Which tank would you use?

[t5Nitro]

Currently I have a 46 gallon bowfront reef that will be transfered to the new 125 gallon. I can use the 46 gallon to house seahorses such as kuda I think I will get. Thing is, the 46 and the 125 are in the same room.

Would you guys have 2 tanks in the same room? The 125 is 6 feet long and 46 is 3 feet long so it is a little space taking.

Would you guys go with the 2 current tanks in the same room or sell the 46 and go with a smaller 24 gallon or so? Downgrading would cost about 50$ more too, but be able to have it in another room, I just don't know which one I should do so I would like your opinions on what you guys would do.

If you say keep both tanks in the same room and go with the current 46 gallon, how many pairs of seahorse can you keep, or can you put any other fish in with seahorses in a larger tank?

Also I was thinking in a smaller tank it would be easier to make water changes, I am doing 5 gallons a week on the 46 gallon, how often do you guys water change on a seahorse tank?

 

[fishymann]

it all depends on the size of the room and what you want. If you have a huge room and theres room for both why not keep the larger tank? it'll be easier to mantain and you'll have well more realistate for fishies.
i would say 3 pairs of seahorses maybe? you could keep firefish, gobys, many mild mannered fish.

 

[t5Nitro]

Both tanks do fit in the room because they are there now, just being somewhere else where more people could see the tank in a different area. I do agree the larger water volume would be easier to maintain water levels. Can clownfish go in a tank with low flow like that? How often would you change the water on a 46 gallon and how much? 5 gallons a week is what I do now on a reef with SPS/clams/lps/softies and that seems to be enough and now I am going to upgrade to a 125.

How often and how much water would you change on a 46 seahorse tank with maybe some other fish like firefish/clowns/gobies?

Thanks.

 

[fishymann]

clowns are a no no, agressive eaters (from what i've heard and read) and i dont think anyone would advise it. Maybe 10gallons every 2 weeks? if you wanted to downgrade and still keep seahorses i wouldn't go much under a 37 since its got good height.

 

[cmsargent]

Seahorses need fish tankmates that are slow and not aggressive. Clowns are way to aggressive and territorial. Good tankmates include fish like gobies, jawfish, and some blennies. Generally bottom dwellers are fine as are small perching fish. Here is a

• http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/tankmates.shtml[/URL] of tankmates that are safe with seahorses.
  
  As for water changes. That all depends on your system and how well it can process waste. For the seahorses themselves you don't have to worry about replenishing calc, alk, and other trace elements so mostly you'll be doing WC to control nitrates. And how often you need to do that depends on your setup and your bioload. In my 29 with 2 seahorse I only do about 15% WC every 3 weeks. But my system is full of macros and they keep the nitrates quite low.

 

[t5Nitro]

So if I keep the 46, how can I get it to delay water changes for 3 weeks like you are doing cmsargent? I would put macros in the tank. I do have a fluval 305 underneath but I would like to sell it. Would macros, DSB, and LR work as a decent filtration to delay water changes? I already have a bigger tank to do a big water change on so I guess I don't want to do 2 bigger water changes all the time. Every 3 weeks sounds good.

What is your filtration cmsargent?

 

[fishymann]

i feel that running the most life like filtration is the best. So yes dsb, LR, and macros would mimic the real life enviroment as best as possible and their for provide what i think is the best filtration. cmsargent is saying he can do 3 weeks with his setup, that doesn't mean thats the case for everyone or that you should take that our your routine, you have to base it off of your water parameters. He is also probably being very careful about over feeding.