Setting up 20G Tall - Need Advice

[Flumpus]

In the next month I'll be setting up a 20G tall for a pair of h. erectus. I'm planning to keep the tank around 74 degrees, with about 20lbs of live rock and some macro algae. I do need advice on filtering/skimming/plumbing though. I'm not planning on a skimmer because of some things I've read on here, so I think that's out. I hadn't planned on a sump or fuge, just because I've never plumbed something like that before, and would prefer not to. If it would be that much better for the seahorses, I will, but I'll need some help with what to order and the best way to do it. At this point I should mention I'll be ordering the tank from glasscages.com and can have them drill it, so it may not be that hard if they can do that part for me.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[mal40]

Only drill if you are going to add a sump. If you are not adding a sump, use a canister filter.

 

[Flumpus]

I've actually been thinking I will add a sump. I'm going to have the tank custom built, and will have a sump built along with it. I've been looking into sump designs and what I want, as well as overflows for the tank. I'm not too experienced with this, so if anyone has some advice I'd appreciate it.

 

[panmanmatt]

I'm not really up on cutom tanks, but wouldn't it be a lot cheaper to just get a 20 tall from your LFS? I would think that having a standard size tank custom made would be more expensive than one from an LFS.

 

[Flumpus]

It would be, but I'm not going to drill it myself, so that's why I would order it custom.

And actually, it's not that much more, considering it will also be drilled.

 

[BruceW]

The 20 gallon would be on the small side for a pair of adult H. erectus. A 20 tall is only 16" high and don't forget that they are big horses. A 29, 30 cube or 37 tall are all great sizes for erectus. Personally I don't use live rock in my horse tanks but some people do with good results. I would cut down on the amount though and leave plenty of room for swimming and breeding.

I wouldn't be afraid of using a skimmer. I have seahorse tanks both with and without skimmers and I think the skimmed tanks produce better water quality.

Keeping your tank at 74 is a good idea. I try and keep mine between 72-74. Although H. erectus can stand higher temps in the aquarium they are very prone to diseases when the water warms up into the high 70's and above. During the two week heat wave here in california I lost about half of my large adult horses to bacterial infections.

Bruce

 

[MSAreef]

I have a 42 tall sehorse tank with 4 erectus and 1 barbori that have been with me for a couple of years. I do use a Bakpak skimmer. There has been plenty of debate on the use of skimmers in a seahorse tank and there are many successful tanks without one. For me, I find that the frozen mysis really pollutes the water and I get a good deal of skimmate. I, luckily, have never had a problem with gas bubble disease. I have a hang on Whisper filter with 2 waterfalls. The waterfalls do a great job aerating the tank and I like to substitute the Whisper carbon with Chemi-pure. I placed a maxi-jet halfway down the side wich provides plenty of cirulation. I have some branching liverock with plenty of macro algae that I need to prune weekly. I do not have a refugium so I rely on this method for nitrate export along with weekly 10 gallon water changes. My tank has never looked better since adding a crew of 6 nassarius snails a couple of months ago. They eat the fish waste and leftover food. They are really fast! I also use a feeding station and a feeding tube to minimize the pollution.! The feeding station is a small abalone shell that I glued to a small floating algae cleaning magnet. I also have a small 5W UV fed by a small powerhead. This is a simple setup, but it works for me.

 

[Flumpus]

If a simple setup of live rock, a power head, and HOB filter would work fine for seahorses, I'm fine with that. Obviously a sump/fuge would help, but would the simple setup be fine for a pair of seahorses?

 

[Flumpus]

Just found out this morning I'll be getting a 25g tall, which I think is 20" tall. That should be better I think. Also, I think we're going to go with a pair of H. Kudas instead of H. Erectus. Now the only question is how to setup the filtration that would be both the easiest, but also the best for the seahorses.

 

[Brock Fluharty]

Breeding H. kuda is very difficult, so be prepared to make a kriesel, or have constant water movement in the fry tank if you plan to breed. I believe (might be wrong...) that H. kuda fry eat BBS from birth, but they do not hitch. If they go to the top of the water, they will snock air, and not be able to eat, and die. This is assuming you are wanting to breed...

Brock

 

[Flumpus]

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it... I have no interest in breeding, but my wife might.

Right now it's just about figuring out how I want to setup the tank.

 

[Brock Fluharty]

I sold a pair of juvenile H. kuda, and I almost didn't send them out lol. They really are full of personality, and I think they prefer to be a yellowish color to any other. They were very social towards each other, as well as me, and I only had them for about 2 weeks.

This guy is GREAT at breeding, and selling excellent quality seahorses.

www.seahorsesource.com

Might be a little more expensive than other places, but they are CB, eat frozen mysis, and are always the healthiest available. His name is Dan. Shoot him an e-mail, and he will talk to you about your set up from his experience. He is a great guy!

HTH,
Brock

 

[Flumpus]

Great, thanks! I had planned to buy from there, but I'll send him an e-mail about the setup to see what he suggests.

 

[Flumpus]

Just a little update... I've got the tank I'm going to be using (went from a 20g tall to a 25g tall to a brand new Oceanic 33g cube I got from Petco). So next weekend we'll be building a stand for the 33g cube, then start getting all the equipment together. Right now the plan is about 30lbs of live rock, macro algae, the 150gph HOB filter I have, a powerhead (haven't decided yet), and I think I am going to get a skimmer, I'm thinking a Corallife needle wheel (the one for up to 65g). Once the stand is up, I'll get some pictures of the progress.

 

[hydroid]

Nice choice on the tank ... cubes were made for horses!

The rest of the setup sounds well planned too.

... waiting patiently for pics ...