New Tank - Please Help - 2008/05/06 05:07My boyfriend and I are starting a brand new tank. We have a fifteen gallon, a twenty gallon and a fifty five gallon. All three of which have the bio-filters. I would like some information on how to start it up... step by step. What kind of sand, gravel, or crushed coral... live rocks, corals, ect. Also, what type of other fish, crustations, cleaners, ect.
I would also like to know what all the levels should be at. Nitrates, nitrites, amonia, pH, salinity... ect.
ANYTHING that would be useful for starting a new tank would be helpful. I need to get mine out of the tank that I have them in right now.
Please Help!!
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I would be happy to provide you with some instructions for setting up a new seahorse tank but I need to know which particular seahorses you will be keeping in order to provide you with good advice in that regard. The size of the aquarium that is best, the way it is aquascaped, and the optimum water temperature depends on the species of seahorses that you have.
Also, I cannot provide step-by-step instructions for getting your new aquarium up and running unless I know what type of filtration your tanks have. You mentioned that all three aquariums have biofilters, but I need you to specify what type of biological filtration they are using (e.g., sponge filters, undergravels, canister filter with biological filtration media, external filter with bioballs, wet/dry trickle filter, biowheel filter, live rock, etc.). And I also need to know if the aquarium(s) are already cycled with the biofiltration fully established, or if you are starting out new tanks from scratch and you need instructions for cycling the new systems as well.
Please get back to me with the additional information requested above regarding your seahorses and your aquariums as soon as possible, and I can then provide you with directions for setting up a new tank that's optimized to meet the needs of the particular type of ponies you're keeping.
In the meantime, I can tell you that unless you will be keeping the miniature breeds of seahorses (e.g., Hippocampus zosterae, H. breviceps or H. tuberculatus) or the Shetland pony class of small seahorses (e.g., H. capensis or H. fuscus), then your best choice would be to set up your 55-gallon aquarium as your seahorse tank and reserve the smaller aquariums for other purposes. For example, the 15-gallon and 20-gallon aquariums could serve as a hospital tank/quarantine tank and/or nursery tanks.
For most tropical seahorses, including Mustangs and Sunbursts (H. erectus), the following water quality parameters are appropriate:
Temperature = optimum 72°F-75°F (22°C-24°C). Specific Gravity = range 1.022-1.025; optimum 1.0245 pH = range 8.0-8.4; optimum ~8.2 Ammonia = 0 Nitrite = 0 Nitrate = range 0-20 ppm; optimum 0-10 ppm
Here is a little more information about these readings and why it is important to maintaining stable conditions at the levels suggested above:
Basic Water Quality Parameters.
Ammonia (NH3/NH4+): Optimum level = 0 at all times
Ammonia is highly toxic to both fish and invertebrates in even small amounts (> 0.01 mg/L or ppm). Causes of ammonia toxicity include: immature biofilter (new tank syndrome), impairment of the biological filtration due to antibiotics and other medications, overfeeding, overstocking and dead specimens that go undetected (Webber, 2004).
Nitrite (N02): Optimum level = 0 at all times
Nitrite is slightly less poisonous to fishes than ammonia, but deadly to many invertebrates at very small concentrations (0.01 mg/L or ppm). Even trace amounts of nitrite such as this can wreak havoc in a reef tank and cause serious distress to fish. High levels of nitrite result from the same causes as ammonia.
Nitrate (N03): Optimum level = below 10 ppm in fish-only tanks; 0 ppm in reef tanks.
Nitrate is the end product of the process of nitrification, formed during the Nitrogen Cycle by the oxidation of nitrite by aerobic bacteria. Nitrate is relatively nontoxic to fishes, but elevated levels (> 20 ppm) are stressful to seahorses over the long term and promote the growth of nuisance algae. Reef invertebrates can be much more sensitive to nitrate, and concentrations as low as 0.06 mg/L can cause problems for symbiotic stony corals. The nitrate level is therefore a good indicator of water quality. For best results, consider using live rock and/or a live sand bed (preferably situated in your sump) in conjunction with a good protein skimmer to help filter your seahorse setup. The skimmer will remove excess organic compounds before they enter the nitrogen cycle, and live rock and a deep sand bed will provide significant denitrification ability, all of which will help keep your nitrates down. Don't overstock, don't overfed, remove leftovers promptly (a good cleanup crew is useful here), grow and harvest macroalgae, practice good aquarium maintenance and maintain a sensible schedule for water changes.
pH: Optimum level = 8.1 - 8.4 (typically fluctuates between 7.9 at night and 8.4 during the day)
The pH is a measurement of the alkalinity or acidity of aquarium water. A pH of 7 is considered to be "neutral," neither acid or alkaline, while pH levels above 7 are considered to be alkaline or "base," and pH levels below 7 are considered to be acidic. Marine aquaria need to maintain alkaline conditions at all times, and low pH (< 7.6) is especially detrimental to seahorses because it is conducive to Gas Bubble Disease. Normal daily fluctuations in pH are to be expected in the aquarium, and are generally gradual enough not to be stressful (Webber, 2004). Maintaining a sump or refugium with a reverse photoperiod to the main tank can eliminate these natural pH cycles. Regular partial water changes are the key to maintaining stable pH. Buffers can also help but the hobbyist should beware that excessive use of pH buffers may increase KH values to dangerously high levels.
Specific Gravity: Optimum level = 1.022 - 1.025
The specific gravity measures the density of a your aquarium water relative to the density of distilled water, and aquarists use it to estimate the salinity of their aquarium water (Trevor-Jones, Dec. 2002). In effect, it’s one way to measure the saltiness of your tank, since the more salt that is dissolved in the water, the denser it becomes. This can also be done by measuring the total amount of dissolved solids in the water, which is expressed as the salinity in parts per thousand (ppt). Hobbyists must remember that constant evaporation of freshwater from the aquarium causes the salts to become more concentrated, which increases the specific gravity or salinity accordingly. Therefore, it is necessary to top off the tank with freshwater regularly in order to make up for evaporation and maintain the desired specific gravity. Seahorses tolerate a wide range of salinity very well and hyposalinity (specific gravity at 1.011-1.015) is often used to help rid them of ectoparasites.
You will need a hydrometer to measure the specific gravity of your aquarium water and test kits to monitor the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH, if you don't already have them.
Please get back to me with the additional information requested above and I can then provide you with better suggestions on how to tailor your aquarium to create an ideal environment for the actual seahorses that you will be keeping.
Best of luck with your new aquarium's, Wings!
Respectfully, Pete Giwojna
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xxAngelicWingsxx
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Re:New Tank - Please Help - 2008/05/07 18:30The tanks have bio wheel filtration. I know that isn't the best, but we have to get them out of what they are in now because of a TINY leak in their current tank.
If I am not mistanken, the type that we have are the reidi (spelling?). They are tank raised and are able to eat frozen food, but should we still provide live, or would that confuse them? If we do provide live, what would be the best live food... they are about an inch (with tails curled).
I forget what else you needed to know...
If you have any more questions that will be able to help... ask away and I will try my best to answer. I would like to get my new tank cycling pretty soon and so the more information I can give to have you help me is the way to get it done faster.
Thanks!
~*xxAngelicWingsxx*~
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Okay, that tells me what I needed to know: you are keeping Hippocampus reidi seahorses, you are using the biowheels for filtration, and the new aquariums have not yet been cycled to establish the biological filtration.
Enriched frozen Mysis should serve as the staple, everyday diet for your H. reidi, but it should not confuse them if you offer them occasional feedings of high-quality live foods. In fact, that's a good idea to help diversify their diet and to provide them with the behavioral enrichment that chasing than hunting live prey provides, so don't hesitate to provide them with live food as an occasional treat.
The best live foods you can provide are marine feeder shrimp raised at high-health aquaculture facilities. For example, Ocean Rider's red feeder shrimp (Red Iron Horse Feed, Halocaridina rubra) are ideal for this as are the post-larval white shrimp (i.e., "snicking shrimp") from Seawater Express and the live Mysis from Sachs Systems Aquaculture. These live shrimp are what I'd like to call a "feed-and-forget" food. They are tough, rugged little shrimp that you can toss in your tank with no acclimation whatsoever. They are agile and elusive enough that your filters won't eat them and the seahorses won't be able to capture them all right away. Some will hide and evade well enough that your seahorses will still be hunting down the stragglers for the next day or two. Best of all, you can toss a nice batch of them in your aquarium, secure in the knowledge that they won't perish and pollute it, but thrive and survive as real, live, "catch-me-if-you-can" prey items that seahorses cannot resist. Nothing stimulates a seahorse's feeding instinct like the frantic movements and evasive maneuvers of natural, living prey.
If you want to use these superb live foods as occasional treats for your seahorses, purchase 100-200 of any of the live shrimp listed above and set them up in a small tank of their own with a few small algae-covered live rock as for them to feed on and use for shelter. Nothing fancy is needed in that regard -- just an expensive air-operated sponge filter to provide aeration, mechanical, and biological filtration will suffice. They will last indefinitely in such an aquarium, where they can be harvested from time to time to supplement your seahorses' regular diet. Or you can maintain the feeder shrimp in a refugium attached to the main tank, if you prefer.
The Ocean Rider Aquaculture Facility in Hawaii (http://seahorse.com/) is a good source for the following live foods:
Green Iron Horse Feed (Gammarus amphipods) Red Iron Horse Feed or Volcano Shrimp (Halocaridina rubra)
Seawater Express is an excellent source for post-larval white shrimp. They provide bite-sized white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) in batches of anywhere from 50 to 1000 each. They are hardy, easy-to-keep and disease free. I recommend getting the smallest of the "Snicking Shrimp" they offer:
Or the live Mysis from Sachs Systems Aquaculture would also be a good choice for this. You can obtain 200 live Mysidopsis bahia for $35 from Sachs and your seahorses will love them:
All of the sources listed above are high-health aquaculture facilities that provide disease free live foods.
The Brazilian seahorse (H. reidi) is a large, tropical seahorse and is much better suited for the 55-gallon aquarium rather than the smaller 15-or 20-gallon tanks, so let's get your big tank up and running for your ponies, angelic.
In general, a tank of at least 40 gallons (150 L) is preferable since that's the size when one begins to see significant benefits in terms of the greater stability a larger volume of water can provide. An aquarium of 40-gallons or more will be more resistant to overcrowding and to rapid fluctuations in temperature, pH, and salinity than smaller setups. The larger the aquarium the larger the margin for error it offers the aquarist and the greater the benefits it provides in terms of stability. Because seahorses orient to the substrate, a rectangular footprint is appreciated since it provides more bottom space and horizontal swimming room.
It is equally desirable to select an aquarium at least 20-inches high when keeping the greater seahorses. They need the vertical swimming space to perform their complex mating ritual and successfully complete the egg transfer, which is accomplished while the pair is rising through the water column or drifting slowly downwards from the apex of their rise. If the aquarium is too shallow, eggs will be spilled during the transfer from the female to the male's brood pouch, and mating becomes increasingly difficult or impossible below a certain minimum depth. A tall aquarium can also help protect the seahorses from depth-related health problems such as bloated pouch and certain forms of Gas Bubble Disease. Your 55-gallon tank has enough water volume to provide excellent stability and a comfortable margin for error. It will provide your H. reidi with plenty of roam to roam and should as is tall enough to meet their needs nicely.
A quality biowheel filter is a good choice for a seahorse setup. The biowheel allows maximum air-water contact, which provides excellent oxygenation with efficient offgassing. It helps keep dissolved oxygen levels high, CO2 low, and effectively prevents gas supersaturation, which is very important for seahorses.
If you don't already have them, you're going to need to obtain a set of basic test kits in order to cycle your new tank, monitor conditions in your aquarium, and keep track of the water quality. The basic test kits you'll need to keep track of the aquarium parameters are ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH plus a hydrometer to check specific gravity and an aquarium thermometer (if you don't have one already). You'll need to get separate test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, and pH, and I recommend Aquarium Pharmaceuticals or Salifert kits for saltwater, which are fairly economical. I also like the SeaTest hydrometers -- convenient, easy to read, and relatively reliable, if used properly. Here's a list of what you'll need for starters:
Ammonia test kit for saltwater (by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals); Nitrite test kit for saltwater (by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals); Nitrate test kit for saltwater (by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals); pH test kit for saltwater (by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals);
or the Salifert Nitrogen Cycle Package of test kits (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, & pH)
The SeaTest hydrometer has a simple swing arm to measure the specific gravity of the aquarium and allow you to see how salty it is. You just fill the hydrometer with aquarium water, tap it to make sure there are not any air bubbles clinging to the swing arm, and the pointer will then indicate the current specific gravity in the aquarium. A reading of anywhere between 1.022-1.026 is acceptable, with 1.0245 being optimal.
The test kits I mentioned above for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH are simple-to-use colorimetric tests. You just fill a small vial with aquarium water, add the prescribed amount of drops from the test solution, shake the vial until it changes color, and then compare the color of the water with a color comparison chart after waiting a certain amount of time in order to determine the level of ammonia or nitrite or nitrate or pH of the water. You will be using the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate regularly well your aquarium cycles in order to keep track of the cycling process, as explained below:
Cycling the Aquarium
Once you've rounded up the aquarium, equipment, and accessories you need, your next task is to prepare the tank for cycling. Until it has cycled, your aquarium will be unable to support life. Cycling simply means to build up a healthy population of beneficial bacteria in your tank that can carry out the nitrogen cycle and breakdown your fishes' waste products.
Ammonia (NH3), nitrite (NO2), and nitrate (NO3) are all nitrogenous (nitrogen containing) wastes. All living aquarium animals whether they be fish or invertebrates excrete these wastes, and they are also produced by the decay of protein-containing organic matter (uneaten food, detritus, dead fish or inverts, etc.). The nitrogen cycle breaks down these wastes in a series of steps into nitrogen gas (N2) which leaves the aquarium as bubbles.
The nitrogen cycle begins with ammonia, which is highly poisonous. In the first step of the cycle, Nitrosomonas bacteria reduce ammonia to nitrite, which is also very toxic. In the second step of the nitrogen cycle, Nitrobacter bacteria convert the nitrite to nitrate, which is relatively harmless but becomes harmful when it accumulates in high enough levels. In the third and final step of the cycle, denitrifying bacteria then convert the nitrate into completely harmless N2, which of course bubbles out of the tank as nitrogen gas. In this way, thanks to the nitrogen cycle, dangerous wastes are converted into progressively less harmful compounds and finally removed from the aquarium altogether.
When we set up a new aquarium, and wait for it to cycle, we are simply allowing a big enough population of these different types of bacteria to build up in the biofilter to break down all of the wastes that will be produced when the aquarium is stocked. If we don't wait long enough for the cycle to complete itself and the biofiltration to become fully established, and hastily add too many specimens to a new aquarium too soon, they will die from ammonia poisoning or nitrite toxicity. This is such a common mistake among us impatient aquarists, that when fish get sick and/or die from ammonia/ntrite poisoning, it is commonly called the "new tank syndrome."
When your aquarium has completely cycled, the ammonia levels will stay at zero because, now that your biofilter is fully established, there is a large enough population of aerobic (oxygen loving) nitrifying Nitrosomonas bacteria to reduce all of the ammonia to nitrite as fast as the ammonia is being produced. The nitrite levels will likewise stay at zero because there is also a large enough population of aerobic (oxygen loving) nitrifying Nitrobacter bacteria to convert all of the nitrite to nitrate as fast as the nitrite is being produced.
The nitrate levels ordinarily continue to build up, however, because there are simply not enough anaerobic (oxygen hating) denitrifying bacteria to convert all of the nitrate that's being produced into nitrogen gas (N2). Since nitrates are being produced faster than they can be transformed to nitrogen gas, the excess nitrates accumulate steadily in your aquarium. That's perfectly normal, since the denitrifying bacteria that carry out that final step, the conversion of nitrate (NO3) to nitrogen (N2), are anaerobes that can only exist in the absence of oxygen. For our aquariums to support life, and for the fish and invertebrates to breathe and survive, our tanks must be well aerated and well circulated so that there's plenty of dissolved oxygen in the water at all times. That means there are normally very few areas in our aquariums where anaerobic denitrifying bacteria can survive, limiting their population accordingly (which is generally good, since some anaerobes produce deadly hydrogen sulfide gas during the decay of organic matter and would poison our tanks if allowed to proliferate).
Consequently, most aquariums lack a sufficient population of anaerobic denitrifying bacteria to complete the nitrogen cycle and convert nitrate to nitrogen as fast as the nitrates are being produced. The only way to keep the nitrates from building up to harmful levels in such setups is with regular water changes and by harvesting Caulerpa or other macroalgae periodically after it has utilized nitrates for growth. Overcrowding, overfeeding, or under filtration exacerbate the problem by resulting in more nitrates being produced and more frequent water changes being required to control the nitrate levels.
Live rock helps because the oxygen-poor interior of the rock allows anaerobic denitrifying bacteria to grow and break down nitrates. A deep live sand bed (DLS also helps because anaerobic denitrifying bacteria can flourish and break down nitrates at a certain depth below the sand where oxygenated water no longer penetrates, but a DLSB can sometimes be difficult to set up and manage properly if you're inexperienced with live sand. Both live rock and deep live sand beds give aquaria denitrification ability -- the ability to complete the cycle and convert nitrate to harmless nitrogen. Ordinarily, about 1-2 pounds of live rock per gallon is recommended - that amount of LR will provide your aquarium with all of the biofiltration you need, as well as significant denitrification ability. You will keep nitrates at harmless levels by performing regular water changes, harvesting Caulerpa macroalgae periodically, and good aquarium management.
Step-By-Step Instructions for Cycling a New Marine Aquarium
1) Set up the aquarium in the proper location, fill it with freshwater, and operate all of the equipment to make sure everything is working properly with no leaks.
2) Add the artificial salt mix and adjust the salinity (i.e., specific gravity) and pH of the aquarium water to the proper levels.
3) Add the substrate (e.g., live sand and/or live rock) and seed the aquarium with beneficial nitrifying bacteria.
4) Provide a source of ammonia to feed the beneficial nitrifying bacteria and encourage a large population of Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter to develop in the aquarium.
5) Test the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels regularly to monitor the cycling process and determine when the aquarium has cycled and the biological filtration is fully established.
To make everything crystal clear, will go over each of these steps in more detail below.
First Step: Set up the aquarium in the proper location, fill it with freshwater, and operate all of the equipment to make sure everything is working properly with no leaks.
Prepare your aquarium for cycling by setting your system up with just freshwater at first, attaching the equipment and apparatus (filter, aeration, circulation, heater, skimmer, lighting, accessories) and testing it all for a day or so to make sure you have everything in place, and that it works correctly without any leaks or unforeseen problems.
If possible, I recommend using reverse osmosis/deionized water (RO/DI) to fill the aquarium initially and for making regular water changes once the aquarium has been established. RO/DI water obtained from a good source is ultra-pure and using it to fill the tank will help prevent nuisance algae from ever getting started in the newly established aquarium.
If you do not have an RO/DI unit of your own, you can always purchase the reverse osmosis/deinonized water (RO/DI) instead. Most well-stocked pet shops that handle marine fish sell RO/DI water as a service for their customers for between 25 and 50 cents a gallon. If your LFS does not, WalMart sell RO/DI water by the gallon for around 60 cents, and you should be able to find a Wal-Mart nearby. (Heck, even my drug store sells RO DIY nowadays.)
However, it's not always safe to assume that RO/DI water purchased from your LFS or your drugstore or some other convenient source is as pure as you might expect. If the merchants selling the RO/DI water are not diligent about monitoring their water quality and changing out the membranes promptly when needed, then the water they provide will not be a good quality and will not produce the desired results. I suggest that you look for an aquarium store that maintains beautiful reef systems on the premises -- that's a good sign that they know their stuff and are maintaining optimum water quality at all times, so the RO/DI water they provide should be up to snuff.
If you do not have access to a good source of reliable RO/DI water, then detoxified tap water will have to suffice for filling your new aquarium. In many areas, the municipal water supply has undesirable levels of amines, phosphates or nitrates, and in the United States, it is always chlorinated and fluoridated, so be sure to dechlorinate/detoxify the water using one of the many commercially unavailable aquarium products designed for that purpose when you add it to the aquarium.
Second Step: Add the artificial salt mix and adjust the salinity (i.e., specific gravity) and pH of the aquarium water to the proper levels.
Once assured that everything's operating properly and there are no leaks in your aquarium system, go ahead and add the artificial salt mix and adjust the specific gravity and pH. In your case, angelic, I suggest adding a 50-gallon container of Instant Ocean artificial salt mix. That should produce a specific gravity between 1.020 -1.025 in a 55-gallon aquarium. Check it with your hydrometer to verify that this is the case.
A specific gravity of 1.024-1.025 is optimum for your H. reidi seahorses, so adjust the specific gravity accordingly. If it's too low, add more of the Instant Ocean artificial salt mix to raise it up a bit. Allow sufficient time for the new salt to dissolve, and then check the specific gravity again. If the specific gravity is higher than desired, just add more freshwater to dilute it until it drops to the proper level.
Next, test the pH of the aquarium water and adjust it to anywhere between 8.0-8.4. If you used ordinary tap water to fill the aquarium, the Instant Ocean salt mix will often raise the pH to the proper level all by itself. However, if you used RO/DI water or another softened source to fill the aquarium initially, the pH will no doubt be too low at first. Water purified by such methods is very soft and must usually be buffered in order to establish the proper pH and maintain the total alkalinity and carbonate hardness of the aquarium water at the proper level.
To raise your pH to the proper range (8.0-8.4), just obtain one of the commercially made products designed to adjust the pH upwards in saltwater aquariums and use it according to the instructions. Such a product should be available from any good LFS that handles marine fishes and invertebrates; they typically include sodium bicarbonate as their primary active ingredient and are often marketed under names such as "pH Up" or something similar. If you wish, ordinary baking soda (bicarbonate) from your kitchen will work just as well for elevating the pH.
In the unlikely event that the pH of the aquarium water is too high, it can be dropped using one of the pH-lowering products from your local fish store. However, many of these products use phosphate-based chemicals to lower the pH, and this is undesirable since the phosphates can fuel the growth of nuisance algae. A better way to lower the pH is by adding RO/DI water until it comes down to the proper level.
At this point, a pH that is anywhere between 8.0-8.4 is just fine. The aquarium will cycle faster if the proper pH is maintained, but we won't worry about fine-tuning the pH until after the aquarium has completely cycled. In fact, once you have adjusted the aquarium pH between this range initially, you don't need to check it again until after the cycling process is complete and the biological filtration is fully established.
After you have adjusted the salinity and pH of the aquarium water to the proper levels, leave everything running continuously for at least a few days, allowing the various components and water to "settle in" before adding your microbes and "seeding" the tank with beneficial bacteria that will eventually establish your biofilter. This will make sure that the specific gravity and pH have stabilized and that the aquarium equipment is operating properly before you proceed.
Third Step: Add the substrate (e.g., live sand and/or live rock) and seed the aquarium with beneficial nitrifying bacteria.
Now that the pH and specific gravity of the aquarium water are at the proper levels, and the tank has had time to settle in, you can go ahead and add the substrate and seed bacteria. If you are using either live rock or live sand, as I recommend, it will contain all the bacteria needed to seed the tank. I suggest a thin layer of live aragonite sand no deeper than an inch or so (we'll discuss the live sand and live rock in more detail at the end of this e-mail).
Once the sand substrate is in place, you can add the live rock and position it in attractive arrangements. Ledges, overhangs, and caves will offer shelter and interest to your aquascaping, but be careful to make sure that the live rock is anchored securely in place so that there is no danger of collapses or the rock shifting unexpectedly.
If you have artificial decorations such as synthetic plants or fake corals, and they can also be added to the aquarium at this time.
If you are not using live rock or live sand, you can seed the aquarium with nitrifying bacteria by adding a live culture product such as marine BioSpira to help kickstart the cycling process instead. Or, as an alternative, some hobbyists will simply add a handful of gravel or filter media from an already established marine aquarium to seed a new tank with beneficial bacteria, but if this is done, you must be sure to harvest the material you use for seeding from an aquarium you know to be healthy. You don't want to risk introducing pathogens or parasites to your new aquarium by adding seed material from a tank that has lost fish or had disease problems of any kind. (Do NOT bring home filter material or sand or gravel from an aquarium at your local fish store to provide seed bacteria!)
Fourth Step: Provide a source of ammonia to feed the beneficial nitrifying bacteria and encourage a large population of Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter to develop in the aquarium.
Once the aquarium has been seeded with beneficial nitrifying bacteria, it is necessary to feed that bacteria with ammonia so that the population of good bacteria can grow and thrive. There are a number of different ways to feed it with ammonia so cycling can proceed. Two popular methods are the fishless cycle, which I recommend, and the use of hardy, inexpensive (i.e., expendable) fish to produce ammonia and cycle the aquarium. Often used for this method are marine damselfish or mollies, which can easily be converted to saltwater. Both are very hardy and generally survive the cycling process, but I find this method to be needlessly hard on the fish and exposing them to the toxic ammonia and nitrite produced during cycling certainly causes them stress. Damselfish are far too aggressive and territorial to leave in the aquarium afterwards as tankmates for seahorses. Mollies are a possibility, but they really look out of place in a saltwater setup.
And there is always the possibility that the damsels or mollies could be carrying disease, and it would be a shame to introduce pathogens or parasites into a new aquarium by using such expendable fish to cycle the tank. The damsels or mollies are likely to be stressed by the high ammonia and nitrite levels during the cycling process, which leaves them susceptible to disease, and we don't want to put our seahorses at risk simply because of the way we cycled their aquarium.
So all things considered, I suggest you try cycling your tank without fish. It's really very easy. To use the fishless cycle, you need to add something else that will increase the ammonia level so the nitrifying bacteria can build up. Depending on the size of the aquarium, I like to use a piece or two of cocktail shrimp (regular uncooked eating shrimp from the grocery store) and leave this in the tank to decay during the whole cycle. The decaying shrimp produces plenty of ammonia to fuel the cycling process.
IMPORTANT: do not operate your protein skimmer, ultraviolet sterilizer, or ozonizer, or make water changes while your new aquarium is cycling. Remove chemical filtration media while the aquarium is cycling and avoid adding any ammonia-removing liquids or ammonia-sequestering products (such as BIO-Safe, Amquel, Ammo-lock, Aqua-Safe, etc.) while the tank cycles. You want a nice high ammonia spike, followed by a nice high nitrite spike, when the aquarium cycles in order to build up the largest possible population of the nitrifying bacteria that feed on ammonia and nitrite, so using any type of filtration or additives that could reduce the amount of ammonia or nitrite at this time will actually hinder the cycling process and be very counterproductive.
Fifth Step: Test the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels regularly to monitor the cycling process and determine when the aquarium has cycled and the biological filtration is fully established.
Now that you have seeded the new aquarium with beneficial bacteria and provided a source of ammonia to feed that bacteria, all you need to do is to wait for a sufficient population of the desirable bacteria to build up in the aquarium. By using your test kits for ammonia and nitrite regularly (daily) at this time, you can monitor the cycling process and keep track of how everything is progressing.
For example, about 3 days after you add the cocktail shrimp (or expendable fish, if you go that route), you should notice a spike in ammonia levels until the Nitrosomonas bacteria build up enough to break down the ammonia. When that happens, you will notice the ammonia levels rapidly dropping. (If for some reason your ammonia does not hit the top of the charts initially, you may want to add another piece of shrimp.)
The byproduct of ammonia is nitrite, and during this stage of the cycling process, as the ammonia falls, you will have a corresponding increase in nitrites until the population of Nitrobacter bacteria builds up. Nitrite levels will then fall as the Nitrobacter convert the nitrite to nitrate.
It is important to use your test kits every day or two when cycling your tank to monitor the progress of the process. As described above, at first you will see a rapid rise in ammonia levels with no detectable nitrite or nitrate. Then, as Nitrosomonas bacteria begin converting ammonia to nitrite, the ammonia levels will fall and nitrite readings will steadily rise. Nitrite levels will peak as the ammonia drops to zero. Next, Nitrobacter will begin converting the nitrite to nitrate, and your nitrite readings will fall as the level of nitrate rises. Finally, after the nitrites also read zero, you are ready to stock your tank. At this point, your ammonia and nitrite levels should both be zero, nitrates will be building up, and algae will usually begin to grow. This will tell you that your biofilter is active and functioning properly, and that you can now safely begin stocking the tank. It generally takes about 3-6 weeks to cycle a tank this way from scratch.
At this point, you can doublecheck the specific gravity and pH of the aquarium, adjusting them if necessary to make sure they remain at the desired level. It is now safe to add your chemical filtration media, and you can begin stocking the aquarium by adding live macroalgae and your cleanup crew of sanitation engineers.
To be extra safe, many hobbyists like to wait an additional six weeks after introducing the macroalgae and cleanup crew before they acclimate the first seahorses to their new systems. This gives the new aquarium a chance to further break in and stabilize, and also serves as a quarantine period for the aquarium janitors and live plants. Any parasites they may possibly have been carrying that could pose a risk to the seahorses would require a vertebrate host in order to survive, and after six weeks without any fish in the aquarium, any such parasites should have been eliminated and are no longer a cause for concern.
Here is some additional information regarding live sand and live rock for your seahorse tank:
Aquarium Substrate
A thin layer of live sand, preferably black, is the ideal substrate for a seahorse-only-with-live-rock (SHOWLR) tank. It is bioactive, aesthetically pleasing, and is a fine-grained sand well suited for the various snails that form an essential part of the cleanup crew for a seahorse tank. I find the dark color shows off my seahorses and macroalgae to great effect and enhances the appearance of tank in general.
The depth of a shallow sand bed like this is a crucial factor. Too deep, and you risk anaerobic dead spots where deadly hydrogen sulfide gas can form. Too shallow, and there will be less surface area to support beneficial nitrifying bacteria and Nassarius snails and other beneficial burrowers may feel vulnerable and exposed. A bed of live sand 3/4-inch to 1-inch deep is just right for the main tank. A properly layered Deep Live Sand Bed (DLS 3-6 inches deep with a full complement of sand shifters also works well with seahorses, but is best confined to a sump rather than the display tank due to the seahorse's heavy waste production.
The type of sand I usually prefer for this is Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Black Beach sand. A thin layer of the sand should make the ideal substrate for your aquarium, and you can order it online from the following site:
Otherwise, either the Arag-Alive Indo-Pacific Black Sand by CaribSea or else the CaribSea Tropical Isle Tahitian Moon Black Sand would be good alternatives. You can obtain them online from Premium Aquatics and a number of other sources, and either of them should also work well for the substrate in a seahorse tank.
Live Rock.
The one indispensable part of a SHOWLR system is the foundation of live rock. The live rock is the living, breathing, heart and soul of the system, which provides the bulk of the biological filtration as well as some denitrification ability and shelter and habitat for countless critters and microfauna. The porous interior of the rock supports large populations of the beneficial oxygen-loving Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacteria that breakdown deadly ammonia and nitrite into less toxic substances (primarily nitrate). Deeper inside the live rock, where oxygen levels are nil, anaerobic denitrifying bacteria take hold and complete the nitrogen cycle, breaking down nitrate into harmless nitrogen. This helps keep the nitrate levels in the seahorse tank low. As a result, live rock is superior to most other forms of biofiltration, which lack this final anaerobic step and cannot carry out denitrification. This makes live rock doubly good at maintaining optimum water quality.
Equally important, the rockwork provides cover for the seahorses. By this, I mean the rock allows the seahorses to hide and conceal themselves completely whenever they feel the need. Seahorses are shy, secretive creatures that rely on camouflage as their primary means of protection, and if they feel too exposed and vulnerable, it can be stressful for them.
As much as 1-2 pounds of live rock per gallon is recommended if the live rock will be the primary means of biological filtration in the aquarium. That amount of live rock will provide adequate levels of both nitrification and denitrification for the tank. (However, if you will have an additional means of biological filtration on the aquarium, such as a biowheel, a canister filter with biological filtration media, or an external filter with bioballs, then you won't be nearly that much live rock and you can get by with a fraction of that amount.) You can simply select the precured live rock you find most attractive at your LFS and add enough of it to create interesting rock formations that are aesthetically pleasing to your eye. Use enough rock to create some interesting caves, arches, ledges and overhangs.
Despite its beauty, natural appearance and the many benefits it provides, some hobbyists avoid live rock like the plague for fear that they may introduce harmful pests to their aquarium along with the live rock. This is a valid concern since potentially harmful hitchhikers like mantis shrimp, fireworms, aggressive crabs, hydroids and Aiptasia rock anemones are very often unseen and unwanted tenants of live rock. They insinuate themselves throughout the live rock in nooks and crannies, and multitudes of these squatters may have taken up housekeeping in a good-sized piece of rock unbeknownst to the unsuspecting aquarist. They conceal themselves within the labyrinth of rock and often escape even the closest scrutiny undetected.
But with a little care this is one time when aquarists can have their cake and eat it too. There are a number of ways to take advantage of all the benefits live rock provides without risking unleashing an epidemic of tenacious rock anemones or turning Jack-the-Ripper loose in your tank reincarnated in the form of a thumb-splitting Stomatopod.
By and large, bristleworms are beneficial scavengers and sand sifters unless their numbers get out of hand, so a good option for many seahorse keepers is to keep the Aiptasia and bristleworm population in check using some means of biological control. Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni) love to dine on Aiptasia rock anemones and several of these attractive shrimp will do a fine job of eradicating them from the aquarium. Certain nudibranchs (Berghia sp.) also feed on Aiptasia. Likewise, small Arrow Crabs (Stenorhynchus sp.) will keep the bristleworm population at a manageable number. Any mantis shrimp or aggressive crabs that happen to slip by are generally fairly easy to trap and remove, and commercially made traps are available for that very purpose.
Treating the live rock with a hypersaline dip is another excellent technique for ridding it of unwanted pests. This method doesn't kill the critters outright but merely drives them out of the rockwork so you can selectively cull through them. Another advantage of this method is that leaves all the desirable life on the rocks intact and unharmed.
To use this technique, simply place your newly arrived live rock in an inert container filled with saltwater at a specific gravity of at least 1.045 to 1.050 for several minutes before you introduce it to the aquarium. These saltier the water, the shorter the length of time you need to soak the live rock and the more effective it will be in driving out unwanted hitchhikers. Invertebrates cannot tolerate rapid changes in salinity, so all the mobile inverts in the rock will immediately abandon there hidey-holes and bale out of the rock like rats deserting a sinking ship. After several minutes in this extra-salty bath, the evacuation will be complete, and you can remove the now pest-free live rock and sort your catch. Cull the invertebrates left behind in dipping container, discarding the pests you don't want while retrieving any of the refugees you might like to add to your system. Several minutes in the hypersalinity is usually enough to drive out all the active invertebrates such as mantis shrimp (Stomatopods), crabs, and assorted worms of every description, yet this brief period of immersion will not harm encrusting organisms or sessile life.
Lighting the Seahorse Tank
When it comes to lighting, seahorses do not have any special requirements other than the fact that most species prefer low to moderate light levels rather than excessively bright light. They have a corrugated retina especially rich in rods, which gives them excellent visual acuity under twilight conditions and low light levels in general. Some species are even believed to be nocturnal (e.g., Hippocampus comes and H. ingens) and have no trouble seeing and feeding at night. Seahorses will do just fine under ambient room light with no aquarium light fixture whatsoever, although hobbyists prefer to keep their tanks illuminated for aesthetic purposes and so they can view them better.
So either an ordinary incandescent bulb or standard fluorescent tube is great. Between the two, I would strongly favor a fluorescent light fixture because they give off less heat (overheating and heat stress can become problems for seahorses during summertime heat waves) and because the fluorescents are more economical to operate. Easier on the old electric bill.
Paul Groves, curator at Underwater World in Perth, recommends combining a triphosphor (6500k) fluorescent tube with a Phillips TL Blue fluorescent tube to produce the best overall lighting for a seahorse exhibit. After much experimentation, he found the above combination of lights really encouraged the coloration of the seahorses as well as being aesthetically pleasing to the eye. He reports that the diversity in colors displayed by Hippocampus subelongatus was much less under any other lighting.
But for all intents and purposes, you really can't go wrong no matter what lighting system you chose as long as you provide both shaded areas where your seahorses can escape from light altogether and well-lit areas where they can bathe in the light as they please. You will find your seahorses will move into and out of the light often, seeking the comfort level that suits them at the moment.
For best results for seahorses, the home hobbyist should strive to maintain stable water conditions within the following aquarium parameters at all times, which are appropriate for your Hippocampus reidi, angelic:
Temperature = range 72°F-78°F; optimum 72°F-75°F (22°C-24°C). Specific Gravity = range 1.022-1.026; optimum 1.0245 pH = 8.2 - 8.4 Ammonia = 0 Nitrite = 0 Nitrate = range 0-20 ppm; optimum 0-10 ppm
Best of luck setting up and cycling your new 55-gallon aquarium, angelic!
Happy Trails! Pete Giwojna
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charity_g
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Re:New Tank - Please Help - 2008/06/10 05:36What an excellent post! I am just in the planning stages of setting up my 47gl column tank and find this really helpful. Thanks!
I'm not sure if I should jump in here and ask this question, but what would you suggest as a good first time, captive bred seahorse to start our with? There is a local breeder (lucky me) that I am able to place an order with.
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If you're new to seahorses, then it would be hard to beat Mustangs (Hippocampus erectus) as a rugged, reliable species to start with. Commonly known as the Lined Seahorse or the Florida Giant, Hippocampus erectus was the first seahorse to be commercially raised for the aquarium hobby. Mustangs have been captive-bred and raised for more generations than any other seahorse, and have now achieved a level of domestication that makes them better adapted to aquarium conditions and life in captivity than other seahorses. The Ocean Rider aquaculture facility in Hawaii that raises H. erectus selects them for traits such as adaptability, vigor, disease resistance, fast growth and aggressive feeding habits -- traits that increase the fitness of each line over time. After numerous generations of strengthening and improvement, the current breeds of farm-raised erectus are tough as nails. Very hardy and very impressive, yet affordable, Mustangs are great choices for a novice seahorse keeper who is still learning the ropes. They are very adaptable and have led the on-going trend toward keeping captive-bred seahorses only. Simply put, more hobbyists keep captive bred erectus than any of the other greater seahorses, and rightly so.
Mustangs are impressive animals. They are large, robust, deep-chested seahorses that can reach well in excess of 7 inches in length when fully grown. They tend to be cryptically colored, and often show earth tones such as beige, russet, charcoal black, gray, brown, ochre or olive over an underlying pattern of fine parallel lines that run down their necks and across their chest (Giwojna, Jun. 2002). White blazes, blotches, saddles, triangles, and diamonds are common markings for captive-bred erectus (Giwojna, Jun. 2002).
The lighter specimens that show their stripes boldly can be very striking, and they are apt to express a wide range of color phases as time passes. Like all seahorses, the coloration expressed by Lined seahorses can vary with their mood, environment, and social activities.
Seahorses are one fish that can become a true pet, and I'm convinced this is because they are more intelligent than most fishes. The highly domesticated Mustangs are real personality fish and many of them actually enjoy being handled. Unlike most other fish that back off when you approach the aquarium and flee in terror if you place your hand in the tank, seahorses soon learn to recognize their keeper and will come out to meet you. They quickly learn to take food from your fingers, and as you will discover, having your pet ponies literally eating out your hand is a very rewarding experience. When one of these shy, enchanting creatures -- whose very survival in the wild depends on concealing itself from predators at all times -- comes trustingly up to the surface to eat right out of your palm, it's a thrill you won't soon forget. The training sessions and daily feedings required for this tend to forge a close, personal relationship between the aquarist and his charges, and hand-fed seahorses often become special pets. Many times they will even include you in their daily greeting, flashing their recognition colors and parading back and forth and at the front of the tank, performing their dancelike displays for your benefit.
The first pair of captive-bred seahorses I ever owned were Mustangs, and my 'stangs quickly learned to recognize me as their feeder, whereupon they would often interact with me at dinnertime by turning on their greeting colors. My original pair are still going strong several years later, and I have watched them go through a number of color phases from month to month. One has settled on gray-green as its base coloration for the moment, and the other ranges between rust, burnt umber, and orange, but always with contrasting beige bands (Giwojna, Jun. 2002). Last season, the male adopted a rich ochre yellow as his everyday attire (still with the same beige bands, though), while the female displayed a dark purplish ensemble with definite greenish highlights. When courting, they consistently brighten to a pearly white and a creamy yellow respectively (Giwojna, Jun. 2002). They make a handsome couple, and I find my erectus to be very attractive specimens in all their guises.
I set up my pair of these spirited steeds in a brand-new 30 gallon (tall) aquarium all their own, and that tank has been my most entertaining, trouble-free exhibit ever since. With a simple setup like theirs, I prefer to target feed my seahorses. That allows me to observe them closely on a daily basis, monitor their health, keep track of exactly how much each specimen is eating, and remove any leftovers immediately.
Led by the female-by far the bolder and most outgoing of the two-the Mustangs were soon literally eating right out of my hands. (I know, I know-sensible aquarists should always strive to keep their mitts out the aquarium as much as possible, but handfeeding is a thrill I find difficult to resist, and hey -- nobody ever said I was sensible!) Of course, I'm very well aware of the risks involved and extremely diligent about taking all the necessary precautions beforehand. And besides, there are major advantages to handfeeding that more than offset any minor risks.
For one thing, the seahorses seem to enjoy the experience every bit as much as I do. They head for the feeding station as soon as I approach the tank, a series of color changes betraying their excitement, and queue up at the dinner table looking their best and brightest. Of course, they both try to snap up the first morsel - even pair-bonded ponies are not big on sharing or waiting turns - so I no longer offer them one mysid at a time. I offer them a handful of individually thawed Mysis in my upturned palm instead. They know the drill and happily perch on my fingers while snicking up the shrimp as fast as they can.
Secondly, feeding your seahorses by hand permits the aquarist to conduct a close-up, daily inspection of every specimen in his tank, and I like to use the opportunity to give 'em a good once over. These detailed examinations make it difficult not to notice any subtle changes in my seahorse's appearance or behavior that might signal impending problems with disease or the water chemistry. That's a big advantage, since the sooner such potential problems are detected, the easier they are to cure or prevent, and I recommend other hobbyists do the same.
Take a moment to enjoy the show when feeding your seahorses. Make sure they're all eating well, and use this opportunity to look them over closely for wounds, injuries, or signs of disease. Seahorses are natural-born gluttons. Ordinarily, these galloping gourmets are ALWAYS hungry, so when a seahorse is off its feed, that's often an excellent early indicator that something's amiss in the aquarium.. Early detection of a potential problem can be the key to curing it, so it's a good idea for the alert aquarist to observe his prize ponies while they put on the ol' feed bag. Make sure they all show up for mess call, are acting normally, and have a well-rounded abdomen when they're done eating. Handfeeding makes it hard to miss when one these chow hounds is off its feed, tipping off the alert aquarist to a potential problem.
Best of all, handfeeding is pure, sure-fire, 100% unadulterated fish-keeping fun! Feeding time for my seahorses is always a high point in my day. Having your pet ponies literally eating out your hand is a very rewarding experience. These daily feedings tends to forge a close, personal relationship between the aquarist and his charges, and hand-fed seahorses often become special pets.
As much as feeding time brightens up my day, I have no doubt it livens things up for my seahorses even more. They genuinely appear to enjoy interacting with me, and I believe in enriching their captive environment as much as possible. No doubt it's the food they're looking forward to, not the food giver, but our daily encounters are always eagerly awaited and they like to linger on my hand long after all the food is gone. They would allow me to lift them out of the water when I withdraw my hand if I didn't gently shoo them away first.
The only thing I don't like about handfeeding frozen Mysis to my seahorses is the obligatory fast day. The problem with fasting is that the Mustangs don't seem to realize it's good for them-that it's absolutely in their own best interests, essential for their long-term health. Whenever I make an appearance on fast day, they insist on parading back and forth in front of the glass in their greeting colors, begging for a handout. Before my butt hits the upholstery, both of them will be dancing at the feeding station, impatiently awaiting their gourmet shrimp dinner. When it doesn't materialize, they forlornly abandon their post at the lunch counter, and come up to stare at me through the front glass. When I still don't take the hint, the female paces back and forth at the front, looking her brightest and most conspicuous, as though trying to attract my attention, while the male reverts to his drab everyday attire and dejectedly resumes his futile vigil at the feeding station. If not for their well-rounded cross-sections, one would think they were dying of hunger, making it difficult to resist their puppy-dog antics. Just sitting there ignoring them makes me feel like a first-class heel. Sheesh--talk about your guilt trips Dang! I hate fast days.
I feel Hippocampus is intelligent enough to become bored or jaded in captivity at times, and for this reason I try to provide a little behavioral enrichment for my seahorses whenever possible. The handfeeding sessions I've already described are an example of this, and I also try to provide my seahorses with live foods regularly so they have an opportunity to experience the thrill of the hunt and the chase once in a while as they do in the wild.
In short, Charity, I'm sure you would enjoy a pair of Hippocampus erectus as much as I enjoy mine.
Best of luck finding the perfect ponies for your new seahorse setup!
Happy Trails! Pete Giwojna
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also helps because anaerobic denitrifying bacteria can flourish and break down nitrates at a certain depth below the sand where oxygenated water no longer penetrates, but a DLSB can sometimes be difficult to set up and manage properly if you're inexperienced with live sand. Both live rock and deep live sand beds give aquaria denitrification ability -- the ability to complete the cycle and convert nitrate to harmless nitrogen. Ordinarily, about 1-2 pounds of live rock per gallon is recommended - that amount of LR will provide your aquarium with all of the biofiltration you need, as well as significant denitrification ability. You will keep nitrates at harmless levels by performing regular water changes, harvesting Caulerpa macroalgae periodically, and good aquarium management. 
