an idea forms...

bearwithfish

ok now i have learned a ton from my experience setting up and maintaining my 50 gallon...so i sit around thinking "i should consider another tank" after all the wife and i have an agreement of i am limited to 5 tanks and as time has gone by i am down to just the one (she claims 2 but i dont count the sump LOL) .... my best course of action is to plan and build the needed supplies slowly over time.... and in all honesty i dont even plan on getting the basics (tank, filtration etc) for well over 4 months.. so you may ask why in the world start a thread about this new idea now?!? simple the tank i am planning requires a great deal of research and total patience... not exactly my forte but i am learning and i would like to share my learning experience and ultimately set up here...
so some details are in order.
tank size - no idea
filtration - not a clue yet considering a sump/fuge but may go with just a HOB skimmer not reall clear yet
lighting - some type of floro or CFL 6500K
stock- SEAHORSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not yet sure on dwarf or not but thinking dwarf would be the best bet based on my reading thus far...

so far i have found a great deal of info and i continue to read and ask questions.....

thoughts, ideas, resources all welcome..

james7139

maybe plan this tank (great idea,i want seahorses :) ) and/or a planted freshwater set-up,maybe hightech?

how about this:
29-40g tank
Eheim 2213 canister filter
ADA Aquasoil I
MH lighting (or VHO T-5 as you seem good with using these)
Pressurized C02
flourish comp.



and maybe some plants and fish if you ever get enough money after buying this :)

bearwithfish

hmm i am still uncertain on size yet for tank buti am with out a doubt 100% sure i will not be using a canister filter.. i have read other who seem to like them but 98% of the research out there clearly shows that canisters are a bad idea...
now regarding light .... as a lot of corals are not OK with seahorses i am simply not going to have any in this tank and that being the case i really have no reason to go with MH (and i dont really like them any way) but rather T5's or normal T8's since regular lighting will be fine.. the only reasoni want the 6500k is for Macro growth.. this will be

1" live sand
base rock only (to be seeded from the sand)
once things are moving along Macro Algae

i am considering options on a rock wall and this will have hitching posts all over it at random points so if i have times when the macro is not doing well or if i dont design the rest of the rock correctly they will have lots of places to rest...

as for tank mates.... i think the only other inhabitants will be snails of varying types... i do not want hermits in there and othe tank mates are hard to find that would be compatible.. most due to feeding issues...i would hate to set this whole system up and hve the main inhabitant starve from competition..

njudson

Pipe fish are cool and I see them in tanks with seahorses often :)

bearwithfish

really? thats cool i was unaware )hence the long research period)
but to be honest i really think its going to be SH only.. i dont know i just like the idea of a species only tank.. seem to me that catering to one type of life would have a bit less risk for everyone involved...

bearwithfish

so along my research i discover that the larger breeds of seahorse are typically frozen fed (which means i can buy some and make my own supplemental meals) this is great however i become curious as to the possibility of dwarfs also being able to be fed frozen... again i am not locked in on what type of sea horse at this time as we are still in the research phase keeping all options open keeps me out of a closed box i may not like as i go along...

regardless though i have discovered that tank hight is much more relevant than length... so i begin to consider something in the 20"-24" hight range to accommodate larger breeds and 18" for dwarfs as i know they do well in such tanks as a 5.5 or a 10 gallon i want to go a lot over so that i can potentially get a nice herd going and they will keep them selfs propagating over time... this seems like the best long tern investment as the typical dwarf only lives about 1-1.5 years... if the keep the line going we should have them for quite a long time...