Happy Days

[Nonuser]

ah, thought maybe more sensitive. So a month maybe longer then. You putting anything else in the tank? like pipefish or maderins?

 

[heath]

u are right they are more sensitive to water quality and they require good husbandry... no there are no plans to add anything other than the star fish and the mushrooms.. I have a small piece of red calurpra growing in the sump and I would like to find another piece to add but other than that just the ponies...

 

[derrick orosz]

u are right they are more sensitive to water quality and they require good husbandry... no there are no plans to add anything other than the star fish and the mushrooms.. I have a small piece of red calurpra growing in the sump and I would like to find another piece to add but other than that just the ponies...

No baby shark?

 

[heath]

no baby shark, sorry...hey but then I could have a rodeo...

 

[yveterinarian]

How long do you need to cycle the tank for the seahorses?

When cycling a tank using the ammonia method it takes approximately a month to get to the stage where the tank will clear 2 ppm of ammonia in 12 hours continuously. This method helps the seahorses not be exposed to any unwanted pathogens that could be lurking in live rock. They aren't really more sensitive to water quality (ammonia, nitrites and nitrates) than other fish - but are more sensitive to pathogens in the water. This is one of the reasons that we keep the water temperature down - to discourage the growth of unwanted pathogens. As far as I know, Heath is using the ammonia method for cycling.

Also, when using this method you can add multiple livestock at once and not have to worry about the tank's ability to clear the ammonia.
When I cycled my tank for my dwarf seahorses I cycled it to clear 8ppm of ammonia every 12 hours and was able to put 100 seahorses in there at once. Never once had a hint of ammonia or nitrites in that system - a truly wonderful way to cycle and know for sure your system can handle the livestock you add.

 

[Nonuser]

When cycling a tank using the ammonia method it takes approximately a month to get to the stage where the tank will clear 2 ppm of ammonia in 12 hours continuously. This method helps the seahorses not be exposed to any unwanted pathogens that could be lurking in live rock. They aren't really more sensitive to water quality (ammonia, nitrites and nitrates) than other fish - but are more sensitive to pathogens in the water. This is one of the reasons that we keep the water temperature down - to discourage the growth of unwanted pathogens. As far as I know, Heath is using the ammonia method for cycling.

Also, when using this method you can add multiple livestock at once and not have to worry about the tank's ability to clear the ammonia.
When I cycled my tank for my dwarf seahorses I cycled it to clear 8ppm of ammonia every 12 hours and was able to put 100 seahorses in there at once. Never once had a hint of ammonia or nitrites in that system - a truly wonderful way to cycle and know for sure your system can handle the livestock you add.

Great information,

Do you keep a lower salinity in their tanks? I have been told on several different occasions that a lower salinity also help with reducing pathogens and prevents livestock from issues while at some stores.

 

[yveterinarian]

Do you keep a lower salinity in their tanks? I have been told on several different occasions that a lower salinity also help with reducing pathogens and prevents livestock from issues while at some stores.

Generally I keep the salinity around 1.022 -1.023 but only because I don't have any corals in there that need the higher salinity and it saves me a little on salt, LOL. With the amount of seahorses I have at the moment and all my other tanks, I am going through a lot of salt.
Some stores do a hyposalinity treatment to help reduce diseases that may be carried in on the fish but it is usually a short term treatment before they are gradually raised to the normal salinity in the store. I have always liked that method of quarantine because it doesn't involve medications or chemicals.

 

[heath]

well its almost 2 weeks with the tank running, after a lot of tinkering and cursing got the skimmer on line today.. I have been testing every other day and have been ghost feeding, starting to see my numbers move.. I am thinking another 2 weeks or so and I will move the mushrooms over...keeping my salinity around 1.021 - 1.022...

 

[BigReefer]

i am assuming mushrooms ... will grow in that low of salinity ?

 

[heath]

yup, they will...

 

[BigReefer]

thank heath

 

[Pipes]

Its a nice tank. Seen it in person.
If you put anymore tanks in your living room it will be standing room only.

 

[heath]

another quick update, the tank has been cycling now for almost a month and my readings are all good so, this weekend it will be aquascaped, going to be adding some rock and transferring the mushrooms over...
I will post a picture when its done...
the plan is that once that is done I will be running it for another 3 weeks or so and then I get to go pony shopping...

 

[heath]

Today the rock mushrooms and the drift wood was added.. the mushrooms are a little pissed that they were disturbed but oh well..I won't be adding else except the chains for the ponies to latch on to...
This is what it looks like now;

 

[Shooter000]

Looks great heather!!! Can't wait to see some ponies in there

 

[heath]

thank you, still looking for more mushrooms are you bringing any to frag fest...

 

[Pipes]

Looks good. Can't wait to see it in person. Time for some horse wrangling. Woo Hoo. or should I say Yee Haw...

 

[heath]

today is a happy day, Paul & Sam have arrived.. they are a bit nervous but they are coming out exploring their new surrounding's.. thanks to Yvette for all of her help and offering such beautiful creatures.. I am not going to call them small because I was blown away with their size.. they are a good 6" and Yvette tells me that they will grow...