Ideas? Anyone?

[ladybug5234]

I have been keeping large and small reefs for 20 years, but I just started in SH. I picked up a pair of lovely H. Reidi from a popular local breeder here in town. They eat frozen mysis and I have noticed a BIG increase in my nitrates since adding them. I was wondering if a larger CUC would help with that and what I can/cannot include in there.

Also, I was told the horses needed to be fed 3x a day, which is A LOT of food. Not only is tank poollution a problem, but I am a teacher and in the summer my family and I go away often for a couple of days at a time. I had an idea for a "feeding pump" for these guys and need help figuring out if it would work or not before I dive into it.

What I was thinking was adding a small tank (1 or 2 gal.) and connecting that to an Aqualifter pump. I would keep live phyto in there (which I cultivate anyway because of the gorgs in that tank) with an airline pump. When I am away, I would have a friend come by and add a cube of frozen mysis every day in the morning. I would set the Aqualifter on a timer to go off 3 x day for 1 to 2 minutes at a time.

Do you guys think this could/would work? Any drawbacks anyone can point out?

 

[mollymonticello]

I answered your other thread, too, and just saw this one

When I go on vacation, my buddy comes by once a day to check on things and feed a few cubes of mysis. What exactly is in that phyto mixture? I think phyto is mainly plant matter, right? If so, it's not going to feed your seahorses. I think a few cubes once a day would be fine for when you go on vacation for a couple weeks. But if you are still worried, you can buy a bag of live saltwater feeder shrimp and put them in right before you leave.

 

[ladybug5234]

I meant the phyto just as a solution to keep the mysis thawed. It would also feed the gorgonias I have which require daily feedings.

But the saltwater feeder shrimp idea is not a bad one. Where would I get those and how big are they? My horses will be around 8-9 months when I go on vacation.