Metal Halides and Seahorses

[FutureBoyGenius]

Will a metal halide fixture affect a seahorse adversely? I know that most keep their seahorse displays at 74 degrees which may be hard to maintain with intense lighting?

How well does chaetomorpha grow under halides? I am thinking about throwing some in my display tank.

 

[pledosophy]

The light itself will not harm the seahorse.

Chaeto grows well under it.

 

[gatorolsen]

I'm not sure about the lighting, my first thought was keeping the temp down would be the biggest concern

what kind of lighting do you have now? If you are upgrading just for the chaeto that seems like an expense - i've seen good growth w/ pc and vho - of course I do not have halides to compare it to

Gatorolsen

 

[docalatamu]

go with t5's much less heating of the tank water

 

[FutureBoyGenius]

I was just wondering what kind of problems halides would create with a seahorse. I didn't know if they would be too much light for chaeto. I know chaeto grows well at lower spectrums. I currently have a 65watt 50/50PC over a 20Gallon Tall. I was thinking of upgrading the tank and trying to do a small reef that was seahorse safe.

Thank your for your responses.

 

[sanddune600]

what kind of reef soft lps or sps it seems to me that your issue will be more with flow if trying sps lps and if you do soft you can get away with a much cooler running bulb i thought the same thing but now that i have researched more i am going to get some different kinds of macro algeas that will help keep nutrients down look good and give something for the horses to hold on to

 

[pledosophy]

I'm keeping seahorses under HQI bulbs now. Have been for awhile now. The only issue is heat, which is easily dealt with IME.

Chaeto also grows well under MH's IME. You can get a lower spectru bulb if you like.

You don't need MH's to grow chaeto, some CF bulbs will do just fine.

There are many corals that will benefit from the MH's, and in a 20g it is a good option IMO. T5's are also nice, I run them on my reef.

Personally I don't think the MH's have that different of a heat output then the T5's it's just that the T5's heat is more dispersed. I am not sure why that is so commonly stated.

 

[eisaiasjr]

HQI and SHs

HQI and SHs

Hello:

The only real issue with HQIs or any high intensity lighting is that it causes hyper-pigmentation on Seahorses, in essence turning them black or very dark brown.

If you are OK with having seahorses that are black most of the time then its not a problem for you, however some of the brazilian reidis go from being bright yellow to dark brown which is a real shame.

Regards,

E

 

[JennyL]

Re: HQI and SHs

Re: HQI and SHs

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13176370#post13176370 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eisaiasjr
Hello:

The only real issue with HQIs or any high intensity lighting is that it causes hyper-pigmentation on Seahorses, in essence turning them black or very dark brown.

If you are OK with having seahorses that are black most of the time then its not a problem for you, however some of the brazilian reidis go from being bright yellow to dark brown which is a real shame.

Regards,

E

Many times when a seahorse turns black it is a sign of something in the tank that is causing them stress.

If using bright lighting(which I don't think should be used in a seahorse tank) be sure to provide them with areas where they can escape the bright lights.

 

[pledosophy]

Re: HQI and SHs

Re: HQI and SHs

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13176370#post13176370 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eisaiasjr
Hello:

The only real issue with HQIs or any high intensity lighting is that it causes hyper-pigmentation on Seahorses, in essence turning them black or very dark brown.

If you are OK with having seahorses that are black most of the time then its not a problem for you, however some of the brazilian reidis go from being bright yellow to dark brown which is a real shame.

Regards,

E

Are you saying they get a tan? :lol:

Can I get a link?

I've been keeping seahorses under high intensity lighting for a few years now. Never had one go black.

 

[pledosophy]

Re: Re: HQI and SHs

Re: Re: HQI and SHs

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13177076#post13177076 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JennyL

If using bright lighting(which I don't think should be used in a seahorse tank)

Just kinda curious as to why? You can walk out to be knee high in some places and find seahorses. The lights we have in our systems aren't even close to being as bright as the sun.

 

[bohannbj]

The sun is bright but the seahorses I saw, when I went diving, were along a rock that was blocking much of the sun.

 

[eisaiasjr]

HQI - Hyperpigmentation on SH

HQI - Hyperpigmentation on SH

Hello:

Here is some more information on why HQI make seahorses turn dark, this response was posted by Pete Giwonja while I was asking about going HQI with my ELOS system 70, Pete has a couple of publications on seahorses and their habitats

"I am less certain about mating the ELOS System 70 aquarium to the Suncolor 150 HQI lighting system, Estefano. As we have discussed before, I have reservations regarding the use of metal halides for seahorses. My primary concerns are the issue of overheating and the fact that high intensity lighting systems will encourage the seahorses to produce excess melanin, which means that bright colored seahorses such as Sunbursts or Hippocampus reidi in their yellow, orange, or red color phases may darken and lose their vivid coloration under metal halides. Elevating the metal halides 24-36 inches above the aquarium is a good way to reduce the intensity of the lighting and will help dissipate the heat from the lamps, but I can't say if that's going to be sufficient to keep the seahorses from darkening."

To read the entire article from Pete Giwonja you can follow the below link:

http://www.seahorse.com/option,com_joomlaboard/Itemid,218/func,view/id,4972/catid,2/

This same site has incredible amounts of good information on seahorses for anyone that is interested in reading ALOT.

Regards,

Estefano