What is a good in sump protein skimmer for seahorse tank?

KirstenB · Sep 16, 2017

I just got a reefer 170. Its cycled and in a day or two will be buying a pair of erectus seahorses. What is a great in sump protein skimmer to place in the sump of this setup? I have a reef octopus in my other reefer 250 but know seahorses are messy and want a small skimmer to fit but also heavy duty enough to handle the waste they will produce. I know daily clean up, cuc, frequent water changes, etc are also of course a must. Thanks for any and all tips and advice!

Pic before sand settled.

Js.Aqua.Project · Sep 16, 2017

Having a 60 gal pony tank at the house I would recommend getting a Reef Octopus 110SS or a 150SS. The 110 should be proficient, but the 150 will he better if it fits.

I'm a natural blue · Sep 17, 2017

I have a Reef Octopus 150 for my 90 gallon tank and that thing is a beast. I am in the midst of setting up a 60g cube myself and I will be getting the 150 for my sump. What are your sump dimensions?

vlangel · Sep 17, 2017

Another option is the SCA-302. It is rated for 150 gallons and was reasonably priced when I bought it 2 years ago. One caution however, the pumps do not hold up to being turned off and on over and over, so I turn the bubbles down in the skimmer when I am doing a WC instead of turning it off. It is also a beast though and skims very effectively.

Kudos to you for doing your homework and creating a tank that will meet the needs of your soon to be inhabitants!

KirstenB · Sep 17, 2017

Thanks guys. My hubby is saying do a refugium. At what point can you had cheato algae in sump in new tank? Also how soon should I add a protein skimmer or refugium? Lfs says not right away. And if so how many cucs should i add safely right away in this 43g tank?

KirstenB · Sep 17, 2017

Is a sump ok alone for a few weeks?

vlangel · Sep 17, 2017

I have a refugium in my sump and I seeded it amphipods and copepods. Since my sump is a diy sump that I built from an old 20 L that I had, I designed the refugium to have a 5" deep sand bed to help control nitrates.

I do not know why you could not implement the sump right away, especially with the skimmer. As soon as you get your pair of erectus seahorses, the nutrients and dissolved organic compounds are going to begin to build up. I would want the sump and protein skimmer on line immediately. I would think a month of having ponies that there would be enough nutrients to grow cheato with no problem even with a good protein skimmer.

vlangel · Sep 17, 2017

Oops I forgot to address cuc. If you have a sandbed, nassarius snails are really good to have. I would start with 5+ depending on how much wastes your seahorses make. My ponies eat from a food bowl so they don't make as much waste as ponies who eat mysis squirted into the water column.

Some folks like larger peppermint shrimp, (if they are too small they end up being an expensive dinner) but they can be food bandits and steal mysis from the seahorses.

I like trochus snails for film algae and I would think 2 or 3 would be good after the tank is making algae. I have 3 in my 56 gallon.

vlangel · Sep 17, 2017

I haven't learned to post a pic but here is a link to my flickr account of my sump tank.

https://flic.kr/p/XjVmSb

It has 3 chambers. A chamber for the drain to run into and that chamber is also where my protein skimmer is.
The next chamber is my refugium and the last chamber is for my return pump and additional live rock.

vlangel · Sep 17, 2017

https://flic.kr/p/Yj6BMb

This is a top down of my refugium. As you can see, even with a big protein skimmer I have no trouble growing cheato, red titan, gracilaria, caulerpa and halimeda macro algae.

KirstenB · Sep 17, 2017

I have a sump with it... just wasnt sure about the skimmer as well right away. Brought home the ponies today n lfs said no skimmer needed atm. They sent me home w 10 blue leggeds and i just put in garlic seaweed to feed them at first. I am doing a water change in my reef atm but wanted to quick reply about the sump. Wanna respond soon on your advice and help...

vlangel · Sep 17, 2017

KirstenB said:
I have a sump with it... just wasnt sure about the skimmer as well right away. Brought home the ponies today n lfs said no skimmer needed atm. They sent me home w 10 blue leggeds and i just put in garlic seaweed to feed them at first. I am doing a water change in my reef atm but wanted to quick reply about the sump. Wanna respond soon on your advice and help...

I personally disagree with the lfs about not needing a protein skimmer right away. I am hoping some other experienced seahorse keepers like @rayjay or @SeahorseKeeper or @Seahorsekelly69 will be able to jump in and give their advise.