Solo's Seahorse Farm - reef tank and macroalgae - 40B

[Han Solo]

My seahorse tank has been running since December 2015. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

*sorry for the photo quality. Taken from an iPhone, but will update with better pictures!

 

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I think a lot of my success with keeping the corals happy and the nitrates fairly low has been with growing macroalgae + a half dozen mangroves inside the tank from the beginning to now. There used to be a lot more and have gone through a series of nuisance algae epidemics! I do around a 10 gallon water change every two weeks and have had a pretty constant battle with algae, but it seems to be settling down. Fingers crossed.

 

Display:

40 Breeder standard tank with rim removed and euro-bracing for support from glass from another tank

~ 30lbs of aragonite sand

~ 30 lbs of live rock + lots of corraline algae growing

Lighting:

Current USA Orbit Marine LEDs + 12W Full Spectrum Bulb for extra help

​Filtration:

Fluval 306 Canister Filter with Purigen, Chemi-pure elite, and a bag of Phosguard

(The output flow is the only water movement I have on normally, as seahorses like a bit lower flow)

Heating:

Finex 100W Titanium Heater

(seahorse tanks don't need to be that hot, temperature kept at 74-75 F)

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Parameters:

Nitrate: ~2 ppm

(no skimmer is on this tank, I found that a Hydor In-tank skimmer did not do much, so it is currently out, and have been fine ever since)

All other parameters are regularly checked except for Iodine, which I don't have a test kit for.

Feeding:

Feed 1-2 cubes of frozen foods a day. I switch between frozen mysis, meaty blends, brine shrimp, and sometimes others. Copepods and Tisbe pods are added fairly regularly, and live phytoplankton is added weekly.'

And I target feed a few times a week with Marine Snow and Coral Frenzy

Dosing:

Most of the time I dose Instant Ocean Reef Accelerator. Less regularly I dose Kent Marine Purple Tech, Iodine, and Magnesium.

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Fish:

2x - H. Erectus Lined Seahorses

1x - Fu Manchu Lionfish (removed from tank)

2x - Ocellaris Clowns (removed from tank)

1x - Fairy Wrasse

1x - Blue Mandarin

1x - Lawnmower Blenny (removed from tank)

Invertebrates:

2x - Red Fire Shrimp (I've seen them spawn once, it's a special treat for the others!)

3x - Feather Dusters

~4x - Red/Blue Legged Hermits

1x - Scarlet Reef Hermit

1x - Emerald Crab

1x - Sand Shifting Seastar

1x - Sea Hare

Corals and Macroalgae:

I'll add this soon!

(Older Picture)

(Older Picture)

(Older Picture)

(Much older picture! Even with the horrible green hair algae in the bank I love the picture and it demonstrates that everything has been getting along great)

My first three inhabitants where the Seahorses and the Mandarin, which I think help with any territorial issues that might have come up between all my different fish)

Unfortunately this really cool Banded Pipefish died very soon after I got him. :/

[RIP Sebastian]

My seahorse tank has been running since December 2015. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

*sorry for the photo quality. Taken from an iPhone, but will update with better pictures!

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think a lot of my success with keeping the corals happy and the nitrates fairly low has been with growing macroalgae + a half dozen mangroves inside the tank from the beginning to now. There used to be a lot more and have gone through a series of nuisance algae epidemics! I do around a 10 gallon water change every two weeks and have had a pretty constant battle with algae, but it seems to be settling down. Fingers crossed.

 

Display:

40 Breeder standard tank with rim removed and euro-bracing for support from glass from another tank

~ 30lbs of aragonite sand

~ 30 lbs of live rock + lots of corraline algae growing

Lighting:

Current USA Orbit Marine LEDs + 12W Full Spectrum Bulb for extra help

​Filtration:

Fluval 306 Canister Filter with Purigen, Chemi-pure elite, and a bag of Phosguard

(The output flow is the only water movement I have on normally, as seahorses like a bit lower flow)

Heating:

Finex 100W Titanium Heater

(seahorse tanks don't need to be that hot)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Parameters:

Nitrate: ~2 ppm

(no skimmer is on this tank, I found that a Hydor In-tank skimmer did not do much, so it is currently out, and have been fine ever since)

All other parameters are regularly checked except for Iodine, which I don't have a test kit for.

Feeding:

Feed 1-2 cubes of frozen foods a day. I switch between frozen mysis, meaty blends, brine shrimp, and sometimes others. Copepods and Tisbe pods are added fairly regularly, and live phytoplankton is added weekly.'

And I target feed a few times a week with Marine Snow and Coral Frenzy

Dosing:

Most of the time I dose Instant Ocean Reef Accelerator. Less regularly I dose Kent Marine Purple Tech, Iodine, and Magnesium.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fish:

2x - H. Erectus Lined Seahorses

1x - Fu Manchu Lionfish

2x - Ocellaris Clowns

1x - Fairy Wrasse

1x - Blue Mandarin

1x - Lawnmower Blenny

Invertebrates:

2x - Red Fire Shrimp (I've seen them spawn once, it's a special treat for the others!)

3x - Feather Dusters

~4x - Red/Blue Legged Hermits

1x - Scarlet Reef Hermit

1x - Emerald Crab

1x - Sand Shifting Seastar

1x - Sea Hare

Corals and Macroalgae:

I'll add this soon!

(Older Picture)

(Older Picture)

(Older Picture)

(Much older picture! Even with the horrible green hair algae in the bank I love the picture and it demonstrates that everything has been getting along great)

My first three inhabitants where the Seahorses and the Mandarin, which I think help with any territorial issues that might have come up between all my different fish)

Unfortunately this really cool Banded Pipefish died very soon after I got him. :/

 

Oh my goodness! This is gorgeous! At some point in the future I'd love to have ponies. Are they a male/ female pair?

 

Nick

[Pjanssen]

Very nice tank. Thanks for sharing

[vlangel]

Very nice seahorse tank. There are always tanks that are the exception but generally any type of lionfish, wrasses and clownfish are not recommended tankmates for seahorses. You run the risk of the ponies feeling stressed and then coming down with bacterial infections.

[Han Solo]

 

Oh my goodness! This is gorgeous! At some point in the future I'd love to have ponies. Are they a male/ female pair?

 

Nick

Thanks! I got the female first and about two months later I got the male from SeaHorseSource.com

 

So far they hang around each other a bit, but I don't know if they are a mated pair yet. I would love to try to raise fry.

 

 

 

Very nice seahorse tank. There are always tanks that are the exception but generally any type of lionfish, wrasses and clownfish are not recommended tankmates for seahorses. You run the risk of the ponies feeling stressed and then coming down with bacterial infections.

Thanks vlangel, and yes I'm aware there are some risks but I've chosen these guys carefully and so far everything is well. I keep a good watch on the behavior of the seahorses (they are kind of the stars of this tank) anytime I've added new animals, especially the fish, to make sure they happy.

 

In terms of those other tankmates, the fairy wrasse is one of the few wrasse species that is compatible with seahorses (according to seahorse.org) and since the clownfish are pretty tiny they aren't aggressive nor steal too much food. This is my second fu manchu and luckly he loves frozen food. Of course I'd never put any other species of big lionfish in there. In terms of not benthic dwelling fish, there's not too much else compatible!

 

Let me ask you though, what type of signs are you thinking of that might indicate stress in the seahorse?

[vlangel]

I am kind of new to seahorses myself (not quite 2 years) Hans, so when I spoke of stress it was more from what I have read than what I have experienced.

I do know that they will exhibit darker coloration when they are stressed. My male once turned dark in color and it gave me a heads up that something was off and he came down with a bacterial infection.

[Han Solo]

Thanks for the advice! I think I'm going to take out the lionfish, clowns, and lawnmower blenny and put them in another tank of mine and see how the seahorses do. They have both pretty much had a darker/grey/silver coloration, and don't normally exhibit the pale look. Nor have I ever seen them a yellow color. So we'll see if this changes their behavior and it will reduce the bioload a good bit too.

[Orangutran]

Any update after removing some of the fish?

[Han Solo]

Pretty much the same. Seahorses are doing great, but not really any big change in color. I may need to add some new things to their diet, specifically for color changing, I hear. Actually, my mandarin seems to be coming out more, same with my fire shrimps. Still having problems with hair algae though :/

[vlangel]

Try adding coral or artificial decor that is vibrantly colored. Have you read any of Pete Giwojna's info on seahorses and how their natural pigments can be encouraged. Ocean Rider offers a free seahorse training course that Pete Giwojna facilitates and he is very knowledgable about all things seahorses and he has a section on encouraging them to display their colors.

However, that being said sometimes a pony is just set on being what we might consider a drab color but as long as they are healthy...that is what really matters. My ponies are a reddish brown. Its nice but definitely not eye catching.

[Han Solo]

Try adding coral or artificial decor that is vibrantly colored. Have you read any of Pete Giwojna's info on seahorses and how their natural pigments can be encouraged. Ocean Rider offers a free seahorse training course that Pete Giwojna facilitates and he is very knowledgable about all things seahorses and he has a section on encouraging them to display their colors.

However, that being said sometimes a pony is just set on being what we might consider a drab color but as long as they are healthy...that is what really matters. My ponies are a reddish brown. Its nice but definitely not eye catching.

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to check out that course right now.

 

They have always seemed happy and eat well, so maybe they just don't want to change, that's all. The tank doesn't have a back drop and is in front of a window, perhaps that influences their color changing. I was going to add some of those yellow plastic chains, just haven't gotten around to going to getting some. There's basically no yellow in my tank in terms of corals.

 

I've been searching around for some more colorful gorgonians.

And just recently my big Kenya tree died... have no idea what happened but it just shrunk up one day and about a week later it was wasting away. Nothing else was effected, though. I thought Kenya trees were pretty hardy. :/

[Han Solo]

Where is this Ocean rider course? Can't seem to find it. I have watched this video before of their facilities, and the sea dragons!

[Han Solo]

So I tested my tank for some parameters and everything was fine except my KH. It's very low, like 6 right now. Should I use some sort of buffer? Anyone know a good way to go about raising it? It may be a lack of calcium to my corals.

[vlangel]

Where is this Ocean rider course? Can't seem to find it. I have watched this video before of their facilities, and the sea dragons!

Sorry Hans, I've been busy and had not checked in for awhile. If you click on forum you will be able to ask Pete for the free online course there.

 

I use 2 part to keep my alkalinity or calcium in check. Make sure you check magnesium too. That is usually what is low in my tank. The macro algae suck it up.

[Pjanssen]

Just curious as to how this tank is doing.

[Rehype]

same here..we need updates

[Han Solo]

Been a while huh? The tank is still running but there's been lots of changes. Will post an update and some pictures soon! Along with a few success and disaster stories...!