large combined tank

[lelualexa]

Hi,
I'm about to introduce myself in the "meet and greet forums" but I thought I'd post here first!
I wouldn't exactly call myself experienced but I have kept seahorses for about a year and a half now, with about a year or two of research preceeding that, so I'm not completely clueless! I also have a nano-reef with a pair of clownfish and blenny, and have 2 PJ cardinal fish in my 25g FOWLR (and some macro) seahorse tank.
I've got a 55g FO also, currently awaiting some of the more aquarium friendly butterflyfish and lionfish. Just so you know a bit about my background.

Not being a mechanical person and definitely not a fan of messiness, I tend to avoid sumps and fuges because I personally hate the look of all those chords and all that equipment. Instead I prefer to use ordinary canister filters (I know these aren't recommended for SW tanks but I've never had any problems) and internal filters, hidden behind some rock or something. I like it to be simple.

For my next set up, (which may not be for a while due to lack of funds) I'd really like to get a big tank going, with all my dream fish in it. My plan is to have a 10' x 2' x 2' tank and get one of the handy-men in my family to build me a custom cabinet, with wooden dividers on the outside.
The tank will have dividers on the inside, corresponding with those on the outside.
The sections will be as follows:

2ftx2ftx2ft = FO section - H. Barbouri, H. Reidi, H. Angustus tank, with a small school of juvenile Bangaii Cardinals
6ftx2ftx2ft = FOWLR section (maybe some morphs/corals depending on final fish decision) - Volitans Lionfish, Snowflake/Zebra Moray Eel, Blue Tang, Butterflyfish, & some other undecided fish...
2ftx2ftx2ft = Reef section - Lots of gobies, blennies, Long-nose hawkfish, and some other small fish with fun personalities.

The only problem I forsee with this endeavour is the heating issue of the tank, which I see was a problem in lcstorc's thread in this forum.
I thought that perhaps I could locate a small heater in the reef section, and a chiller at the seahorse end of the tank. Can someone tell me how low the FOWLR section can go, temperature-wise?

I suppose I could always separate the seahorse tank entirely and just set it up with a chiller, but the idea of it was to have a large quantity of water so that it would be easier to maintain...

Any input would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Alex

[SoccerBum474]

Welcome to RS... im sure someone will have some good ideas for you.. but i don't.... sorry

[Melanie]

Welcome to RS! Your plan sounds neat. I'm curious to see what other much more experienced members have to say. In THEORY I would think a sump would make the heating/chilling issue easier to deal with but when I say I'm no expert, I really mean it!

[lcstorc]

Welcome to RS! So glad to have you here.

Yes Malanie if they are set up right particularly with fans they do cool the overall tank temp. Seahorses however like the artic j/k there. Sounds like Alex knows this but jist so you know the recommended temp for seahorses is 72-76 degrees. Other than a chiller I would have no idea how you could accomplish this particularly in Florida.
Now back to Alex. In an odd way I am about to try something similar. If it you are not in a hurry I am about to try something similar just with 2 different tanks that are next to each other and share water. I will definitely post on my pony thread how it goes. My thinking is similar to yours I thing. I am going to basically move my chiller to the seahorse tanjk and let the seahorse tank cool the reef. My reef was in a pretty decent temp range before the chiller since I run the AC 24/7. I actually expect to see little diference in the temp on the reef tank.
Finally (for now. ) Can you see all the pipes in my tank?

I'll admit we bought the setup used but I love the way all the mechanical stuff is hidden. If you want any details then let me know.

[lelualexa]

your tank is beeeautiful, I hope mine looks that nice!

point taken on the sump but i'd even hate the idea of having the mess hidden under something! i'm sure i could make it work out neatly though. Just being so DIY-impaired i wouldn't know where to start... i guess i'll have to go back to being a newbie again!

My tank temp in my nanoreef runs at 26C constantly (sorry, I live in Australia, don't measure in F!) and the seahorse tank fluctuates between 23 and 24. On an extremely hot summers day it will go to around 26 but this is rare. So the temp isn't an issue to start off with, it just will be once I combine the tanks.

Unless, the reef tank could run at 24C? I assume this wouldn't affect corals largely and I know the fish would be fine, yeah?
It's probably the highest temp that the seahorses could go though... maybe risky?

[lcstorc]

Well since school was long ago I totally forget the conversion of C to F.
Hopefully that is cool enough for the ponies.
I don't see any reason why you couldn't lower the temp in the reef and I am about to do the same thing.
BTW if it makes you feel any better, behind the wood there is not only an overflow but a dry area for all of the electrical. Plus the tank looks way better now. That pic was from over a year ago. Lots more coral and quite a few new pics since the pic. Not to mention a new fuge, sump, and powerheads. I really need to take a new one since it is the only one I have that shows the whole stand.
Best of luck.

[blue_eyes53813]

Sounds like you are on the right track.. Cant waite to follow your progress.. Welcome to RS

[lelualexa]

Thanks for all your posts!
I'll be doing a lot of research on the electrical/sump aspect of this to make my decision...

I'll update this when I eventually get the money to get this up and running.