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

[teresaq]

Do you have any lights running?? these may also warm up your tank. one thing about heaters, if you are going to have one then it must be covered. They can cause serious burns on horses.
I would look at (google) key largo rock and just use base rock in your tank. Its better then adding unwanted hitchhickers anyway. for a small tank, 25 lbs of base rock would be about 60 bucks. With dry rock, you can drill and stack it the way you want, and use plastic rods or even cloths hangers to keep it together.
T

 

[novahobbies]

The dry rock is a very, very good idea. It takes a little longer to seed with bacteria, but it's a great way to make sure that nothing pest-like makes its way into your tank......at least from the outset. The base rock will turn "live" over time as bacteria colonize and multiply. If you have a small piece of true LR that you KNOW is pest free you can add that and increase the speed...and it serves to seed coralline algae as well. I know that Cranberry uses a bag of old coralline covered shells and whatnot to seed new tanks with bacteria and coralline.
Check out a couple build threads. Flower went with a rock wall that was made with Great Stuff foam and dry rock. I used Great Stuff foam, PVC, and dry Tufa rock to make my rock columns. You can seed the dry rock after your cycle with store-bought amphipods and copepods, and it really does reduce your chances of seeing pest animals such as aptasia and certain aggressive worms.
Bear in mind, though, that no aquarium is completely sterile, and you will very likely get hitchhikers coming in at some point. Bristle worms are common "good" hitchhikers that can come in from coral frags.....even if you dip the coral there is a chance that a small worm will survive and make it into the display tank.

 

[hallzy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by TeresaQ http:///forum/thread/384563/new-seahorse-owner-tank-diary-will-need-help-along-the-way/20#post_3372192
Do you have any lights running?? these may also warm up your tank. one thing about heaters, if you are going to have one then it must be covered. They can cause serious burns on horses.
I would look at (google) key largo rock and just use base rock in your tank. Its better then adding unwanted hitchhickers anyway. for a small tank, 25 lbs of base rock would be about 60 bucks. With dry rock, you can drill and stack it the way you want, and use plastic rods or even cloths hangers to keep it together.
T
Yes I do have lights running. It is just a 96 watt T5 light though so its not like it puts off alot of heat. How do I cover my heater? I got one today and it is fully submergable.
Also, what is dry rock? I want to try and stay all natural, so I will probably just go with base rock. The stuff that is a little cheeper and not considered live. When adding these peices, is my tank going to cycle itself like it would with adding live rock?
Also something else I forgot to ask about. My tank doesn't yet have substrate. We are going to North Carolina on vacation in June, and I planned on getting the same stuff that I have in my reef tank for the horse tank. It is stuff out of the ocean that I boil to clean and kill anything on it. Is adding this stuff going start a new cycle as well? Because by the time we get back in late june, it will be getting close to time for me to add horses! I know people are going to advise against me adding this substrate from the ocean, but I used it in my reef tank and everything was fine.

 

[teresaq]

There are heater gaurds you can buy. As at your lfs or if you just google Aquarium Heater Guard you will see what it is.
Dry rock is just base rock. which is Key Largo rock. the key Largo is the nicest I have seen, lots of wholes.
I would not use beach sand, just because its usually very nasty with chemicles and stuff. Dry bagged sand is cheap enough, you can get aragamax sand for about 25 buck for 30 lbs.
T

 

[hallzy]

Its not actual beach sand that I get, it is small pebbles and crushed shells that gather right where the waves break. I have them in my reef tank and they look amazing, and are very easy to keep clean, that's why I like them so much. I used to use sand but don't like to anymore because its hard for me to keep it clean.

 

[hallzy]

Sorry about not updating latly, but there really hasn't been much to update. Just waiting on a cycle! I know I promised some pictures awhile back and I havnt got them up yet, but I will put some up tomorrow, I PROMISE this time. Haha
Besides that, I think I will start picking up some more rock peice by peice when I make trips to my lfs. Its so hard to spend $ on rock for an aquarium that has nothing in it yet when there so much coral I wanna get for my reef tank everytime I go over there! Lol but I would really like to get more rock in to start making it look more like a tank!
Anyways, I will get some pictures of the set up so far and post them tomorrow!

 

[hallzy]

Ok, as promised heres some pics. Theyre not the best because I dont have the best lighting in my bedroom, and its on the other side of my bed, so it wasn't really easy to get a good pic.

And heres how I made the smaller lights work on this tank.....

I still have a ways to go, but at least its cycling. I still want to add more rock, but I'm just getting dry base rock, and I'm going to get it one piece at a time. Im also adding subtrate, but i'm going to wait and get the stuff in NC that I have in my reef tank. I will try to get a pic of that stuff up later, i think it looks really sharp. And I'm going to add a mirror back to it, because I think that makes it look nice and even makes the tank look bigger. I know most people oppose to mirror backs, but i love them.

 

[novahobbies]

Looks good. Is that an Oddyssea / Aquatraders light on there? I think I recognize the standoffs. I like that style tank, too.
When is it substrate time?

 

[flower]

I edited my post...Sorry I didn't realize this was a Seahorse tank...A mirrored background will look awesome.

 

[hallzy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///forum/thread/384563/new-seahorse-owner-tank-diary-will-need-help-along-the-way/20#post_3376315
Looks good. Is that an Oddyssea / Aquatraders light on there? I think I recognize the standoffs. I like that style tank, too.
When is it substrate time?
Yes they are Oddyssea T5 lights. And substrate time wont come until June. Thats when we are going to the outer banks and thats where Im getting it from. Sucks to wait that long, but I have the same stuff in my reef tank and I think it looks amazing, so Im willing to wait! I'm actually getting ready to do a water change on my reef tank now, so I will snap a pic of the subtrate afterwards while its nice a freshly cleaned! lol
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/384563/new-seahorse-owner-tank-diary-will-need-help-along-the-way/20#post_3376352

I edited my post...Sorry I didn't realize this was a Seahorse tank...A mirrored background will look awesome.
I love mirrored backgrounds! Im just not a big fan of the regular paper backgrounds or whatever, I just think mirrors look very sharp, and actually make the tank appear bigger! Im not really in a rush to get the mirror tho, since its going to be awhile before Im ready for horses anyways, but as soon as I get it, i will of course post pics!

 

[flower]

I made a rock wall in my SH tank for a background
This picture shows the horses at the center feeding station, it's early morning and the coral is still droopy.

In this picture the horses are hard to see, they are great at hiding but the tank looks better later in the day when the corals are in full bloom.

 

[hallzy]

That looks really nice! How did u do that rock walll? Are those real rocks that make up the wall? And the bubbles that. You have in there, are those just open air lines? I was thinking about doing that with mine too.
And as far. As the feeding station goes, how does that work? Is there something special you need to do when feeding, or is that just where you pour the food in?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by hallzy http:///forum/thread/384563/new-seahorse-owner-tank-diary-will-need-help-along-the-way/20#post_3376561
That looks really nice! How did u do that rock walll? Are those real rocks that make up the wall? And the bubbles that. You have in there, are those just open air lines? I was thinking about doing that with mine too.
And as far. As the feeding station goes, how does that work? Is there something special you need to do when feeding, or is that just where you pour the food in?

Wow lots of questions...
ROCK WALL:
The rock wall is super easy, it took an hour to create the wall and 24 hours to dry. Then in spaces of black foam, I either trimmed away the extra foam or put PVC cement glue on the open spot and dusted with the dry sand...waited another 24 hours and I was done. I used black landscape pond foam, chunks of rock and dry aragonite sand. Some egg crate and some PVC cement glue. WEAR GLOVES!

I cut the egg crate to the size and shape I wanted, (leave space for overflow boxes and such) then spray a little foam and squish a rock on it..the foam attaches the egg crate to the tank and gives the foam a grabber for the rocks to hold. The only thing I would change on mine is to put the smaller rock on the bottom and larger pieces on top going down. Because I added some live rock besides and on the bottom I landed up covering the really nicer looking rock.

Downsides of a rock wall:
It is permanent so be sure it’s what you want. Any bad critters that get up in the rocks or hair algae and you can’t take out the rock to deal with it. So be careful of what you add to the tank and keep up on the water changes. Truely an ounce of prevention now applies.

Pros of the wall,
It takes up less space for the natural filter of live rock. No rock slides to worry about. Looks natural and awesome, and all the little ledges make great spots for corals. The horses hook their tails around ledges too and hang out on the wall.

BUBBLES:
Yes an open air tube agitates the surface and a seahorse tank is the only saltwater tank where bubbles belong.

THE FEEDING STATION:
I use a 1 inch tube taller than the tank. After rinsing the frozen mysis shrimp, I soak it in some saltwater from the tank in a cup marked FISH ONLY. When the shrimp stops floating and goes to the bottom I turn off my pumps put the tube in the feeding dish and pour the shrimp water into the tube. I wait a minute (seahorse nip at the tube trying to get to the shrimp) and the food settles to the bottom of the tube. I gently lift straight up and LOL wait for the hoses to unwrap their tails from the tube and the food stays in the dish.
I used a sea squirt in the beginning (a turkey baster would do as well, mark it FISH ONLY) when I first got the horses. After they learned yummy food comes from that tube they would follow it and I led them to the feeding dish...they soon learned the food is there and are waiting at the station for their food now.

 

[hallzy]

Just wanted to give everyone an update since I havn't given one in awhile! Not much to tell really tho! Still just letting it cycle. Still no substrate, but going to OBX in 3 weeks to get it!!!!! SOOOOO pumped! I got a black and gold damsel probably almost a month ago just to see how it would do, and he seems very happy! I had a diatom bloom, but it seems to be fading! Heres a pic of the bloom when it started...

And here is how it looks today. not only is the diatom bloom going away, but the rock that I took from my main tank is starting to grow coralline like crazy! which makes me

! lol

And last but not least, the closer I get to being able to actually get seahorses in here, the more I get nervous about doing so! Someone please talk me into getting them! lol I really want to, but Im nervous since I have never done anything like it before. Im starting to lean towards a fish only, and adding a few coral later. I'll need some push to stick to my seahorse goal! lol

 

[novahobbies]

Seahorse.
Seahorse.
Seahorse.
Seahorse.
Get the Damnsel out of the tank first, tho.
Oh. One more thing.
Seahorse.

 

[meowzer]

LOL....I agree.....go with the horses you have been wanting
BUT GET THE DAMSEL OUT first

 

[teresaq]

yup-no damsel. and the heater can probably go. --- What is your temp like?? needs to be below 77 degrees.
too bad you weren't in Fla, I have a few ready to find a new home. lol
Tank looks good.
T

 

[hallzy]

Haha, yes I planned on getting rid of the Damsel first. The only reason he is even in there is because I wanted something cheap to stick in there to see how it would do. and so I would have something to look at besides rocks while I make my decision on what to do with the tank. And I do need a heater because my tank gets below 70s without it. I live in Ohio keep in mind. lol And I am aware that I need to find a cover for it if I am going to get seahorses.
On another note, I finally remembered to get a picture of the substrate that I will be getting from OBX this summer and putting in the tank! And I could be wrong, but i think there is a picture in my profile pics of my other tank that isnt a close up so you can get an idea of what it looks like in whole. If not, I will post one.

 

[teresaq]

That looks like fresh water gravel.

 

[hallzy]

It is straight from the ocean. And I think it looks better when not up close like that. and there is actually alot of crushed up shells and stuff like that from the shells getting beat up in th ewaves, and actually smoothed out and stuff. here is a pic of the tank as a whole.... Its dirty in this pic because it was before I did a water change.