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Cultivated Reef

15g Seahorse Tank


Carinya

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Back in 2003 I picked up one of the last AGA "designer series" tanks around here just as they were discontinued, always intending to set it up for some smaller species of seahorse. I also wanted to try to grow seagrasses, which need strong light & a deep sand bed. The tank measures 13" x 13" at the base & it is 24" tall including the trim.

 

I had the tank drilled & made an internal overflow box out of plexi. Then I built a back wallscape out of styrofoam and silicone. I also put styrofoam into much of the bottom because I just want a pocket of deeper sand on the side for the seagrass. Here is the wall in progress & a mockup of some rocks in place:

 

styroback.jpg

 

mockup.jpg

 

I coated the styro with three or four thin layers of cement, some with different shades of gray & black cement pigment mixed in. The cement had to be cured for a long time. I wasn't in a hurry so I let it run in the basement with a sump for a several months, changing the water whenever I thought of it.

 

I gutted the NO lights & put in a 70wMH plus a computer fan. The sump is a regular 15H with a Tunze 9002 skimmer, chemi-pure and a 9w UV. Water has been in the tank since Aug 07, but the sump/spraybar return were only hooked up recently. FTS:

 

Mar09FTS.jpg

 

and side view

 

Mar09side.jpg

 

One rock at the top is new, which is why it's so bright white. :rolleyes:

 

The seagrasses (both turtle & shoal) were just added in the past month. One died but the rest are sending out new shoots so I am hopeful. I have a few montipora SPS - 1 digitata, two caps & one encrusting - as well as a pocillipora. The LPS are two blasto merlettis. The rest are softies, gorgs & macro. Other than cleanup crew, I have one small goby and two peppermint shrimp.

 

Next steps:

- I'd really like a yellow finger leather - anyone want to give me a good deal on a frag? :D

- put some baffles in the sump to get rid of the few microbubbles I have in the display (because they are a no-no for seahorses)

- buy/set up an ATO

- set up my chiller

- order some hippocampus fuscus seahorses from Seahorse Source this spring

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order the h. fuscus now while they're still in stock!

looks good; im excited to see this tank mature

 

I probably should, but I need to get off my butt with regard to those baffles & the micro bubbles.

 

I've seen you post on ppl's seahorse tank threads (i.e. "can I put them in my nanocube?") & when I saw you posted on mine, I wondered if you were going to give me hell about some aspect of the system not being appropriate for horses. Looks like I passed though...

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Fishfreak218
I probably should, but I need to get off my butt with regard to those baffles & the micro bubbles.

 

I've seen you post on ppl's seahorse tank threads (i.e. "can I put them in my nanocube?") & when I saw you posted on mine, I wondered if you were going to give me hell about some aspect of the system not being appropriate for horses. Looks like I passed though...

haha; disregard those. I was a pompous, know-it-all @sshole back then.

Also good choice going with sea horse source! I've been to his house to see his seahorse breeding facilities, and he really knows his stuff/ cares about seahorses.

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well, when someone wants to put horses in a nanocube, you gotta let 'em have it!

 

yeah, Dan seems to do a great job, plus he's the only one with fuscus! :lol:

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I put in the baffles, added a filter media sock on the input of the return pump and voila, no microbubbles.

 

I just put in my order for the seahorses! :happydance:

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More pics, plz.

 

I need to break out the hubby's SLR. ...and develop some photography skeelz... -_-

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Thanks!

 

I am beyond excited. omgomgomg I've had this tank for ~5 years, slowly DIY-ing it into being seahorse-worthy. I can't believe I'll really have them on Thursday.

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Thanks. I can't wait either.

 

I think I need one of those blueberry gorgs like Juliet. Has anyone kept those long term? I have some phyto paste coming... would that keep it alive?

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Very nice tank!

 

A few questions though.

 

Do you have any flow in there besides the return?

 

How did you do the cement? In the tank or did you do it out of the tank?

 

Is the back of the foam exposed?

 

What kind of cement did you use?

 

How long has it been running? The whole 5 years?

 

 

 

Sorry for all the questions.LOL And the tank looks amazing.

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The horses are on their WAY omgomgomg

 

Picture_3.png

 

how long have you had that running?

 

cause if you have not put any fish in you must be super patient cause that is AMAZING

 

I've had the tank since 2003 and it has had saltwater in it since Aug 07. It didn't have the sump for quite a while though. I AM patient but I'm also not into that many "normal" reef fish. The tank has been designed from the get-go for sea horses.

 

Very nice tank!

 

A few questions though.

 

Do you have any flow in there besides the return?

 

How did you do the cement? In the tank or did you do it out of the tank?

 

Is the back of the foam exposed?

 

What kind of cement did you use?

 

How long has it been running? The whole 5 years?

 

 

 

Sorry for all the questions.LOL And the tank looks amazing.

 

Thanks!

 

The only flow is via the spraybar, which is in an "L" shape. One leg goes along the surface and the other leg goes deep into the tank. Seahorses prefer lower-flow as they aren't great swimmers. I originally had it hooked up to a Mag5 but it was too strong. I went down to a pump that has about 350 gph. With the head pressure & plumbing turns, I suspect I am getting significantly less than 350 gph. However, water moves behind the rock structure (there is a passageway behind at the bottom) and almost all the coral/macro are swaying from time to time. So I am pretty pleased with how the spraybar is doing.

 

I did the cement outside of the tank, then siliconed the whole styrofoam thing in place for the period of months when the cement was curing with freshwater in my basement.

 

If you go around the back of the tank, you can see the white styrofoam. But it is placed up against a wall, so that's not an issue for me.

 

I forget what kind of cement but the first time I bought some it had little bits of rock mixed in & I didn't like how it looked in the mixing bowl, so I didn't use it. I believe I went back & bought some kind that was just a smooth mortar type. It was just your run-of-the-mill stuff from an Ace. I just didn't pay enough attention the first time I bought it.

 

Salt water has been in the tank since Aug 07, with the usual timeline of cycling, adding cleanup crew, slowly adding corals, etc.

 

Thanks everyone! :)

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disaster999

wow looks great. how did you get the Styrofoam to look like that in the first picture. it looks like rocks are molded into it or something

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