Seahorse/Reef

[texasmetal]

This is my girlfriends 60 gallon cube Seahorse/Reef tank. 13 Erectus, 1 Reidi we think(?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toxg5A-NLk8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHZUPnFnKLg
There are 3 MaxiJet 1200's running a skimmer, HOB refugium, and one with a Hydor rotating deflector for wave motion.
As you can see they are very active and capable of handling the flow. The corals also do fine. Those are all softies; mushrooms, colt, kenya tree, ricordias, gorgonians, anthelia, star polyps, and sun corals. They never seem to be effected by the ponies.
There is a large cleanup crew of around 100 cerith snails, 12 nassarius snails, stomatella snails, 1 Emerald Crab, tiny Brittle Stars, tiny Serpent Stars, 1 very large Red Serpent Star, 1 very large black Brittle Star, and various species of 'pods and bristleworms.
The seahorses share the tank with a small Green Clown Goby, Spotted Mandarin, Scooter Blenny, and a Dragonface Pipefish.

 

[crossan]

nice tank!!! I really like the seahorses! I plan on having 4 horses in my 55 gallon tank. Is 14 alot for a 60? I don't know how many are allowed, just curious.

 

[texasmetal]

As far as "allowed" goes, it just depends on how often you do water changes and if your filtration can keep up. We've found the refugium does wonders. It is packed with macroalgae, and I can see dozens of pods at any given time.
We had 4 horses together for about a year and got the other 8 a few months ago. They are much more active in great numbers it seems to me. They all eat well, and some of them change colors quite often. We see a lot of breeding behavior, but no babies.

 

[reefreak29]

i think it looks very nice , and the horses that size should be able to handle that flow

 

[crossan]

I really like the erectus, that is what I want. Great job! How many females and males do you have?

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by crossan
I really like the erectus, that is what I want. Great job! How many females and males do you have?

 

[poniegirl]

Originally Posted by TexasMetal
As far as "allowed" goes, it just depends on how often you do water changes and if your filtration can keep up. We've found the refugium does wonders. It is packed with macroalgae, and I can see dozens of pods at any given time.
We had 4 horses together for about a year and got the other 8 a few months ago. They are much more active in great numbers it seems to me. They all eat well, and some of them change colors quite often. We see a lot of breeding behavior, but no babies.
Curious, what gal. is the refuge? How old is the setup?
And very important, too, is how old is the refuge?
In my opinion, the more mature the tank, the better environment for seahorses.

 

[texasmetal]

The refugium is only about 3 gallons capacity. It had been running for over a year on another tank, but that was a 60 hex that had leaking issues, so everything got moved to this tank when we bought it a few months ago. We used all of the rock and corals from the other tank. Everything is coated in coralline.

 

[poniegirl]

Sorry, how old was the hex?
You can see where I'm heading..the seahorses were in the hex?
I started with a ten gallon tank, one tomato clown. Added one seahorse after about a year. Upgraded to a 20 gal (yeah, we're talking HUGE) for another year. Then purchased the 55 gal.
I think it truly makes a difference if you can build on a well established system.

 

[rykna]

WOW!!!!

 

[texasmetal]

Originally Posted by PonieGirl
Sorry, how old was the hex?
You can see where I'm heading..the seahorses were in the hex?
I started with a ten gallon tank, one tomato clown. Added one seahorse after about a year. Upgraded to a 20 gal (yeah, we're talking HUGE) for another year. Then purchased the 55 gal.
I think it truly makes a difference if you can build on a well established system.
We had the hex set up for a little over a year.

 

[poniegirl]

I just got faster i-net and so am able to see the video.
I wonder, does the tank have lower fow areas? I will be the first one to agree that seahorses can handle good water movement, but I will also temper that by saying that they do require rest. I'm afraid it looks a bit frantic?

 

[texasmetal]

I assure you there are plenty of areas they can rest without having to fight the current.

 

[poniegirl]

Apologies, and I am glad to hear!
It's a beautiful tank...it is a square shape? And it looks open on at least 3 sides. That is beautiful.
Thank you for sharing!