Skimmer or no Skimmer??

[Key Equine]

Hello everyone,

I am starting up a 45 gallon SW tank which is going to be for seahorses, once I can find a captive bred supplier I trust...

I am planning to have a cleanup crew of snails, hermit crabs, and cleaner shrimp, and eventually four to six seahorses. I have an external filter as well as lots of live rock. I am wondering everyone's opinion on whether I need a protein skimmer or not. If so, what type do you recommend? Noise is a major factor for me since the tank is in our main living space.

Thank you!

[0sprey]

No sump?
If you need a HOT skimmer, I recommend the deltec. I've got the MCE600. Amazing skimmer. Super quiet, pulls a ton of crud out of the water, and needs very little maintenance. Comes with a compartment for chemical filtration media, too. The catch is that it's really quite expensive, as HOB skimmers go.
Never kept seahorses, so I'll leave any specific recommendations about them to those who have.

[Carmen]

I have never kept seahorses but read up on them since I had seriously considered it. From what I've read they require alot of feeding and therefore keeping a skimmer would be beneficial to keep up good water conditions. I had a 27G without skimmer and found myself with high nitrates only 4-5 months in. I would definately go with a skimmer and if I had any choice would try to plumb a sump as it offers so much more control over things and gives options for an insump skimmer (less finicky and less mess). I am much happier with a sump on my 72G! Much more forgiving!
Good luck and I hope you keep us filled in on your new adventure! Sounds exciting!

[o.c.d.]

I have kept seahorses.I would also say a good skimmer is a must, esp with seahorses. The don't have a stomach so they require min two feeding a day. Some may disagree but most will not. That type of feeding will add excessive nutrients into the system, so be prepared to clean you filter often. The better the skimmer the less often you will have to water change. Going with a sump will increase the amount of water vol and releave the cleaning of the filter. and allow you to get a bigger skimmer that will not be in the display. I also have the deltec mce 600 and it does make noise I've had to cushion the pump to quiet vibration and to air intake has no muffler so you can hear it sucking air. Still a very good skimmer for hang on version.

[Pan]

a skimmer is a must. Yes you must feed alot, simply due to the fact unless you have a constant supply of livefood (I have friends that drop 3 bottles of live pods in their tanks every month) most of the food you feed they miss :(
Good luck with your horses :)

Incidentally what sites have to gone to for research info? Possibly I or somene else might be able to point out a few extra places..

Reefcentral is not one of them....

[o.c.d.]

They can be very picky eaters, mine ate frozen mysis just had to turn down the flow so they could zero in on the food. Before you buy have the seller feed them in front of you then buy the same food being fed. Then you slowly try other foods.

[Key Equine]

Alright, sounds like everyone agrees on the skimmer being a must. I will go with that!!

I have heard that the AquaC Remora is a good choice for a Hang On Back skimmer in the lower price bracket. Anyone have any experience with them? Unfortunately I just can't afford one of the more expensive options.

[Diana]

Well, I will be the one to come in here and say no skimmer. I kept seahorses for 3 years, in several different size tanks (20, 46, and finally a 30). I only ever kept at maximum 3, which was in the 46. I think 6 ponies in a 46 would be a heavy load on the tank.

I had only a eheim canister filter running on the tank, and a few snails as cleanup. (Hermit crabs are generally not a good idea with seahorses). I had lots of macro algae for nutrient and nitrate export, and did regular water changes on the tank.

As for feeding they got fed once a day in a food dish, sometimes they would eat all at once and sometimes they would leave some and come back later. They were trained on the dish, that way they ate ALL the food I put in the tank, and there was no waste.

Flow in the tank was kept to an absolute minimum. The main reason for my choice not to use a skimmer is the havoc micro bubbles can cause on a male's pouch. They manage to get in there and then you have to be doing pouch evacs. I never once had a male with pouch problems, even with giving birth every two weeks for countless years.

So, success without a skimmer. But I had lots of macro algae. And they consumed all food put in the tank. :)

-Diana

[BlueAbyss]

I'm gonna say go for a skimmer... and DUMP THE FILTER! It will just become a nitrate factory, pumping out mass quantities of the stuff and you'll wonder why it's so high.

If you do intend on still using the filter, I would clean it every day, no less than every 2nd day, specially if you are feeding more that twice a day.

[Key Equine]

Well, I had the filter already so I've filled it with live rock...

[BlueAbyss]

It will still trap detritus, even the finest of stuff, and will eventually cause you problems. Empty it and use it as circulation only, forget that it's intended to filter the water and pretend it's a pump. Trust me, and I'm sure someone else on here will agree with me.

The live rock will do you better in your tank, where it can both nitrify and denitrify. Forcing water through the rock like that will turn it into a biological filter, effectively eliminating it's ability to perform denitrification inside the rock.

[Diana]

Seahorse tanks do work a little differently then reef tanks, especially if you have lots of macro algae where you actually want a slight accumulation of nutrients to feed the algae. Plus in general the bioload on the tank is kept to an absolute minimum.

I suggest you visit www.seahorse.org, they have a wealth of information on seahorse setups, and they helped me out when first setting up my seahorses. Consider the natural environments of seahorses in the wild: seagrass beds and gorgonian fields, and realize that these areas are often full of nutrients and detritus. Obviously waste accumulates very quickly in aquaria thus it needs to be monitored, but a little waste buildup in a filter should be nothing to panick about as long as it is maintained monthly. I would not reccommend it for a reef tank, but for FO or FOWLR it seems to work out fine. :)

-Diana