Katie's seahorse tank build

KatieFloy

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Messages
264
Reaction score
108
Location
Maryland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This is probably going to be a long work in progress. I have been bit by the bug. We currently have a 75 gallon reef a 29 gallon reef and a 30 gallon freshwater. Now i want to add a seahorse tank. First step was downloading the online course material from seahorse.com
I have started reviewing the content and meanwhile kept an eye on craigslist for a suitable tank. I missed out on a 36 gallon bowfront but I am hlad I did as I managed to snag a bigger tank with stand and canopy for less money.
Yesterday i picked up this 65 gallon with custom built mahogany stand and canopy for $100! The current occupant will be moving into our outdoor pond once it warms up a little. 1069_1490632870643.jpeg

The tank needs some cleaning up and painting the back. I want to do blue to encourage brighter pony colors. Any thoughts on shade and what type of paint to use? Once it is cleaned up and in the house I will be looking into filtration.
 

vlangel

Seahorse whisperer
View Badges
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
5,489
Reaction score
5,371
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi Katy, I am Dawn and I keep ponies too. Nice catch on the 65 gallon tank. You will be pleased with that. I used to have a 36 bowfront that I loved but with the nutrients that ponies put in the water you will be glad that you can use a mag cleaner and a razor/metal edge blade of some sort on the front. Plus a 36 gallon is really only suited for 2 ponies, maybe 3 if you have a sump.

I see you are asking about colors. Some is enviroment and Seahorse Source keeps some ponies in blue (like primary blue) tanks and that helps their yellow ponies stay yellow. All my tanks had been black until this one and its blue and yellow predominantly. My big female did lighten up when I moved her to this tank. She is still brown but a yellowish brown with orange points. I do have a lot of live rock with macros and coral so that limits my light colored hitches.
Here is a pic of my big female and the tank.

 

vlangel

Seahorse whisperer
View Badges
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
5,489
Reaction score
5,371
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
That online seahorse training course from seahorse.com is excellant. Although like you I was a seasoned reef aquarist, seahorses must be treated differently to be successful long term. That course really equipped me to keep ponies. The big female you see in the pic came from seahorse.com. She arrived in excellant shape along with her mate. I now order ponies from Seahorse Source because Dan can overnight them to me and I think that is less stressful. Dan and Abbie at Seahorse Source have excellant ponies and the best customer service anywhere. Dan even spent an hour on the phone with me giving free advise the night before my first pair of ponies were going to arrive, and those ponies came from Ocean Rider! I never forgot that.
 
OP
OP
K

KatieFloy

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Messages
264
Reaction score
108
Location
Maryland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi Dawn. Thanks! Yes the course is very thorough. I think i am still in the tank prep section.

What kind of paint did you use? I think i am going to try and let my 3 year old help with the set up if possible. I know he would love to help paint, but not if we are going to be using spray paint or oil based.

This will be a pretty slow build. Preliminarily i don't think i will be ready for ponies until august. Partly because i will be using live rock from one of my tanks and want to leave fallow for 72 days to ensure no nasties (i haven't seen any ich but want no surprises with my precious ponies). I also plan to move my diamond goby over so will be quarantining him. He keeps the sand really clean and will eat any leftover food.

The tank is not reef ready so right now i am leaning toward the new seachem tidal filter 110 (hob, 450 gph) and possibly a penguin 200 for the biowheel. The coursework from seahorse.com recommends black sand for pony coloration so looking at hawaiian black caribsea.
 

vlangel

Seahorse whisperer
View Badges
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
5,489
Reaction score
5,371
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Ah, thanks for the kind words about the tank and Eve. I have another female, (a beautiful pinto/piebald) but you couldn't see her in that pic. I am going to San Francisco for a week to see my kiddos and when I get back I plan to order 3 more ponies.

My tank is not drilled but I use a hob overflow box. I know those scare folks but I have been using them for 10 years without problems. Anyway that is another option if you want to use a sump. I do have a hob filter on my QT/nursery tank.
 
OP
OP
K

KatieFloy

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Messages
264
Reaction score
108
Location
Maryland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
What kind of overflow do you have? I actually may be getting a sump from another local reefer. I was planning on playing with it on the reef tank but might use it here instead.
 

mgoesma

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 21, 2016
Messages
577
Reaction score
229
Location
Orlando
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm going through the exact same process right now. You can drill a 65 if you wanted to add a sump. Or you could use a hob overflow. I also talked with Dan for a couple hrs when I was first planning he really recommended a sump. He is amazing. One reason is if you are in an area that requires a heater seahorses will grab onto it and they don't know to let go when they are being burnt. Another reason is he really being able to have filter socks and a large skimmer. Both for the removal of waist and oxygenation. He also really recommended an adjustable DC pump. This is my thread maybe you can learn from my mistakes as I'm a little ahead of you in the process. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/so-my-fiancee-talked-me-into-a-sea-hourse-tank.291436/
it's funny how much we are doing similar. I went with blue enamel spray paint. 5 coats in total. I also went with Hawaii black sand. Check it out. Here is my latest photo.
IMAG0585.jpg
it's the back side but the latest photo I have. I'll take one from the front when I get a chance. I'm still putting it all together though.
 
OP
OP
K

KatieFloy

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Messages
264
Reaction score
108
Location
Maryland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Wow. That is amazing work. Definitely gotta keep the kid away if spraying enamel. Is there a specific brand you used? I think i read krylon somewhere.

My only concern with the sump is the plumbing is incredibly intimidating. If i go that route i will definitely be using a hob overflow. The drilling is even more scary than the plumbing. There are actually already holes drilled in the stand that the original owner used for a canister filter so that makes it a little easier to run any plumbing. The stand is actually about 4" deeper than the tank with removable side panels so you can access anything on the back and the holes are drilled in that section.

How do you figure out what size pump you need to keep the sump at the right level?
 

mgoesma

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 21, 2016
Messages
577
Reaction score
229
Location
Orlando
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well for plumbing you can always use flex line to make it easier. I'm building this for my fiance and she loves red so I went with red pvc. As for the sump size it really is determined by how much water will drain if the pump is turned off. There are a lot of sump calculators out there that can help you. This is the one I use. http://www.diyfishkeepers.com/SumpSizeCalculator.htm I would recommend something like a 30g breeder or a 20 gallon long. As for the pump you want 8 to 10 times the volume per HR. So about 700 gph. You want your overflow to match your pump rate. as for paint I used rustoleum. It's on the outside of the tank so the brand really doesn't matter you just don't want it to peal off. An idea for having you kid help would be to pick up a lighter or darker blue and let him hand paint or brush some kind of design on the the spray over it. From the inside you will be able to see his design with a blue background.
 
OP
OP
K

KatieFloy

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Messages
264
Reaction score
108
Location
Maryland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Oh i really like that idea. Maybe he can do handprints or something with water based wall paint then i can spray over with the spray paint.

Did you add a spray bar for the return? I can't find anywhere that says how to do this.
 

mgoesma

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 21, 2016
Messages
577
Reaction score
229
Location
Orlando
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
As for drilling I will agree it was intimidating. Scared the heck out of me to be honest but it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. If your new to plumbing I wouldn't recommend it though. Just use a hob with an auto Syphen start. And get/make a sump with baffles so if the overflow stops the pump runs out of water before it overflows. better to burn up a pump if you ask me. With the flex hose it's the exact same as a canister filter. One line running down as a drain and one line running back up as a return.
 

mgoesma

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 21, 2016
Messages
577
Reaction score
229
Location
Orlando
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Oh i really like that idea. Maybe he can do handprints or something with water based wall paint then i can spray over with the spray paint.

Did you add a spray bar for the return? I can't find anywhere that says how to do this.

What do you mean by spray bar? For the water paint I think that will work. I would look at a craft store for something that sticks to glass. Then the enamel should seal everything on for good.
 

mgoesma

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 21, 2016
Messages
577
Reaction score
229
Location
Orlando
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I just looked up a spray bar. Lol no I didn't. Dan told me for seahorses you don't want bubbles in the water. Seahorse can get really sick from bubbles. My return is a peace of flex line with a splinter so the pressure is defused.
 

vlangel

Seahorse whisperer
View Badges
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
5,489
Reaction score
5,371
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
What kind of overflow do you have? I actually may be getting a sump from another local reefer. I was planning on playing with it on the reef tank but might use it here instead.
Mine is pretty old so I can't remember what kind it is. I have used Eshopps hob overflows on other tanks and they worked good.
I plumbed with flexible tubing also because you do not have to be as precise since it will move somewhat.
I sprayed the back of my tank with a Valspar spray paint.
 

vlangel

Seahorse whisperer
View Badges
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
5,489
Reaction score
5,371
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I just looked up a spray bar. Lol no I didn't. Dan told me for seahorses you don't want bubbles in the water. Seahorse can get really sick from bubbles. My return is a peace of flex line with a splinter so the pressure is defused.
I think folks who use spray bars in their seahorse tanks do not use airstones to make a lot of bubbles. They pump water down to the spray bar, (a piece of tubing with holes drilled in it) and usually its on the floor to create flow to keep detritus and excess food from building up.
I think its a myth that micro bubbles can cause gas bubble disease but seahorses are susceptible to being over saturated with oxygen. I do run an open airline tube, (that makes big bubbles) in my tank for surface agitation.
 

mgoesma

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 21, 2016
Messages
577
Reaction score
229
Location
Orlando
Rating - 0%
0   0   0

vlangel

Seahorse whisperer
View Badges
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
5,489
Reaction score
5,371
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Katie, I prefer the type with the U-tube but drill a small hole in the top of it. Then insert one of those plastic fittings that an airstone goes over and attach airline tubing to it. Run the airline tubing to an aqualifter input. Also attach airline tubing to the aqualifter output and run that to the drain portion of the overflow. I will see if I can get a pic of mine.

If you match the flow going through the overflow with its maximum capacity then that is not even necessary because bubbles will never build up in the U-tube. With adjustable DC pumps on the return its is easy to dial in the flow exactly to what you need.
 

vlangel

Seahorse whisperer
View Badges
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
5,489
Reaction score
5,371
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Oops I got mixed up which one of you I was talking to...sorry about that. Anyway this is a pic of mine and I trust it completely.

 
Back
Top