Plans for My 20 gallon Seahorse/Pipefish Tank [pic intense]
 

Well, I never thought I would run out of space in my reef, but the time has finally come for another tank. I have always wanted to keep Seahorses and Pipefish, and when I found a 20 gallon high tank and stand in my basement, it felt like fate!

Here's the tank and stand. I am going to put a white board under the tank, over the stand, for extra support. I like that the stand is a bit longer than the tank so that I can put stuff on either side of the stand; there is no such thing as too much space!

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/TankSetup1.jpg[/IMG]

I have been doing tons of research, and so far this tank has cost me absolutley nothing. I am trading my old 36" in Power Compact Hood (I replaced with MH lights on my 46 gallon reef) for a 24" version, which will have a total of 65 watts.

I also traded some frags of my Purple Gorgonian (seen below) for store credit. I got $5 a frag, which gives mt $50 for the filter and heater:

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v353/Flipturn88/DPG_frags2.jpg[/IMG]

I plan to get the [url=http://petsolutions.com/product.asp?pn=15510595]Aquaclear Mini Power Filter[/URL] for filtration, as well as 20-30 LBS of liverock. A skimmer is not needed of a tank this size, and I will be doing water changes every week dilligently, since that is just how I like doing waterchanges. I hope to get my LR and LS from a local, established tank so I don't have to worry about curing it or any unwanted hithikers. I also have some coral skeletons (now LR, and no I did not kill them) in my fuge that are very knobby and good for seahorse hitching posts.

Please post your comments, suggestions, and opinions. I would love to hear any of them :).

Thanks,
Kayla

Sounds AWSOME!

Nanos are so much fun and I am sure you will have a great time and even more with sea horses. I thought you were doing the 24 gallon Nano Cube though? Anyways...keep us posted.:)

Whoo hoo Kayla!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you mind if I share this thread with you? As soon as I get my JBJ 24 gallon nano, I'll have the same stuff!!! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now for the fun stuff...the Seahorses and Pipes :).

I know of a local LFS owner who owns seahorses and she says she can order me either H. Kude or H. Procerus. I'm debating which pair I should get. Here are pics of both for a comparison:

H. Procerus and color variations:
[IMG]http://www.oceanoddities.com/gfx_internal/vertical/proma.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.oceanoddities.com/gfx_internal/vertical/proyfe.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.oceanoddities.com/gfx_internal/vertical/prosma.jpg[/IMG]

H. Kuda (a more popular species):
[IMG]http://fins.actwin.com/marine-pics/Hippocampus_kuda.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.zanclus.it/immagini/pesci/hippocampus_kuda.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.akwafoto.pl/fotoreport/morskie_kr2002/ryby/rozne/hippocampus_kuda.jpg[/IMG]
This one is a very pretty purple:
[IMG]http://fins.actwin.com/pics/Hippocampus_kuda2.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.paru-studer.ch/images/Seepferd4.jpg[/IMG]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by AEALOVESHERGIRLS [/i]
[B]Whoo hoo Kayla!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you mind if I share this thread with you? As soon as I get my JBJ 24 gallon nano, I'll have the same stuff!!! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [/B][/QUOTE]

Yep, that's exactly why I set it up! This is out project :).

[QUOTE]
Nanos are so much fun and I am sure you will have a great time and even more with sea horses. I thought you were doing the 24 gallon Nano Cube though?[/QUOTE]

The 24 gallon won't be available for a little while, and I am saving so much money this way (everything has been free so far!).

Plus, I hope to set up the tank pretty soon to move my soft corals (colt coral, cabbage, toadstool, and some extra zoos) pretty soon so I can have a soft coral tank and hard coral tank. SPS don't like the toxins produced by the softies, and I will have so much more room once they are moved out. Seahorses love soft corals like colts to hang onto, and I have some photosynthedic gorgonians for extra hitching posts as well.

This tank will also serve as a frag/growout tank.

Hmm... that looks neat, I can't wait to see it get going!

Oh, c'mon RJ, join the fun!

Yeah RJ, you have a nano...or two...or three?

Okay, time for my Pipefish plans (very subject to change). Here are the species of Pipefish that I am interested in:

[url=http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=284&TopCatId=267]Janss' Pipefish[/URL]:
[IMG]http://www.greenighs.com/seahorses/tank/halfpipe_.jpg[/IMG]

Bluestripe:
[IMG]http://www.redseaboats.hu/Marinelife/bluestripe_pipefishopt.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://www.saltcorner.com/sections/zoo/fish/pipefishes/doryrhamphus/Dexcisus.jpg[/IMG]

Banded (a more common species):

[IMG]http://www.scuba-equipment-usa.com/marine/JAN04/images/Dunckerocampus_dactyliophorus.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.edge-of-reef.com/singnatidi/SIN040dunckerocampusdactyliophorus1.jpg[/IMG]

[url=http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=282&TopCatId=267]Dragonface:[/URL]
[IMG]http://qualitymarineusa.com/fish/photo/pipefish/4108.JPG[/IMG]

Don't fear, much more research will be conducted before I even consider adding any of these animals. I still have a lot to learn, but I am very excited about the process!

Kayla

So, how long before you can put a pipefish in the tank? I hear they take expert care and are hard to keep.

Well it really depends on the species. I am definatley going to begin with a pair of seahorses to make sure I know what I'm doing, but from what I've read pipefish are impossible as long as you are willing to take the time to meet their needs (ie buying live foods for a bit and weaning them onto frozen).

I just found out that Dragonfaced pipes never eat frozen, so I scratched them off my list. Oh well, they were my least favorite anyway.

Nice Kayla, I can't wait to see the progress!! I wanted to do seahorses myself, but I also wanted a reef. So I decided on the reef first. I want to get a hex for seahorses someday. Maybe next year sometime, income tax check is an idea. I would have to find a place to put it first. I know, we are going to add on our house next year and my hubby and I will have a big new bedroom... it can go in there. They say seahorses don't like to be startled with kids and alot of traffic, so that would be the perfect spot. It is usually crazy in the living room and family room, kids, dogs. Good luck girls, I will learn from you!!

Thanks, Lori! We will keep you updated with our progress :)

Kayla, you are up late! You are going to be so way ahead of me before I even get my tank! Oh well, this way I can learn from you!

Thats what I say!! I will learn from both of you! :)

Haha I'm losing sleep over this! It's too interesting/addicting.

Well done Kayla! this is going to be a great project... :D, i try to help any way i can.

My seahorse tank will take a while to set up...:), i'm still working out what i need for the two tanks...(hardware)

Josh

Do the [i]H. procerus[/i] - seems like [i]kuda[/i] are all over the place. ;)

Any plans for mangroves/seagrass/macros/etc? IMHO seahorses seem more at home among some form of plant life.

der_wille_zur_macht, that's a great idea ..."danke"...:D

Josh

JOsh, you're so funny!

Sie sind willkommen.

Wenn ich gewusst habe, wie Deutsch zu sprechen, hätte ich Weg mehr Spaß mit Ihnen!

Amanda

BTW, Haben Sie ein Bild von sich?

I'm going to tag along and learn from all of you too. I won't be able to set my tank up for a long time but it's never too early to start research :)

I'm still trying to convince my wife that we should set up a nano. I can even do it with only buying about $50-$75 worth of stuff too.

¡Kayla, yo no puedo esperar para obtener mi cubo de nano, yo estoy tan entusiasmado!