Nano seahorse build

I just started a new tank. I am getting ready for it to cycle. I am using a 26 gallon Cardiff aquarium nano. I bought my fiance one for his birthday. Needless to say, he isn't using it for anything now. Anyway, when I bought his, it came scratched up a bit. I e-mailed Current directly. You know what they did??? This company has got to be the best. They sent an entire NEW Cardiff nano to me. They apologized to me and told me to keep both.
So I am turning the new one they sent me into a seahorse tank! I have always wanted seahorses and I thought this would be perfect for them. It is taller than my Biocube, so I am taking that one down and transferring most of my corals to this tank. The ones of course that won't hurt the seahorses. Here is my start.





I will be using a Panorama light on it. I got it used for extremely cheap! It will work for some softies, acans, and macro algae. =) I am pretty sure I am going to change the rocks a bit. I always end up aquascaping at least 4 different times on my tanks. LOL! I did that with my 180 gallon.

looks like it's going to be awesome! I really like the rocks!

rock tower!! At least you don't have to worry about the ponies knocking over the rocks for ya Can't wait to see it cycling with water soon

Thank you rgrking! I used pukani from BRS and some older Marco rocks. Also, the flat plates are ones I made. I wanted to make some flat rocks for acans to grow. They are my passion. LOL.

Hey Joanne-I know it is a complete rock tower right now....LOL! Like I said though, I end up changing my aquascapes at least 3-4 times before I like it. ;-) I think I changed the aquascape at least 4 times in the big tank. Man, I am sorry I missed the meeting last night. We had tickets to Gabriel Iglesias that I completely spaced out! =*( I love going to the meetings and talking to my fellow reef nerds. ;-)

haha - well I'm sure you will make the next meeting And by then I should have the fancy new membership cards so you can get a glossy one!!

Looks awesome Gina and that is great that Current did that for ya

Isn't that awesome? I couldn't believe it!!!!!! I didn't even have to pay for shipping! I wish Current would sell more aquariums, etc. They don't have that much to pick from.

They seem to discontinue stuff a lot like most aquarium makers. The regular Solana 34 gallon I believe was discontinued I love Current I think they make great products for a fair price. I have two lights from them, both of which I think are awesome for what I paid.

Yup. I have 2 lights from them as well. They did just discontinue the Solana. I have no idea why. They are nuts! If I could have gotten the Solana for the same price as the Cardiff, I would have gotten the Solona instead.

What a great little tank! You gonna put any other fish in with your seahorses, like a pipefish? What kind of seahorses are you planning on putting in?

Hi! =) I am going to put my blenny in the tank from the biocube. I also have a pistol shrimp and goby. I am not sure yes if I am going to transfer them to the big tank or the little one. I am not sure how these guys would be with Seahorses. Thoughts? I have looked at the pipefish, but all of them on LiveAquaria say they are difficult to take care of. =( Know of any that are not? I haven't totally decided on the type of Seahorse. It is between Kuda and Erectus.My LFS has some that I told her I wanted. I'm not entirely sure if she has them still. She was going to have 2 different batches from people locally. I shall see. =)

Originally Posted by GinasReef

... I am not sure how these guys would be with Seahorses. Thoughts? ...

Hmmm...Well, from what I've read, and from what I know of a few other reefer's experiences with seahorses, you want to keep slow-moving fishies with them, because seahorses are so very passive. You also don't want them starving for food, because the other fish are so fast and will get to the food before the seahorses even have a chance. Most tanks I've seen have seahorses with either pipefish or mandarin dragonets (which I wouldn't recommend for your tank, just because it is so small and these guys need a minimum of 55 gallons to really thrive). I have no idea what pipefish to suggest for you since I've never dealt with them myself :P But I would recommend thinking about making it a seahorse-only tank. Just my two cents ^_^

I bet a pistol shrimp/goby would actually be a pretty good choice since they both hang in their hidey holes - maybe less likely to steal your ponies' food

The tank is looking pretty dang clear! It was really cloudy after adding the rocks and sand. Have any of you actually put your ear up to your tanks before? I did it on this little one and damn, it is loud! I'm going to try putting a maxijet for the return pump instead. The skimmer is pretty good and I'm kind of shocked, but very pleased!

I'm a bit hesitant on the watchman goby and the pistol shrimp. Just because when I had a clown in the cube before, it chased it away from the food it was trying to get. The clowns can definitely swim faster than a pony. Maybe it just didn't like the clown. Who knows. I could try and if it didn't work, I could always move them to the big tank. The little blenny, I am not worried about at all. He is so shy, but sweet. Poor little guy though....his eye is cloudy. I think he scraped it on some rocks. =*( It makes me feel bad.

ud be feeding the ponies tiny lil bits of food - those guys would have to own the entire tank to chase every bit away for themselves!!

I shall try it then!

Wow, big props to Current What kind of horses are you going with?

Originally Posted by GinasReef

I shall try it then!

just note - my advice is likely ill-advised, as it is 99% of the time hahaahhahahaha

I'm sure some uber nurd will be all "how could you blah blah blah"

awesome tank AND thread Gina!!! thank you for sharing with us!

Lady's correct about the mandarin and slow-moving shy fish with the seahorses....what kind of blenny do you have? the watchman goby might be a bit aggressive though - we had one and he was very territorial - chasing away some mighty big fish if they got even within 2 feet of their burrow! ......pipefish are ideal but are difficult for many.....what kind of macro are you thinking of? dragons breath is gorgeous!

Originally Posted by GinasReef

Isn't that awesome? I couldn't believe it!!!!!! I didn't even have to pay for shipping! I wish Current would sell more aquariums, etc. They don't have that much to pick from.

awesome awesome awesome! I'll need to check into this vendor for sure!

Sorry Barbara for not answering you sooner!!! Yes, I would buy exclusively from Current if only they sold more items! Current is completely awesome. =)

After quite a long debate, I think the goby and pistol shrimp will head to the big tank. The Watchman is a little bit too territorial for me to chance it. The blenny is an absolute sweetheart. It is a tailspot blenny.