I don't know enough about your new tank and its filtration system to say with any certainty if it might be lacking now that you have omitted the live rock. But if the tank went through a bit of an ammonia/nitrite spike when you added two small clownfish, I suspect it will undergo a similar spike when you add a pair of new seahorses and begin feeding them regularly. Right now your aquarium has probably stabilized at its current carrying capacity of two small Nemos, so adding two seahorses will likely increase the bioload to the point where there are ammonia/nitrite spikes while the aquarium adjusts to its heavier stocking density.
What are you using as your primary means of biological filtration in the new aquarium, Kris? If your setup includes a wet/dry trickle filter, external filter with bio-balls or other similar biological media, sponge filters or so on, then the live rock is a luxury in terms of the filtration it will provide and your aquarium will probably do just fine without it. But if the live rock was an integral component of your system that contributed a significant amount of nitrification and denitrification to your biological filtration, then you're new tank will have a very limited carrying capacity and very little margin for error. That could spell trouble when you start adding seahorses, with their messy feeding habits.
If you omitted live rock from your new tank for fear that it may contribute to a recurrence of the copepod bloom that caused so much trouble in your previous tank, that was probably an unnecessary precaution, Kris. It's a good idea to "debug" live rock that's intended for a seahorse tank in order to rid it of unwanted hitchhikers and pests such as mantis shrimp, predatory crabs, fireworms and Aiptasia rock anemones, but the types of copepods that normally populate live rock are almost always beneficial species that are desirable to have in your tank.
Five to six weeks is normally sufficient time to cycle a new aquarium, Kris, and if you can provide me with a little more information about the filtration system in your new tank, then I can give you a better idea as to whether adding some live rock would be beneficial or whether you are likely to experience an ammonia and/or nitrite spike when you add the new seahorses.
Best wishes with all your fishes, Kris!
Happy Trails! Pete Giwojna
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Thanks for your help. In my tank right now, I have three filtration systems running................. an external filter. a protein skimmer and a cannister filter.(and also the live sand, as I previously told you) Hopefully, this will be enough to maintain good quality water, after the new horses arrive Friday!
I have to admit, I am alittle afraid of something happening again, as helplessly watching your seahorses die is really quite painful, but I loved having them so much, I really wanted to try again.
If this amount of filtration seems adaquate, then I'm going to stop fretting. If not and you advise the rock..... just let me know how to introduce it.
Thanks again, so much!! Kris (Just ordered your book and looking forward to reading it!!)
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Thanks for the rundown on your new tank! Protein skimmers are a great addition to any seahorse tank regardless of what other filtration it may have. That's a wonderful piece of equipment to have and I'm pleased to see that you have one installed on your seahorse tank. However, you should not be operating a protein skimmer until after your new aquarium has cycled and the biological filtration has been established. Otherwise, the beneficial work that a protein skimmer does by removing dissolved organics before they enter the nitrogen cycle can actually prolong the cycling process and reduce the population of beneficial nitrifying bacteria somewhat. So don't operate your skimmer for the time being, Kris. Wait until your aquarium has completely cycled and you are ready to add your seahorses. Running your protein skimmer at that time will help increase the carrying capacity of your aquarium, whereas operating it now can reduce the carrying capacity in the short-term by limiting the number of beneficial nitrifying bacteria that build up within the biofilter to a degree. In other words, if the protein skimmer wasn't removing dissolved organics before they entered the nitrogen cycle, there would be more ammonia to feed the nitrifying bacteria in your biofilter, which is what you want while the aquarium is cycling.
Okay, with a protein skimmer ready to go when the time is right to begin operating it, and two external filters to move water and provide mechanical and chemical filtration as needed, you should be in good shape providing at least one of those external filters also has biological filtration ability. Does either your canister filter or the other external filter include bio-balls, a sponge, or other porous media to encourage the growth of a dense population of aerobic bacteria, Kris? (Prefilters and filter floss don't count, since they need to be removed and cleaned or replaced regularly, which disrupts or eliminates any beneficial bacteria that may have been growing on or within them.) If either of your external filters includes such bio-media, then you're new tank should be in good shape in terms of biofiltration once it has completely cycled.
In that case, just be aware that the biofilter may need a week or two to adjust to the heavier bioload when you add the new seahorses, so feed them sparingly at first and keep an eye out for transient ammonia spikes after heavy feeding. Providing you acclimate the new arrivals properly and avoid overfeeding them, you should be good to go.
When it comes to adding live rock to your aquarium, that can be done at any time before or after your seahorses arrive providing you obtain live rock that has been precured. Live rock already contains its full complement of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, so as long as it's been precured to avoid the die off of delicate sessile organisms that inhabit the rock, it can go directly into your aquarium and doesn't need to be cycled per se. In essence, you can add instant biofiltration ability as well as denitrification to help control nitrite levels by adding precured live rock anytime you wish. However, for a seahorse tank, it's always a good idea to run the live rock through the usual "debugging" procedures first in order to minimize the amount of bristleworms or unwanted hitchhikers that may be transferred into the aquarium along with the rock.
Best of luck with your new aquaria, Kris!
Happy Trails! Pete Giwojna
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Yes, thanks again for the info. I'm glad I know this now. I'll keep an eye out for a bad bloom. I'm going to go ahead and order the "blue" also, just to have on hand. Never Know.
Kris,
When I ordered my SH from OR seahorses, I had a problem and had to leave town. I also had a drastic ph drop. Carol was great. I called her and she put the shipping on hold for awhile until I was able to get my tank straight again. Please know that this is an option for you. In case you decide to add rock, or for what ever reason. Carol will work with you.
Good luck to all Best rgds
PS Pete,
Any word from the publisher yet? Tell them they're going to have a whole bunch of seahorse lovers banging on they're door. We want that book!
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nigelseahorse
User Big Kauna
Posts: 161
Karma: 4
Re:Now What?? - 2006/03/01 18:01I know how you felt my seahorse was dying and knowing i couldnt help her was so depressing! you should try agian with the sehorses.. they are such intresting and beautiful animals. good luck with future aquariums and maybe seahorese ,Nigel
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