My Weekend Project

[JustDavidP]

Operation Pony Corral... dun dun dun...da ..dun dun dun dun dun...

Due to rain, my baseball opening weekend was cancelled. This is what I spent my time doing. My new 26G bowfront has been stood up in the Family Room. this is where my first reef (20 gallon nano) stood four years ago. I missed having something in this spot. Soon it will be a seahorse display.

I've got 20 lbs of mixed Fiji and Tonga Branch, a 4 inch layer of sand. Caulerpa Prolifera and Halameda and a couple dead branches of monti digi as hitching posts. I'm getting more macro and LR from Skiptons soonest.

I stripped out the AGA hood (18W NO) and fit it with 32W PC Smartlite retro. I'm running a Red Sea Prism. The siphon tube was too deep in the water column, so with a little urging from Gustavo, I made my own DIY Skimmer Box/Tube. It works like a charm. Between the prism and the small powerhead, I'm turning 2.5X per hour. Just right for ponies me thinks...

I did a water change in my 75G and used the water for the bowfront. I also claimed the macro, some sand, and about 6 lbs of LR from the fuge. The bow is already teaming with mysid and pods.

I'm keeping it free of fish for a couple months, to build up the micro fauna. There are just a couple hermit crabs and snails that hitched on the rock. I'm not expecting a huge cycle as most of the tank contents are recycled and cycled Eventually, the ponies will be joined by Hendrix, my mandarin who, while eating frozen food, has to fight for his share in the 75G. He should fare better in the bow with the Hippocampus.

What do y'all think? Any suggestions?

Dave

 

[SMS76]

Looks good

 

[Syris]

Nothing like a nice indoor project when the weather is foul outside.

Cant comment on seahorses as I know nothing about their care but your setup seems well thought out and looks great.

Keep us posted.

 

[~Flighty~]

You don't think a mandarin would be too much in a pony tank? I was astonished at how fast one mandarin cleaned the pods and mysids out of a 75 g refugium. They do not stop eating when they get full, they just get bigger and hunt more. It really was amazing.

 

[JustDavidP]

Cindy..

I would, for the most part...but...

The mandarin has been proven to eat frozen. I've been "bottle feeding" literally, for some time now. Feeding him in an olive jar because the other fish clean out any food in the tank within 3 minutes of introduction. I figured, if he is eating frozen, and I can put him in the bow, he'd have a better chance getting food as he would have just the slower ponies to compete with.

I plan on buying only tank raised Hippo and hope that they too will eat the mysid frozen. If so, and they have their feeding station, I figured I could feed Hendrix on the side. I'm sure that even with the ponies in there, the pods will be few and far in between soon.

I also read a lot about others who have other fish in a SH tank. Most of them keep only pipe fish, gobies, or mandarin. However, I'm up for educated discussion/input. I'd not be where I am today if it weren't for the collective, salty wisdom of the BRS. What do the masses say?

Dave

 

[ScottM]

i'd be cautious about adding a fish that might compete for live food.
My seahorses eat like pigs.

 

[JustDavidP]

K... two against... no "for". Sounds like I may have a mandarin up for adoption.....

 

[Richard]

Hey Dave. That looks pretty darn nice and good luck with the ponies.

 

[JustDavidP]

Scott... trade a mandarin for a pony? What? I had to ask......

 

[JustDavidP]

Thanks Rich.. how's the office tank?

 

[Richard]

Office tank is doing great. Come by sometime and take a look.

 

[~Flighty~]

Don't take my post as a vote against, I was just pointing out that the live food will be decimated pretty quick by a mandarin. I don't know how fast a seahorse would do the same, it probably isn't very different. I don't think waiting a few months for the pods to grow would get you much because they would be thined out really quick. Thats not to say they won't breed in the places that the mandarin can't reach them.

 

[nunofs]

Dave, great project you've got going there!

I'm pretty ignorant about seahorses, so forgive me if the question makes no sense: is this a shared-water system (ie, connected to your other tank), or isolated? I think it's the latter, because of the hang-on-back skimmer, but am curious...

Nuno

 

[ScottM]

Scott... trade a mandarin for a pony? What? I had to ask......

is it a target? Are you looking for black hippo redi?

 

[JustDavidP]

I am looking for Redi...and here's a picture of "Hendrix"

 

[JustDavidP]

Nuno,

This is a 26 bow stand-alone. I was going to put it in the basement and cut it into the 75G, but decided that I needed salt on the first floor, in my family room.

Cindy... your post is taken as great advice and niether a vote for or against Again, I value the opinions here. I need to know what I'm up against.

D

 

[MikeG]

Hey Dave,

If you do end up getting rid of the manderin, I have a great home for him. Very low fish load as you are aware and nothing that eats pods to compete with. And by the way I am loving the auto top off system! Got it up and running last week.

Mke

 

[JustDavidP]

Mike,

Very cool. How's the fraglets??? Doing well?

 

[ScottM]

i have a few of these and they are fairly large. tank raised . i was hoping to get a few differnt ones. let me make sure i can get new ones and your welcome to an eating pair.

 

[JustDavidP]

Scott... in all seriousness... keep me up to date.

I'm hoping that I'll have little to no cycle (Rock, sand, water from the 75G) but still want to have some time to "mature" the tank. I'm not in a rush right now....but PLEASE..keep me in mind.

D