Setting up a new SH tank. Important starting question.

[Serren]

Hi all. First post in this section!

I am getting ready to turn my 14g Biocube into a SH tank. This tank has been up and running for over a year, but poorly maintained by a friend of mine. The live rock is has a large amount of bubble algea, mixed with a few varity of mushrooms. There is also a very cool macro algea that looks like tiny green snakes all woven together. Maybe like a giant version of cheato.

Now here is my problem. I was thinking about selling off this rock and starting my new sea horse tank from scratch. This was until I discovered all the copepods and little worms and such living in all this live rock. I know this would make excellent food. Plus the tank is already well established and I would not have to wait for any cycles.

The down side is the bubble algea. Most is alive, but there is some dead bubbles, and many bubbles just floating around unattached.

So can I get some opinions on what others would do? Start over from scratch, or use what I have now?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Elysia]

What sort of horses are you thinking about putting into this 14 gallon Biocube? Because there really aren't any that would be appropriate for it. I suppose you may be able to do a number of modifications to it so that you could keep dwarf horses (in which case you wouldn't want the live rock), but you won't be able to keep any of the "standard" horses in a tank that small (or that hot.) Sorry.

 

[Octoshark]

14 gallons is pretty small for standard seahorses, and they need vertical space too. An ideal tank for standard seahorses would be a minimum of 25-30 gallons for a pair. I agree with Elysia about thinking about setting up a dwarf seahorse tank

Go to SeahorseSource.com to check out the different species and their requirements, it is a trusted source.

 

[Serren]

Thanks! I'll look into the dwarf's and see if any will work in my small tank. I have a large mixed reef tank currently, but is is not safe for seahorses of any size. I'll do some more research.

 

[mattkd5]

you will need a chiller for any biocube they run way to hot