Novahobbies' 37g Seahorse Tank Journal

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
So I just thought I'd post this and show everyone what I was thinking of doing. I'm still waging a war of endurance with the rest of the family to upgrade this project to the 45g tank sitting in the garage, but for the time being I went ahead and broke down the 37g tank and cleaned it top to bottom. When it was done, I reset it and added the dry goods. It's currently sitting like this; I don't intend to add water for a while. As goofy as it sounds, this is nicer to look at in the den than a sad empty cube of water...and at least I don't have to periodically add topoff H2O to this to keep the noise down!

The faux coral branches you see here are nice for the time being, but they will be replaced slowly by photosynthetic gorgonia, kenya tree corals, etc. The large shell sitting front and center between the column legs was a bonus find; I was cleaning the backyard of my mother's new house when I came across this shell buried in the garden. I love the reds, pinks and white hues, and it even matches the barnacle cluster. I engineered this so all the faux corals are removeable and cleanable, as is the shell and the barnacle. The coral branches were cut from a fake cluster commonly found at pet stores, painted with Krylon fusion (safe for tanks, used it before), and had a plastic rod attached to the coral, which can now be pressed into the foam portions of the rock column.
The final idea, regardless of whichever tank the setup ends up in, is to have mushrooms and zoas in specific areas of the rock, plus some photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic gorgonian specimens. My favorite gorgs are the non-photosynthetics...orange and blueberry gorgs in particular. The filtration is not this little subcurrent thingie either...I just threw that in the picture for fun. The final filtration, if my bloody check comes in time, will be a Rapids pro sump/canister. They're not known to be great for larger tanks, but for a 37 or a 45g tank, it should work perfectly. Without further ado, here's the pics!



 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3148771
It looks very nice....can't wait to see it as a home for something :)
You and me both!!! I'm still going to set this up in the 45g, "just to see..." and if I can I'll post pics of that setup as well. Thanks for the kind words all!
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Getting ready to cycle...... And we're off!! Got the tank finished up and filled last night. Many many thanks have to go to Teresa who kindly sold me her TOM aquatics PS3 filter and a spare light for an extremely reasonable price. The filter has gotten mixed reviews in the past, but I'm fairly certain it will do a good job in this size tank. This thing is sort of a cross between a sump and a canister filter, with a mediocre protein skimmer thrown in for looks. The surface overflow functions like most CPR units, siphoning down through filter floss, a carbon pad, bioballs, and a cartridge for sintered glass rings or live rock. After setting up the filter I can totally see how some beginners may have difficulties with this filter....it's not the most intuitive device in the world. The aqualifter works well to keep the overflow clear of air, and it seems to perform correctly when the power is interrupted. The grea thing about this filter for me was that it's narrow enough to fit inside the stand, so it keeps the clutter down to a low roar.
Speaking of roars, however, I'll probably be replacing the spaflex-style tubing that came with this. The water rushing through the corrugated pipes makes a somewhat loud shushing sound that, while initially peaceful, seems to get louder the longer you stay in the room. In short, it's distracting. It's the only part of the filter that makes any signifigant noise, and it's nice that it's such an easy thing to replace. I haven't bothered to start the protein skimmer up yet......there's not much to skim even if I wanted to at this point!
Water was finally added last night, so I'll be snapping some pics tonight before the "post without pics police" start showing up. I'm just so happy I had to share!!
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
*sigh* this is what I get for posting at work.

Pics at 7 pm when I get home! It's just a cloudy tank anyway, but we all seem to love those shots...
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Me six....uh..I mean five....wait.......
Let me take off my shoes and start again.
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Me six....uh..I mean five....wait.......
Let me take off my shoes and start again.
Oops!
 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Most of these look just like the dry tank shots up above. But what the heck....there be water in this here tank!




 

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
So there's the pics for now. The fake stuff will do for the time being.... but it will be replaced as funds allow with natural items. I'm not a big fan of fake, but it'll work. The lighting is a 130-watt dual compact-fluorescent fixture with LED moonlights....enough I think to handle the softies I plan on putting in this tank. I still haven't gotten the standoffs for it yet as you can see. I'm not sure where the Koralia powerhead is going to end up, but I'm trying to get this set up so that the equipment has less of an impact on the tank for visual appeal. We'll see. Right now the heater is located smack dab in the middle of the tank behind the column, and there will be a smaller Aquaclear filter added to the right side of the tank that houses the IceProbe chiller that's being shipped this week.
For those were aware of my Evil Plan to convince the Wife that the 45g tank was a better tank for horses, well it's pretty obvious by now that those plans have gone by the wayside. On the other claw, however, she DID give me the go-ahead to finish the stand and hood for that tank to turn it into a small FOWLR for a few non-reef-safe fish!!
She was really wanting a valentini puffer, so we're building the 45g tank around that as the focal fish. So the 45 gets to stay at our house, just not exactly as planned. I'll be finishing the stand for that after the first of the year.
Oh, and on last pic, you can see the first tank inhabitant. What do you think, he seems pretty lethargic....just floats under that rock. You think he's sick?? %%
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Yay! Very beautiful! Thanks for the pics!

Yeah, I've heard of that fish in the last pic. I think they are called Tankcycleous beginorous. I don't think they are very active, and they hide alot.
 
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