TV being converted into 30g seahorse tank

[tim the toolman]

AS the title says i am taking an old floor model t.v. and turning it into a new seahorse tank.
Full Disclosure. I had turned this into a freshwater tank a couple of years ago and it was actually the first aquarium i had ever owned. Then as many of you can relate to it became an addiction which led to several tanks of many different sizes. That then led to a small saltwater tank and the eventual dismantling of my 5 freshwater tanks including the t.v.
After it sat in my garage for a year or more i decided to take it apart and rebuild it as a fairly basic saltwater system, just to facilitate my want for a seahorse tank. And also to keep the memory of the tank that got me into this hobby. So here goes. Any suggestions are welcome, but please keep in mind that i am endeavoring to use up some of the extra equipment around the house to make this a little more cost effective.
This is my dog watching the tv as a freshwater tank couple years back.
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q551/timmycats/DSCF1464-1.jpg
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q551/timmycats/DSCF1738.jpg?t=1330835635
Here is the tank gutted and basically everything remover from inside.
I then took the old box from the frshwater system and cut it apart so that i could resize it and add a side sump/fuge/overflow/systems compartment.
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q551/timmycats/DSCF1739.jpg?t=1330835895
here is my silicone heavy overflow with a small skimmer mounted beside it.
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q551/timmycats/DSCF1750.jpg?t=1330835996
More pics to come.

[mexxedm]

You moved your big tank already? That was fast, Tim!
Nice TV.

[fishoholic]

Very cool, I love the idea :biggrin:

[rayjay]

If you don't already have experience with keeping seahorses, you can check out the links at the bottom of "My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping (http://www.angelfire.com/ab/rayjay/seahorsekeeping.html)".
They are written by experienced seahorse keepers from the "org" plus one important article by Dan Underwood of seahorsesource.com.
You will find that a 30g tank is sufficient for one pair of standard sized seahorses like reidi, erectus, kuda for example.

[tim the toolman]

Thanks for the info I will definitely give it a read. And any other info would be appreciated, I don't want to screw this up and cause any harm to a seahorse. I don't think I could forgive myself if I killed one.

And mexx. No I still have the big one running where it was, the pic of the tv in the house is an old one from before I had the big guy running. I think the tv will go in my office actually.

I will be posting more pics of the lights and possibly of the finished system today. It will just depend on how much golf I end up watching.

[Aysha]

Thats pretty cool! can't wait to see it when its done

[tim the toolman]

So i worked my butt off this weekend and got it all together and running.
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q551/timmycats/DSCF1758.jpg?t=1330915772
added a t5 24" and some of those ikea LEDs to add a bit of color.
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q551/timmycats/DSCF1763.jpg?t=1330915883
over head shot. I added a little spot to the overflow to hold some filter floss.also put in a 425gph nano powerhead. I hope this wont be too much flow. The return pump is a maxi jet 1200 on a small DIY spray bar.
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q551/timmycats/DSCF1765.jpg?t=1330916083
Filled the side compartment with about 4" of crushed coral from an existing setup. Used liverock and livesand which was also from an existing system.
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q551/timmycats/DSCF1766.jpg?t=1330916222
In the house and ready for water and liverock.
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q551/timmycats/DSCF1767.jpg?t=1330916297
there she goes.
http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q551/timmycats/DSCF1769.jpg?t=1330916357
and one last overhead shot.
Now i just need to let her run for a bit and then its time for some ponies.
ANY input or suggestions would be appreciated.

[bignose]

You should turn the dials into switches.

[tim the toolman]

the power switch used to be my power when it was fw but i had to remove all the electrical components so i could maximize my tank size. As you can see in the pic, one of the knobs is missing because of this

[sphelps]

Love it

Are the T5s sealed from moisture?

[Coralgurl]

What a cool set up! Can't wait to see it with ponies!

[reefgirl189]

This is the coolest idea ever! I love it!!

I can't wait to see it full of livestock.

[Casey8]

Wow, this is a one of a kind aquarium I have never seen.

[tim the toolman]

Thnx for the kind words. And yes I have a tight bead of silicone around the acrylic on the t5s as well the box itself is not air tight by any means so I am nit anticipating too much moisture inside. But this is definitely something I will be monitoring.

[tim the toolman]

Added a pair of banded pipefish to the tank. Brewed up a large batch of baby brine shrimp and now have them both eating. I am still going go be adding seahorses eventually but am waiting for some true captive bred from a local breeder. I am going to be enriching the brine with meds to eliminate any possible protozoans the pipes may carry. Also does anyone in Edmonton know where to get selcon to enrich the brine?

More pics soon to follow.

[rayjay]

Tim, while enrichment of the brine shrimp is an excellent move, medicine uptake of the brine is just gut loading meds, not enrichment.
The protocol for protozoans would require a 3 drug, 9 week treatment as found on seahorse.org. Even after this treatment, success in mixing the different sygnathids is not guaranteed to be without losses.
As for enrichment, it's always a good idea, but Dans Feed from seahorsesource.com is the best you can buy for syngnathidae.
Also, it stores longer than the selco/selcon emulsions and has a higher DHA profile than even DHA Selcon has.

[tim the toolman]

Tim, while enrichment of the brine shrimp is an excellent move, medicine uptake of the brine is just gut loading meds, not enrichment.
The protocol for protozoans would require a 3 drug, 9 week treatment as found on seahorse.org. Even after this treatment, success in mixing the different sygnathids is not guaranteed to be without losses.
As for enrichment, it's always a good idea, but Dans Feed from seahorsesource.com is the best you can buy for syngnathidae.
Also, it stores longer than the selco/selcon emulsions and has a higher DHA profile than even DHA Selcon has.

Thank you for the info. I was looking at just doing a very standard protozoan med in the form of metroplex. I guess based on this info it will not be enough. So is this also to say that the protozoan will always be present regardless of how long they live in captivity. And yes I did mean gut loading the brine by simply adding the meds in with the brine shrimp feed. I have researched many sites since deciding to go this route and have found quite a number of cases where seahorses and pipes have been kept healthily together. Also it seems that the cases of disease usually occured from the horses carrying the disease, which is why I am going with true captive breds. I should also mention that the LFS I purchased the pipes from did say they were captive bred but they were unable to verify if it was aquarium breeding or ocean captivity breeding.

[rayjay]

There will probably always be protozoans in any tank but the intent is to minimize them I think. At least the protocol should minimize the numbers so that there is a chance for the the syngnathids to acclimate themselves better.
The pipe fish available are almost all wild caught as there are very few breeders in the hobby.
As for seahorses, the majority of them while technically have been bred in captivity in net pens or large round cement tanks, but still using ocean water that has been insufficiently treated and filters for the pathogens.
Most of the more experienced hobbyists are saving the true captive bred designation for breeders who either use commercial salts, or, use ocean water that they are properly treating and filtering so that there is less chance of pathogen problems once you buy them.
True captive bred seahorses cost more because it is more expensive to produce them but they give you the best odds of chance of success.
The "TANK RAISED" (net pen or cement tanks) are mostly raised for the Asian medicine trade and a very small portion are siphoned off for the hobby. These will be cheaper and most often smaller and often can't be sexed yet because they are too young. Failure rate is quite high in the first six months to a year if they make it past the first six weeks.
Don't be swayed by seeing posts of "successfully mixed" syngnathid tanks.
First, when you see the pictures or videos, the tank may not still be successful. I see posts that claim success but there are very few that follow up the success with later posts.
After all, how many people like to talk about failure, especially if they have previously claimed success.
Second, the numbers of people who actually are successful in the attempts are VERY low compared to the numbers who have tried it.
Just ask the people on seahorse.org or search for an older post on the topic.
Now, I come to an argumentative point on gut loading meds.
I have studied artemia for well over a decade, and from all documented information I can find, brine shrimp DO NOT TAKE IN fluids other than what is attached to their food particles which is minimal to say the least.
Brine shrimp are considered to be filter feeders, but they don't filter like a clam does and remove food particles from the water that they take in, rather, they capture the food passing through their appendages and pass the food on to their mouth and digestive tract. They are not passing the water through and taking the food out of water that is internal.
I don't know for sure how effective it is as I don't have facilities for proper testing, nor money to pay for it, but I think the only chance you have of successful gut loading of liquid medication is to emulsify the med so that it is particulate when blended in water and the brine can uptake it.
This is what Selco/Selcon does to provide for uptake of the fatty acids in their products.
As we don't have access normally at least, to emulsifiers, I've used egg yolk to mix it with and then blend in water, hoping the emulsion is taken up by the brine.
As a back up, I also blend meds in water with spirulina powder and add Focus to bind the med to the spirulina particles.
I don't know if either work or if one works better than the other, but it's my thought that just adding it to the brine water will not effectively work, in spite of what many advocates claim.
Main Reference: Click here and scroll down to section 4.0, Artemia (http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3732e/w3732e00.htm)