56G Column Seahorse Build

I had some time to hook up the skimmer last night, so it is being broken in right now. I also cleaned up some of the wires to tidy up the closet a bit.

Here are some pictures of how it looks right now. I also got the ATO running.



 
Your welcome. Actually I think that skimmer should be a good choice for that size tank. I was considering the exact model for the 65 gallon build I am working on myself.
 
I think it will work well also. If you do buy it for your tank, ignore the manual where it says to run it in 7" - 7.9" sump water depth. I have mine in about 5.5" of water and it seems to perform better.
 
I finally got to get rid of the brute trashcan that has been curing all my live rock. Most of the rocks from it went to the DT, and the rest went into the refugium.

I'm still working on the aquascape for the display. It will end up a bit different than what i had originally planned, but I think it will look better this way. I'll have some pictures of that when it is finished.

For now, here are some pictures of the refugium. I added a Maxijet 1200 to keep it circulating. I'm still deciding what livestock to add to it for nutrient export. I've seen some pretty nice xenia refugiums, but also wanted to add macros such as chaeto so I think I will try a little bit of each and see how it goes.



 
Here is the display tank at the moment. I haven't decided if i like the rockwork yet so it might change but I think it will look better once corals are there. I plan to keep gorgonians, sponges, and other soft corals such as ricordeas and leathers. I also might grow something on the overflow to conceal the plumbing a bit better.





 
Personally, I am not of fan of single island/column rock formations but it is a personal taste thing. Are those rocks mounted together in some way? The only thing I would caution you about it that the top rock looks unstable and would be a potential risk to damage your tank or horses.
 
SaltyMember said:
Personally, I am not of fan of single island/column rock formations but it is a personal taste thing. Are those rocks mounted together in some way? The only thing I would caution you about it that the top rock looks unstable and would be a potential risk to damage your tank or horses.
Click to expand...

Yea I'm still playing around with it. It will probably change a couple more times until I am satisfied. I do like to keep a lot of negative space though so it will probably stay as one formation.

All of the rocks in the pillar including the one on top were drilled with a masonry bit and have a fiberglass rod (driveway reflector) going through them for support. Each rock was also epoxied and the whole pillar is zip tied to a piece of egg crate that is under the sand to help it stay stable.
 
I know this build has moved along pretty slowly, but I want to make sure I have everything right before I add livestock. The system is now cycled, and seems to be running smoothly.

Does anybody have experience with sealifeinc/kpaquatics? They seem to have a good assortment of gorgonians and sponges and at a decent price. I will probably put in an order with them in the next couple of days so I can get some life in the tank and add hitching objects for the seahorses.
 
I have placed several orders with KP Aquatics and have been very happy with them. In addition to the coral, they also have very reasonable prices on Seahorses when you are ready for those.
 
Are their seahorses wild caught, tank raised, or true captive bred?
Reasonably priced doesn't often equate to true captive bred but is more often associated with tank raised or wild caught.
 
Yea their seahorses are wild caught from what I've seen.

I am going to stick with captive bred seahorses from seahorsesource and place an order with kpaquatics for gorgonians and such. I don't like the risks associated with wild caught seahorses, even if they are priced significantly lower.
 
If you watch the TV show Fish Tank Kings on Nat Geo Wild, Kara from KP Aquatics is the one who takes Francis out to find a 1.5' foot puffer for one of their builds.(Season 3, Episode 8) Her dad, Ken Nedimyer, is also on the same episode. He handed the business over to Kara so he could run the conservation non profit "Coral Restoration Foundation". They are fragging and growing coral on farms in the ocean to rebuild dead reefs.
 
South City said:
If you watch the TV show Fish Tank Kings on Nat Geo Wild, Kara from KP Aquatics is the one who takes Francis out to find a 1.5' foot puffer for one of their builds.(Season 3, Episode 8) Her dad, Ken Nedimyer, is also on the same episode. He handed the business over to Kara so he could run the conservation non profit "Coral Restoration Foundation". They are fragging and growing coral on farms in the ocean to rebuild dead reefs.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info. Everyone that I heard of that placed a coral order from them have been very pleased. I also hope to order gorgs and easy sponges from them.
 
South City said:
If you watch the TV show Fish Tank Kings on Nat Geo Wild, Kara from KP Aquatics is the one who takes Francis out to find a 1.5' foot puffer for one of their builds.(Season 3, Episode 8) Her dad, Ken Nedimyer, is also on the same episode. He handed the business over to Kara so he could run the conservation non profit "Coral Restoration Foundation". They are fragging and growing coral on farms in the ocean to rebuild dead reefs.
Click to expand...

Good stuff and solidifies my decision to do business with them.

It looks like they ship on Mondays and Tuesdays, but it's Memorial Day weekend so I would guess it will be more like Tuesday which would be fine for me. I will have an order together and placed over the weekend.

Also, I am planning on finally buying a pair of H. erectus from seahorse source this weekend!
 
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