Seahorse tank build help wanted.

[Mperkins92]

I have an old 25 gallon tall hexagon tank and a 29 gallon standard tank. I am planning on keeping the horses in the 25 and turning the 29 into an oversized display refugium that will sit next to the tank. any help on info for building a custom stand would be appreciated.
The refugium is going to be a crucial part of this as i'm making it from a standard 29 gallon tank, I understand that seahorses need to be feed frequently which so i would prefer to try and create a sysem of copepods, etc. that the horses can eat so i dont have to worry about feeding twice a day. i also am curious if live rock would be appropriate for the refugium and reccomendations for decorative marine plants. All feedback is appreciated i'm sure to have plenty of questions and hope to have follower along the build. even some criticism could be helpful i'm just looking to find out how to keep these guys alive and lookin good

 

[tnwillia]

There are a few members with seahorse tanks. I'm sure they eill jump
In to help you. Good luck with it!

 

[Willie McDaries]

sounds like a good plan,horses would love the display fuge as well,you need horses that are captive bred and already eating frozen foods,it's nearly impossible to train wild horses to eat prepared foods...they prefer low flow and cooler water with plenty of hitching post,do your homework and learn what you can have as tank mates and you'll have an amazing display for sure,they are such magnificent creatures....

check out this thread for a DIY feeder that PaulB designed for horses years ago http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...ssion/74483-feeding-stations.html#post1022676

 

[Mperkins92]

thankyou for the help that feeding station looks like it will help alot. any ideas on help for building a stand or decorative refugium ideas?

 

[Willie McDaries]

I could build a stand but to explain it,I'm afraid I'd be useless

with the display fuge,just research macro algae and find some that you like and just start having fun with it....zoas,feather dusters,coco worms,and a lot of soft coral all would look great and do good with macro algae and be fairly easy to take care of too....with horses,you need to have plenty of places for pods to repopulate so keep that in mind as well,don't add fish that will decimate your pods,like mandarins for example

 

[StacyS]

Just a couple of adult seahorses can decimate your pods VERY, VERY quickly, especially on a tank that size. An adult erectus male can reach a good 7' and eat alot. Your horses will need to be fed at least twice a day to insure that they are getting enough to eat. The refugium is a fantastic idea and the live rock will help a great deal, but not enough to substain your seahorses for long.

 

[ChrisOaty]

I researched this a while back as I was interested in setting up my own seahorse system. I was going to set it up similar to yours but have the sump overflow into the display. The purpose of this was to make sure live pods make their way into the display as they overpopulate the fuge (no predation). Ultimately my living situation changed and I simply didn't have the space to set this up any longer. If you're serious about it, I highly suggest setting up the system first, allowing a healthy and thriving population of pods to exist first, before introducing the horses. They are delicate creatures and become sick very easily if not kept in a tank slightly cooler than most of our reefs. The biggest concern is filtration though because of how much they eat. They are messy eaters and account for huge bio loads. I'd be prepared to employ an over-sized skimmer and/ or ats to handle that. Good luck!

 

[dany]

Hey there fellow seahorse friend. I'm not as knowledgable as most on this sight I'm sure. I've only had my ponies little more than half a year, but I learned a lot from my ownmistakes. I have a tall hex, and It's beautiful to look at, but there a few problems you might run into. If you hex only has the little opening on the top, your going to have a hard time cleaning up after feeding, and any other work you have to do in the tank. Plus what kind of seahorses are you getting, because I'm already planning a bigger tank, in most cases a 29 gallon is only big enough for one pair. Also you will notice these guys can EAT, and you will come to enjoy feeding them since they will start to recognice you and give an awesome greeting, with color changes and dances as soon as they see you. Using colorfull deco plants would be your best bet if you want to see all the color changes in your ponies(depending on the breed). There are also some great sights for colorful artificial coral, that the seahorses seem to love to latch on to, and you don't have to worry about trying to keep coral in a seahorse tank. And if you deceide to go for it, get captive bread, better for the wild populations, and much easier to keep. I got mine from avery awesome seahorse breeding sightin hawaii, they ship all over he U.S. and garantee live arrivals. Best of luck, enjoyou new ponies.