So a family friend just offered me a 30 gallon tank and stand. For some reason I just can't bring myself to say no. I'm entertaining the idea of doing a Seahorse and soft coral tank. The idea is great because I really want to keep my reef more SPS oriented, but doing this gives me a dedicated softie tank. Truthfully I think it will look great sitting right next to the reef tank. Give you something else to look at as well. I'm wondering what kind of equipment i'd need to run this setup. I was thinking of doing live rock and plants with a HOB skimmer. Not sure if this is adequate or not. If so, I'm looking for recommendations on lighting and skimmers. Any other advice would be welcome as well.
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Need help starting a 30 gallon Seahorse/Soft Coral Tank
- Thread starter njhcnwk
- Start date
great idea....i am mulling the diea of using my bc29 for a SH tank. However it will wait until i figure out a way to raise the clowns since i'd like this to be the grow-out tank for the larvae.
btw it's www.seahorse.ORG
btw it's www.seahorse.ORG
Seahorses and soft corals make a great combination. As for a basic set up you can run a simple HOB skimmer, power filter or both. Can even go with a simple sump design. Just remember to break the flow up so as not to blow the seahorses all over the tank. I run my tanks in the 6-8x turnover area but use spray bars and flare nozzles to break up the flow. Light will be dependent on which corals you plan to keep but T5's should be more than sufficient.
Your biggest concern is going to be temperature. You will want to keep the tank temp in the 72-74F range, even for tropical species. Seahorses are very susceptible to bacterial infections and the lower temps help to keep bacteria counts at a level that gives the seahorses immune systems a chance to fight them off.
Your biggest concern is going to be temperature. You will want to keep the tank temp in the 72-74F range, even for tropical species. Seahorses are very susceptible to bacterial infections and the lower temps help to keep bacteria counts at a level that gives the seahorses immune systems a chance to fight them off.