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5K views 27 replies 6 participants last post by  pledosophy 
#1 ·
so i made up my mind. im gonna buy a tank for ponies, set it up for them and cycle it for a few months untill i know more. i am hoping you guys will tag along with me and help me out.
i will be buying the tank within the week, as soon as i decide what size i need and what type of ponies i will keep.
ive been reading alot on seahorses.org and hope you guys can help me down the line!

i plan on putting a baffle in the tank itself on one side so i can hook up a pump to it without hurting the ponies. i want to have a fuge but i dont know yet if i will have it above the actual ponie tank or below.
i am most likely going to wait at least a couple months for the ponies, but will build the tank within the next week given my card doesnt max out :eek:
hope i can learn enough here to keep them very healthy, i cant stand anything less than ABSOLUTELY perfect conditions for any animal so i will need ALOT of ?'s answered but thats what you guys are here for right?
so my ?'s are: what type should i keep?
what size tank should i buy?
when i know this ill buy the tank and get it cycling!!!!!
i have a 15 gallon tank im not doing anything with, its crawling with pods and is almost a year established. may use this for a fuge may use it for the horsies, if my budget allows for all the extra money i have been spending lately.
 
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#2 ·
Hi, I like h riedi, I have been keeping them , Your 25 if it is a 15 tall will be a good side tank for 2 or 3, I have mine in a 37 gallon which is tall and a really nice size. I do think You have all the right ideals going on. I know You have read and know about them already from reading some of your other replys, Seahorse,org is a good site, I go there from time to time, I only keep captive bred and raised ponies , They all feed on pods and frozen foods, I don't have to feed everyday as they have plenty in the tank and are getting a balance diet.
I don't really agree on that they are only for the advance. If you are will to take the time to read and ask questions , they are relly pretty easy to keep if You know what You are buying to start with, Most of the problems people have are feeding problems, If You buy from a good supplier, Good Luck
 
#3 ·
thanx, i was thinking h.reidi too!
so you dont raise live foods? i dont like the idea of constanly hatching shrimp, i would do it occasionally for a treat but would frozen keep them in good shape?
how do you like your natural system? what do you do extra that you wouldnt do in a conventionally filtered system?
i have had my small tank as a natural system also, using a few diff species of macro for nutrient export. also have been running occasional carbon and filter bag in a hob filter.
i am willing to do all it takes to keep them really happy and fat!
do you think having a natural system with occasional hob filtering would be less than ideal?
i am also considering a fifty gallon that i could section about half of it off with an acrylic baffle in the tank with lots of holes in it for growing macro and pods and for housing airstones and occasional hob filtering, what do you think, could this work?
the other half of the tank would be empty except for macro and airstones.
also what lighting would they need? i would guess just enough to keep the macro alive and a few shady spots for the horsies, right?
 
#4 ·
The natural works well for me and is not hard to do , It is really the most easy to take care of. I do water change like any other tank and pull out a lot of macroalgae all the time, I take it to the store and sell it there. It is just a favor to them and they pay me back in return for what ever I need . Very simple, When I am working on the babies I have hatched brine, not Ideal for them , They need rotifer's
 
#5 ·
I have kept and bred reidi. Mine were WC so I had to feed live. A good CB will take frozen.

The bigger and taller the tank the better. My favorite seahorse tank I have had was a 44g tall. Same footprint as the 37 just taller, my next will be a 37g.

What's your ID on sh.org?
 
#8 ·
I have kept and bred reidi. Mine were WC so I had to feed live. A good CB will take frozen.

The bigger and taller the tank the better. My favorite seahorse tank I have had was a 44g tall. Same footprint as the 37 just taller, my next will be a 37g.

What's your ID on sh.org?
i didnt realize you could join! i guess i am a guest there although i cant figure out how to join:confused:
 
#9 ·
Hi guys. I live in Wisconsin and had a pair of reidi for a good year. I could not keep up with them having babies every 13 days. The oldest baby was about 3 months and that was the longest I could keep them alive. Raising fry is very expensive and time consuming....so I could say, cb reidi are great to have and maybe stick with the same sex. Female seem to be more active than males. My female always danced in front and was always out. The male hid a lot. Mine ate frozen mysis shrimp (the hikari kind). I bought mine from Drs. FosterSmith here in Wis. Just make sure to ask if they are eating frozen. Good luck. Kelly
 
#10 ·
ty kelly. all info in good info

bleezy.. hopefully i have been doing good research.. and i wont make any bad mistakes.. although you live and learn..... but i have plenty of time to read up on them. what else are you looking to have in the tank.. soon and future?
 
#11 ·
You can join the org. It is a site similiar to this. Click on forums, there is a Welcome Guest type next to which says register. Click on register and follow the prompt.

They have over 6,000 members who keep seahorses.
 
#13 ·
You can join the org. It is a site similiar to this. Click on forums, there is a Welcome Guest type next to which says register. Click on register and follow the prompt.

They have over 6,000 members who keep seahorses.
please only link to other forums if you link to a thread that will help the current question. We really want to build our own info base here instead of sending everyone elsewhere.
 
#12 ·
ok have a question. what should i get or am i pretty good for the most part for a SH tank?

36gal bow front
fluval ( I was told to take the stuff out of the filter and use it only for PH's)
super skimmer
lunar light set
LR
LS

in the future i want to set up a sump. (smaller one) good idea or bad?
qt tank???? if so what is needed for a qt tank?
 
#14 ·
I didn't post a link. Bleezy mentioned he was reading on that site, I just asked his user name for that site. I participate on several sites. Just wondering if I knew him from somewhere else. No harm intended.

If you look through my posts I think you'll find I have added to the "info base" of this site, and haven't made a habit out of sending people other places.

Speaking of adding to the info base.

I like fluvals, think they are great. You can use various media including Seachem's denitrate, Chemi-pure, and phosban to help your system run better. I also like to use the floss pad. I'm not a fan of the biomedia due to the amount of LR I have. I am also not a fan of carbon as some brands leach phosphates, and there is not much in my horse tanks that will leach any toxins for the need of carbon. I do keep some various species of caulphera, however I keep them in a mannor where they have never gone sexual. If they do I'll toss in the carbon for a bit. Some slugs can also leach toxins if they die. If you plan on keeping certain corals you may want to consider it. What are your plans?

I noticed you listed a lunar light set, but not a light. :D

On the future sump plan, I think they are great IME.

Personally Im not a skimmer fan, but they are handy in some cases.

How much rock are you looking at? LS?

QT tanks are a great thing to have. They can save your display in some cases. I keep a 20g. When QTing seahorses I use a HOB filter and a few plastic hitches. In the HOB filter I use filter media that has been cycled in another tank. I do WC's to keep up with the additional bioload if it is needed. I do not use LR or LS in my QT tanks because if some disease did break out, then you would have to bleach the rock (depending on what it was) and if I have to use meds in the QT tank it's an easy switch just to take off the filter.

JME.
 
#15 ·
i have a qt tank. the tank will most likely be a 46g tall.i may run a bakpak skimmer with a modification to skim off of the top. i also want to have a baffle in the tank so the water flows gently over so as not to hurt the ponies. the area will be small, just big enough for me to drill a hole for the outflow. then into a small fuge or settling trap. the sump will mainy be for easier acces to sw ghost shrimp which i will breed in containers in the sump. also the sump will allow me to run carbon and do wc's and top off easier. i just couldnt bring myself to go sumpless. i will write out a diagram later tonight to show what i will do with the sump.
i am breeding fw and sw chost shrimp as of now and i have hatched some brine shrimp i am going to try and grow them out, do i need to raise the salinity? i am going to enrich them and feed em to my mandarin. i just want to make sure i can make live foods.
i cant wait to get the tank!
 
#16 ·
please check this out and let me know if this is a good model to follow for a sump - http://www.tylermerrick.com/index.php?page=sump&cat=22

if you were talking to me on some of this... i will answer.. and if not.. you get my answers anyways..lol

lunar lights - lol thats all i knew about them... ill go check the box real quick to see what they say :)
well on the box..this is what it says
FEATURES
-30 inch compact fluroescent and lunar blue moon glow LED light fixture
-one 65 watt true actinic 03 blue compact fluroescent lamp straight-pin base with on/off switch and 6 foot power cord
-one 65 watt 10,000k daylight compact fluroescent lamp straight-pin base with on/off switch and 6 foot power cord
-two 3/4 watt Lunar blue moon glow LED lamps with on/off switch and 6 foot power cord
-two built in removable electronic ballasts
-high capacity built in removable coolings fans
-sleek designer black aluminum housing
-highly polished relectors
-removeable acrylic lens cover
-easy to install mounting legs

i only have room for a 10 gallon sump. i dont have any more room underneath my stand

my skimmer will be going in my sump..cause it has overflowed a couple times.. so to reduce that..i will put it in there :)

i have 40 lbs of LS in my show tank.. and my tank is a 36 gal bow front

as for the refugium in the tank.. i seen that you should put a tad but of sand in there.. so there will be some in there as well

right now i have about 15 lbs of LR....i plan to get more in about a week.
 
#17 ·
Bleezy

IME if you are trying to raise the ghost shrimp to be the primary source of food for your seahorses your wasting your time. Your sump is not big enough. Ghosts are cannabalistic and slow growers. It is just not practical. I do know of a keeper who breeds his own ghosts, but it's in a 5 acre pond.

I have bred ghosts at a 1.022 and mysids at 1.019. JME Mysids seemed to need a dark period to breed more prolifically. My shrimp breeding setup was several tanks.

Artemia is fairly easy to raise IME. Personall I would still try Artic Pods made by ReedMariculture.com IME manderins eat it readily and it is a good nutritionl profile. Raising bbs is just a PITA that you shouldn't have to deal with if you don't have to. It is not much more to just bu the pods then it is to hatch your own if you factor in your time. If your system is established and stable your manderin should be fine on it's own IME as long as the other tank needs were designed for it. JME

When you refer to the small drill holes for the out flow, are you refering to the drain for the sump? I have run 700g per hour down a drain in a 65g tank with a standard overflow box and had no issues. The flow with the horses was fine. This was with an adult reidi, and not with juvies. I like that your planning ahead with the seahorses needs in mind, but IME I would make a standard overflow and then ontrol the return pump from the sump with a T valve so you can get enough flow in the tank and through the sump. If you divide the returns you can get more then the standard recommended flow. I have gone up to 15x an hour with the use of an intricate spraybar rock support structure. JME

Sara, when someone starts a thread about there tank and you start asking questions about yours it's called hijacking. So yes Sara your now a hijacker. :D

On the sump desing, I would use a 20g tall not a 10, it's just a bit taller, see if you have the height to make it fit. I would add a third baffle placed on the bottom of the tank so it is the same size as the one that bordrs the fuge. Three baffles will stop bubbles IME.

Is the light a coralife fixture or a sunpaq? I think I have the same one. Good light.

Your sand bed should not exceed 2" unless it is over 5" IMO. I would go with a DSB in the sump if you can do a 20g tall, if not shallow sand bed on both. DSB are good for removing nitrates, but not practical in a display of that size. IMO if you can't do a DSB you should make a nitrate filter. I can post directions here if you like.

More rock is a definte plus. More the merryier IMO provided the horses have ample room to swim. I rely on the biological filtration in my tanks. I like to set up tanks with no filters. They are great. IME it just takes so much more room to make ir right, but when it is right it is wonderful. I have a 20g long nano reef that all I add is fresh water and calcium. Enough life is produced in the rest of the tank to take care of everythin else. I did do a water change a month ago, levels are perfect. The is a man named Len who owns a business called WindowtotheSea.com He has softie, lps, and SPS tanks that are thriving beyond belief and all he adds is fresh water and calcuim. For years now. No other supplements, no water changes, the tank is designed so it is self sustaining. Creating a biosphere is my goal when establishing a tank.

Happy Trails
 
#24 ·
Bleezy

IME if you are trying to raise the ghost shrimp to be the primary source of food for your seahorses your wasting your time. Your sump is not big enough. Ghosts are cannabalistic and slow growers. It is just not practical. I do know of a keeper who breeds his own ghosts, but it's in a 5 acre pond.

I have bred ghosts at a 1.022 and mysids at 1.019. JME Mysids seemed to need a dark period to breed more prolifically. My shrimp breeding setup was several tanks.

Artemia is fairly easy to raise IME. Personall I would still try Artic Pods made by ReedMariculture.com IME manderins eat it readily and it is a good nutritionl profile. Raising bbs is just a PITA that you shouldn't have to deal with if you don't have to. It is not much more to just bu the pods then it is to hatch your own if you factor in your time. If your system is established and stable your manderin should be fine on it's own IME as long as the other tank needs were designed for it. JME

When you refer to the small drill holes for the out flow, are you refering to the drain for the sump? I have run 700g per hour down a drain in a 65g tank with a standard overflow box and had no issues. The flow with the horses was fine. This was with an adult reidi, and not with juvies. I like that your planning ahead with the seahorses needs in mind, but IME I would make a standard overflow and then ontrol the return pump from the sump with a T valve so you can get enough flow in the tank and through the sump. If you divide the returns you can get more then the standard recommended flow. I have gone up to 15x an hour with the use of an intricate spraybar rock support structure. JME

Sara, when someone starts a thread about there tank and you start asking questions about yours it's called hijacking. So yes Sara your now a hijacker. :D

On the sump desing, I would use a 20g tall not a 10, it's just a bit taller, see if you have the height to make it fit. I would add a third baffle placed on the bottom of the tank so it is the same size as the one that bordrs the fuge. Three baffles will stop bubbles IME.

Is the light a coralife fixture or a sunpaq? I think I have the same one. Good light.

Your sand bed should not exceed 2" unless it is over 5" IMO. I would go with a DSB in the sump if you can do a 20g tall, if not shallow sand bed on both. DSB are good for removing nitrates, but not practical in a display of that size. IMO if you can't do a DSB you should make a nitrate filter. I can post directions here if you like.

More rock is a definte plus. More the merryier IMO provided the horses have ample room to swim. I rely on the biological filtration in my tanks. I like to set up tanks with no filters. They are great. IME it just takes so much more room to make ir right, but when it is right it is wonderful. I have a 20g long nano reef that all I add is fresh water and calcium. Enough life is produced in the rest of the tank to take care of everythin else. I did do a water change a month ago, levels are perfect. The is a man named Len who owns a business called WindowtotheSea.com He has softie, lps, and SPS tanks that are thriving beyond belief and all he adds is fresh water and calcuim. For years now. No other supplements, no water changes, the tank is designed so it is self sustaining. Creating a biosphere is my goal when establishing a tank.

Happy Trails
IME if you are trying to raise the ghost shrimp to be the primary source of food for your seahorses your wasting your time. Your sump is not big enough. Ghosts are cannabalistic and slow growers. It is just not practical. I do know of a keeper who breeds his own ghosts, but it's in a 5 acre pond.

wont keeping them in a large encloser with a grated bottom and baffles to seperate all the females produce enough food?

Artemia is fairly easy to raise IME. Personall I would still try Artic Pods made by ReedMariculture.com IME manderins eat it readily and it is a good nutritionl profile. Raising bbs is just a PITA that you shouldn't have to deal with if you don't have to. It is not much more to just bu the pods then it is to hatch your own if you factor in your time. If your system is established and stable your manderin should be fine on it's own IME as long as the other tank needs were designed for it. JME

whats artemia? isnt that brine shrimp? artic pods? i bought aquapods once and was dissapointed because i thought i was getting something to feed my mandarins.what i got was some water, that may have had a couple small pods in it. i could have started a culture with my own if i wanted to start one.what are bbs?baby brine?"It is not much more to just bu the pods then it is to hatch your own if you factor in your time."
i have unlimited time times infinity, i am homeschooled and stay home all day everyday, my independant work only takes an hour or so each day, so dont start me on time, i would enjoy having a whole buch of tanks and doing lots of tedious tasks, money however is short with diving and reefing." If your system is established and stable your manderin should be fine on it's own IME as long as the other tank needs were designed for it. JME" the tank is 120g witha 60 fuge, its stable and has got a nice pod population, i am gonna put him in my fuge for a while though, i like to acclimate fish to the fuge then the tank, i have been planning on a mandarin, not this soon, but i "rescued" it from my lfs, and got it at a great discount because of its poor shape. i just wanted to have a live food source for my reef tank and the manderin and all my other various critters.

thanks
 
#20 ·
Well You really did put it in the right place Sara, that is a good forum to have about building a sump. A sump for any tank will be the same as will a refugium. I will only add that with the seahorses you can get by without one, as You will have whats growing in the refugium in the tank with the seahorses. And it is alright to ask here.
 
#22 ·
I will have to go back and reread that thread, You won't have as many baffles in it if it is a refugium, You will have alot of space to grow the macro algae, And if it is going to be just a sump for a skimmer and heater and stuff. I may not get back to this until tomorrow, It is getting late,
 
#25 ·
Well with a 120g and a 60g fuge you should have no issues raising a manderin.

If time is really on your side, (yes it is, sorry couldn't resist) and money is short sided IME there are many cheap easy ways to make some cash back at this obby to support your other needs. If you like haing tons of projects going then I recommend trying mysid shrimp. They are easy enough, you will have to seperate adults and fry. You will need several tanks, but can get away with using rubbermaids IME. Also since you have so much time cruise selling forums, ebay, RC selling forum and Craig's list for good deals on stuff you need.

Since you have such a big fuge why ot put some of the more desired macro algaes in there like prolifera, red grape, halmedia, etc. IME these especially prolifera are fast growers which then can be sold on the same selling forums. I used to have a macro growing setup and was selling over $100 weekly on ifferent forums. Paid for the rest of my hobby.

Pod cultures are cool. I like to keep chaetomorpha in them for a place for the pods to hide and grow as well as provide nutrition. If you got time and space then I'd look into that too. You know how much you paid for a few pods. Pod cultures are great.

Different strains of phyto are also relativley cheap to start and can be sold for a profit. All it takes is a starter, a 2L bottle and a Clip on light. JME

Artic pods is a food made by Reedmariculture. It is harvested from the Artic ocean I believe. There are probably several thousand pods in the small bottle. They aren't exactly alive but do make a good food source.

Sara, IMO your sump should have at least three baffles for a bubble trpa, 4 if you want to have a trickle lr section.
 
#26 ·
Well with a 120g and a 60g fuge you should have no issues raising a manderin.

If time is really on your side, (yes it is, sorry couldn't resist) and money is short sided IME there are many cheap easy ways to make some cash back at this obby to support your other needs. If you like haing tons of projects going then I recommend trying mysid shrimp. They are easy enough, you will have to seperate adults and fry. You will need several tanks, but can get away with using rubbermaids IME. Also since you have so much time cruise selling forums, ebay, RC selling forum and Craig's list for good deals on stuff you need.

Since you have such a big fuge why ot put some of the more desired macro algaes in there like prolifera, red grape, halmedia, etc. IME these especially prolifera are fast growers which then can be sold on the same selling forums. I used to have a macro growing setup and was selling over $100 weekly on ifferent forums. Paid for the rest of my hobby.

Pod cultures are cool. I like to keep chaetomorpha in them for a place for the pods to hide and grow as well as provide nutrition. If you got time and space then I'd look into that too. You know how much you paid for a few pods. Pod cultures are great.

Different strains of phyto are also relativley cheap to start and can be sold for a profit. All it takes is a starter, a 2L bottle and a Clip on light. JME

Artic pods is a food made by Reedmariculture. It is harvested from the Artic ocean I believe. There are probably several thousand pods in the small bottle. They aren't exactly alive but do make a good food source.

Sara, IMO your sump should have at least three baffles for a bubble trpa, 4 if you want to have a trickle lr section.
If time is really on your side, (yes it is, sorry couldn't resist) and money is short sided IME there are many cheap easy ways to make some cash back at this obby to support your other needs. If you like haing tons of projects going then I recommend trying mysid shrimp. They are easy enough, you will have to seperate adults and fry. You will need several tanks, but can get away with using rubbermaids IME. Also since you have so much time cruise selling forums, ebay, RC selling forum and Craig's list for good deals on stuff you need.

are mysids fw? how do i do it? get nets to seperate the different sized mysids? where would i get such nets?how many tanks exactly?

fuge why ot put some of the more desired macro algaes in there like prolifera, red grape, halmedia, etc. IME these especially prolifera are fast growers which then can be sold on the same selling forums. I used to have a macro growing setup and was selling over $100 weekly on ifferent forums. Paid for the rest of my hobby.

i have 18 different species of macro, i put the best pod holders under the most light. sphaghetti algae and chaeto. really?, i can sell macro? im surprised anyone would pay for macro!

Pod cultures are cool. I like to keep chaetomorpha in them for a place for the pods to hide and grow as well as provide nutrition. If you got time and space then I'd look into that too. You know how much you paid for a few pods. Pod cultures are great.

is there any way to actually harvest them on a big scale? or just what i can catch with a net?

Different strains of phyto are also relativley cheap to start and can be sold for a profit. All it takes is a starter, a 2L bottle and a Clip on light. JME

how do you do it? is it like rots? "All it takes is a starter, a 2L bottle and a Clip on light. JME" where can i get a starter?

Artic pods is a food made by Reedmariculture. It is harvested from the Artic ocean I believe. There are probably several thousand pods in the small bottle. They aren't exactly alive but do make a good food source.

thanks i will try that now!
 
#27 ·
well i finally got my check so i should be getting my tank soon, i kinda got diverted from the seahorse tank, i am busy setting up my pod tank.

after some more research ive decided to go with H.erectus. i figure it will be easier on me when they breed down the road.
 
#28 ·
Easier ya, but still a challenge for anyone. When you get there, we'll walk you through it.

I'm still deciding on my next species, i'm thinking comes because I do not see them widely available as CB and I would like to contribute. Later down the road I want to start experimenting with hybrids, but that's at least 5 years off. need to go back to school first. Learn some stuff.
 
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