Which tank?

[Agu]

A friend who knows my passion for marine and reefs wants me to help her setup a seahorse tank. She's had a 30 gallon octogon fw for years, and I have a 29 gallon rectangle available for her. Which tank would be best for Ocean Rider seahorses? I've recommended the captive grown so she doesn't have to raise the brine shrimp and etc...

There will be future questions :rolleyes: .

Agu

[SeaNemesis]

She would want the higher of the 2 tanks. A wter column less than 18" is not recommended. The higher the tank the better. Good plan with Ocean Rider. This is the best way to go.

[Agu]

Thanks Alisa !!

The plan is a dsb which I'll innoculate from my tanks to make it live. About 10# live rock, grape caulerpa (racemosa), a cpr bakpak skimmer with the surface skimmer, and a small maxijet with a spraybar to make sure there is thorough circulation with no dead spots but still moderate current.

What about hermit crabs or snails?

tia,
Agu

btw, I'm aware some seahorse people are negative in regards to sand and live rock, but I want to make this as self sustaining as possible, and use natural filtration and nitrate reduction.

[SeaNemesis]

For regular size seahorses live rock is awesome just like for any of them. sand is great for all. I use DSB for dwarf and larger species. The only difference is for dwarfs live sand and live rock is a nono because it may have critters that can hurt the dwarfs and especially the brine. The spray bar is not needed. Seahorses do not like much of a current unless there is a small area where they can go play in. Hermits and snails are great so are peppermints. You can also have some types of fish, non aggressive ones. It is so fun building up a seahorse corral I think you will have a blast with your friend. I am also a moderator over a seahorse.org, there is a lot of info that can be found there.

[Agu]

Alisa,

Thanks again. I've read the other board for a couple of hours just for basic info, and found some conflicting advice, that's why I'm posting :).

Regarding the powerhead and spraybar, I'm concerned the bakpak will allow water at the bottom of the tank to become stagnant. My thought was a microjet to create a slow circular flow that would bring water and waste up from the bottom. That pump can be adjusted as low as 30 gph, which wouldn't be a lot of flow.

What kind of stocking level would you recommend? There will be no other fish in the tank. btw, we'll be using the 30 octogon.

tia,
Agu

[SeaNemesis]

My advice would be to go ahead and try using it. If you find it to strong you can always remove it. 3 pairs for a 30 gallon is fine and the octogon tank is gong to be gorgeous.