20g seahorse tank. (new to the hobby)

[angel2007]

I'm new to the hobby and I have a question to ask. I started 20g seahorse tank with the following equipment:

Aqua clear 20g filter
20 inch 20 watt 50/50 Coralife light
Power head Max gal/hr 160 (not in the tank)
About 15lbs of live rock
3 inches of live sand bed

I did read a seahorse book, this was my first step. In the book it said that if I was planning to have corals to have a protein skimmer, and yes I do have corals. (mushrooms, Feather dusters, leathers) I plan to add more corals. My question is wich protein skimmer would work best for a 20g tank. Or do I even need one? I know that seahorses don't like a lot of water flow. So what to do? I am on a budget since I have too many hobbies and not enough money.

Thank you for the help

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[btuck]

What type of seahorses are you planning on keeping. A 20g really isn't big enough for most horses.

 

[angel2007]

Dwarf seahorses.

 

[suliaman007]

i dont have a protein skimmer on my 20 but i do have a lot of macro algae in my tank. about 6 different types. they do a great job keeping my levels in check and extracting nutrients. a lot of people say you dont need one. if you dont have the money, you can do without it. just make sure you keep up with your water changes ( i do 25% once a week).

 

[panmanmatt]

20 gallon is too big for dwarfs. Not to mention that dwarf seahorses have few if any tankmates.

Using live rock and live sand in a dwarf seahorse sytem will introduce hydroids which can/will sting and kill the dwarfs. The only treatment for hydroids is Panacur which will make your tank uninhabitable to most corals and all algae eating clean up critters for years to come.
Dwarfs have very specialized needs, even more so than the larger species. They will require 2-3 times daily feedings of live foods (usually baby brine shrimp). They hardly ever accept frozen foods and even when they do it is not with any consistancy to make it a staple part of their diet.
If you really want to keep dwarf seahorses, I would reccomend reading the book "The Complete Guide to Dwarf Seahorses in the Aquarium" by Alisa Wagner Abbott and checking out Seahorse.Org and/or syngnathid.Org. Both of those sites have forums dealing specifically with dwarf seahorses.