39 Gallon Seahorse Tank

You guy's do nice work, really nice. And don't sell yourself short

if your dad is anything like me I am sure that if you were not there it might still be in the planning stages. I tell my son all the time that things just go faster if there is 2 of us!

Nice tank, maybe I should say Perfect tank! 39 gallons and 20" tall, plenty of room for several pairs. Glad to see the chiller because that lighting is going to be great but will raise the temps above what Seahorses should be kept at. Your going to have to watch it when you fire it up, make sure that the temps don't go to high.

With a Center overflow you will have to be vigilante and maybe even have to put something over it to slow down the flow or the suction. Seahorses are not the strongest things and they are very inquisitive, they might get a little to close to the over flow and get stuck up against it.

I know several people that put some screening over the holes or even a sponge on the inside to cut down on the force of the water flowing through the slots, which keeps the horses from getting sucked up against the overflow. I actually made a cover for one that we cut slots that were twice as long than the original ones, which slid down over the overflow and eased up on the flow through and the pressure.

You will have to watch it with that skimmer. Some that say having a skimmer on a Horse tank can lead to GBD or Gas Bubble Disease. I have a skimmer on my tank but only use it once a week and when I do I also run an air stone in the tank to break up water surface.

All in all I would say this was a great start, can't wait to see it with some rocks and water in it! I am subscribed, thats for sure.

 

There is no documentation that skimmers and other sources of micro bubbles cause GBD. It is presently thought to be caused by a chemical imbalance and can be treated with Diamox.
See Gas Bubble Disease in "Working Notes" A Guide to Seahorse Diseases.
I use open ended rigid air line tubes to increase gas exchange at the surface. Small bubbles create too much salt creep for my liking.

 

Your dad has that look of being able to build or fix anything.

 

...If for no other reason than it is more enjoyable to work together and visit, than go it alone...

During the run up and cycling, I expect to get this fully addressed. I still need to cut a hole in the side of the stand to mount an exit fan to pull air from the back of the chiller and exhaust it out of the cabinet. Along the front, the top of the toe kick, I'll be cutting in some air intake vents. This will have to be adjusted to keep the inside of the cabinet below 95 degrees to keep the chiller working...

Thanks for the heads up on this. The return pump I chose is deliberately "undersized" to give me a control range of 200 to 300 gal/hr return to the tank. It is also an external pump to reduce the heat load that the chiller will have to deal with.

I have read about this on Seahorse.org and will go back and review what is documented. As for running the skimmer, I plan to have it on a timer. Run it during the early morning hours (0100 to 0800), when the lights are off, for 4 to 8 hours. Again, to reduce the heat removal requirement for the chiller and also to reduce the heat input required of the heater. Unless, there is a better time/sequence to establish for skimming.

Thank you,
Joe

 

His father was a carpenter and taught him to be a "Jack of all trades"...which he has passed on to his children...

 

In regards to the gph through your overflow... I have a Rio 2100 with 5 feet of head giving me right around 275 gph cycling, and I have to tell ya that's still a lot of flow dumping past the teeth of your overflow, I have found several fish in my overflow or even in the sump when they are new and don't understand an overflow and to stay away...

So either have special precautions when water is entering the overflow or have less then 200 gph flowing through.

 

In my DT I have a Neon Gobie living in the overflow...there is no catching him...:-/

So, I'll figure out how to fit a sponge on the inside of the overflow to slow down the flow through the teeth...more maintenance...

Thanks

 

We have doors!!

To lay out the doors, I needed a clamp...but then, there needs to be somewhere (very "true" and flat) to set them up...I built a work bench...but to shape the edges of the doors there needs to be somewhere to sit the router...

Router table with new stand:


Lay up of one door for gluing, with new clamp, on new work bench:


Stand with doors, almost ready to stain:


Cabinet exhaust fans to assist the chiller fan in staying cool:

 

VERY nice!

Skimmers causing GBD is one of the things we've proven not to be accurate. There was some correlation going on at one point... but we've since dismissed it.

 

I've see some discussion on this topic on other boards, that seems to be the concensince...no proof that links skimmers and GBD...

Thanks,