said 20 would be bare minimum for them, but as long as I give alot of care to this tank, they would be ok right?

 

[teresaq]

Thr ridgid tube is clear and attaches to the end of a regular air tube- I get mine at petsmart I will try and get a pic later if you need it.
T

 

[hallzy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by TeresaQ http:///forum/thread/384563/new-seahorse-owner-tank-diary-will-need-help-along-the-way#post_3369086
Thr ridgid tube is clear and attaches to the end of a regular air tube- I get mine at petsmart I will try and get a pic later if you need it.
T
ok cool, i will check out petsmart! Thank you! I have been extremly busy today so I didn't even get to cleaning out the aquarium. I was gonna try to get to it tonight so I could let it soak. I wanted to avoid using bleach if at all possible, it just scares me. So if using vinigar, should I fill the tank up with water and add vinegar and let it soak, and if so, how much vinegar? Or should I just let vinegar run down the sides and let it sit for awhile?

 

[teresaq]

you can let it soak with about a 1/2 gal and see what it does, I just did my water mixing container, and used about that ratio. The took a razor blade and clean brush. (for tank use only)
T
Oh and I bleach stuff all the time with raising these babies. Just have to rinse and dechlorinate really good .

 

[hallzy]

SorryI havnt gave an update in awhile, I have been REALLY busy latly with work and getting things done around the house, that I havnt even gotten anywhere on the tank! I am going to Pet Supplies today, and I will look for a rigid tube, and hopefully get the tank cleaned out! Just wanted to update so you guys didnt think I gave up already! lol

 

[hallzy]

Ok, I have finally filled the tank. Only thing is, I had a change of plans before I filled it up. I thought long and hard and decided to go with a different tank than the 20 gallon I was originally going to use. The only reason I was using the 20 gallon is because I had the extra t5 light that fit it. I decided to modify a larger tank that I had and use it instead. Its not much larger, but it is 29 gallon. and it looks nicer than the 20 gallon anyways because it has an actuall stand rather than a makeshift one that i would have had to use for the 20 gallon. I will post some pictures soon.
I tryed to get the filter going, but it would not work right for me. It was an older one that I havnt used for awhile and I had contemplated getting a new one anyways, so payday i well be heading out to get another one. I was going to look for one that is made for a 55 gallon tank, is that a smart idea?
And T, if you get send me a pic of what a rigid tube looks like that would be awesome! I looked for one at PSP and didnt see anything.

 

[teresaq]

Sorry I missed your post earlier - I'm glad you decided to go with the 29 gal. You can always make the light work, by adding pieces of wood or thick acrilic to set the light legs on.
What type of filter are you looking at. Canister?? I really like my rena and you can add a spray bar too it which are nice in a horse tank.
The tubing is Top Fix ridgid tubing - come in 3/16 and one inch. I use the small to attatch to an air line and the one inch for feeding.

 

[hallzy]

Yes I am looking at canister. Im not sure what a spray bar is. I do want one tho. I will look up the one you were talking about! I just want to make sure I do this right, but at a decent price! lol And yes that is what I did to make the light work, i made two peices of think acrylic and used aquarium safe sealant to stick the to the inside lip of the tank. I will try to get some pictures on tomorrow!

 

[hallzy]

I am one sttep closer! I went and got a filter last night. Nothing special, just a 30-60 gallon tetra. Its. The same brand and takes the same kind of filters as my reef tank, so I figured it made sense to have something that took the same filters. Got it up and running, but now my heater. Doesn't seem to be working, so I guess I will be getting one of those today as well! Haha I know most people had been telling me I wouldn't need one, and that I in fact may even need a chiller, but as of right now my water temp is less than 70 so I am going to need a heater. My next question is, is my tank now starting its cycle since my filter is up and running, even though I do not yet have it at the right temp? I don't have any type of substrate yet either, and was actually planning on waiting until this summer to add any. So is my tank cycling now?

 

[novahobbies]

Yes, it's technically cycling...but it will cycle again when you add your live rock. Right now since you have your filter running you will have your aerobic bacteria building up on the bacteriological part of the filter. This will convert amm into nitrite, and nitrite into nitrate. The thing is, once you add your live rock you'll go through a cycle all over again, as there will be die-off from the rock and the bacterial populations will need to grow to accommodate the excess ammonia.
Also, since your tank is so chilly, the cycle may take longer. Bacterial growth is inhibited by lower temperatures.

 

[spanko]

Nova, I believe the temperature can be a limiting factor in the proliferation of nitrifying bacteria but in the case of a tank that is kept from 74 degrees F to a tank that is 80 degrees F not so much. Here is one table showing the growth patterns in much colder water as opposed to the warmer side. As you can see as the temperature warms the growth rate in hours is extrememly reduced. On this graph if they were to plot growths at the temps I listed above you can see the hour range would be reduced to sub-seconds range. Really not a factor for us using the temps we do.
http://www.int-res.com/articles/ame/23/a023p187.pdf
Page number 189, but the third page on this link.

 

[novahobbies]

That's an interesting article. Did you notice how far out of his way the author went to remind us that the data is possibly (inference: probably) skewed? He seems very firm in his belief that lab cultures of bacteria sampled from seawater do not represent the entire bacterial biomass of the sampled water; in fact he references another study that
"Button et al. (1998) report that 85%
of the bacteria-like particles they detected by flow
cytometry are smaller than the smallest organism they
have thus far been able to culture, which could support
either the mismatch hypothesis or the starvation-survival
hypothesis (Novitsky & Morita 1976)."
I agree completely with your point concerning normal tank temps. On the other hand, the OP mentioned that his tank is currently below 70 degrees. Speaking strictly from personal experience, I absolutely felt like my cycle took a good bit longer to kick off when I started my seahorse tank, and my temps were in the 72 degree zone. Once I passed the ammonia phase, however, things moved along at a "normal" pace. I also fully recognize the old adage about watched pots and boiling water....and that it's VERY hard not to watch our particular choice of pots when they're cycling!

 

[hallzy]

I actually do have a few peices of live rock in already. I accidently left that part out! Lol although I really wouldn't call it live anymore, it is some older peices that I had no longer been using. And I plan on adding more down the line, but just peice by peice. And I will be getting a new heater tomorrow too, so I'm not really worried about the slower cycle in colder water.