Sand bed for seahorses

[loans_n_fishes]

How deep should my sand bed be for seahorses? It will have TONS of macro in it. Isn't the deep sand bed mainly used for nitrate reduction?

I am seeing a lot about keeping seahorses below 76 degrees. How do we attain this in Texas! No chillers please. :) Any of you seahorse keepers have problems keeping them between 77-79?

[loans_n_fishes]

Also, what is the type of sand at home depot? White Castle?? I can't remember.

[seamonkey2]

mine has about 4 inches of sand, now is all planted

and I use a chiller

Jose

[loans_n_fishes]

Do some macros need deeper sand? What should I aim for with lots o' macros? Four inches sounds reasonable, but should I do more "just in case".

It will be a tall tank (19"x 20"x31"). Will this make any difference one way or the other with heat issues?

How big/expensive of a chiller will I need if I must get one? (I will be keeping erectus and barbs). Can a chiller be run without a sump? I'm not sure how these things are set up.

[hammondegge]

4 inches should do. my horses like thier bathwater at about 79-81.

[seamonkey2]

with lower temps, its been said, that you get less problems, but Robert(hammonegge), keeps his happy at those temps.

for your size tank a 1/10 hp should do fine, about 200.00 more or less

dont know if some macros need deep beds, the ones you been looking at, have small roots

sumps help adding water volume, but I know people whom do not have them and their tanks are great.

matter of preference, I think

I over did mine, so I did not have to worry about lots of things

Jose

[cpreefguy]

I over did mine

Thats an understatement!!!
Jose's seahorse tank is amazing!

[cpreefguy]

and his reef is OK too :P

[loans_n_fishes]

Robert, What kind of horses do you have again?

Do any of you have pics of your seahorse tanks?

I wonder if I could start them out w/o a chiller (keep the temp between 76-78) and add a chiller later...

Do they make HOT chillers?

[loans_n_fishes]

Do you know anyone that breeds captive seahorses in Texas (Austin area preferred)? I would much rather hand pick the ones I want.

[GaryP]

4 inches of sugar fine sand is good for a DSB. Some people, like me, like to keep a layer of special grade on top of thet to prevent sand blowing around but you won't need a lot of current in a SH tank. The sea grasses, such as turtle grass, need a deep bed, but not sand. They are a true plants and have roots. They need a mud bottom. A layer of sand can go over the mud. They get nutrients from their roots, and not from the water like macro algae do. Some of the caulerpa have long fronds that will work fine in a SH tank without going to the trouble of putting in special substrate. I know Richard is looking to put in Turtle Grass in his SH tank. You might want to check with him.

As for cooling, you may want to consider putting in several high velocity cooling fans instead of a chiller. You won't have to deal with the heat issues of MH in a SH tank and that may be all you need.

[hammondegge]

Robert, What kind of horses do you have again?

Do any of you have pics of your seahorse tanks?

I wonder if I could start them out w/o a chiller (keep the temp between 76-78) and add a chiller later...

Do they make HOT chillers?

H.Reidi. i will take some pics for you. i was worried about the temp when i first started, and like jose says there probably is less worry at 78, but that said, i have had no troubles at all. i do plan to integrate the tank to a larger system that will be chilled in the future.

there is a little HOT chiller made for Nanos. i will try to find the link.

[hammondegge]

here is is.. http://nanotuners.nanocustoms.com/nanotuners/index.php?cPath=34 ... fans should do a good job though. with a couple of well placed icecap fans you can drop the temps a few degrees.