I'm a natural blue
Active Member
Hey there R2R! My name is Lisa. I have been keeping seahorses for almost 2 years now and this will be my 4th time setting up a tank for them. I know, your thinking a tank every 6 months? Well, yes and no.
A little backround. My father, a long time reef keeper, gifted me his 75g full setup when he got out of the hobby at 70 y's old. I was ecstatic! That was two years ago and that's when I got smacked in the face with the dreaded "reef bug". HARD. LOL. I had reef tanks over twenty years ago but as a young philly I was exploring and moved a lot so I got out myself.
As you can imagine, in twenty years, much had changed in the hobby. Better equipment (No more undergravel filters!), new husbandry practices, basically more knowledge and the internet! What a gift this is for us now as compared to back then. (sidebar: hard to imagine I've seen the coming of the internet, gee whiz I sound old!) I had a significant amount of research to catch up to how things are done today.
My husband and I eargerly got to work and set up the 75 as a mixed reef. Before I go further, I will be the first to admit many, many mistakes were made along the way, so be easy on me y'all! After that tank was set up for months we went to a brand new LFS in town to see what they had to add to our tank. Low and behold they carried seahorses! I had to have one. I talked to the staff about them briefly, picked one out and out the door we went. If you are a seahorse keeper, you already know where this is going.
Big mistake #1:Not enough research. He acclimated well and was swimming happily until the next morning when I found him dead. Right next to a stinging coral. I was heartbroken. I called the LFS to ask what could have happened and that's when they told me no stinging coral. With a deep sigh I wished I had done my research first and that they offered more info on their care. My fault. I should have asked more questions. Alas, I wasn't done trying to keep one.
Big mistake #2: See #1. I decided to get a separate tank for one. So I excitedly marched to my LFS and bought a cute little 15g column. I had it all set up, cycled, and off I went and bought 2 small seahorses. They were so cute I thought 2 is better than one! Bonnie and Clyde. I had no issues right away because they were so small but that quickly changed as they started to grow. Btw, they were erectus. So.....here is tank # 2 coming your way.
Back to the LFS. Mistakes in the making. I bought a beautiful 36g bowfront tank. Add more live rock, CUC, everything I was supposed to have to create the best possible ecosystem. Let it cycle. Plenty big enough for 2 erectus, right? Or so I thought. Not that this tank isn't more suited however, it did eventually pose it's own issues. My HOB filter just couldn't keep up. My husbandry even with the best intentions lacked experience. Some more research. I added a HOB AquaMaxx 1.5 skimmer and a powerhead. That worked for a minute. I also had added more live sand that down the road I found out was not the ideal kind. It was too "chunky" and started to trap detritus. I spent what seemed like an eternity vaccuming sand with every two week/20% water change.
Big Mistake #3: See #1. Broadcast feeding. I did start to target feed when I added the skimmer but I was so concerned because the info I was reading kept repeating the low flow motto but I knew this wasn't working out. More research. What I found was that seahorses can take more flow and actually like it when they have areas in the tank with lower flow to rest. Since my tank needed more flow and I knew it would be OK, I took another leap.
Mistake #4: See #1. Canister filters. Now I know many sh keepers that have successfully used them. Nothing against them but it didn't work for me. I purchased a Penn Plax 700. Lined it with the precut sponge filters, carbon, the whole gamut. Still had issues with not enough flow. Added a spray bar to it. That worked well! Again, only for a while. Even changing out the filters more often I started to see GHA. Ugh! Really? OK, fish tank. I will not be outdone by you! Off to the LFS.
On to bigger and better. I bought a Proclear 175 wet/dry sump that came with a HOB return box. Surely this will do it!!!!! Hubby helped me get it all set up. I did not use the bioballs that came with it though. I kept reading they are nitrate factories and that is the last thing I needed. My nitrates and phosphate clearly were high enough. I instead added more live rock to the sump, a filter sock, and modded it to have a refugium. Muah ha ha! I've got it down now!
Nope, too much GHA no matter what I tried. Larger, more frequent water changes. Nope. Even did two rounds of Flucanazole. It died then came back with a vengeance. Black out. Nope. I can only guess it was locked in the LR.
I had about given up. Then a disaster happened. The sump on my 75g blew out and flooded the front half of my house. On carpet. Dear Lord, the smell after was awful. I ended up having to take down both tanks to get the floors fixed. My best friend had a tank set up that didn't have but two fish in it and she graciously fostered Bonnie and Clyde for me during the transition and cycle. Unfortunately, Bonnie didn't do very well in the transition and went on a hunger strike. She didn't make it. Broke my heart. Here I am trying in vain to get it right for them and I felt like I failed.
I took that oppurtunity to upgrade both tanks. Oh and the floors are now porcelain tile! Woohoo! The 75 is now a 90 and the 36 got a makeover. The hubs built two overflows into the tank for better filtration. As of now it is working out good. Expcept for one thing. Clyde. He is so lonely even with a mirror.
Mind you, I have been obsessively researching everything I can read about Sh's. I've joined multiple forums and FB pages soaking up every drop of info I can read in a day. Somedays, hour upon hour of research. That is when I found and actively got involved in R2R's seahorse forum. I noticed a theme. Many keepers have 60g cubes! They can host 6 erectus. They are tall and quite honestly incredibly appealing both aesthetically and functionally.
Then I got to thinking.....and here is the part where I may be crazy. A bigger tank. An ideal seahorse tank. Reef ready. One that can host more than just two erectus so no one is lonely again. A tank that I can keep for a long time. A bare bare bottom tank. I had decided on a rimless 60g Marineland Reefready cube!
Found one last Friday. A used entire set up at a good price. Brought her home started to clean her out and discovered the bottom of the tank had significant damage that had been repaired. I cried. Yep. Sure did. I won't be using this tank. The stand and sump are good to go though. I called my LFS, told them what happened and asked them to price me a new tank. These guys are truly the bees knees. They offered to order the tank for me at cost. Can you believe it?
Here is where you guys come in. The return pump that came with the tank is a Panworld nh 40 px. It is rated for 480 gph and 13.5 max head. I won't need that much head pressure but I'm definitely wanting to make absolutely certain I have enough flow and turnover. I am thinking this won't suffice. Alternately, I'm looking at an Octo VarioS 4 or 6. Thoughts? I like that it has adjustable flow settings, 2 feed settings, and a slow ramp up to avoid micro bubbles when it turns on. The sump is only two chambers and I have a chiller I will plumb into this set up. So external is where I am leaning. I'm using the first chamber for the skimmer, sock and possibly more live rock and I'd like to use the second chamber as a refugium.
Those with a 60g cube, what are you using to keep food/ detritus suspended? Have you encountered issues with setting it up? Any advice would spare me the grief of buying the wrong equipment.
Thanks for reading my dissertation...LOL I hope I haven't bored you too much! I'll be posting pics once I get started. I've decided to stall ordering the tank until Irma passes as I am not sure if she will affect us here in NOLA. Gives me time for feedback as well.
Please send good vibes! Oh, I can post pics of the busted 60, stand, sump and my current set up shortly. P.S. I may sell the 36 after I am all set up.
In the mean time, please let me introduce you to, Clyde!
Bonnie & Clyde. Note the GHA...grrrrrrrrr.
A little backround. My father, a long time reef keeper, gifted me his 75g full setup when he got out of the hobby at 70 y's old. I was ecstatic! That was two years ago and that's when I got smacked in the face with the dreaded "reef bug". HARD. LOL. I had reef tanks over twenty years ago but as a young philly I was exploring and moved a lot so I got out myself.
As you can imagine, in twenty years, much had changed in the hobby. Better equipment (No more undergravel filters!), new husbandry practices, basically more knowledge and the internet! What a gift this is for us now as compared to back then. (sidebar: hard to imagine I've seen the coming of the internet, gee whiz I sound old!) I had a significant amount of research to catch up to how things are done today.
My husband and I eargerly got to work and set up the 75 as a mixed reef. Before I go further, I will be the first to admit many, many mistakes were made along the way, so be easy on me y'all! After that tank was set up for months we went to a brand new LFS in town to see what they had to add to our tank. Low and behold they carried seahorses! I had to have one. I talked to the staff about them briefly, picked one out and out the door we went. If you are a seahorse keeper, you already know where this is going.
Big mistake #1:Not enough research. He acclimated well and was swimming happily until the next morning when I found him dead. Right next to a stinging coral. I was heartbroken. I called the LFS to ask what could have happened and that's when they told me no stinging coral. With a deep sigh I wished I had done my research first and that they offered more info on their care. My fault. I should have asked more questions. Alas, I wasn't done trying to keep one.
Big mistake #2: See #1. I decided to get a separate tank for one. So I excitedly marched to my LFS and bought a cute little 15g column. I had it all set up, cycled, and off I went and bought 2 small seahorses. They were so cute I thought 2 is better than one! Bonnie and Clyde. I had no issues right away because they were so small but that quickly changed as they started to grow. Btw, they were erectus. So.....here is tank # 2 coming your way.
Back to the LFS. Mistakes in the making. I bought a beautiful 36g bowfront tank. Add more live rock, CUC, everything I was supposed to have to create the best possible ecosystem. Let it cycle. Plenty big enough for 2 erectus, right? Or so I thought. Not that this tank isn't more suited however, it did eventually pose it's own issues. My HOB filter just couldn't keep up. My husbandry even with the best intentions lacked experience. Some more research. I added a HOB AquaMaxx 1.5 skimmer and a powerhead. That worked for a minute. I also had added more live sand that down the road I found out was not the ideal kind. It was too "chunky" and started to trap detritus. I spent what seemed like an eternity vaccuming sand with every two week/20% water change.
Big Mistake #3: See #1. Broadcast feeding. I did start to target feed when I added the skimmer but I was so concerned because the info I was reading kept repeating the low flow motto but I knew this wasn't working out. More research. What I found was that seahorses can take more flow and actually like it when they have areas in the tank with lower flow to rest. Since my tank needed more flow and I knew it would be OK, I took another leap.
Mistake #4: See #1. Canister filters. Now I know many sh keepers that have successfully used them. Nothing against them but it didn't work for me. I purchased a Penn Plax 700. Lined it with the precut sponge filters, carbon, the whole gamut. Still had issues with not enough flow. Added a spray bar to it. That worked well! Again, only for a while. Even changing out the filters more often I started to see GHA. Ugh! Really? OK, fish tank. I will not be outdone by you! Off to the LFS.
On to bigger and better. I bought a Proclear 175 wet/dry sump that came with a HOB return box. Surely this will do it!!!!! Hubby helped me get it all set up. I did not use the bioballs that came with it though. I kept reading they are nitrate factories and that is the last thing I needed. My nitrates and phosphate clearly were high enough. I instead added more live rock to the sump, a filter sock, and modded it to have a refugium. Muah ha ha! I've got it down now!
Nope, too much GHA no matter what I tried. Larger, more frequent water changes. Nope. Even did two rounds of Flucanazole. It died then came back with a vengeance. Black out. Nope. I can only guess it was locked in the LR.
I had about given up. Then a disaster happened. The sump on my 75g blew out and flooded the front half of my house. On carpet. Dear Lord, the smell after was awful. I ended up having to take down both tanks to get the floors fixed. My best friend had a tank set up that didn't have but two fish in it and she graciously fostered Bonnie and Clyde for me during the transition and cycle. Unfortunately, Bonnie didn't do very well in the transition and went on a hunger strike. She didn't make it. Broke my heart. Here I am trying in vain to get it right for them and I felt like I failed.
I took that oppurtunity to upgrade both tanks. Oh and the floors are now porcelain tile! Woohoo! The 75 is now a 90 and the 36 got a makeover. The hubs built two overflows into the tank for better filtration. As of now it is working out good. Expcept for one thing. Clyde. He is so lonely even with a mirror.
Mind you, I have been obsessively researching everything I can read about Sh's. I've joined multiple forums and FB pages soaking up every drop of info I can read in a day. Somedays, hour upon hour of research. That is when I found and actively got involved in R2R's seahorse forum. I noticed a theme. Many keepers have 60g cubes! They can host 6 erectus. They are tall and quite honestly incredibly appealing both aesthetically and functionally.
Then I got to thinking.....and here is the part where I may be crazy. A bigger tank. An ideal seahorse tank. Reef ready. One that can host more than just two erectus so no one is lonely again. A tank that I can keep for a long time. A bare bare bottom tank. I had decided on a rimless 60g Marineland Reefready cube!
Found one last Friday. A used entire set up at a good price. Brought her home started to clean her out and discovered the bottom of the tank had significant damage that had been repaired. I cried. Yep. Sure did. I won't be using this tank. The stand and sump are good to go though. I called my LFS, told them what happened and asked them to price me a new tank. These guys are truly the bees knees. They offered to order the tank for me at cost. Can you believe it?
Here is where you guys come in. The return pump that came with the tank is a Panworld nh 40 px. It is rated for 480 gph and 13.5 max head. I won't need that much head pressure but I'm definitely wanting to make absolutely certain I have enough flow and turnover. I am thinking this won't suffice. Alternately, I'm looking at an Octo VarioS 4 or 6. Thoughts? I like that it has adjustable flow settings, 2 feed settings, and a slow ramp up to avoid micro bubbles when it turns on. The sump is only two chambers and I have a chiller I will plumb into this set up. So external is where I am leaning. I'm using the first chamber for the skimmer, sock and possibly more live rock and I'd like to use the second chamber as a refugium.
Those with a 60g cube, what are you using to keep food/ detritus suspended? Have you encountered issues with setting it up? Any advice would spare me the grief of buying the wrong equipment.
Thanks for reading my dissertation...LOL I hope I haven't bored you too much! I'll be posting pics once I get started. I've decided to stall ordering the tank until Irma passes as I am not sure if she will affect us here in NOLA. Gives me time for feedback as well.
Please send good vibes! Oh, I can post pics of the busted 60, stand, sump and my current set up shortly. P.S. I may sell the 36 after I am all set up.
In the mean time, please let me introduce you to, Clyde!Bonnie & Clyde. Note the GHA...grrrrrrrrr.
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