SHOWLR is here :) - shrimp catching video p8

[Europhyllia]

If all goes well I will have a nano (again) next week... Stay tuned! :wink_smile:

It will be a macro algae/ seahorse tank

[Mr Cob]

That will be a fun tank. I enjoyed my nano macro tank when I had it....sometimes more than the half circle. The goal was to go dwarf seahorses but we never made it....but a year with a macro only tank is pretty cool to watch without any predators.

Can't wait to see pics.

[Europhyllia]

I am anxiously waiting for nap time so I can sneak away and meet tebstan at Polly's for my last minute seahorse supplies. :)
I'll be meeting Sarah tonight at 5pm to see the ponies with buckets in tow.
Looks like as long as nothing unforeseen happens I will have a SHOWM (SeaHorseOnlyWithMacro) nano tonight!

What an exciting week: jawfish eggs and a new seahorse tank!

[Europhyllia]

Just some history on the ponies for my own records:
Sarah got these from JC who purchased them April 2009. According to Dan at Seahorsesource they usually are sold at 3-4 months of age so their birthday should be around Dec 2008/January 2009.
Since Thoroughbreds all have their birthdays in January I am deciding that they will turn 2 years old January 2011.
I think with good care Reidi seahorses on average live 5 years so we will still have 3 happy years together I hope. :)

[tebstan]

Since Thoroughbreds all have their birthdays in January

Really? That's interesting. Do they really... or is it like claiming my shelter dogs birthday is on a day I can remember?

[Europhyllia]

I think it just makes it easier for the racehorse industry. My TB is really born in April but for racing purposes his birthday would be in January of his birth year.
http://horseracing.about.com/od/breeding/a/aanameingtb.htm

[Mr Cob]

wish it was that way for Homo sapiens! Then maybe we would not have to buy birthday gifts for one another....lol

[Europhyllia]

We got them. Setting up starts now. Wish me luck :)

[ErikH]

Good Luck Karin!!! Everyone is always proud of what you do! :)

[copperband]

Good luck. This makes me miss my sea horses.

[Europhyllia]

Waiting for the dust to settle now with tebstan's magic dust settler. Tank is full and seahorses are floating. I am nervous. Haven't killed a critter in awhile... :(

The seahorses were slightly bigger than expected. The tank was slightly smaller than expected. Will be interesting to see what can be done macroscaping wise.
Actually these are the hugest seahorses I've ever seen. lol

[txav8r]

Fingers crossed! Waiting for pics!!!

[Europhyllia]

Okay, it's still cloudy but I put the Clydesdales in the tank since I figured that will still be better than bagged for hours.
I almost got lucky. They had a HOB running on the tank including a sponge inside the filter and I got to keep the HOB but I think they cleaned the sponge and filter right before I picked up.
Maybe a tiny bit of biological filtration survived in it anyway?
I also picked up some BioSpira and put it in.
I'm anxious to see if they are still alive tomorrow.

There's something very enchanting about seahorses - so graceful.
The Hex fits perfectly into the dining room corner.

I am worried about the temperatures. I don't have a sump. If I get a chiller I will need to get a sump, right? (don't think the stand will accommodate much).
So my other option is a blower like the JBJ C-Breeze.

Any thoughts on cooling a small odd shaped tank without much sump space?

[txg8gxp]

I ran a aquatek cooling fan on my tank for awhile and it did a great job of dropping around 3 degrees on my 57g.

[tebstan]

Thinking of you, hope its going well.

What's the temperature at? And how big are they? Is it clear enough for any pics yet?


Waiting for the dust to settle now with tebstan's magic dust settler.

LOL, well its not exactly magic, but it sure cleared things faster than without it. You should see the 'other' reef tank... it could use some BioMagnetic Magic after today's overhaul. It's like a problem child in rehab. Making progress, slowly.

And, thank you!

[Europhyllia]

Tank temp is 77.4 right now but was 79 earlier.

I know that's not horrendous but all the experts say now to keep even tropical seahorses at around 75 degrees or less because seahorses kept at those temperatures tend to live longer.

I don't even have the light on because it would sit on the glass top and I want it open top.

They're sleeping right now and I can find them both but no pics until morning.

I am trying to figure out what a good lighting solution will be for them. The light that came with it will fall into the tank if it doesn't sit on the glass top.

The hex is only 18" across. A Clip-on light would be nice.

I was looking at these refugium lights:
http://www.aquacave.com/jbj-macro-glo-adjustable-br-refugium-light-2628.html

And maybe the blower too:
http://www.aquacave.com/jbj-c-breeze-air-blower--fan-2627.html

Whatever light I'll get it needs to be able to be suspended somehow since I am afraid a closed glass top will just impede evaporation cooling.

I saw the microchillers that looked great but my tank may be too big for that:
http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productdetailas.asp?did=5&pid=1676&cid=320

decisions....

[txg8gxp]

I think the jbj macro grow fixture will be too low of light for that size tank. IMO

[alton]

It's morning Karin, Pictures?
You in there?
Hello?
HA HA, just giving you a hard time

[Europhyllia]

Actually I am up checking on them!
The big one seems to be doing okay but I am very worried about the small one, Patches. Her back fin isn't extended like the big ones and she's hardly moving. :(
I am worried she's passing away :(

[Europhyllia]

Maybe I was freaking out too soon. :) They might just not be super perky when somebody stalks them at night.
Both seem okay this morning and they already had their first breakfast. :)
The big one is more vigorous as far as eating goes but both are interested and searching.

[Kristy]

Maybe Patches just isn't a morning person, I mean seahorse.

[txav8r]

Thats strange... The pictures don't show up for me? :P

[Jarob]

That was a quick process!! Im jealous and going to set up a nano now too! Ive got a beautiful 10g rimless just sitting empty in my room!

[chunkymonkey]

Hmmmmmmmm.....maybe my Evo Phone has a block not allowing those amazing photos that were posted this morning to be seen either.....

[Europhyllia]

I didn't want to post the pictures because I knew my awesome aquascaping would just make you all jealous!
See:
http://www.dominopads.com/seahorsetank.jpg
Pretty amazing right? I call this the 'dump a bag of macro' look

The ponies are doing great. I now feel really bad for poking at the poor patches in the middle of the night while she was probably just sleeping

Here's the one we call the big one:
http://www.dominopads.com/1seahorse.jpg

And here's the big one in front and Patches in the back:
http://www.dominopads.com/2seahorses.jpg

They're so beautiful. I love them. I like to watch them although it's slow going. lol
They seem to really enjoy each other.
I am glad I got two females so I won't have to worry about pouch troubles. :)

[tebstan]

They're beautiful!

[txg8gxp]

awesome...it looks like they like the macro

[Europhyllia]

They do. The macro algae, a few rocks and about 15 gallons of tank water came with them from their old tank to make them feel more at home right away.

I am itching to add some different shapes and colors of macro though! :)

[txg8gxp]

With the tall tank, a long piece of dragons breath would be awesome.

[Europhyllia]

Yes. Red grape algae or red fern would be pretty too I bet.
I was playing with rocks and mortar for a little bit. Still haven't decided if I am going to add them (one, both, none, another kind of rock)
http://www.dominopads.com/seahorserocks.jpg

Here's a better pic of Patches with her racoon markings:
http://www.dominopads.com/patches.jpg

[txav8r]

They are Cool! Thanks for the pics!

[txg8gxp]

I like the tall rock pieces. I would personally only add maybe one depending on how big they are, I would rather see a full field of prolifera covering most of the bottom. You could always have one of the rocks and let is get covered in halimeda

[Kristy]

I especially like the structure on the right as it curves in a sea-horsey way, but the height of the left might be nice too!

[Jarob]

I love that left one, it would look awesome with some macro falling down it positioned offcenter. great job!

[Europhyllia]

Oh I love the seahorses! So glad I went ahead with it.
As for the rock structures: yes I figured I'd use it to plant some more light loving macro further up. We'll see. I might cycle them in the quarantine tank and maybe even grow some macro in the quarantine tank at the same time :)

[FireWater]

Unbelievably cool Karin. For what it's worth I say add both pieces. If I had to choose I say left.

[Mr Cob]

Looks awesome Karin! Fun tank. Whatever you do for the rock work I know will look great, you always "rock" in that department.

[RayAllen]

Karin everything looks great.

One question? Where do you find the time to do all of this? Kids, Specialty aquariums, land, livestock. You must not sleep.

[RayAllen]

Ive been thinking of adding another aquarium. The thing that has stopped me, not having the time to take care of another.

[Europhyllia]

lol
It just took 4 hours to haul the thing home! The kids dig in the dirt while I mortar rocks on the front porch. And of course the kids come with me to feed horses, etc.
I do live on about 5 hours of sleep a night right now and work ... let's just say I need to stop reading up about LEDs and pestering Stephen about more info and start doing actual work again...

Look at these neat LED bulbs though: just go into a regular light socket...
http://reefbuilders.com/2010/01/11/comparing-nanocustoms-ledio-led-spotlights-real-nano-reef/

[BSJF]

I have some red grape, dragons breath, and small leaf halimedia if you don't already have it. The rock on the left looks like it has a great feeding station at the base of it :)

[neogenix]

My wife really wants some, let me know how it goes with the feeding / etc... I'm nervous to get something that she'll notice if they go missing...

[Kristy]

Karin,
Think maybe you need to add one of these?
http://divingworld.com/images/banded_pipe_fish.jpg

[Europhyllia]

LOL
I was just talking to tebstan about these yesterday!
I am actually pretty excited because I added some Nassarius snails yesterday so I already DID add something else to the tank.

Neo,
both of these are captive bred by Seahorsesource and have been living in or around San Antonio for over a year. They're eating well now (for seahorses -they're slow until they get there). If you get seahorses, get captive bred. Cost more but actually survive on frozen just fine.

Oh I LOVE my seahorses. I wish I could offer them some PE Mysis feast today but I didn't find the right size (only the big sheet available) yesterday so they'll have to make do with regular Hikari today.

I am planning a really neat LED fixture for them to be able to better cool the tank.

So far they're doing great. Hopefully we won't get hit by any major tank cycling.

(By the way: nice pic Kirsty but not the one I was looking for ... ;) )

[txg8gxp]

I like these ones.
http://liveaquaria.com/images/categories/product/p-89300-af-bluestripe-pipe.jpg

[Europhyllia]

Me too. :)

If I get any pipefish (doubtful since the 30g tank is supposed to be the minimum for a pair of Reidi horses) I would go with more captive breds though so that limits the options.

Did I mentioned I love my seahorses? Well I do!

If I don't drive txg8gxp crazy in the next couple of weeks you all can look forward to a custom seahorse LED fixture soon... :D

[txg8gxp]

It's cool to see you want to try led's. Just don't blame me when you want to add them to your reef tank :)

[BSJF]

you can chop up the PE Mysis :) Just saying...

[Europhyllia]

I can. But I didn't buy it because it was the 40 oz sheet and I hate freezer burn. It was the size of the package I was worried about. I didn't buy it.

[Gseclipse02]

these guys are cool and acutally eat some of the other pipeish didnt eat to well


I like these ones.
http://liveaquaria.com/images/categories/product/p-89300-af-bluestripe-pipe.jpg

[Europhyllia]

It's cool to see you want to try led's. Just don't blame me when you want to add them to your reef tank :)
Oh I hope I don't like it too much.
I just ordered half of the stuff and it came out to be 100% of the budget (for only 50% of the components!)
Since we are going dimable I decided to add 3 more LEDs and just fill that predrilled heatsink. Why bother cutting it off, right?
Maybe that way it will be pretty versatile no matter what I use the fixture for later, etc.

Family was thinking I am making pies but I was still plotting LED configs:
10222

[txg8gxp]

hahahahahaha the walnut leds are the best :)

[Europhyllia]

Yes I am hoping Neutral Walnut will give me the full spectrum look I am aiming for :)

[tebstan]

Family was thinking I am making pies but I was still plotting LED configs:
10222

You're awesome. :bigsmile:

[ErikH]

With the tall tank, a long piece of dragons breath would be awesome.

+1

[ErikH]

Family was thinking I am making pies but I was still plotting LED configs:
10222


That is hilarious!

[Kristy]

Family was thinking I am making pies but I was still plotting LED configs:
10222

Favorite Thanksgiving moment for the year! Karin, you are one of a kind!

Hey, Not sure what kind of hood or top or whatever is going on this little LED-lit SHOWLR hex, but could you put a couple of mangroves in there? Might look cool and natural and vertical and goes with the whole macro-algae thing (in my head it does anyway).

[Europhyllia]

I was thinking of mangroves but was wondering about the roots. I mean they grow into trees. I had some in my fuge but it was bare bottom so easy to keep an eye on the roots.
Since thsi has a shallow sandbed I was worried the mangrove roots might get too big and destructive.

[Europhyllia]

Yay! I either have the smartest seahorses in the world or they have done this before.

I tried out feeding from a glass bowl today and they both went up to it right away and used it. :)

feeding will be much more efficient and less wasteful now!
http://www.dominopads.com/seahorsebowl.jpg

[tebstan]

That is so cool! Makes for some great photo opportunities. :D They are such amazing animals.

[BSJF]

Perfect little angels!

[Kristy]

I think your horses must be gifted... Too cool!

[Europhyllia]

Maybe it's a magic bowl? All of my mandarins started eating in that magic bowl! :)

[BSJF]

I think it is YOU, YOU are the magic!

[Europhyllia]

Aww. You are so sweet. Makes me feel all teary eyed.
I do love my little angels though. Maybe love is the magic? :D

[Europhyllia]

Okay one more pic with the new reefscaping.
They adjusted instantly.
I think they like the rock. Or maybe they just like anything the food bowl is on.
http://www.dominopads.com/seahorsescape.jpg

[Europhyllia]

I think we mostly avoided a huge new cycle. :)
Not sure if it was the BioSpira, the bacteria clinging to the macro and couple of small rocks or just luck.
Nitrites went up to 1ppm and Nitrate got super high but ammonia never rose so it's all good.

They even go to the bowl now and wait on those days I am a little late to feed to show me their hungry! So cute.

Hopefully I'l get to pick up some live ABS today from AD.
The enrichment from Dan/SeahorseSoruce should be in Friday

[funkyseamonkey]

Glad they are doing well. Patches is cool right! I love her markings. Glad they went to a better home :)

[Europhyllia]

Thanks Sarah. You took excellent care of them. They clearly were healthy happy seahorses with you so the just went to another good home :)

[Europhyllia]

Oh and the other one has a name now too. Her name is Poppy (like poppy seed)

[funkyseamonkey]

haha thanks and thats too cute:)

[Europhyllia]

Things continue to go well.
I am all automated now. It's easy getting used to those ReefKeepers! My JBJ C-Breeze fan comes on as soon as temps get to 74 degrees and it's been keeping the temps perfectly below 74. Actually hasn't had to come on all that often anyway. The Feeding Mode on the Reefkeeper is also perfect.
And they still love their bowls.
I'll have to take a video of it. They go to their bowls when they see me. :)

N and P are super high though. I added some Purigen today and will do some bigger water changes.

[BSJF]

Karin, I know what you really need for Christmas, a webcam that lets us tune into what is going on in your tank at all times! Web based access for all! Or at least me!

[Europhyllia]

Aww. Lorraine I am going to miss you when your gig is up here. Tell them you want another project in TX

[justahobby]

Can't believe I haven't seen this yet. Tank is stellar. Good work! I second the web acces

[Europhyllia]

short video of breakfast time :)

Peaceful little angels...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boIi3nz71iA

[Mr Cob]

amazing little creatures :)

[alton]

Good job Karin

[funkyseamonkey]

yaay!!! They look beautiful! miss those little girls. :)

[Europhyllia]

Sorry :(
They are beautiful though. If it makes you feel any better: they have settled in super well. I read that older seahorses often have trouble adjusting to being moved but they seem to feel right at home with all of their own macro still with them.

I bought some saltwater feeder shrimp for them today. They loved them! :)

Had no idea seahorses could be such active predators!

Seahorses catching live shrimp:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyX5HxR6MvQ

[kkiel02]

That was very cool. Can you keep other species of Sea Horses in the same tank? Just curious.

[Europhyllia]

Kevin,

I've seen people mix seahorses with pipefish, etc. I am guessing you could also mix seahorses as long as their diet and care are similar (so you probably wouldn't put dwarf seahorses with Reidis etc.). One concern is mixing wild caught (which may have diseases and parasites) with tank bred ones and infecting the tank bred stock.

Space of course is also a consideration. For me for example the 30g hex is the minimum for one pair of seahorses. If I wanted more I'd have to upgrade to a larger tank.

[BSJF]

Aww. Lorraine I am going to miss you when your gig is up here. Tell them you want another project in TX

Working on it and our office is a growth office, so I have high hopes. Just never know.

[Scream311]

Wow Karin I love the New Feeding Video ! I wouldn't expect those Little Girls to be able to Snag Quick Shrimp. Talk about Sneek Attack with there Slender Bodies. Good Job

[txg8gxp]

Nice video, Looks like they enjoy the grass shrimp. I'm sure it will be good for them moving around the tank hunting aswell.

[txav8r]

They look amazing! Glad they are doing well for you Karin!

[Europhyllia]

Thanks. Aren't they gorgeous?! They turned more browning during the move but now their colors are becoming more and more beautiful every day :)

[Europhyllia]

I love these girls. If I had to downsize I think the big tank would be the one to go and the seahorses would stay!

All of my LED stuff is now in so new light is just around the corner...

[Europhyllia]

I'll be needing a medium tank forum. Seahorses will be moving up... :)

[chunkymonkey]

Nice.

[Europhyllia]

possible tank leak.
water on the floor and tank water level low. Still investigating. Wish me luck!

[BSJF]

Oh no! Well, here is some luck for you!

[aquasport24]

Hope it just plumbing problem, wish you all the luck Karin. Keep us update.

[Kristy]

Keep us posted and let us know if there's anything you need.

[Europhyllia]

water level has kept steady for a couple of hours now. Must have just been a fluke spill I didn't notice earlier.

I got a 30g QT tank so if anything happened I'd just move them there until the cube comes in :)

[BSJF]

maybe, or the leak is at the level where the water is steady at. A side seam?