Hello. Filter & susbtrate for seahorses?

[Liz]

Hello, I have been in the hobby for about 6 years and keeping salt off and on for 4 years. I have a 30 gallon I just purchased that I would like to keep h. erectus in, as well as possibly a pipefish. Would a pipefish be suitable to this setup with a pair or two of h. erectus? I know 2 pais of h. erectus are suggested for a 30 gallon tank, but is it necessary to have 2 pair?

Anyways, my main questions...I just got the tank off craigslist today, and it came with a whisper internal filter indicated for use in 10-30 gallon tanks. I was planning on using an aquaclear HOB, possibly empty just to provide current if I go dense on the lr. But I am wondering if a whisper internal filter would be okay, or would the current be too strong? I am thinking the current will be on the weak side considering the tank is the largest it's suggested for.

Also, I was planning on using sand in the tank, and the woman who sold me the tank had been keeping cichlids and the tank came with some black sand in it. I am not sure if it is the type that buffers pH or not. Either way , would this be safe to go ahead and use?

Thanks.

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...yes, you can keep pipefish with seahorses, they'll be fine with each other...and you should be able to keep 2 pair. As far as the hob filter, you could convert it to a small refugium to grow pods for your horses and pipes to eat...that amount of flow should not be too much for them. Go ahead and toss the sand and get yourself some new sand. Who knows what chemicals she used previously in that tank, that are soaked into the sand.

 

[Liz]

Thanks for your prompt reply. However if I wanted a hob filter I'd have to go buy one, can I just use the whisper internal filter that came with it?

 

[cageburn]

seahorses need good water quality using a whisper internal wont cut it unfortunatly, if your going with a hang on back i recomend getting one rated for 75 gallons atleast, welcome to the site! :)

 

[little_fish]

One very important thing to consider having pipefish in with your seahorses is that they would need to be wormed. Also seahorses like flow, they just need a hitching point to hold on to so that they aren't blown around. Also, it isn't necessary to have 2 pairs, you could still do two pairs, but you would need excellent filtration and water quality. So you would definitly need better quality filter, but more important might be a high quality skimmer.

If you are interesting in keeping seahorses i would highly suggest the lessons offered from Pete at seahorse.com. He will help you set up the perfect tank and answer any question you might have. The link is below

Seahorse.com - Seahorse, Sea Life, Marine Life, Aquafarm Sales, Feeds and Accessories - Getting Started

I would also defitly get rid of the sand and start fresh, but black sand will work. It supposably makes the seahorses color up better

 

[Picasso]

+1 little fish.

I would suggest you getting 4 erectus for that size tank. Horses are extremely social animals and prefer to be in groups. Horses are pigs and you'll need a good filter system to handle their mess. What kind of lighting will you have? If it it intense, you'll need to provide shady areas for the horses. Also, lots of hitching posts are a must! Welcome to the wonderful world of seahorses, Yeah!

C

 

[Liz]

+1 little fish.

I would suggest you getting 4 erectus for that size tank. Horses are extremely social animals and prefer to be in groups. Horses are pigs and you'll need a good filter system to handle their mess. What kind of lighting will you have? If it it intense, you'll need to provide shady areas for the horses. Also, lots of hitching posts are a must! Welcome to the wonderful world of seahorses, Yeah!

C

Would an aquaclear HOB for a 50 gallon be good? There's a cheap one on ebay that i'm looking at, and i'll have about 1 lb/gallon of live rock. The lighting is a single fluorescent tube hood, shouldn't be too strong for them.


Also, are protein skimmers on seahorse tanks a must? I'd read that the microbubbles from skimmers can get in their pouches or something and hurt them, so the only way to have a skimmer on a seahorse tank is in a sump and my tank doesn't have a sump.

 

[Picasso]

Liz, how often can you do water changes?

Microbubbles are not good for any tank so you want your skimmer to clean bubble free. Can you build a sump? You could do a HOB refuguim if necessary and try to get a little skimmer in that.

I guess all your questions right now are how to get your water cleaned. Horses are just like any other fish or coral, you need good water quality. Do you have any pictures of your tank and filter? You've got some experience in salt so that's good. My best recommendation right now is to take the FREE seahorse class offered by Pete Giwonja. The lessons are amazingly complete. He covers everything from how to set up your tank for horses to taking care of diseases and raising their fry.

Seahorse.com - Seahorse, Sea Life, Marine Life, Aquafarm Sales, Feeds and Accessories - Getting Started

You're going to love horses!

C

 

[Liz]

I can do water changes as often as needed. I was planning on doing more frequent water changes vs. a skimmer.

Right now I am looking at this base rock:
http://store.seacorals.net/wwatcobaro25.html

with some branch rock picked up from my lfs for them to "grab on to". Any other ideas for hitching posts?

 

[PRC]

I don't keep seahorses and know very little about them, but I think they need grass and corals that they can wrap their tails around for hitching posts. I don't know if rocks will be sufficient.

Picasso is the in-house sea horse expert. But she won't admit it.