Seahorse Tank

[Steve175]

A good friend of mine is planning a seahorse tank. Somehow because I've done well with SPS, she thinks I also know how to keep horses (which I do not). She is considering a 60G and prefers to avoid a sump due to space reasons. I have encouraged her to set up a separate refugium with a DSB which will sit above her DT and drain into it (for which she has space). She is looking hard at a Deltec 600 HOB and is hoping that plus a heater (plus, likely, a chiller in the late Spring [her appt is in a basement and relatively cool]) and she'll be good to go. Advice?

 

[rayjay]

Unless she is going to keep her basement quarters lower than 68°F she won't need a heater as recommended temperature range is generally 68° to 74°.
She could check out the links at the bottom of "My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping". These links are to pieces written by experienced seahorse keepers, and, by probably the most respected seahorse breeder in the US.
Not everyone agrees totally on how best to keep seahorses, but if she goes with what the majority would recommend to start with, it would give her the best chances to succeed. It can often be a challenging hobby.

 

[Steve175]

I had read those links before posting as they are often cited on threads here (which I also read). There appears to be very little in either regarding a consensus for a basic recommended setup. From what I can gather thus far it seems that both powerheads and heaters are seahorse nemeses: I've told her she'll definitely need to use a sump. I'll drill both her tank for a drain and the sump for an external pump (to minimize heat). The return we'll Y with a modest return to each corner. Recommended external pump for a 60G seahorse tank with ~ 4ft of head (leaning towards ~ 600gph as a 10x)? Sump will include oversized skimmer (looking at the SRO2000) as well as a small refugium section (realizing that frequent live and frozen feeds will still be required). Thinking of 4 x 24W T5 lighting. She has posted on the "org" but neither of us have really gotten anything in the way of specific advise from those of you who have been successful at this.

 

[rayjay]

All any of us can do is respond based on our own experiences, and, knowledge gained by reading.
It does lead to variations, but the majority of experience reefers have certain basics that they tend to agree on as far as starting recommendations.
If you don't need certain lighting for plant life or corals, the seahorses don't need anything specific and are happy with just ambient lighting.
A sump is NOT absolutely needed but is a definite improvement because it adds water volume. It's also handy to put equipment that otherwise would need to be in the DT. I even keep my live rock in my sumps.
Skimmers also are a very welcomed addition.