Dedicated Sea horse build thread

[travis32]

We were looking at SW fish tonight, our local pet stores suck for having good SW fish selections. however they have tanks dedicated to sea horses and nudibranches and anenomes... go figure...

Anyways, I suggested to my wife (why I have no clue) that we could possibly do a dedicated seahorse tank for fairly reasonable. It would just house seahorses. maybe some sand dwelling things as I'd want to do a DSB..

so my questions...

i was thinking like a 10 - 30g octogon, corner, or something like that. Fairly small. DSB -- like 5" or so.

Maybe 10 - 20 lbs of LR, no sump. And lots of macro algae-- decorative and for the Seahorses. Limited or no corals.


3 - 5 seahorses if that.


For the build could I get buy with the following;

tank,
stand
either a comon flourescent hood or a very small 2 bulb PC fixture (say 24" max) Would prefer something like 2 12" PC fixtures or something like that if doing a corner or multisided tall tank.

i think the tank and stand would be relatively cheap.

So, basic supplies would be:

Heater 100W heater or so,
sand,
LR,
mechanical power filter?


Would i need a protein skimmer for something like this? Seems overkill for such a small tank?

i don't think it would need any power heads.

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are.. I would post a wanted ad on craigs list once I know for sure what i would need.. i'm just thinking the bar essentials, but something that would make it shine and look very pretty and be conducive to seahorse biology.

 

[ann83]

Seahorses are heavy feeders and produce a lot of waste. A skimmer might not be needed on a macro planted tank, but definitely wouldn't be overkill.

Also, you're looking at 30 gallons minimum for a pair of standard sized seahorses (H. reidi, H. erectus, H. comes, H. barbouri, H. kuda); larger for H. kelloggi, H. ingens, etc. Like most fish in the LFS, the seahorses that you're looking at aren't likely full grown, and will eventually grow to be 6"+, sometimes 8-9" with the standard sized species.

A heater may not be necessary, although I use one to keep my minimum temp from dropping too low. "Tropical" seahorses should be kept at 71-74* to keep bacterial infections at bay. Subtropical and temperate seahorses are kept colder.

On the deep sand bed, keep in mind that seahorses are vertically oriented fish, and it is best to give them at least 18" of vertical swimming space. Taller tanks are definitely better.

 

[travis32]

Thanks Ann, Yeah, I don't have anymore room for rectangles in my house.. It would have to be a tall corner or hex / oct / pent agon stile tank.

I like the idea of a dedicated seahorse tank because it could be a much smaller foot print.. a 24" multisided tank would occupy around 4 square feet.. And be as tall as needs be.

I appreciate the info.. My wife was reading up on them and she said " This sounds really complex." I've been interested in doing a macro tank and would also love to have seahorses, so, the two would go together quite well.

Well, I estimate the minimum cost for all new stuff at around $600-700 and that's on the low end. So, I'll wait until I'm relatively done getting my 55g rectangle fully operational.