Can U check my list?

[Klownfish]

I've been thinking about setting up a Seahorse tank. I've been making a list of ideas befoe I make the commitment. Can some experienced SH people take a look at my plan, and make suggestions, or corrections if needed?

I have (2) Biocube NIB tanks, an 8g and a 29g.

I think I have the mod plans necessary for the 29.

Blow out between chamber 1-2, and the bottom of chamber 1. Scrape off the back of chamber 2, and make a small 'fudge with a light and Cheato. Change the return pump with a Maxijet, and mod the return for a calm return, probably with Lockline.

Add my skimmer from my other tank, a Deltec MCE600 HOB (rated for 180g) and place the intake behind the black plastic wall. I'm worried the SH might get stuck on the intake of the skimmer. I'm not sure how I'll plumb the return, I'll keep an eye on bubbles. If there is a problem, I'll plumb it behind the wall also. I was a little unclear on gas-bubble disease. Can it be caused by O2 rich water? Or how about the tiny bubbles some skinners put out? I thought higher O2 means higher ph, means better enviornment, within reason?

http://www.theaquariumsolution.com/deltec-mce600-skimmer-turbo

For lighting, I doubt I'll use the stock hood.

I have a Sunpod 150hqi with a Radium bulb, or a Mairstar 250hqi with 14k Phoenix and T-5's. Or, I've had a Current/Outerorbit PC's that I can pull. I'm useing it on another 'fudge right now, so NBD. No real decisions, yet. Any suggestions? I'd like to see the SH, but I don't want to give them sunburns, either.

I'll be checking the temps, but I'm guessing I'm going to need a chiller, if for nothing else but stability at 70-72 degrees. Is 68 to 70 too chilly? Can I consider lower temps to ward off bactirial infections? How low is too low?

For stock, I have LR I'll pull from my main reef, with .5 to 1" of sand, Pulsing Xenia, some zoa's, palys, and photosynthetic Gorgonians. I'll get some macro, Dragons Toung, and Red Caulprea, add some snails. That's it. No other occupants.

I'm planning on 2 (yes, after cycle, and about 6 months) CB Erectus. I'll see how it goes, and possibly add another 2 Erectus in another 6 months. Without any other tankmates, and a low bioload, with excessive skimmer, I don't think I'll have a problem with waste.

Can I add a automatic feeder? What might work well in one of these? Or is it a no-go?

Sometimes I work killer hours, and I might be gone for 24 to 36 hours. It's never been an issue with my reef, lots of stuffs for fishes and everything to eat. If the SH are fed every day, and went 24-36 hours no food, what's the outcome? Dead or sick SH? If I add tons on pods, and live ghost shrimp, would this tide them over? Can I feed just once a day?

I've got lots of branching tonga LR that I'd like to add to the main display, and glue pieces together for hitching posts. Do SH like vertical or horizontal posts best? What glue do you suggest works well for LR and making all these items?

How about plastic plants and fake colorful corals? I was going to buy stuff in red, yellow, and pink, so that my SH might turn those colors. Any problems with these?

I'm going to make a feeding dish out of a large empty clam shell, and use clear acrylic rods to glue around the shell for hitching posts. Then, glue this to a cleaning magnet. Do the SH like vertical or horizontal posts while eating?

Oh, and the 8g will just be used as a hospital/quarantine tank.

One piece of LR, and some Cheato. If i have a male/female breeding pair, can I put the male in the 10g until the babies pop out? Then, take the 10g with a battery airpump to my friend's house, where he has the means to raise the fry? It's about a 10-15 minute ride. How long between when the babies pop out and the need for fry food?

If you've read this far, thanks. I appreciate any and all helpful advice.

:fish1:

 

[zef004]

I'm going to make a feeding dish out of a large empty clam shell, and use clear acrylic rods to glue around the shell for hitching posts. Then, glue this to a cleaning magnet. Do the SH like vertical or horizontal posts while eating?

:fish1:

this is a good ID.

I'm new to SH keeping. But sound like your on ball with good IDs.

 

[rayjay]

First off, the 29 will only be large enough for one pair of erectus.
Recommended temp range is 68° to 74°, lower for pots.
You will still have a problem with waste, even with a skimmer as most seahorses are picky about the pieces they eat, and being that selective means a lot of uneaten food that needs to be removed. Waiting for the skimmer to take care of it all means some nutrient will be accessible to nuisance algae.
When I have gone to a hobbyists home to trouble shoot some deaths, the number one thing I find in the water is ammonia. After the cycle and things have been going well, people seem to stop checking. Likewise, tank husbandry starts to slip and the next thing you know, problems arise and can be due to the ammonia in the tank.
Seahorses have no stomach as we know it, as theirs is more like just the intestine. As such, it's not a problem for them in nature as they graze throughout the day. Multiple, frequent feedings every day are better than a single or double large feeding. Single feeding every day long term will most likely result in seahorse demise.
Missing one day a week without food would be the most you could stretch things. If twice a week, you would need someone to come in and feed them anything more than one.
I don't know of any automatic feeder that will feed frozen mysis or brine and still keep it from starting to decay while waiting to go into the water for food.
Food should only be thawed just before it is fed to the seahorse.
I use plastic plants for two reasons. One, it's hard to get macro around here, and two, macro needs higher lighting thus more heatand I can't afford a chiller for each of the tanks.

 

[TamiW]

Rayjay is right, you'd see decline over the long term if you missed a lot of feedings. It wouldn't happen right away, but eventually you'd see a decline in health and ultimately death.

If you have the funds, you might be able to supplement with live mysis before you work for an extended time. Put some directly in the tank and some in the refugium. You won't be able to maintain a culture that way (mysis are labor intense) but you could feed out that way. But live mysis aren't cheap and you'd likely have to order them online as they're not something a lfs would get regularly.

There are still a lot of thoughts on the causes of gas bubble disease. My personal thought is a cleaner tank with higher flow is less likely to have problems with GBS, and is not caused directly by air bubbles or oxygen. There are some exceptions to this, if you supersaturate the water then its possible, but any good surface turbulence should prevent that (it would generally be an issue in aquaculture type setups).

Otherwise your setup sounds like its workable. I don't like all in one setups but it sounds like you're planning on some major customization. I'm not a fan of MH on seahorse tanks, but if you get a chiller that can counteract the heat, you should be fine.

 

[Klownfish]

Rayjay is right, you'd see decline over the long term if you missed a lot of feedings. It wouldn't happen right away, but eventually you'd see a decline in health and ultimately death.

I don't like all in one setups but it sounds like you're planning on some major customization. I'm not a fan of MH on seahorse tanks, but if you get a chiller that can counteract the heat, you should be fine.

Well I could try to have my son (5 yrs) or my spouse help with feedings, IF I preprepare the food, premeasure the food, give exact intructions, etc.

I just don't like to rely on others. If something goes amiss... Grrrrrrr. OK. I'll figure something out.

Feed twice a day, then? Every day?

Thanks. I do appreciate the advice.

I just love these "All in One" tanks! After you've put all of the custom upgrades on, they don't look anything like the original. Also, if you plan on keeping anything but fake fish, the upgrades are a must. Great tank, HUH?

I won both tanks in drawings. My JBJ Was about free. Note to self; there is no such thing as a free fish tank.

:fish1:

 

[TamiW]

When I've gone on vacation, I've made up little portions of food in individual baggies with thawing instructions on each bag. It helps cut down on errors. Maybe you could do something like that?

Feed twice a day minimum. If you get them and they're small, you may need to feed more.

Well I could try to have my son (5 yrs) or my spouse help with feedings, IF I preprepare the food, premeasure the food, give exact intructions, etc.

I just don't like to rely on others. If something goes amiss... Grrrrrrr. OK. I'll figure something out.

Feed twice a day, then? Every day?

Thanks. I do appreciate the advice.

I just love these "All in One" tanks! After you've put all of the custom upgrades on, they don't look anything like the original. Also, if you plan on keeping anything but fake fish, the upgrades are a must. Great tank, HUH?

I won both tanks in drawings. My JBJ Was about free. Note to self; there is no such thing as a free fish tank.

:fish1:

 

[Klownfish]

.. individual baggies with thawing instructions on each bag. It helps cut down on errors. Maybe you could do something like that?

Feed twice a day minimum. If you get them and they're small, you may need to feed more.

When I told one of my 'fish friends' I was thinking about a SH tank, the remark was "What do you want those little PITA things for??? Now, I know why...:rolleye1:

 

[Klownfish]

First off, the 29 will only be large enough for one pair of erectus.
Recommended temp range is 68° to 74°, lower for pots.
You will still have a problem with waste, even with a skimmer...

When I have gone to a hobbyists home to trouble shoot some deaths, the number one thing I find in the water is ammonia. After the cycle and things have been going well, people seem to stop checking. Likewise, tank husbandry starts to slip and the next thing you know, problems arise and can be due to the ammonia in the tank.

OK, thanks for the info, ray.

So keeping the temp at 68-70 degrees for erectus isn't too cold? The chiller helps in Michigan, it's really tough to keep a stable temp with our extreme weather swings.

95 daytime temp, and down to 40 degrees at night... A chiller buys me peace of mind.

Thank for the ammonia tip, No, I haven't tested that in years, in my reef tank. Nitrate, nitrite (rare) PO4, O2, temp, ph, Ca, and dkh. I'll have to go out and buy one of those.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

 

[rayjay]

No, that temp should work as mine is at 70 at the moment but I fight to keep it from going over 74° in summer. I prefer not to keep it at the low end so that if I have a problem, lowering the temperature would be a boost to helping things recover sometimes.
At the moment, I'm trying to move all my 5 seahorse tanks within a small area around a floor A/C so I can put up some heavy plastic to keep the smaller area cool in summer.
I can't afford a chiller for one tank let alone 5, with plans for more.
I know all about the temperature swings as I live in London Ontario, just north east of Detroit, and half way to Toronto.
You shouldn't have to worry about the ammonia in a properly keep reef tank.
In a seahorse tank, water conditions deteriorate much faster than a reef tank due to their messy habits.
Keeping an eye on ammonia is just the safe way until you have maybe 3-5 yrs experience and know automatically that every thing should be fine, but if you slack off on husbandry, then back to testing again.
Some people that put seahorses in an existing reef tank have found the tank soon has water quality issues.
Unfortunately, the warmer temperatures of a reef tank, plus the exposure to a lot more varied sources of protozan mean that few of all that are attempted, last long term in such conditions.
Even mixing species in the same tank, and mixing the same species from different sources often leads to severe problems.
Unfortunately, some new comers to the hobby, see one doing this kind of thing, or are wrongly informed by LFS or other hobbyists, and fail in their attempt, not knowing that many many more fail this way than succeed.
It doesn't mean that risky ways can't be done, just that the odds of success are very low.

 

[Jason7504]

Rayjay is right, you'd see decline over the long term if you missed a lot of feedings. It wouldn't happen right away, but eventually you'd see a decline in health and ultimately death.

how long do you think SH could go without eating until you see a "point of no return" in health?

 

[Klownfish]

No, that temp should work as mine is at 70 at the moment but I fight to keep it from going over 74° in summer.

You shouldn't have to worry about the ammonia in a properly keep reef tank.
In a seahorse tank, water conditions deteriorate much faster than a reef tank due to their messy habits.

Keeping an eye on ammonia is just the safe way until you have maybe 3-5 yrs experience and know automatically that every thing should be fine, but if you slack off on husbandry, then back to testing again.

Some people that put seahorses in an existing reef tank have found the tank soon has water quality issues.

Unfortunately, the warmer temperatures of a reef tank, plus the exposure to a lot more varied sources of protozan mean that few of all that are attempted, last long term in such conditions.

I'm going to keep the bioload to near zero (no other fishes) and the skimmer has an Aquabee pump that moves 600-800 gpm. It's rated for a 180g tank. I was hoping that might keep things clean. Well, cleaner. That, and lots of macro like Dragons Toung in the main tank.

Do these in tank ammonia things work in a SH tank? I've never used them, but it seemed like a good way for a newbie to keep a constant eye on the ammonia. Are they sensitive enough? Or, not to be trusted?

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4345+4387&pcatid=4387

Any SH wouldn't last 5 minutes in my reef tank... It's 75g tank with a 75g sump, driven by a Mag 12 w/a penductor... Plus a Vortec, running full on High Randon Reef, with another Tunze 6045 for a little extra... If the poor things didn't get plastered to the glass, they would be getting tossed into one of my anemones, and eaten for lunch. Another minus for SH; I keep that tank at 80 to 82 degrees. Unless I made some serious changes, my main tank could not be used for SH.

I've been following some local breeders, right in my area. I'd rather pay a higher price to them, than an LFS. I can check out their systems, and have the local support I may need if I have problems. Plus, I can keep 2 more SH in the sea

I'll probably take your advice, and stick with one pair of Erectus, unless I transfer them to a larger tank. If I were by chance, to obtain another pair, I'll go back to the same local breeder, for more Erectus.

I'm trying to plan ahead for long term success. I've seen several SH tanks crash. I'd like to avoid that.

Thanks again Ray, I appreciate your responses, and FishGirrl too!

:bigeyes:

 

[Elysia]

I noticed that one thing wasn't yet covered that you asked about: fake corals. People do use fake corals, but I would ask about any that you are planning to use before you buy them. Some owners have had horses get stuck in certain pieces, and they would be able to advise you before you spend a lot of money on an expensive piece.

As far as whether the horses like vertical or horizontal hitches, it all depends. Who would think that they would like to hitch on snail shells (occupied by snails, no less!) but they do... I think that the width of the hitch matters to the horses more -- the horses I have known always liked to be able to wrap their tail the entire way around the hitch, so that the tip of the tail could touch higher up on the tail -- if the hitch was too large to do this, they wouldn't use it. Note, though, that as the horses grow, they can't grasp at the same thin diameter objects that they could as juveniles...

Trust me, horses make up for being PITA in the planning stages by being so interesting to watch when you finally get them home.

 

[Klownfish]

... horses get stuck in certain pieces, and they would be able to advise you before you spend a lot of money on an expensive piece.

... I think that the width of the hitch matters to the horses more --

Trust me, horses make up for being PITA in the planning stages by being so interesting to watch when you finally get them home.

Thanks, Elysia.

All very helpful.

I'm glad you included the part about SH being worth the work... I'd started to second guess my decision.

:strange:

 

[rayjay]

I'm going to keep the bioload to near zero (no other fishes)

That would be nearly impossible to have a near zero bioload in seahorse keeping because of their eating habits.

the skimmer has an Aquabee pump that moves 600-800 gpm. It's rated for a 180g tank. I was hoping that might keep things clean. Well, cleaner.

The bigger the skimmer the better. However it doesn't solve the task of feeding while away for multiple days in a week.

That, and lots of macro like Dragons Toung in the main tank.

Definitely a help.

Do these in tank ammonia things work in a SH tank? I've never used them, but it seemed like a good way for a newbie to keep a constant eye on the ammonia. Are they sensitive enough? Or, not to be trusted?

I can't say definitively but I have them in two of my seahorse tanks and am still checking the ammonia levels.
I have had tested levels of .025 ammonia but not show a thing on the Seachem Alert button. I haven't had higher levels to know what kind of resolution would show up.
I'm not planning on buying more of them.

I've been following some local breeders, right in my area. I'd rather pay a higher price to them, than an LFS. I can check out their systems, and have the local support I may need if I have problems. .......If I were by chance, to obtain another pair, I'll go back to the same local breeder, for more Erectus.

Excellent!!

 

[Klownfish]

That would be nearly impossible to have a near zero bioload in seahorse keeping because of their eating habits.

The bigger the skimmer the better. However it doesn't solve the task of feeding while away for multiple days in a week.

... levels of .025 ammonia but not show a thing on the Seachem Alert button.

Nearly impossible for near zero? Really? Humm. Just the reefer in me...

Has anyone ever tried Zeovit, VSV, Prodbio, or vodka? What were the results?

What type of chemistry should I expect? What's considered acceptable? I know reef params, but I've never been FOWLER. Or, a 'Horser. LOL.

ph? NO3? NO4? PO4? Ca? dkh/Kh?


As for all of the feedings, I'm just going to have to teach the spouse and kid to feed the horses. I'm going to have to get over having them in my seahorse tank... I'm the only person to touch my reef tank. I'm going to premeasure the food.

Thanks, Ray, I appreciate your time answering my questions.

:twitch:

 

[rayjay]

Well, first off, in 17 years of reefing with 10 or more systems, I've never resorted to using anything like Zeovit, Probidio, vodka or whatever. I've always used live rock as my biological filtration, limewater for maintenance of cal and alk, other than Randy's DIY for sitters to dose when I'm away.
I add calcium, magnesium, to my new salt mix as needed before going into the tanks.
I've not depended on other things for water quality, and, in fact I don't check water parameters on my reef tanks. I have NEVER checked for nitrates, and only checked ammonia and nitrite for reef tanks when first set up. So, I have no experience what they will do for you.
However, it's my understanding that those systems are basically a carbon based method for producing bacteria to consume phosphates and nitrates for removal by a protein skimmer.
Phosphates and nitrates I haven't had much problem with in any of my reef tanks but I do use large protein skimmers for dissolved organic removal, and IMO, are not a concern to me in my seahorse tanks as I'm not keeping anything delicate like sps corals in there.
I don't believe they will do anything for the first stage which is the deadliest, ammonia.
If I control ammonia then after that, I expect normal water changes to take care of nitrates and phosphates the same as my reef tanks.
I don't use, but probably the best filtration to handle ammonia is a large wet-dry system, which although it doesn't handle the nitrates, is EXTREMELY efficient when it comes to stripping ammonia and nitrite from a system.
That is something I would consider using on my larger systems for seahorses when I get them under way, if I have ammonia problems with them. (65g and 90g)
I don't check for pH and assume it's around 8 as I don't have problems with any of the tanks.
As for s.g., that is the choice each individual makes as they can live in reduced salt levels and full strength seawater. I keep mine at 1.026, but others have kept them as low at 1.017 that I've seen posted.
When I'm raising fry, I normally run around 1.020 because I do complete water changes every two days and this uses a bit less salt, even though most of what I use is my DIY salt mix. (non reef tanks, about 1/3rd I.O. and 2/3rds DIY)
Also, it's closer to the s.g. that I grow the greenwater in that I use in the fry nursery containers.
I'm fortunate enough to have a neighbour who has a great interest in my hobby, but is not able to do it for himself, and he has taken a great deal of time with me, to learn an awful lot about how to look after things.
About all I don't have him do is dose limewater so he doesn't have to come back a fourth time at night after lights out, to add to the sumps. Instead, the Randy formula is quite handy.
(this neighbour will even schedule his holidays around mine so he can look after things for me)

 

[TamiW]

As another data point, I haven't had any problems with ammonia in my seahorse tanks once established, and I'm a pretty heavy stocker and feeder. I'm also a pretty regular tester, so it's not something I've missed. On the other hand, I have struggled with nitrate and phosphate, so obviously different things present different challenges to different people.

You won't be able to keep the bioload near zero, being that the bioload is the load living things will put on a system, but I don't doubt you can keep the waste near there using the methods you've suggested.

for specific parameters:
ph? 8.0 - 8.4
NO3? 40ppm or less, 20ppm or less being ideal
NO4? ??
PO4? I don't think phosphates themselves will cause problems for seahorses, you just want to keep it low to keep nuisance algae in check.
Ca? NSW or higher. Seahorses aren't too picky but you don't want it to drop lower than 360ppm
dkh/Kh? 8 -12dKh

 

[rayjay]

It's my thought that most successful seahorse keepers don't have problems with ammonia.
However, new hobbyists starting out can't as of yet be called successful and when I'm doing trouble shooting, ammonia is the number one problem I find in systems under a year old that have killing problems.
Usually it's because people ignore the advice given for best success chances because they either don't have the money for a large enough tank, or they have been told by someone like the LFS that what they are doing is just fine.
Also, even with an ideal set up, if they don't do proper husbandry for the conditions they have, they can still run into problems.
In my case, I have a couple of tanks I continually have to test for because they are moderately to severely overloaded.
For example, I have a 20g cube with my 2 1/2 to 4" reidi that I sell in it, and while most are sold, there are still about 20 left in it. The 20g garbage pail sump is full of rock but only holds about 10g of water for a total of 30g, so I'm overloaded after a pair of reidi IMO.
While I used to do very large daily water changes to handle this when there were closer to 100 in the cube (but smaller), I now add ClorAm-X sufficient to get me through about 3 days before changing water but still have to check the ammonia in case more is produced than I've taken care of with the additive.
As for the parameters, dKH of 6 or 7 wouldn't bother me either.
Calcium levels would be ok at very low levels as long as it wouldn't upset the balance for maintaining alk and pH and I don't know of any normally maintained tank that would have this problem due to low calcium. Usually, a low pH for instance is due to lack of proper air exchange due to closed up home in winter or in A/C times.
As Tami has mentioned, you can have problems if phosphate and nitrate are too high and result in algal build up, but I personally never test for these but accept that they are out of line if the problem occurs.
At that point, I still wouldn't test for those nutrients, but rather take measures to correct the problem and when the problem goes away, then I know limits are OK, whatever the readings might be. Again, it just comes down to preferences in how one handles their systems.
My way is not by far the only successful way, and I won't claim it to be best either.

 

[Klownfish]

It's my thought that most successful seahorse keepers don't have problems with ammonia.

Usually it's because people ignore the advice given for best success chances because they either don't have the money for a large enough tank, or they have been told by someone like the LFS that what they are doing is just fine.

Also, even with an ideal set up, if they don't do proper husbandry for the conditions they have, they can still run into problems.

Usually, a low pH for instance is due to lack of proper air exchange due to closed up home in winter or in A/C times.

Thanks, Tami and Ray.

No, I wont't be taking advice from an LFS, unless I know them personally, and know they have extensive experience with SH. Right now, I don't know of anyone in my area who does.

I'm all too familliar with the 'closed house syndrome'.

I've delt with the low pH in the summer time, with my reef tank. I add a small "kalk slurry" to a busy area of my sump very early, before the lights come on.

I also run a reverse time on my 'fudge, and open the windows with a fan at 4 am across the sump when it's realy hot and humid in the summer.

As for the ammonia, I'm glad you've made me aware of this potential problem I may have easily overlooked.

Thanks again, for all replies.

:twitch:

 

[pledosophy]

Single feeding every day long term will most likely result in seahorse demise.

...
Missing one day a week without food would be the most you could stretch things. If twice a week, you would need someone to come in and feed them anything more than one. . .

My experience differs. Unless it is fry, I have only ever fed once a day.

IME with wild caughts I would often have problems finding live foods and there would be a period of a few days at a time often during certain months of the year, or depending on storms.

IMO if a horse is healthy a few day period without food, while not ideal, is not going to cause death. Feeding once a day will not have an ill affect on the seahorses IME.

Keeping seahorses on a fasting schedule is common practice with many keepers and highly recommended by some breeders.

I think a lot of the problems you reference with ammonia comes from a lack of understanding of the cycling process and the idea that you have to over feed once the tank is stocked.

how long do you think SH could go without eating until you see a "point of no return" in health?

I've seen shipments come into L.A. where the seahorses had been in bags with no food for 7 days. They still lived.

When training wild caughts to frozen I would give them five days of frozen and if they didn't take any feed live on the 6th for a week or so, and then do it again. It took some of the horses several times of this for it to work. I had a few that never converted and went through this for quite awhile. I never went past 5 days. If a seahorse is sick and not eating I tube feed on the 5th day.

Nearly impossible for near zero? Really? Humm. Just the reefer in me...

Has anyone ever tried Zeovit, VSV, Prodbio, or vodka? What were the results?

It's very possible and not all that hard to keep a seahorse tanks nitrates at zero. Just take what you know from reefing and apply it to the seahorse tank. They are not all that different.

I do regularly test my tanks for nitrate as well as a few other things (CA, MG, Alk, pH, SG, PO4).

I have found carbon dosing to be an effective method of eliminating nitrates in non planted tanks. I personally prefer white sugar to other methods. I originally did vodka for the first couple years. I found the regiment of dosing vodka between the daily measurements using a syringe and rigging the drip system to be to tedious for me. I considered a peristalic pump but always found something else to spend the money on.

I find white sugar to be easier to measure, (my tank takes two packets of sugar for maintence which is pretty rad it worked out like that) and I can add it all at once without the same consequence to the pH.

Your tank sounds like it will work. I would personally be leary about using that skimmer if you can not get it to return to the back chamber. You might consider a smaller more appropriately sized skimmer like some of the options from nano tuners or other similar companies. Ya the bigger skimmer the better, but at some point it is just overkill. At one pair of erectus your really not going to have that high of a bioload.

I would encourage you to go with naussarius snails, cerith snails, and netrite snails. The others will mow down the red macro's you desire. IME these are good choices. If your going to let your tank mature as you have stated you will most likely see a surge of stomella snails which are also good. I would feed the tank starting with a little and gradually increasing to the full day of seahorse feeding a few weeks before getting the seahorses. This will let the micro fauna mature and the bacteria population grow. If you are having algae problems during this period it is a lot easier to deal with then if the tank is stocked (just turn off the lights for a bit, run that skimmer, and then do a water change).

Good Luck.
HTH