Input on my tank plans please.

[SaltyMember]

Hi, I attempted seahorse about 4yrs ago and due to my lack of experience I failed miserably and lost two horses. After now gaining more experience in saltwater and reading more on seahorses I am gearing up to setup a new seahorse tank.
I would like to get some input on my proposed setup.

Tank: 37g AGA tall tank, will not be using a sump on this tank.

Liverock: Thinking about 1 lb. per gallon mostly baserock seeded
with some good LR.

Sand: 1-2 inches of aragonite.

Filter: hang on biowheel type for additional biofiltration and carbon.

Skimmer: I am strongly considering the following skimmers Tunze nano doc skimmer, an AquaC Remora (I had a Remora skimmer that I sold 2 yrs ago....I could kick myself), or an Octopus B100F hang on skimmer. Does anyone have any input regarding the skimmer choices?

Macroalgae grown in the tank. Thinking some chaeto tucked behind LR and caulerpa prolifera in the sand. (What amount of lighting would be enough for the macro? I have an old 55watt PC light I could use if you think it would be enough)

Livestock: pair of erectus with cleanup crew of snails, couple of pepermint shrimp.

Appreciate any input/suggestions. Thanks!

 

[pledosophy]

Plans sounds pretty swell.

I had a Remora and really dis not think it did much. I have a clone of the Octopus Recirculating skimmer, and that pulls very little out as well, but more then the Remora. If I had to pick between those I'd try the Tunze.

I'd skip the biowheel filter IMO. I was never a fan of the biowheel myself. You could get a simpler hang on if you want to run carbon, might be good to run phos ban in too. Just a tip you might wanna avoid the Chemi Pure Elite with the seahorse because it uses a chemical different then the typical phosban which is not good for seahorses.

For the liverock, if your using dry you will probably only need 20 lb or so, maybe less. Go for dry branch rock if you can get it. I found cooking dry rock reduces futher algae problems, even in macro tanks.

On the macro algae. I used to be a huge fan of prolifera. Let it overtake my sand bed once, looked like this.

It was nice. I would suggest you take a look at getting some other species as well though. There is a site called reefcleaners.org that has a tremendous selection of different species of algaes. They also have very ridiculous prices. Ridiculous like you should order soon cuz they are giving the stuff away and i don't know how they're going to stay in business type ridiculous. I've ordered from them myself. Might be a cheap and easy way to give you some diversity.

The 55w could work, for lighting. You could use the NO bulb like this one too.

http://www.lightbulbsdirect.com/page/001/PROD/Reflectors/1P381951

It just screws into a clip on style lamp like many people use for there refugium, Melev has some good pictures with it on his site. One will light your tank, you could use two aslo. Pretty cheap bulb and cheap to run. It also burns really cool, should increase the water temp very little if at all.

HTH

 

[SaltyMember]

pledosophy,
thanks for the info, I am leaning towards trying the tunze myself
Your tank pic looks great. That is how I am invisioning my tank looking. I like having a dense cover of caulerpa on the bottom. I think it just looks so natural.
Can you post some specs of the equipment you are using on your tank?
thanks

 

[pledosophy]

That system is actually an old one. But I remember how it was setup if it helps, maybe not what you expect.

There is a Rio 90 in the top left there for surface aggitation. The tank drained down to a 20g sump that was filled with chaeto, then that returned by a Mag5. Heater was a 100w. Lighting was 4 39w T5 fixture without individual reflectors. I used a 6" fan to blow across the top of the water. I used a clip on light from HD for the refugium underneath.

That's it. 6 plugs.

Here is my current tank.

There is 10 species of desired algae, and one species of undesired . Fighting hair algae in a planted tank is so much fun. It looks a lot better since that pic, but still has a long way to go.

Setup very similar to the other tank, but with much more flow. No filters outside of the refugium. I will add a UV when I introduce the rest of the seahorses. Probably a prefilter for it as well.

HTH, Thanks for lookin

 

[SaltyMember]

very nice. the current tank is very colorful with the assorted macros.

I don't plan on using a sump for this tank but I might consider a hang on fuge. I used to have one before but it was a PITA sometimes and akward to reach. I will have to think about this more.

 

[pledosophy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13334441#post13334441 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SaltyMember
very nice. the current tank is very colorful with the assorted macros.

I thought you might like the more colorful look too, I certainly do, which is why I suggested you go take a look at reefcleaners.org. They offer so many varieties of macro and almost all are under $10 a piece.

I wasn't a big fan of HOB refugium either.

Thanks for the compliment. It's a work in progress.