Is it better to turn off my equipement for feeding time

[Mudbeaver]

Ok i have a few question here;Need an expert here.

-Is it better to turn OFF my water return during feeding time or not.

-I have a pod factory in one part of my tank ( colum of rubble air hose ...);
would shrimp and crabs destroy that supply?

- I'm planting my tank with a full collection of macro-Algae to simulate its habitat; is there one that is not a good one for them.

- Would a mandarin who eat very slowly be a problem.


-Should i have a medium or slow flow( lots of macro-Algae will reduce the flow)

- Are sponge a problem with horses.

- Whats the best method of feeding; station or turkey baster, or let it go...

- Best foods.

- what are the vitamins should i suppliment.

- the best temperatures for them lowest and highest.( don't have a chiller)

The tank is 80g sandy and mud bottom for sea grass .


If you can answer all that your an expert, lol

 

[rayjay]

With seahorses and a mandarin in a tank, the "pod factory" will not be a factory for long as they will quickly decimate the population of any pods appropriately sized for their liking. You might be able to keep a small population going if there is enough rubble for them to escape the hunters.
The mandarin could possibly be a problem if it doesn't readily eat the food you are providing it.
I prefer areas of low, medium and high flow, with hitching in each area for them to choose where they wish to be at any given time.
I can't help with macro information as I only use one type.
As for sponges, some work OK and some not good. (see tankmates guide on the org)
There is no BEST way to feed, only personal preference.
Best temperature range is to run from 68° to 74°. Anything higher most often leads to problematic bacteria growth.
Sea grass as I understand it, need deep substrate, like 6", and are very light demanding and the high powered lighting often leads to heat problems in the tank requiring a chiller. A lot of macros will work just fine without near so much light requirement.
I feed frozen mysis as the standard food, two to three times a day, but once or twice a week I feed live adult brine shrimp enriched with Dans Feed which has the basic needs already there.
Some add vitamins to their tanks but I never have other than the ones Dan puts in his feed.
Unfortunately, many of us can answer all your questions, but that in itself doesn't make us experts (and I'm definitely not), nor does an answer necessarily be a correct one.
Then too, many questions can have different answers due to a variety of personal experiences of the person replying.

 

[Mudbeaver]

With seahorses and a mandarin in a tank, the "pod factory" will not be a factory for long as they will quickly decimate the population of any pods appropriately sized for their liking. You might be able to keep a small population going if there is enough rubble for them to escape the hunters.
The mandarin could possibly be a problem if it doesn't readily eat the food you are providing it.
I prefer areas of low, medium and high flow, with hitching in each area for them to choose where they wish to be at any given time.
I can't help with macro information as I only use one type.
As for sponges, some work OK and some not good. (see tankmates guide on the org)
There is no BEST way to feed, only personal preference.
Best temperature range is to run from 68° to 74°. Anything higher most often leads to problematic bacteria growth.
Sea grass as I understand it, need deep substrate, like 6", and are very light demanding and the high powered lighting often leads to heat problems in the tank requiring a chiller. A lot of macros will work just fine without near so much light requirement.
I feed frozen mysis as the standard food, two to three times a day, but once or twice a week I feed live adult brine shrimp enriched with Dans Feed which has the basic needs already there.
Some add vitamins to their tanks but I never have other than the ones Dan puts in his feed.
Unfortunately, many of us can answer all your questions, but that in itself doesn't make us experts (and I'm definitely not), nor does an answer necessarily be a correct one.
Then too, many questions can have different answers due to a variety of personal experiences of the person replying.

Thanks i does help, the mud by the way solves the bed problem for the grass had that the last time in my fuge, and the cool LED for the light. The factory is totaly isolated from the tank so its not exposed to it so it will produce and the pods will escape as they are ready , its actually two huge columbs of debris in each corner toatly dark with air hoses and slit the horses and mandarin can't access it the pods can stay in there as they whish so basically 4' hight 1' large of tank made for them; and with the tank debris and fertilistion, the pods should grow fine, it worked the lat time with for the horses, its the mandarin i was worried about. But mysis, makes a mess evey time but my brittle star was estatic every time i fed. Another thing will the shrimp and crabs take on my pods.

 

[rayjay]

You need to reread your posts before posting them.
I have problems understanding some of what you wrote.
I have LED lighting but it is definitely not sufficient for grasses, although it works OK for macro that I have.
You are going to need a really high output unit with a lot of LED's I would think.
I don't know what fertilizer you are going to feed pods as they don't consume it.
They will eat phyto that has been grown using F/2 fertilizer but you can't add the phyto to the tank when it is connected to the seahorse water.
I'm hoping by debris you are referring to reef rubble. I consider debris to be material I want OUT of the tank.
For feeding, I stop my main pumps and use open ended air lines and small mini power heads to try to keep mysis in suspension for as long as I can.
When feeding the frozen mysis, any remaining mysis pieces, whole or in part, need to be found and siphoned out of the tank as they rapidly cause water deterioration and provide beds and food for nasty bacteria.
I wouldn't have a brittle star (other than micro-stars) in with seahorses as it would be no problem for them to grab onto a seahorse and eat it whenever it may so desire.
I don't use snails, crabs and shrimp in my tanks but you should again, check the "tankmates guide" on the org to be sure you aren't adding a type that isn't compatible with seahorses.
Some can be a problem to seahorses, but on the other hand, when I first started this hobby, my H. reidi seahorses tore apart my cleaner shrimp and ate a lot of the pieces.

 

[Mudbeaver]

You need to reread your posts before posting them.
I have problems understanding some of what you wrote.
I have LED lighting but it is definitely not sufficient for grasses, although it works OK for macro that I have.
You are going to need a really high output unit with a lot of LED's I would think.
I don't know what fertilizer you are going to feed pods as they don't consume it.
They will eat phyto that has been grown using F/2 fertilizer but you can't add the phyto to the tank when it is connected to the seahorse water.
I'm hoping by debris you are referring to reef rubble. I consider debris to be material I want OUT of the tank.
For feeding, I stop my main pumps and use open ended air lines and small mini power heads to try to keep mysis in suspension for as long as I can.
When feeding the frozen mysis, any remaining mysis pieces, whole or in part, need to be found and siphoned out of the tank as they rapidly cause water deterioration and provide beds and food for nasty bacteria.
I wouldn't have a brittle star (other than micro-stars) in with seahorses as it would be no problem for them to grab onto a seahorse and eat it whenever it may so desire.
I don't use snails, crabs and shrimp in my tanks but you should again, check the "tankmates guide" on the org to be sure you aren't adding a type that isn't compatible with seahorses.
Some can be a problem to seahorses, but on the other hand, when I first started this hobby, my H. reidi seahorses tore apart my cleaner shrimp and ate a lot of the pieces.

LOL ok sorry my french sometime kicks-in lol. When i said fertiliser i met phyto which i send directly into the tower of rubbles via an airline tube a drop at a time and its enough . The waste is the extra mysis that my friend the mandarin love to eat at his leasure. Lots get caught in the seagrass and other Macro-Algae which the horse eventualy get too. The sand floor is cleaned up by the mandarin and i'll keep in mind the star you said, they can really attack a horse??? Are the crab and shrimp not omnivore and not eat the pods too? Cause i need a cleaning crew right? I'm carefull on snail they can turn a planted tank into a desert in no time i'm not kidding.

 

[Autonomy]

As RayJay has already stated there are many different individual experiences which people encounter (and are willing to share) when it comes to aquaristics. With that being said I've had no problem with either my skunk cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) or my black brittle starfish (Ophiomastrix spp.) which I keep together with my four seahorses (Kuda). One of my seahorses died overnight (old age I had him for about four years) and my starfish seemed to show no interest in the carcass. I am familiar with the fact that the green brittle starfish (ophiarachna incrassate) will eat free-living invertebrates, such as shrimp, crabs and similar organisms. It is predatory and shouldn't be kept with small fish, it can grown to about 45cm (18") across the arms.

 

[DanU]

FWIW, 4 years is not old age. Our kuda brood stock are currently about 6 years old and still producing.

Dan

 

[Don Quixote]

Depending on what you're trying to do with the macros a PAR of 50-100 would be optimum, spread is going to be your biggest problem. Go for high output LEDs hung at least 12" above the tank. I would suggest staying away from all Caulerpa species save Prolifera which, when trimmed and fed, becomes the ultimate scrubber(filter).
Flow in any tidal system is important as it increases growth, prevents stagnant areas etc; RayJay's preference of flow diversity being the goal here. Best foods? Depends on who you ask. I like PE Mysis and Hikari Mysis as well as enriched live foods. Variety is key, with frozen as the major staple. My personal preference for temperature is 72-73 degrees Fahrenheit as it reduces the viral load. Sponges can be lethal if they die, make sure to keep it properly fed. Your pod factory as others have said will not be enough. I would suggest purchasing captive bred specimens, as well as a refugium where pods can be produced sans predation. Mysis shrimp are also a viable live food option, tank height and lighting schedule will play an important role in the delicate food chain due to their variegate habitation in the water column.

I believe you need to do a considerable amount of further research before purchasing any animal, especially seahorses. Seahorse.org is an excellent resource where guys like Dan and RayJay are always ready and willing to answer even the most obtuse questions.

All the best,
The Don

 

[Don Quixote]

LOL ok sorry my french sometime kicks-in lol. When i said fertiliser i met phyto which i send directly into the tower of rubbles via an airline tube a drop at a time and its enough . The waste is the extra mysis that my friend the mandarin love to eat at his leasure. Lots get caught in the seagrass and other Macro-Algae which the horse eventualy get too. The sand floor is cleaned up by the mandarin and i'll keep in mind the star you said, they can really attack a horse??? Are the crab and shrimp not omnivore and not eat the pods too? Cause i need a cleaning crew right? I'm carefull on snail they can turn a planted tank into a desert in no time i'm not kidding.

Phyto can be tricky. Too much and you can write your name in the cyano that will spread across the walls. Make sure above all, to have a thriving colony of fater growing macros before dosing phytoplankton to any substantial degree. At least this has been something I've learned from an outbreak or two :rollface:

 

[Autonomy]

FWIW, 4 years is not old age. Our kuda brood stock are currently about 6 years old and still producing.

Dan

Perhaps I should of been a little clearer in my wording, but I was speaking solely about my experience. "Old age, I had him for about 4 years". What I was meaning to say was that I had him in my care for 4 years, not that he was 4 years old. The previous owner had him for 3, so I would think 7 for a seahorse is on the old side. The previous owner was over the whole breeding seahorses thing, so I purchased him and decided to give it a go. I already had several females and males (all kuda) but none of them were pairing up. Once he settled into his new home, he paired up with one of my females and pretty much wore himself out, if you know what I mean. He became the best dad. There were many times where he had given me the pleasure of helping rear his ponies.