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MaidOfDishonor

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REALLY new!

This is my first aquarium and I've decided to jump right into saltwater! Everyone keeps telling me that I'm crazy because a saltwater aquarium is so much more difficult to run than a freshwater, and I don't even have freshwater experience. Maybe I am crazy. But I got bit by the seahorse bug and I am bound and determined to raise them and make them a part of my family!

Here's what I've got going so far.

29 gallon aquarium, filter, CPR (?) Protein skimmer, live rock and sand, marine water test kit, LED light. Oh and lots of fake plants for my future horsies to hitch onto.

My tank has been cycling for almost two weeks. I think I had some die off of the live rock/sand because they were out of water for a good amount of time while I was transporting them home (bought them on Craig's List). Also I don't think they were in the best of health because there was a lot of brown algae in the seller's tank. I fear it wasn't being maintained well, there weren't any fish left in it. This is what happens to novices. Despite the ridiculous amount of research I've been doing, I still have to rely on people that say they know what they're doing! LOL

I can't wait for the cycling to end, I want fish in my lovely tank so badly! A tank with no fish (or coral) is no tank at all! Speaking of coral, I've decided not to do coral unless anyone can suggest a type that is very easy to maintain. I want my seahorses to be my focus. I want to have a mated pair of seahorses (two pairs if I can get my hands on h. fuscus) and a yellow watchman gobie and a mandarin gobie. The gobies shouldn't be hard to find or too expensive but I'm having trouble finding the particular seahorse species that I want. I chose them because they're small (called "sea ponies") and I can keep two mated pairs in my tank rather than only one pair of the larger species. One site, seahorsesource.com (I think), sells them (though they're out of stock) but they cost a fortune! This hobby is already WAY more expensive than I had hoped/originally anticipated. If anyone out there breeds seahorses (even other species), please let me know if you have any for sale at a reasonable price.

Any advice is much appreciated!

Thanks for reading all of this!
Kate
 
Hello Kate and welcome to r2r and to the hobby :welcome: Make sure to check out the contests and giveaways that are taking place on r2r right now.
 
If I did a seahorse tank, especially with a 29G tank, I would probably skip the fish. The differences between the two's needs are pretty stark. If you're really interested in doing the seahorses, I would recommend your tank being more of a refugium.... a planted tank with slow moving flow. Your equipment list sounds okay, but a worry would be the use of a protein skimmer that sounds like a hang on back. While I like CPR (I currently use their Aquafuge with built-in skimmer), you want to avoid micro-bubbles forming in the tank... especially with seahorses.

Also check the compatibility of having more than one pair of seahorses together. They may get overly aggressive. Some things to think about. :)
 
Welcome! I have never tried sea horses, but if you got the time to read and the willingness to learn there is enough info on this site to be successful in raising anything short of children. Good luck.

-bart
 
The protein skimmer is a hang on the back. What are micro bubbles and why are they dangerous? My filter seems to put out more bubbles. I'm confused!
 
The protein skimmer is a hang on the back. What are micro bubbles and why are they dangerous? My filter seems to put out more bubbles. I'm confused!

Microbubbles are just very small bubbles that escape into the main display. Instead of staying in something like a skimmer, they shoot out into the display where seahorses may mistake them for food and attempt to ingest them... causing problems for them down the road. Just something to keep in mind.
 
Hi there Kate!! Welcome to R2R!! Feel free to post any and all questions you have, these guys and gals on here will help you along the way!! It's great to have ya'!! See you around the forum! Happy reefing!
 
Welcome. I am still fairly new and always learning something here everyday too. I did notice with my Skimmer I have is a hob as well, just I have it in my sump, started out producing a ton of bubbles into my sump reservoir, but after a couple days running, very little actually come out and just show in the Skimmer itself. And the muck begins to grow in the collection cup so its working. Might just need to let it break in. Good luck with the ponies, keep us updated as I am interested in a future tank with them.
 
Ok, silly question, what's a sump? I've heard a lot of mention of them, but no real explanation.

I too noticed the bubbles slowing after a day or so. Plus I have this plastic filter material that looks like long crinkled shreds of confetti that the bubbling water goes through before exiting into the tank so it pretty much breaks up the bubbles as it filters.
 
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Welcome to R2R!

We appreciate your membership!

Thanks for joining and please make sure and post often!
 
Welcome! Not sure if this has been said or not but I wouldn't put the mandorin in with seahorses as they both compete for food (copepods,amphipods). If you have an ample supply then that might not be a problem..just my two cents.
 
Welcome. Post up pics of what you're currently working with.


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Nice! Do you have any seahorses yet?
 
I don't have any ponies yet. I'm guessing my tank needs to cycle about one more week. But I'm having trouble finding the seahorses that I want to buy. No one seems to carry them. Seahorsesource.com is out of stock but they're super expensive anyway. I think I'll have to go with whatever my LFS can order.
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%

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