Hi New To Salt Water

[Bazaman]

I have 4 freshwater tanks set up at the moment. i have a 5th 25 gal tank that i would like to set up in a couple of months as a salt water tank. i would like to have some coral in the tank and i have no idea what i need to do and what materials i need either. any tips or advice would be great. i would like to keep some sea horses in the tank thats all i know so far. the 25 gal tank will just be my starting tank. i will be upgrading (may be a year or more tho) hopefully to a 100 gal+ tank for my saltwater tank so whatever i start with i need to be able to move it top a new tank.

 

[simonas]

hello pal

welcome to the salty side
never kept seahorses myself but did once start a thread on here about them try and search my content and there should be a thread with initial advice on them

 

[crazyforcordoras]

For a 25, im not sure what sea horses you could do. Dwarf sea horses would do good in a 10 gallon, but not a 25.

 

[Bazaman]

i thought the bigger the tank the better? but you are saying sea horses actually are better in a smaller tank? interesting. (the sea horses are for my wife)

 

[SaltNoob]

Water quality is a priority with these guys. They are not easy to keep from everything I continue to hear and read. I have seen great write ups on them though. For a beginner in salt, you might work on keeping a tank stable for a bit? Also smaller tanks = harder to keep immaculate water. Small changes effect the tank dramatically.

-Tyler

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Dwarf sea horses do better in 10 gallon or smaller. Ither seahorses usually get 7 to 12 inches tall, which is too big.

 

[Lady J]

Unfortunately seahorses are much more on the difficult end of saltwater animals. You cannot put any fish in with them (except pipefish) because the fish will always get the food before the seahorses even get to it--they'll starve to death. It also can be very difficult to get them eating frozen food---they like live stuff. And, this is extremely important, you must have a chiller for that tank because seahorses require much cooler water than the average reef tank. They are so awesome though and I understand your desire to want some. A tall tank is also better for seahorses and you must put in things for them to latch on to (not a live gorgonian because their tails will strip the gorgonian; many people use sps skeletons and the like). A little 10g. would be great for the little ones, but as the others said, the smaller the tank, the harder it is.

 

[kyle sicard]

I had 2 brazillian seahorses a number of years back, they are EXTREMELY difficult to keep. You must have tha tank completely set up to their requirements. You basically build the tank around the seahorses needs. They need to be kept by themselfs as well. TBH I dont know if they would be the best to start off with on your first salty, but welcome to the hobby and good luck on whatever you decide to do!

 

[Lady J]

Years ago I sat, mesmerized, at a LFS that had a beautiful seahorse tank. The owner had been running both freshwater and saltwater systems for years (like 30+). She told me straight out that I shouldn't try one as I had only been reefing for 2 years. I listened to her and never set up one for those incredible little guys. Earlier I mentioned having a chiller. Seahorses are very prone to getting sick but seem more resistant to illness when kept in cooler water. Those darn chillers though, ugh, they're expensive. For reasons unknown to me some animals simply get more sick than others. It's kind of like tangs: they are more prone to getting ick than other fish. I'm sure someone can explain why this happens because I simply don't know. I guess this is just another thing to consider.