Cali Kid Corals

Felicia's 30 Gallon Seahorse Tank - Seahorses have arrived!!!

denzil said:
Very cool updates! The runny glue is the stuff I like to use since I used that to build my senior project. :)
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I will have to say though, you have to be very careful with the strings of glue that form when using the #16. Those can be a pain. I got a couple on the piece I was gluing, but luckily its on the inside baffle pieces so you can't see the little imperfections. I only don't like the runny stuff because of how fast it dries. They totally lie about the working time they have written on the bottle. It all cures really fast.
 
zeroinverse said:
Weld-on 16 is good. Slow enough to work with.

Felicia,
Are you worried about any clogging causing any water to "flow over"?
I was thinking maybe you need to trim that backwall a bit lower in the non-overflow section so any clogged water areas can spill over into main display tank area.
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Good point. I hadn't thought of that. There's a bit of a gap between the top of the partition and the rim of the tank, so if a chamber clogs, it should be able to overflow the partition back into the display portion without overflowing the tank. That's something I should test during the water flow test though. I'll intentionally clog a section and see if its ok. Great point! This is my first time doing anything plumbing related in a tank, so I don't think of all these things. You guys are such a great help!
 
zeroinverse said:
When I built my sump, I always wanted "safety overflow" just in case.
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It'll be about a week before I can do a water test since I want to make sure the Weld-On is done off-gassing. I'll let you guys know how it goes when I test it. A "safety overflow" is a really good point. I hope there's enough space below the rim for one now because its going to be hard to trim off any of the top since the bulkheads are bonded flush to the top now.
 
http://www.liveaquaria.com/DiversDen/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733 3&ddid=195555


6ZTm56w.jpg


So cooooool!
 
I wanted to share some info I read about flow in seahorse tanks:
"Many seahorse keepers are overly conscious of the inactive lifestyle and limited swimming ability ofHippocampus, and have adjusted their flow rates accordingly, resulting in tanks with too little water movement. Don’t make that mistake when setting up your seahorse reef. In actuality, seahorses prefer moderate water movement, including some areas of brisk current, providing there are also sheltered spots and some areas of relatively slack water they can move to when desired. Slack water means comparatively low flow, not stagnant conditions! As with any aquarium, avoid dead spots and stagnant areas in the seahorse tank at all costs.
I have often discussed this matter with professional divers and collectors who regularly encounter seahorses in the ocean, and they report that the horses are frequently found where you would least expect them—well offshore, in relatively deep water, and thriving in areas with strong tides and powerful currents.
My point is that as long as slack-water retreats are available, the greater seahorses can tolerate far more current than most folks suspect. What they lack as swimmers is not agility, but rather stamina. They can hold their own against strong currents, but not indefinitely, so low flow areas where they can move out of the current and hold when they want to rest must be provided in addition to good circulation."

http://www.tfhmagazine.com/details/...t-1-reef-compatibility-of-hippocampus-spp.htm
 
zeroinverse said:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2313271
On MARS
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Nice! I'll have to keep my eye out for seahorses locally once the tank is ready. I plan to get water in within this next week and then it will be cycling for at least a few weeks. I'm starting the tank with all dry rock and sand, to eliminate the risk of HH that could harm the seahorses. I'll be seeding with some sand from my main tank and I plan to add a little bit of well cured like rock. It will probably be a pretty short cycle. I set up my main tank that way when I transferred everything and the cycle only took a week. I want to wait plenty of time though to make sure its nice and stable for the seahorses.
 
FeliciaLynn said:
Nice! I'll have to keep my eye out for seahorses locally once the tank is ready. I plan to get water in within this next week and then it will be cycling for at least a few weeks. I'm starting the tank with all dry rock and sand, to eliminate the risk of HH that could harm the seahorses. I'll be seeding with some sand from my main tank and I plan to add a little bit of well cured like rock. It will probably be a pretty short cycle. I set up my main tank that way when I transferred everything and the cycle only took a week. I want to wait plenty of time though to make sure its nice and stable for the seahorses.
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You'll probably want to make sure the dry rock is pretty well saturated with organisms... at least that's what I'd do.
 
I think as long as the rock is cycled and not leaching out decaying organisms (a lot of dead microfauna get trapped in dead rock and need to "decompose" out)...

After that, you'll have good balance of beneficial bacteria to hopefully outcompete any "bad bacteria". And it will help with decomposing any excess food particles.

Seahorses (from what I read) easily take out any zooplankton to the point that it is not possible to grow microfauna fast enough in the tank to feed them.

So I think once your rock is bacteria laden and the internal dead matter is adequately decomposed, it is good to go.

Technically, with good water changes, you can keep toxic chemicals low while still growing bacteria populations. That is an "alternate" strategy to a long "live rock prep" (in my opinion).
 
Felicia, what is HH?

You could also use established tank water which should have a good amount of good bacteria (as well as other stuff)... To see your dead rock...

Unless you read somewhere that there is something "bad in the water" that will impact seahorses.
 
Here's an update on Felicia's tank after having it polished with cerium oxide and a glass polishing pad on my Metabo rotary machine.

Before:
IMG_4563-L.jpg


After one pass:
IMG_4567-L.jpg


We were able to get the majority of the stuff out but there was some pretty bad etching towards the corners. We couldn't complain too much considering the circumstances.
 
denzil said:
You'll probably want to make sure the dry rock is pretty well saturated with organisms... at least that's what I'd do.
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Yeah, I may add a bottle of Dr. Tims bacteria or something to help get the rock going. When I did the main tank though, just seeding with a few pounds of live rock was plenty to finish the cycle and have enough bacteria for the bioload of the fish I transferred over in less than a week.
 
FeliciaLynn said:
Yeah, I may add a bottle of Dr. Tims bacteria or something to help get the rock going. When I did the main tank though, just seeding with a few pounds of live rock was plenty to finish the cycle and have enough bacteria for the bioload of the fish I transferred over in less than a week.
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Yeah, I actually did the same for when I split the 10g tank to two 10g tanks. I pulled half the LR and water and put it into the new tank and just put freshly mixed water in both tanks. I tested a day after and the new tank was quite fine.
 
zeroinverse said:
I think as long as the rock is cycled and not leaching out decaying organisms (a lot of dead microfauna get trapped in dead rock and need to "decompose" out)...

After that, you'll have good balance of beneficial bacteria to hopefully outcompete any "bad bacteria". And it will help with decomposing any excess food particles.

Seahorses (from what I read) easily take out any zooplankton to the point that it is not possible to grow microfauna fast enough in the tank to feed them.

So I think once your rock is bacteria laden and the internal dead matter is adequately decomposed, it is good to go.

Technically, with good water changes, you can keep toxic chemicals low while still growing bacteria populations. That is an "alternate" strategy to a long "live rock prep" (in my opinion).
Click to expand...

The rock I am buying from BRS isn't really dry live rock. Its rock they mine from "land-based fossilized coral reefs", so its free of any dead microfauna by this point. Its very clean rock and doesn't have any die off. So really, between that and the dry sand there may be absolutely no cycle in this tank. It may just be waiting a week or two to build up enough beneficial bacteria to add the first inhabitants. I don't want to rush things with this tank, but at the same time I may end up being able to add the first fish after about a week of having water in the tank.
 
zeroinverse said:
Felicia, what is HH?

You could also use established tank water which should have a good amount of good bacteria (as well as other stuff)... To see your dead rock...

Unless you read somewhere that there is something "bad in the water" that will impact seahorses.
Click to expand...

HH = hitchhiker

Bristleworms and crabs can be a threat to seahorses, so I'm avoiding using much live rock. I'll probably throw in a couple pieces to help seed the dry rocks, but I'll make sure they're well cured and I'll inspect them well for any crabs or worms.

Using some water from my display tank seems like a good idea. I'll do a water change after setting up this new tank and add the water I pull out to the new tank.
 
denzil said:
Yeah, I actually did the same for when I split the 10g tank to two 10g tanks. I pulled half the LR and water and put it into the new tank and just put freshly mixed water in both tanks. I tested a day after and the new tank was quite fine.
Click to expand...

Good to know! I definitely don't think this tank will have much of a cycle once I get it going.
 
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