Mangrove Seahorse tank

[Allmost]

Hello all,
so I am setting up a seahorse tank for a friend this weekend, and got an Idea last night, which I wanted to double check with you guys before going ahead with it.

so I rather not use a sump or a skimmer ! tank is 29 Gallons, and goal is to have 1-2 H. Reidi Seahorses in there.

one way which I was gonna go with originally is to have alot of 'grape' algae, which looks good, seahorses can rest on, and will take care of the water quality to some degree ....

then I started thinking about mangroves, and got the following Idea :

Im going to glue a price of plexy glass at the middle of the tank, like a sump, the plexy glass will be 10" high, and size of the interior of the tank. tank is 24" tall.
then Im going to have a DSB on one side of the plexy glass, and a SSB on other side. the side with DSB will be filled with mangroves, so they can stick out of the water as well, with a MH 150 W bulb on top.
the side with SSB will have a piece of LR.

does this sound like a good Idea to you guys ?

should I use aragonite sand ? or miracle mud ?

I think I will have a Power head on the DSB side, pointing towards the SSB as well, pushing all detritus to SSB side, so I can siphon it out weekly with water changes.

will 150W MH heat up the water ? I should think of a chiller too no ?

thanks

aiming for a mini/nano mangrove forest going on, on top of the tank, and seahorses in the tank ... and I guess the seahorses can use the mangroves and hitching posts as well ... ? I haven't used mangroves before, but Im guessing under a MH light they would be good for nutrition export ? if so, how many mangroves would you guys recommend on a 29 G ?

thanks again.

 

[Amphiprion]

I don't think you'll have much of an issue with a 150w lamp as far as heat goes, especially if you employ a small fan or keep it a reasonable distance from the surface (at least 5-6" for 150w). Can't give a clear recommendation on the number of mangroves. You could always start with a good number of them and weed them out (i.e. sell or trade them) over time. Starting with a handful should also have a larger impact on nutrients. Even under a halide, however, they are not strong exporters of nutrients in the short term--overall, yes, but they don't do it particularly quickly. Sounds like a good plan overall and quite interesting. Keep it updated either way.

 

[namxas]

If you build your system like that (partitioning it in half), that's going to leave precious little space for the SH. SH really do need more room than most peeps give them credit for.

I'm not sure where the

"one way which I was gonna go with originally is to have alot of 'grape' algae, which looks good, seahorses can rest on, and will take care of the water quality to some degree .... "

thing is coming from, as one thing about the macro is that when you prune it, you're removing the DOC's that the the macro has used for food, so "nutrient export" is definitely going on.

As for the DSB...well, I guess some peeps like them, but I've never trusted them as pretty much everyone I know who runs run has said they crash after awhile. If you're really hankering for a DSB, I'd run a remote one in a bucket or a HOB fuge and put your mangroves in there.

Yes, a 150W MH will probably heat your water up, how much depends on a lot of factors, however, if you can't control the temp with a fan or fans, you'll need a chiller.

JMO/JME

 

[Allmost]

thanks, your right, I want the MH to be right over the mangroves, so it will be more than 6" from top of water I think ... to give good and broad illumination for them all. and not to burn them.

if it starts to heat water up, I can always make it shine side ways, on the mangroves, and not directly into the tank...


I drew a couple diagrams, which one do you think would work better, my first choice is this :

basically what described above, DSB and mangroves, and a Power head(small).
also a HOB filter, for some mechanical filter, carbon or po4 remover.


then I thought, maybe flow going across DSB and mangroves would be better, and I can use a phosphate reactor instead of the HOB filter, so drew this one :

Pic shown from back of the tank.

basically the DSB and mangroves will be at the middle of the tank, a pump on the right hand side, feeding po4 reactor, whose output goes to the chamber on the left ... so it will have a left to right flow going on in there .... .

what do you guys think ? which one would work better ?

thanks for looking

 

[Allmost]

If you build your system like that (partitioning it in half), that's going to leave precious little space for the SH. SH really do need more room than most peeps give them credit for.

I'm not sure where the thing is coming from, as one thing about the macro is that when you prune it, you're removing the DOC's that the the macro has used for food, so "nutrient export" is definitely going on.

As for the DSB...well, I guess some peeps like them, but I've never trusted them as pretty much everyone I know who runs run has said they crash after awhile. If you're really hankering for a DSB, I'd run a remote one in a bucket or a HOB fuge and put your mangroves in there.

Yes, a 150W MH will probably heat your water up, how much depends on a lot of factors, however, if you can't control the temp with a fan or fans, you'll need a chiller.

JMO/JME

well thanks for you opinion.

I do have quite alot of seahorse tanks, so I am well aware of space seahorses need, I have also been reefing for a long while, so I am well aware of how macro algae exports nutritions, but thanks anyways .... arent mangroves the same thing ? consume n and p from water and grow ??!!

I am a believer of DSB ... everyone has their opinions on it though ... everyone is correct IMHO when it comes to DSB I think they work ... my experience confirms it.

now regarding seahorses not having space, why not ? Please explain. they have 29 gallons to swim and do their thang ! lol they can swim within the mangroves too, right ? I currently have 4 reidis in a 25G with a 6" DSB, they are doing more than fine, all 4 red in color and breeding regularly. only missing part from the 29G is a 10"x10" space that DSB takes ... and that is there only so I can put the mangroves in ... maybe you thought Im gonna seperate the tank into 2 halfs all the way up to the top of the tank ? hopefully the pic above will explain better .... partitioning is only done for 6-10" for the DSB ...


sorry, I dont get what you mean about grape algae .... we all know that growing macro algae will consume N and P (NOT DOCs) and pruning it will remove those from water, exporting nutition, I dont get what you mean by "Im not sure where it came from"
many of my FOWLR set ups have no skimmer and I grow macro algae in there instead and prune it weekly ... water parameters are perfect ... EDIT : ohhh maybe you thought Im going to drop ALOT of algea in there at first myself ? I meant GROW alot of algae ... start with a bit and grow it and prune it ... sorry, I wanst 100% clear about it ...

anyways, thanks .... I dont see how my Idea is so wrong though ... would love it if you could explain what you mean ..

the chiller .... yea that is what Im afraid of, but again, for a 30G tank, even if I do need a chiller it wont need to be that big ... so I can most likely afford it. going to look for some options on that ....

 

[namxas]

Figure one is how i'd run...more space for the SH.

Yes, they consume nitrogenous waste and phosphates (NH3 first, then NO3, then PO3)...sorry i miss-typed (i have a stack of paper in front of my keyboard and i'm multitasking.

 

[Allmost]

Figure one is how i'd run...more space for the SH.

Yes, they consume nitrogenous waste and phosphates (NH3 first, then NO3, then PO3)...sorry i miss-typed (i have a stack of paper in front of my keyboard and i'm multitasking.

thank you

well I spoke to the person Im making the tank for, and they are fine with bying a chiller so I guess its better to get it now and be on the safe side ... would a 1/4 HP be enough ? or too much ?

really appreciate your help

 

[Amphiprion]

what do you guys think ? which one would work better ?

thanks for looking

With the lamp that high, I don't think heating should be much of a concern. I prefer the first configuration, both practically and aesthetically.

 

[mark0933]

I'm planning the same thing (only a larger scale) in a 36" cube (and pots in the long run) - why go with a 29G? IMO a 65 would be a much better option which would allow for more horses too.

Mark

 

[Allmost]

Thanks, yea the heating part is a puzzle ... It would depend on how hot they keep the house too, so have to see ... figure one would be more appropriate I think too, so gonna go with that ... More room for every one the seahorses, LR, and mangroves.

Mark, that would look amazing !! I love the cubic tanks. Honestly, I have a 29g tank which I kept a snake in for years by my bed ... He got too big so I gave it away, didn't have the room for it, and I got this idea last night looking at the empty 29 g and I have just too many tanks in my one bedroom condo, with a new 135 g in the making so gonna set this up at a friends, hopefully if they get hooked too They can upgrade it but a 65 g and taller would be much easier to keep and would look nicer, I agree .

Will post pics as soon as I get it done

 

[loganbug3]

Personally I like the interest in the second figure, but I think the first is more practical. I would expect they have plenty of swimming room in both designs and the mangroves shouldn't present any difficulties from what you've said you seem quite capable of training your friend for any chemical changes.

 

[BigRick]

A 1/10 HP Chiller would be enough. Seahorses need cooler waters then reef temps