Dawn's pony garden.

[vlangel]

Delilah and Samson together.

[vlangel]

 

I had not taken a FTS in awhile so this is what the tank looks like now.

 

And a close up of the responsible adult looking down on the kids involved in 'horse' play!

[vlangel]

 

Some old fashion tail wrangling.

[vlangel]

I am very happy with this tank for seahorses.  It has a good copepod and amphipod population.  The flow keeps detritus and particle from accumulating in hidden areas.  The ponies seem to love it as I often see them flow-surfing.  They can blend in and hide or they can show off out front in the spotlight if they want.  I believe they are comfortable because they hang around dancing when I am cleaning the glass or syphoning particles/debris off the floor.  I love how bright and airy it is so I am satisfied that I have a seahorse home that is right for the ponies and right for me, ...finally!

[vlangel]

 

Now some pics of coral and macro algae.

More coral and macro algae.  Bubble algae is a macro algae, right?

[vlangel]

Look hard and you can see Samson and Delilah hitched near the new yellow sponge.

 

[vlangel]

My coral options are limited to what is both seahorse safe and what will thrive in a seahorse tank.  The water is low 70s and I will not risk feeding coral due to the ponies' vulnerability to infection so they need to get all their nutrients from the water column.  I have macro algaes to add color and hitches for the seahorses along with being nutrient exports when I prune them which is often.

[Pjanssen]

So beautiful. I never tire of seeing the silhouette of Adam. I think you have a nice balance of corals and macros, the focus after all is the ponies. I envy your commitment.

[vlangel]

20 minutes ago, Pjanssen said:

So beautiful. I never tire of seeing the silhouette of Adam. I think you have a nice balance of corals and macros, the focus after all is the ponies. I envy your commitment.

Thank you Penny.  I love it when Eve hitches to the gorg in front of Adam's silhouette.  It seems poetic somehow.

 

When I look at some of the really pretty tanks with cool animals, I have to remind myself that there are many types of beautiful.  To me my tank feels a bit uninspiring with such common coral and macro algae.  However then I remember that it was in my packed full, colorful bowfront that was TOTM that Adam got gas bubble disease in.  And I am reminded anew that its not possible, (at least for me) to do enough husbandry to keep my ponies healthy in a tank like that. When we choose what we want there are always concessions that must be made, or more tanks to set up LOL.  Tonight is me being satisfied with my choice.

[vlangel]

 

This a cool pic of how the tank looked at sunrise this morning.  Its not even direct sunlight, it was reflective light.

[RIP Sebastian]

Lookin' good! Did you go to the PMAS meeting to see Dr. Yoshi?

[vlangel]

7 hours ago, RIP Sebastian said:

Lookin' good! Did you go to the PMAS meeting to see Dr. Yoshi?

I really wanted to but our son and family who lived in San Francisco have been living with us until they closed on their house (which just happened Tuesday evening), so we were busy.

I guess you were not able to go either?

[RIP Sebastian]

6 hours ago, vlangel said:

I really wanted to but our son and family who lived in San Francisco have been living with us until they closed on their house (which just happened Tuesday evening), so we were busy.

I guess you were not able to go either?

No, unfortunately. I had a band competition. Congrats to your son on the new house!

[Weetabix7]

On 9/19/2017 at 8:42 PM, vlangel said:

Thank you Penny.  I love it when Eve hitches to the gorg in front of Adam's silhouette.  It seems poetic somehow.

 

When I look at some of the really pretty tanks with cool animals, I have to remind myself that there are many types of beautiful.  To me my tank feels a bit uninspiring with such common coral and macro algae.  However then I remember that it was in my packed full, colorful bowfront that was TOTM that Adam got gas bubble disease in.  And I am reminded anew that its not possible, (at least for me) to do enough husbandry to keep my ponies healthy in a tank like that. When we choose what we want there are always concessions that must be made, or more tanks to set up LOL.  Tonight is me being satisfied with my choice.

 

I think you have done an absolutely amazing job on this tank. 

I think it really is beautiful, both aesthetically and in how well it meets the needs of the Seahorses. 

Outstanding.

[vlangel]

7 hours ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

I think you have done an absolutely amazing job on this tank. 

I think it really is beautiful, both aesthetically and in how well it meets the needs of the Seahorses. 

Outstanding.

Ahh, thanks Weetie.  Coming from you who knows so much about macro algaes, I feel honored!

[Felicia]

The seahorses are looking so wonderfully happy and healthy!  I love the shot of them hitched to each other by their tails.  That is one of my favorite seahorse behaviors.  So cute! 

 

Also, I really love the aesthetics of this tank.  You really hit it out of the park with the contrast between the crisp light colored bottom and background with then the lush rock work.

[vlangel]

3 hours ago, Felicia said:

The seahorses are looking so wonderfully happy and healthy!  I love the shot of them hitched to each other by their tails.  That is one of my favorite seahorse behaviors.  So cute! 

 

Also, I really love the aesthetics of this tank.  You really hit it out of the park with the contrast between the crisp light colored bottom and background with then the lush rock work.

Thanks Felicia!  I love it when they hitch tails too.  Samson and Delilah are hitched together every day.  Even though Samson dances with Eve, I think he prefers Delilah.  He just waiting for her to grow up.? 

 

I do like the light airy feel of the tank.  The red macro algaes gives it a little pop and I hope to keep adding more yellow sponges to add more color.  Eventually I may try a few colorful zoas again but in the past I did not have a lot of luck with them.  The boring zoas and palys that are in the tank now are doing great so maybe....

 

Thank you again for the kind words.  I sometimes think about keeping different animals but seahorses have such great personalities.  I really do love them.

[Felicia]

I love their cute, biblical names!  Makes me miss my seahorses. You're right that they are a ton of work, but their behavior and personalities make it worth it. I could sit and watch seahorses for days.

 

If you're looking for bright, hardy sponges, I've always had good luck with the yellow frilly sponges from KPA. The red ball and tree sponges always died off on me, but I had several of the yellow frilly sponges that were alive and well for me for years. Gulf Coast Ecosystem sells the same variety and they're nice and bright. I also got a larger one of that kind from Pacific East Aquaculture at MACNA last year.  I think some bright zoas would be great too! Seems like everything is doing so well that I'd think it would be worth a test. I wouldn't get any of the super expensive, notoriously touchy ones, but some of the tried and true classics would be great. You run your lights pretty white, right? I've always run my tanks more on the white side and that doesn't really do justice to some of the crazy expensive, colorful zoas that are all about the fluorescence. I've learned you have to pick out the ones that have a pretty color pop without fluorescence. The nice bright pink zoas always look nice under whiter light, for example, Gena's tank. 

[vlangel]

On 9/25/2017 at 10:58 AM, Felicia said:

I love their cute, biblical names!  Makes me miss my seahorses. You're right that they are a ton of work, but their behavior and personalities make it worth it. I could sit and watch seahorses for days.

 

If you're looking for bright, hardy sponges, I've always had good luck with the yellow frilly sponges from KPA. The red ball and tree sponges always died off on me, but I had several of the yellow frilly sponges that were alive and well for me for years. Gulf Coast Ecosystem sells the same variety and they're nice and bright. I also got a larger one of that kind from Pacific East Aquaculture at MACNA last year.  I think some bright zoas would be great too! Seems like everything is doing so well that I'd think it would be worth a test. I wouldn't get any of the super expensive, notoriously touchy ones, but some of the tried and true classics would be great. You run your lights pretty white, right? I've always run my tanks more on the white side and that doesn't really do justice to some of the crazy expensive, colorful zoas that are all about the fluorescence. I've learned you have to pick out the ones that have a pretty color pop without fluorescence. The nice bright pink zoas always look nice under whiter light, for example, Gena's tank. 

Thank you for the tips on sponges.  I saw that GCE now had the yellow frilly sponges and they have had some macros I would like too.  I would really like to place an order with them some time.

 

Regarding zoas I would love to try some tubbs blue ones.  I remember when I saw them for the first time around 2004 and I thought they were so cool.  The pink ones you are referring to in Gena's tank would be really pretty too.  Things to consider and its fun to daydream about.

[Felicia]

23 hours ago, vlangel said:

Thank you for the tips on sponges.  I saw that GCE now had the yellow frilly sponges and they have had some macros I would like too.  I would really like to place an order with them some time.

 

Regarding zoas I would love to try some tubbs blue ones.  I remember when I saw them for the first time around 2004 and I thought they were so cool.  The pink ones you are referring to in Gena's tank would be really pretty too.  Things to consider and its fun to daydream about.

You're welcome!  Tubbs would be a great choice.  I had some back in my 30 gallon tank.  They're one of those hardy classics that has been aquacultured for a long time.  Those would look lovely in your tank!

[vlangel]

I was feeling ready to dissemble my DT and do a deep cleaning.  I can do that because my tank is a modular scape, (what I mean by that is I have 2 very large rocks with smaller rocks with corals mounted to them all.  All the smaller rocks are easily removed into a bucket with tank water so that a thorough cleaning can take place.  There are roughly 6 smaller rocks).

 

This allows me to tackle bubble algae, HA and blow detritus off that was trapped.  It also allows me to slide the large dense rocks around to clean the floor well.

 

Usually I design a new scape after one of these cleanings.  I especially wanted a new scape because I felt like my tank had morphed into 1 big blob of rock with 2 small islands.  Here is the new scape and Oct FTS.

 

 

Its an improvement in my mind but then it can always be changed again if I change my mind.

[vlangel]

 

I like this pic of Eve because on the rock behind her you can see all the natural sponges growing.  My large rock has always had them.  The only sponge that I added is the the yellow one.

 

My beautiful girls!

[vlangel]

 

And of course the handsome stud!

[debbeach13]

It looks fantastic. Of course it always looks fantastic!

[fishfreak0114]

Wow, the tank looks beautiful!  And the ponies