chain of tanks?

[zryder98]

Hello everyone. I am currently running a 125 display tank with a 55 sump for fish/corals and such, and I had an idea...
use a spare 15tall tank, plumb it into my sump to get the water quality, and make it into an eventual seahorse tank. I have no intention of actually buying the seahorses for months, but I wanted to get the hardware up and running. Will a 15 tall be an apropriate tank for the more common species of seahorses? I was planning on about 100gph flow from a Maxijet to circulate between the 15 and my sump, wich of course circulates with my display. I currently have over 200lb of rock and 100lb of sand in my system, and this would be just a little "extension" of my system for horses.

any feedback is appreciated.
thanks

 

[seamonkey2]

Sounds good except that if you are going to do it, go a bit bigger like a 40 hex, you'll get the height and extra width is nice for the horses

IMO

Jose

 

[zryder98]

but the taller tanks are better for horses? i liked the idea that the tank i have is free.... and i can get it drilled for $10..
otherwise, 20 tall or something like that is better, or will i be just fine with the 15?

 

[seamonkey2]

yes, taller is much better for horses

free is always good.....no make that GREAT

think about like this: do you want to live in a small house? or if you had the chance would you get a bigger house

good luck

Jose

 

[ReefNutPA]

A 15 gal is really rather small for any of the greater seahorses. Height of the tank is only a big concern if breeding is a priority. Seahorses also need horizontal swimming room as well. Personally, I'd go no smaller than a 29 gal.

Additionally, reef tank temperatures are not recommended for any seahorses, even tropical ones. If your reef tank is 76F or below, then plumbing it in with your reef would be an option.

Tom

 

[BruceW]

A couple of things to think about.

What is the temp of your display tank? It is better to keep tropical species of seahorses at 75 degrees or lower and species like erectus in the low 70's. This is not compatible with most reef style set ups.

If you get captive bred seahorses there will be some danger in mixing their water with your wild caught fishes.

A 15 is a little small for any of the larger species of horses. They will do more swimming and courting if you give them the room.

Because your tank has a small footprint 100gph would be pushing it in such a confined space. Although I do not keep my horses in really low flow systems I find the bigger tanks can have a higher turnover gph wise then small tanks. If you want to breed your horses the 100gph in the 15 would be blowing them apart when they try and make the egg tranfer.

Bruce

 

[zryder98]

ok, so I will look for a 30ish gal tank... anyone have one, Reef ready for sale?

 

[Poniegirl]

I think generally speaking 78F is max temp that is acceptable. But the fact is some of the tropical horses do live in areas where the temp is low 80's in the warm months.
I have kept mine at 78 with no problems. 1 ingens and 1 erectus. Most important is to keep the temperature stable.

 

[BruceW]

Poniegirl

A temp of 78 is much too high for erectus. It really doesn't matter what the temps are in the wild. The higher temps promote bacteria infections and sooner or later your fish will start to show signs of stress.

I have been raising erectus for over 3 years now and I have noticed that past 76 degrees they show signs of stress and stop breeding. Also they start eating less. I keep mine between 72-74 and I recommend that temp range to all the people that have my horses.

Bruce

 

[Fredfish]

Bruce. Your observations on your erectus are very interesting, particularly the part about them stopping breeding.

I have a more tropical species, H. fuscus, that have been exposed to higher temperatures without and signs of stress or interuptions to breeding.

I am very puzzled over the mixed results folks get, and over the discrepancy between what temperatures they live at in the wild and the temps. we keep them at in captivity.

Anyway, to get back on topic, the 15 is small for horses, but you could use it to do a little test to see if you can keep the seahorse tank at lower temperatures than your reef by running it without a heater.

Even with my experiences, I would hesitate to put horses at reef temperatures continuously. Too many people have had problems with horses at 78+ temperatures.

Fred

 

[pledosophy]

Highest I would go with horses is 75F. IMO 72 is better, anything below 68F needs a heater IMO.

Bacteria become much more virtulent at higher temperatures. Higher temps also effect the seahorses in a variety of other ways. In the ocean the hgher temps might be more accptable because of different conditions, but in a home system not feesable.

 

[NanoLurker]

i think higher temperatures in the wild don't cause the problems we see in captive systems because of simple dilution, pathogens do not accumulate in a small area around the fish but are continually "flushed" (for lack of a better word). JMO, if i ever win the lottery i'll set up a tank and devise a contraption to perform continuous water changes and test that