DawgFan79's Seahorse Corral

[DawgFan79]

Initialy I wanted to go with a Cube type set-up do to the fact that the height of the tanks is so appealing and is actually something most suggest for seahorses no matter what type they are. But after the wife gave me the only location she would allow me to put another set-up I wasn't sure that a cube would work.

I convinced the wifey to drive me around all day yesterday just to do some initial looking at tank sizes and what not. Well we all know how that story ends. So here's what I picked up!

When I first saw the tank I wasn't sure what size it was, I had never seen a tank with these dims. 10w x 20l x 24h turns out it was a 20xh just not the same dims as your everyday 20h. I was told that only Marineland makes this size tank but I haven't bothered to research that yet. The Pro to this tank is it will fit great in the area my wife has allowed. The Con is the 10" width. The Aquascaping on this is going to be a Pain to get right, but much thought on the fact that the tank will consist of mostly diffrent types of Macros I decided to take it home.

On the way home home the wife asked if she could stop by The "Mart" to grab a few things, since she had been driving me around all day I gladly agreed. Besides we all know they sell 10 Gallon Tanks for $10 and I will most definately be needing one to transform into a sump.. Low and Behold on that same aisle I found a cool stand that is made for a 20-29 Gallon tank and of course snagged it to.. The nice thing about the stand is it comfortably holds a 10 gallon tank underneath. SCORE!

Here's The Tank on it's stand with my Current Sunpod 70 Watt MH Light setup. I'm not sure about the lighting I'm going to use yet but I'm thinking this will be OK for now.

 

[DawgFan79]

I also forgot to mention that while I was out I picked up about 10lbs. of Base rock. I went ahead and put this 10lbs. into the 10 Gallon with a HOB filter and a Korilia Nano and 5 Gallons of RO Saltwater just to get things going. I plan on getting another 10lbs. of Cured Liverock this week hoping to find a sponser with some Marshall Island rock.

 

[DawgFan79]

I plan to paint the back and possibly the bottom glass a bright blue. I've read and heard from a few people that a black background sometimes makes the horses darken themselves.

I'm not sure on weather or not I'm going to be using sand or not in the Main Display Tank. I probably will due to the fact that this will basically be a Macro Algae planted Tank.

I should be picking up a skimmer this weekend, not sure yet which one I'll be using and any advice is welcome. Would really like to find something with a small footprint that can be run internal on the 10G sump.

I plan on keeping the Tank Temps right around 75 degrees and with the Ambient tempatures in my house being around 72-73 I'm really hoping I won't have to use a chiller. I'm not sure how much my MH lighting is going to affect this.
I'm currently looking into the Heater issue, because I need one thats dependable and won't let my temps swing to much. I've always been Partial to the Marineland Stealth Heaters but I've also found this new Fluval E series heater and it seems to be real nice..

 

[namxas]

unless your house gets cooler than about 65*F, save your money on the heater. if you DO decide on a heater, make sure you get a heater guard as SH can get very nasty burns from hitching to a hot heater.

as far as the background is concerned, if you're going to run macro and LR, i wouldn't worry about the SH going dark due to the background (all of my SH tanx have black backs). i even experimented with different color backs (red, yellow, etc.) and found there was no difference.

SH will pretty much be whatever color that fits their mood, but if i had to say anything makes a difference, it would be whatever they're hitched to as opposed to tank back color.

 

[DawgFan79]

namxas - So are you saying I probably won't even need a heater? If I do use one I'll run it in the sump so no burns to worry about. You said all your SH Tanks, how many do you have? What type?

 

[namxas]

nope...even tropical SH spp. are best kept below 74*F. this is due to their propensity to develop bacterial infections. the bacterial count in a closed system increases dramatically at 75*F.

we currently have two that are occupied and a third that is being used to QT a scorp until we move it. we're not in a "fry place" in our lives ATM (we have 12 SW tanx, and rearing fry takes a LOT of time and effort), so the nursery is currently empty. all of the SH tanx are chilled.

we have reidi, erectus, and barbouri ATM.

 

[arcprolife]

I had that same tank until last week when I changed it over to a hex. Its the equivalent to 2- 10 gallons stacked on top of each other. I do think its a great tank but cant be overstocked. The tonga rock works great for building a "teepee" in the middle of the tank. It is also a great space saving tank. Good luck with your future fish.

 

[jemzam]

Where did you find that tank? I like it.

 

[DawgFan79]

namxas - Hopefully i can get this thing set-up and cycling this weekend, I'll give it a go with no heater and see how stable the temps are. I'm a little concerned with using the MH but it is only 70 Watts and since the tank is pretty deep I'm hoping it won't affect the temps to much. Also maybe you can help me with and ID I'll post a pic here but also through out a new thread just in case there's a troller out there who can help..

arcprofile - Thanks for the good wishes, I'm not worried about the overstocking. Only going to house a Pair of either H. Erectus or H. Reidi .

jemzam - I found the Tank at a LFS, not one of the box or chain stores, but it is manufactured by Marineland.

 

[DawgFan79]

Can anyone ID these Guys?

Can anyone ID these Guys?

I want to say Erectus but not entirely sure.. Any help?

 

[DawgFan79]

Ok guys, I've collected a few more items for my new Corral, Picked up a 3/4" Bulkhead for my drain, and a Couple 1/2" Bulkheads for returns, not sure yet where I'm going to place them yet, I'm thinking maybe go with some sort of Spray Bar design of each return.

Also picked up a Small protein Skimmer it's not a brand name that's well known but the LFS uses a larger version on there store tanks and it seems to work well, I'll post up some pictures later.

Any advise on my overflow and return Ideas would be greatly appreciated..

 

[Bluespot22]

Nice ponies! They look like erectus to me too.

 

[SaylorsReef]

Beautiful horses!

 

[DawgFan79]

I wish I could say thanks guys, but those Ponys aren't mine. Thay were a pair for sale locally and I was just looking for an ID of Erectus or Redi..

UPDATE..

I've decided to go with a 1" Overflow instead of 3/4 just to be safe, since I will probably be using a Mag 3 Return dialed back a little with a Ball valve..

 

[seattleguy]

If the bacteria count is a possible issue, would a UV sterilizer be a good idea? If a sterilizer was used then would the temperature matter if it were around 79 or 80?

 

[namxas]

the deal is a UV only works on waterborne bacteria, and many of the bacteria SH are sensitive to (such as Vibrio sp.) are benthic.

 

[twinspots_goby]

Re: Can anyone ID these Guys?

Re: Can anyone ID these Guys?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15090545#post15090545 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DawgFan79
I want to say Erectus but not entirely sure.. Any help?

Is the one on the right Albino? I see red eyes for some reason.