Novahobbies' 37g Seahorse Tank Journal
- Thread starter novahobbies
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novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Ahhh, just got home. Had a fun couple o' days..... spent some time in Busch Gardens and Sea World, including many, many, many rounds of roller coasters. The new Busch Gardens Shiekra is fantastic, espescially front row. They get you up there and just hang you over the edge for a few seconds before plummeting down 90 degrees to the bottom of the first drop. The new Sea World coaster Manta is great too - the Superman-style flying seats are pretty neat, and there are some parts that swing you around just inches from the water. Very cool stuff.
Speaking of Manta, Sea World has moved a few fish displays together in the area around the Manta ride. They have a huge SPS-dominated reef tank in that area, as well as a couple cold-water tanks, an anemone tank, an H. erectus tank, and a couple tanks for leafy and weedy sea dragons. I could have spent half my day in front of these aquariums!! The seahorse tank was particularly cool - there must have been something "in the water" in that tank, because we got to see three different pair doing their courting dance, and 2 pair actually did an egg transfer as we were watching! It was really amazing to watch. In addition there were at least 2 other pregnant males in the tank, so that group was definitely rockin'. I don't know what they did with the young, but since we're talking about H. erectus, I imagine they might be able to rear the young somewhere.
The Sea Dragons were just magical to watch. They had one large tank that was divided so the species couldn't mix, but each type (leafy and weedy) shared the same returns. I got a few decent pictures of these guys on my cell phone camera; all my regular pictures wound up being washed out and distorted because of the curved acrylic tank. I'll upload these in the main section of the site later. The leafy dragons were huge! Michelle turned to me and asked if we could keep any, and I said "sure! .........When we're rich." That didn't stop me from planning out a tank in my head, though!
SOOOOO, I just got in the door a couple hours ago, and the tanks need some serious servicing. I've got a bulldozer snail who had managed to knock off all three of my rics onto the sand bed (face up, thank goodness....) and the sand bed itself is pretty orange from overfeeding. My mum-in-law kept the seahorse alive, but the tank needs a good cleaning and water change tonight to whip it back into shape. In other words, to make a short story long...... no pics tonight.
We'll see about some shots tomorrow when the sandbed is clean and the corals al back where they belong. I hope everyone had a good week; I know I did!!
Speaking of Manta, Sea World has moved a few fish displays together in the area around the Manta ride. They have a huge SPS-dominated reef tank in that area, as well as a couple cold-water tanks, an anemone tank, an H. erectus tank, and a couple tanks for leafy and weedy sea dragons. I could have spent half my day in front of these aquariums!! The seahorse tank was particularly cool - there must have been something "in the water" in that tank, because we got to see three different pair doing their courting dance, and 2 pair actually did an egg transfer as we were watching! It was really amazing to watch. In addition there were at least 2 other pregnant males in the tank, so that group was definitely rockin'. I don't know what they did with the young, but since we're talking about H. erectus, I imagine they might be able to rear the young somewhere.
The Sea Dragons were just magical to watch. They had one large tank that was divided so the species couldn't mix, but each type (leafy and weedy) shared the same returns. I got a few decent pictures of these guys on my cell phone camera; all my regular pictures wound up being washed out and distorted because of the curved acrylic tank. I'll upload these in the main section of the site later. The leafy dragons were huge! Michelle turned to me and asked if we could keep any, and I said "sure! .........When we're rich." That didn't stop me from planning out a tank in my head, though!
SOOOOO, I just got in the door a couple hours ago, and the tanks need some serious servicing. I've got a bulldozer snail who had managed to knock off all three of my rics onto the sand bed (face up, thank goodness....) and the sand bed itself is pretty orange from overfeeding. My mum-in-law kept the seahorse alive, but the tank needs a good cleaning and water change tonight to whip it back into shape. In other words, to make a short story long...... no pics tonight.
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
I don't know if it's my imagination, but it looks like her crown and horn cirri are growing back. Maybe the extra protein and HUFAs in the PE mysis are doing her some good...she actively hunts down pieces of shrimp now. Still haven't gotten her to figure out what the food bowl is for, but maybe that will wait until I've moved, settled the tank, and contemplated tankmates for her.
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
One more pic before the lights get blown out. I took this with my wife's new HTC Evo camera phone. I love the colors that show up from this camera, but it's a bit grainy on closeups. Still, you can see the blue dots on her cheeks really well!
Right click the pic, select "open in a new tab," and you can zoom in on the pic a little more than SWF's editor usually allows. And Rispa, no I'm not really a "name your fish" kinda guy....I leave that to my wife and Mum-in-Law.
To me she's just the pretty little wild-caught seahorse who's stubborn about how she takes her mysis.
Right click the pic, select "open in a new tab," and you can zoom in on the pic a little more than SWF's editor usually allows. And Rispa, no I'm not really a "name your fish" kinda guy....I leave that to my wife and Mum-in-Law.
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
She finally figured out what the food bowl was today. Now I can't get her out of it!!
I'm actually really glad this has finally happened. I have to go out of town this coming Tuesday for a 10-day trip up to DC. I figured my wife could feed the horse by hand, but now all she has to do is turn off the pump and squirt mysis into the bowl. Easy-peasy.
I'm actually really glad this has finally happened. I have to go out of town this coming Tuesday for a 10-day trip up to DC. I figured my wife could feed the horse by hand, but now all she has to do is turn off the pump and squirt mysis into the bowl. Easy-peasy.
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Wow, sorry it's been a while since I've been on any of the boards! My trip to DC was moderately eventful - no job offers yet, but I got some face time at least with a few companies. Still huntin' and hopin'.
I was glad to see that the horse was alive and well when I got home! She's definitely growing her cerri back on her head, which is a cool thing. Unfortunately some of my corals don't look so hot. My non-pulsing xenia looks like it's trying to commit suicide, it's so shriveled up and sad looking, and my zoa frags all appear to be more closed and/or just plain smaller than when I left. Wish I knew exactly what was going on, but I'm trying to figure it out. The pulsing xenia, the 'shrooms, ricordeas, fans and pagoda cup all seem to be doing fine, so I don't know why the other corals might seem so blah.
I decided to take the plunge this week and upgrade my lighting a little. I've got a spare benjamin in an old gift card, and a MH pendant from Aquatraders is exactly the right price to give it a shot. I know it's probably going to increase my temp in the tank, so I may have to try upping the fan output somehow as well. I'll be going from a 130w PC fixture to a 150W MH plus 28W of T5 actinic....I'm hoping this helps a few of the coral colonies!
I was glad to see that the horse was alive and well when I got home! She's definitely growing her cerri back on her head, which is a cool thing. Unfortunately some of my corals don't look so hot. My non-pulsing xenia looks like it's trying to commit suicide, it's so shriveled up and sad looking, and my zoa frags all appear to be more closed and/or just plain smaller than when I left. Wish I knew exactly what was going on, but I'm trying to figure it out. The pulsing xenia, the 'shrooms, ricordeas, fans and pagoda cup all seem to be doing fine, so I don't know why the other corals might seem so blah.
I decided to take the plunge this week and upgrade my lighting a little. I've got a spare benjamin in an old gift card, and a MH pendant from Aquatraders is exactly the right price to give it a shot. I know it's probably going to increase my temp in the tank, so I may have to try upping the fan output somehow as well. I'll be going from a 130w PC fixture to a 150W MH plus 28W of T5 actinic....I'm hoping this helps a few of the coral colonies!
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Over two months since my last post....sheesh! I'm getting ready to take some new pics later this week, but here's the text update of what's been going on.
First and foremost, I did get that new light. I took a chance and went with the Aquatraders 150W fixture, the kind with 2 14W actinic T5 bulbs with it. So far, I'm really happy. I bought a 20,000k bulb as well to see the difference. The Oddesea 15,000k bulb (the one the fixture comes with) is VERY yellow after burn-in, and the color spectrum IMO has too much red in it....it helped fuel a hair algae outbreak. The 20,000k bulb is a very pretty blue-white, but I suspect the PAR values on these discount bulbs are...pardon the pun....sub-par. My corals are DEFINITELY happier than they were with the PC lighting, but I am still going to get an Ushio 14,000k and maybe a 20,000k bulb to see how they look. Seems that the Ushi's are a little cheaper right now than they used to be, so now may be a good time to get them.
The light fixture itself is performing very well. The ballast is silent, and generates almost no heat. It's barely warm to the touch, in fact. The fan that cools the fixture could use some DIYing by opening up the grilles a little, but even that mod may not be absolutely necessary. The added heat from the new light has raised my tank temperature to 74 to 75 during the day, and that is with the iceprobe running and a computer fan blowing across the water surface. I get about a gallon of evap a day between the fan and the MH over the open top.
Corals have generally responded well to the new light, with a couple exceptions. I've mentioned this before in another thread, but here it is again: apparently I'm not allowed to keep some of the "easy, beginner" corals. Xenias die off at a mere look from me, and my GSP just slowly withered away. Even my pulsing Xenia, which lasted longer than my two regular varieties, commited a weird form of suicide by releasing all of its polyps from the main mass. Now I have a dozen or so little tentacled arms floating around the tank....I figure I'll leave them alone and see if anything attaches. If not, oh well. I'm kind of over the whole xenia attempt right now.
On the other hand, my little Montripora frag I got almost 6 months ago is responding really well to the light. It had gone into hibernation mode, but now is starting to grow little stalagmites up off of the main plate. Interesting. The Pagoda cup coral frag has probably seen the most growth, and has really rounded out into a small...well, "cup." The mushrooms, zoas, and ricordeas are all pretty much unchanged, and the leather coral seems happier with the increase in light. The Kenya, on the other hand, has been sulking under the yellow 15,000k bulb...but seems to be happier now that I'm using the bluer bulb. The new corals, including a nice purple/pink chalice frag and a red Acan, are both doing well so far.
I finally had to break down my 110g tank, as I mentioned in another thread. My two favorite fish, a Mckosker's Flasher Wrasse and my male Green Mandarin, are now living peacefully alongside the seahorse and sand goby. I have no worries about the sustainability of the large male mandarin in this tank because he eats both frozen mysis and pellet food....in fact he gives the goby a run for his money in terms of speed eating!
The extra bioload of the two fish was probably the other factor in contributing to the algae outbreak. Between this and the light, I had a few weeks of slime on the sand and hair sprouting on the rocks. The slime is gone, and the hair algae is receding, so I'm hoping that the bioload is balancing out. Water changes and some fresh Purigen and Phosguard helped out, I'm sure.
That's about it for the update. I just finished a water change so I'll snap a few pictures of the setup tomorrow after everything has settled back down. Thanks for looking!
First and foremost, I did get that new light. I took a chance and went with the Aquatraders 150W fixture, the kind with 2 14W actinic T5 bulbs with it. So far, I'm really happy. I bought a 20,000k bulb as well to see the difference. The Oddesea 15,000k bulb (the one the fixture comes with) is VERY yellow after burn-in, and the color spectrum IMO has too much red in it....it helped fuel a hair algae outbreak. The 20,000k bulb is a very pretty blue-white, but I suspect the PAR values on these discount bulbs are...pardon the pun....sub-par. My corals are DEFINITELY happier than they were with the PC lighting, but I am still going to get an Ushio 14,000k and maybe a 20,000k bulb to see how they look. Seems that the Ushi's are a little cheaper right now than they used to be, so now may be a good time to get them.
The light fixture itself is performing very well. The ballast is silent, and generates almost no heat. It's barely warm to the touch, in fact. The fan that cools the fixture could use some DIYing by opening up the grilles a little, but even that mod may not be absolutely necessary. The added heat from the new light has raised my tank temperature to 74 to 75 during the day, and that is with the iceprobe running and a computer fan blowing across the water surface. I get about a gallon of evap a day between the fan and the MH over the open top.
Corals have generally responded well to the new light, with a couple exceptions. I've mentioned this before in another thread, but here it is again: apparently I'm not allowed to keep some of the "easy, beginner" corals. Xenias die off at a mere look from me, and my GSP just slowly withered away. Even my pulsing Xenia, which lasted longer than my two regular varieties, commited a weird form of suicide by releasing all of its polyps from the main mass. Now I have a dozen or so little tentacled arms floating around the tank....I figure I'll leave them alone and see if anything attaches. If not, oh well. I'm kind of over the whole xenia attempt right now.
On the other hand, my little Montripora frag I got almost 6 months ago is responding really well to the light. It had gone into hibernation mode, but now is starting to grow little stalagmites up off of the main plate. Interesting. The Pagoda cup coral frag has probably seen the most growth, and has really rounded out into a small...well, "cup." The mushrooms, zoas, and ricordeas are all pretty much unchanged, and the leather coral seems happier with the increase in light. The Kenya, on the other hand, has been sulking under the yellow 15,000k bulb...but seems to be happier now that I'm using the bluer bulb. The new corals, including a nice purple/pink chalice frag and a red Acan, are both doing well so far.
I finally had to break down my 110g tank, as I mentioned in another thread. My two favorite fish, a Mckosker's Flasher Wrasse and my male Green Mandarin, are now living peacefully alongside the seahorse and sand goby. I have no worries about the sustainability of the large male mandarin in this tank because he eats both frozen mysis and pellet food....in fact he gives the goby a run for his money in terms of speed eating!
The extra bioload of the two fish was probably the other factor in contributing to the algae outbreak. Between this and the light, I had a few weeks of slime on the sand and hair sprouting on the rocks. The slime is gone, and the hair algae is receding, so I'm hoping that the bioload is balancing out. Water changes and some fresh Purigen and Phosguard helped out, I'm sure.
That's about it for the update. I just finished a water change so I'll snap a few pictures of the setup tomorrow after everything has settled back down. Thanks for looking!
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/366648/seahorse-tank-mock-up/120#post_3335303
Rick are you getting your messages??????
The ones that the voices tell me to do?? Yes.....why? ;-)
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/366648/seahorse-tank-mock-up/120#post_3335303
Rick are you getting your messages??????
The ones that the voices tell me to do?? Yes.....why? ;-)
meowzer
Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///forum/thread/366648/seahorse-tank-mock-up/120#post_3335307
The ones that the voices tell me to do?? Yes.....why? ;-)
OMG....You hear those voices too
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///forum/thread/366648/seahorse-tank-mock-up/120#post_3335307
The ones that the voices tell me to do?? Yes.....why? ;-)
OMG....You hear those voices too
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
I just realized the today was the 1-year anniversary of this tank. Nice to go back and see the progress...though the pics of the xenias at their best sort of bumm me out. ;-)
gill again68
Active Member
Hey man, gald to see you posting. Yes I hear the voices but sometimes I still do what I want to do. The tank looks great. I still haven't started a horse tank but I think I will at some point. Keep the ole chin up on the job thing. I am certain the right opportunity will come along. Any more pics would be great.
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gill again68 http:///forum/thread/366648/seahorse-tank-mock-up/120#post_3335536
Hey man, gald to see you posting. Yes I hear the voices but sometimes I still do what I want to do. The tank looks great. I still haven't started a horse tank but I think I will at some point. Keep the ole chin up on the job thing. I am certain the right opportunity will come along. Any more pics would be great.
Oh, I'm working again - been for the past 3 months. It's part time but the pay is decent, and I can keep looking for other opportunities.
I'm snapping some pics on my cameraphone right now. This is a little new...the 20,000k MH is washing everything with a blue cast. The pics don't look very "true" to real colors, but....well, stay tuned.
Originally Posted by Gill again68 http:///forum/thread/366648/seahorse-tank-mock-up/120#post_3335536
Hey man, gald to see you posting. Yes I hear the voices but sometimes I still do what I want to do. The tank looks great. I still haven't started a horse tank but I think I will at some point. Keep the ole chin up on the job thing. I am certain the right opportunity will come along. Any more pics would be great.
Oh, I'm working again - been for the past 3 months. It's part time but the pay is decent, and I can keep looking for other opportunities.
I'm snapping some pics on my cameraphone right now. This is a little new...the 20,000k MH is washing everything with a blue cast. The pics don't look very "true" to real colors, but....well, stay tuned.