Sea Horse tank

[SaltyJim]

Protein Skimmer-Filter .... Skilter

[GaryP]

I've been kicking around the idea of doing a nano SH tank as well. I'm thinking about getting some pipefish. I know Sales and Service used to sell them. Anyone have any experience with them?

Gary

[MikeP]

I am thinking about going with caulerpa prolifera...anybody have experience with it?

C.prolifera sends out runners and grows in rows on the substrate. I would say at 48" deep you would be hard pressed to find any light that will punch down from the top. It might grow up rocks and such but I am used to seeing it grow on the sand.

I'd just grow macro algaes for looks and maybe put some fake gorgonians or something towards the top for them to latch onto.

[GaryP]

One of the folks on the tank tour in Austin had a great sea horse tank with a bunch of Caulerpa. I can't remember her name off the top of my head. I don't think she posts on the site. I was thinking about putting seahoeses in my fuge but then decided to go with an HOB and that would defeat the purpose since I wouldn't be able to see them.

Gary

[Instar]

I have something like caulerpa prolifera except its heavier like an eel grass. It gets very long in a tall water column. I've had pieces over 24 inches long before I cut it. It grows under any lights.
If I had a 48 inch tall tank, I would use a 20K XM, 400 watt and suppliment with one actinic and a couple daylight pc's. The light is good for them as they are daylight oriented when it comes to hunting for food. I have my tank raised gold brazilian in my reef. You would be surprised at how well they negotiate currents. I wouldn't put a wild one in such a tank without really good acclimation to such an environment though.
He holds his own competeing for food with a copperband! They naturally live in areas with lots of linear flow when compared to a tank, and high light, grass flats. It is not necessary to keep low lights for some reason. You will want to grow all kinds of macro and that takes lights. And half way decent circulation (not turbulence) to keep frozen foods in suspension if you plan to try to convert them to frozen foods. A good many of the seahorse problems with ick and such, I believe come from poor circulation. The more the macro grows, the more it will slow the water movement. Most of the time my seahorse negotiates the pump blast from the nozzel of a 650 gallon per hour pump when he swims in there while its on - they are very agile swimmers.