365seasons 55G (updated august 15th- new pics!)

[365seasons]

My husband and I are very new to the hobby, as I'm sure everyone's seen numerous posts of our never ending questions! We have our 55G column tank set up in the corner of our bedroom, and just as we finally finished buying all the rock work and thought the buying was going to slow down, we decided to build a species tank for my seahorse addiction off of it. So here goes, from the beginning.

Bought the tank (The hubby suckered me into this one, we got it for a killer deal at the petstore I used to work at---no idea we were going to turn it saltwater yet)

Tank without water (Don't mind the stupid ornament in it, came with the tank)


Salt, sand and live rock added


First rockwork, and setup (This lasted up until our big salt spree)



Alright, so as we are younger parents, and have a newborn son, tank purchases are not priority, and we'd managed to keep buying to one "purchase" a month. The last few months though, we went just slightly wild.

After buying a bunch more rock from konaevent, and the MH pendant from Pazil. Ziptied all the rock together, found a few crabs, and a mantis shrimp

[365seasons]

Now that we've for the most part got up to pace with where we're at, we figured we'd attempt to explain our plans. I'm a sucker for seahorses, but since we have other fish, and SPS in our tank, seahorses were out of the question. But, after a trip to Red Coral, and some very sporadic decisions, we decided to start a species tank coming off the left side of our main tank.

10G drilled in the top right, with plumbing coming into our big tank, and a pump pushing water back into the 10. Very exciting stuff for new reefers like us.

Now, on top of this, my Dad agreed to let us borrow his garage and tools in order to build a new stand to incorporate all of the following.

Here's what we're thinking, replacing the stand under the 55G with a nicer looking one, have a shorter piece coming out from the left of it, on which my video moniter for the babe, and my bedside lamp will sit. Then, a taller piece coming up the back and being flush with the 10G to support it adequately.

I probably make NO sense, because I can't build a house out of popsicle sticks, but pictures will be up soon. I want to get at my seahorses sooner than later.

[lastlight]

Really nice aquascaping there! Interesting dimensions/ratio there... I like the look.

Also noticed what appears to be a GARGOYLE and a TEDDY BEAR BOOK on the same ledge. I like a little variety in the bedroom as well (but certainly don't see any in mine).

Can't wait to see more!

[365seasons]

Originally Posted by lastlight

Really nice aquascaping there! Interesting dimensions/ratio there... I like the look.

Also noticed what appears to be a GARGOYLE and a TEDDY BEAR BOOK on the same ledge. I like a little variety in the bedroom as well (but certainly don't see any in mine).

Can't wait to see more!

The gargoyle was from my hubby's first 10G, have no idea why it was in our bedroom, and the teddy bear book is our sons baby book (apparently kept by my bed for quick additions???)

Thanks so much for commenting! We are very excited for it. The more we get into saltwater, the less attention our freshwater tank gets.

[bignose]

I also like your aquascape. how old is your tank now?

[365seasons]

Originally Posted by bignose

I also like your aquascape. how old is your tank now?

Thanks
Just over 6 months =)

[365seasons]

The tentative "blueprints" Don't mind that view is spelt wrong (the hubby is cute....)



Close up of the 3D



Andy is going to explain now, hopefully giving a better idea.

The obvious red outlines are the tank perimeters. The basic idea is 3 cupboards for storage, the tanks, a nightstand (as this is going beside the bed), and a crown molding for look purposes (hiding hardware and wires) on top of both the tanks.

Both tanks will be able to be viewed from both sides.

The picture is pretty self explanatory. Any comments,questions or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[Chaloupa]

Very cool tank start! LOVE IT!

Only comment I have is that a 10g might be a tad small for the horses....can you go with a 20g tall in the same space....would be nicer for them to stretch out and swim in.....from the reading I have done;

TAKEN FROM SEAHORSE.ORG

Each species of seahorse has a definate comfortable minimum tank size. The tank temperature also depends on the species. The following information is pulled from the care guide:

1) Tropical species - kept at 74-78 degrees F (24-26 degrees C) zosterae, 1 pair/1.5 gallons (6 liters) - recommended 5 gallons (20 liters) kuda, 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters) barbouri, 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters) erectus, 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters) reidi 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters) fuscus 1 pair per 5 gallons (20 liters)- minimum size 10 gallons (40 liters) comes 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters) procerus 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters) - minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)

2) Subtropical species - kept at 70-74 degrees F (22-25 degrees C) whitei, 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters) ingens1 pair/13 gallons (50 liters)- minimum size 45 gallons (180 liters) tuberculatus, 1 pair/5 gallons (20 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)

3) Temperate species - kept at 66-72 degrees F (19-22 degrees C) abdominalis, 1pair/13 gallons (50 liters)- minimum size 60 gallons (240 liters) capensis 1 pair/5 gallons (20 liters)- minimum size 10 gallons (40 liters) breviceps, 1 pair/5 gallons (20 liters)- minimum size 10 gallons (40 liters)

I have been thinking of converting my 65g hex tall into a seahorse tank but am still not sure......really really would like to though!!!

I think your stand design is great...what a neat way to put it all together!

[Myka]

Ooo, I really like the dimensions of your tank! Fun to play with rockwork in there!

One thing I notice is that you are using a power filter with biowheels in it. I would suggest you remove the biowheels as they are designed for fw tanks, and will become nitrate factories which is fine in fw tanks, but not good in sw tanks! If you just remove the wheel part the rest of the filter is ok provided you replace the filter media at least once a week. Oh, and the Long Spine Urchin will outgrow your tank as well. Too bad though, I really like them too!

[365seasons]

We are thinking that we can eventually custom build another column tank like our existing one, but a mini one (29 gallons maybe) for the seahorses.
So they won't be cooped up in a 10G forever. Thanks for the advice though

and thanks Myka too! We'll have to take the biowheels out of the filter then, because we are getting hair algae, and I guess the nitrates from those may be part of the culprit! As well, we bought that urchin when our tank was first cycled, as one of the employees at a LFS "assured" us it would be an ideal tank mate, and fine in our tank. He is already humongous and needing a new home pretty soon.

Thanks again for the comments! =) We like it a lot.