Super tall seahorse tank help

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I just purchased yet another tank for my beloved seahorses.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220177701073&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123

I have a few problems / ?'s.

1. Lighting - Will anything other then metal halides reach the bottom of the tank? I'm not sure my T5's are going to be enough. Heat from the MH isn't a problem since I have a huge chiller.

2. Filteration - Hmmm this is a tough one. I always have drilled reef ready tanks. I love them and always have sumps full of chaeto and asm skimmers. This tank is not drilled and I HATE hang on overflow boxes. I'm not sure if I should just go with a canister filter like a fluval or a magnum 350, or try to drill the back of the tank. I'm certain the bottom is tempered so no drilling that part. I feel I need the benefits of a sump. Seahorse tanks tend to have higher then normal nitrates and I depend on my skimmer and chaeto to help controle that. ( and weekly water changes) I do not think I will feel comfortable without my trusty sump and skimmer.

3. Cleaning the bottom of the glass.- Since there is no way I can reach the bottom of a 36.5 in tall tank, I need a good algae magnet. I remember seeing an algae magnet that had a razor blade attached to it. I can not find where I saw it. If anyone knows where to get one or is familiar with them please let me know.

4. Sandbed - I've been doing a lot of research on sandbeds, and although I have never had anything other then a Deep sandbed (6+ inches) I'm thinking a shallow sandbed or bare bottom may be an idea. Bare bottomed would make cleaning easier, that's for sure. Not to mention the fact that I will have lots of spraybars in this tank for proper water circulation from top to bottom. I won't have to worry about blowing sand around.


Any and all ideas or suggestions are welcome.

Thank you.

Angie

[jojo22]

I would drill the tank, do a search here Dave did a nice write up that is very helpful. As far as razor blades I think I saw some that attach to a mag float at marine depot. As far as your sand bed I would do a DSB if that has always worked for you, if it ain't broke don't fix it!

[Sweetpea]

Here is THE BEST algae scraping tool you could ever buy (well, in my not-so-humble opinion, lol)

http://www.algaefree.com/easy_blade.html

I attached it to my Tiger Shark Float, and everything was cleaned off in just a few seconds - even the coralline! :)

I bought it at my LFS. With my discount, it was around $11 after tax... not bad at all!

[melev]

I thought MH lighting was a bad choice for a seahorse tank. I'd use VHO lighting.

I like the Piranha cleaning magnets. They look like wood, the inside section floats when separated, and they last forever. Pads are replaceable too.

[Sweetpea]

The Piranha magnet is a smaller version of my Tiger Shark. I really like these cleaners, as they are wooden and very attractive (even though I usually "hide" mine in a back bottom corner of my tank).

http://www.algaefree.com/products.html

The scraper attachments are made by the same company and perfectly fit the inside pieces! :)

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

Thank you - thank you - thank you!!! That is the EXACT razor thingy I was looking for. I knew I saw it someplace online, lol.

As for the Lighting....I'm not sure MH light are bad, they are just bright and heat the water too much. The heat isn't a problem with the chiller. I have so many macros that are overgrown, they would have plenty of places to get out of the light if they wanted too. ( my display tank looks more like a huge sump, lol) I Love my t5's I have on my other tanks, they are just too long for the new tank. I'd have to spend $300.00 or more for a new 36" T5 fixture for the new tank. I already have the Metal halides packed away so I wouldn't have to pay anything.

I kind of wanted to spend the $$ on nice branch rock and a custom stand. The stand is only 38 inches long. I want to build a bigger one so I can have 55g tank as my sump. I love my sumps!! I strongly believe Nature's way is the best way to filter a tank.
**Maybe** I will try the 250w 20k metak halide and use a couple layers of screening over the tank to block some of the light and see how it goes. I can always switch it out later. Plus if I only use 1 of the 250w lamps it won't light all 36 inches of the tank. There will be some dimmer areas on each end of the tank. Plus the lamp will be 20k so not as "bright" as the say, 10k lamps.

Angie

[melev]

It isn't about heat in this case. You're username indicates you know a lot about seahorses, and I thought they don't handle bright light well. I know some sites even recommend darker substrate so they aren't blinded by the light's reflection off the sand. This also allows them to spot their food (mysis) with the dark background beneath.

The screen should help.

[Reef_Angel]

I have to agree with Melev on this lighting situation. If you use VHO, the lighting will not stress your ponies into hiding behind rocks and things in the darker areas of your tank. I think folks may think that Seahorses are difficult to raise, but they really don't need to be. Remember where sea horse's reside in our oceans. They tend to stay by the darker more dense (dirty) area's in the reef. That doesn't mean you should keep a dirty tank, but one that they approve of. Keep your parameters where they should be, do fresh water top offs as a substitute for water changes. A water change may not be necessary if your salinity is high, so don't completely change their natural environment when you can simply top off and lower the natural occurring drop in salinity due to evaporation. You'll have some very pleased ponies if you don't constantly change their environment. Sometimes less is best to keep an even keel! ...Angel

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I have auto top off for my evaporation. I don't use to top of as a substitute for water changes. That doesn't help with water quality. I do a 20% water change weekly. I'm well aware of the needs of the ponies, lol. I better be. I have 80 that are about 1.5 months old and 8 that are over a year old and 2 that are 7 months old. I just wanted to make sure there was sufficient light at the bottom of the tank. I'm going with an 8 bulb T5 unit on this tank.

I believe the flat worms came from some chaeto I bought. I FW dipped it, but apparently that wasn't enough. The only other place they could have come from was a bag of mixed pods that I got from florida pets. There's no way to tell for sure. They are on the decline now that I have the blue velvet nudi. It sucks them up nonstop.

I will post pics of my 75 as soon as I get a change. It's about as natural as you can get in a home aquarium. :)

[Sparky]

I went with 4 T-5's and 2-150 watt MH's on your old 65 gal and they look great!!

[Reef_Angel]

After having the same ponies for as long as I've had, I just thought I'd mention what works for me Angie. No offence, really. My crew always has the correct parameters, and honestly can't see messing with what works on my personal tank. I'm not an expert here, but they are happy healthy ponies. Everyone can learn here from each other...that's what we're here for. I don't preach my ideas as the word here... just pass along what has worked for me, and that can't be all bad if they are still alive. I tried the whole baby pony thing, and honestly am not into that. I don't have the time or desire to peddle my ponies..just keep them healthy and happy. Good luck to you and all your children! lol!:D ....Angel

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

no offence taken....ya know I love ya Susan....I was joking hence the LOL. I agree that it's just best to let them be and they fare far better as long as everything is good.

I, however am worse then a reefer with the upgrade bug :) Even though my seahorses are breeding and making the egg transfers in the shallow 75g.....They struggle to get the transfer done before they get to the top of the tank. 1/2 the time they give up. I've never seen the eggs on the bottom of the tank, but I attribute that to an excellent clean up crew.

Ya'll know me, IF I can possibly make it better for my babies and their babies, I will.
I would think that this will be my last "upgrade" for these ponies since I can't think of a better tank then this new one. A 36.5 inch tall tank is about the highest I've heard of from others keeping seahorses. I also like the 36" length as well for swimming room. Most of the really tall tanks are cubes or column tanks and they don't have the length or width most of us would like. The width is only 15.5 inches, and I would have liked a little more, but it's ok. I will only be using branch rock for this tank so I don't have to worry about trying to fit large round rocks in here.

Because I want L O N G pieces of Branch rock, I'm thinking of making my own. I've traveled over 300 miles looking for long pieces of the branch rock and I can't find any longer then 12-18 inches. I'm afraid to order it offline since you never know what your getting. Not to mention it will probably break in transit. SO....Looks like DIY LR is where I'm heading on that one.

I'm scared to death to drill this tank. The glass is just over 1/2 inch thick. As much as I hate the thought of it, it looks like a hang on OF box will be added to the left side of the tank. I'm going to try to upload a sketch of the custom wall unit it will be going into.

Angie

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I'm in the process of stripping wallpaper and getting the room ready. I doubt if I'll get this tank and wall cabinet done before spring. I'm sure going to try though. :)

[Whoyah]

That will be awesome. Make sure you post pics during and after construction.

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

Of course pics are required :p

Because of the weight of the full 75g XX High tank, the cabinet, and I'm using a 55g as a sump, We are building a support wall in the basement. We currently have floor jacks in the basement, but the wall will be better. The entire wall unit is 60"L x 24"W x 84" H. If anything is adjusted it may end up 72 inches long just for added storage / shelves.

I tried to tell my hubby that we just need to sell the house and move into one that has a nice finished basement that I can use for a huge office / fish room. Then he wouldn't have to worry about how many tanks or how much weight the floor can handle, :) .

He said the new house he could afford.....all the new tanks with no limits is what would kill him. Geesh I hate it when he's right and I can't argue with him.

Angie

[melev]

It looks and sounds like it will be an awesome setup.

You could connect branch rock to branch rock by drilling it and using acrylic dowels and reef putty to secure them together.

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I'm going to continue this post in the Seahorse forum since that's what will be going into the tank.

Thanks everyone.

Melev....I think I'm going to buy a small amt. of Live branch rock and try to drill it and use acrylic dowels to secure them together. That will give me some actual LR to get the cycle going. But for the most part I think I'm going to try to make some DIY rock.


Angie