Jake's 50+ gallon seahorse tank

Thanks Monstaman!

 

always impressive! Your one seahorse looks like it's carrying babies? Have your horses had babies in the tank?

 

As usual, thanks a lot fish keeper! I don't think the male is carrying any babies. I have only seen them perform a mating ritual in the old tank, not in the new one yet and I think the pouch looks normal.

 

that would be something to see - maybe one day you'll get to see babies

 

Here is the algae species I missed in that update. So far it seems to be a good fit. It grew holdfasts to the rock within a week.


Here is the simple experiment I did. The objective was to determine if the Seachem florish tabs (they are pressed into the sand) help the seagrass (Halophila ovalis) grow. To figure this out on the left side I have been adding about 3 tabs per month for 3 months, while on the right I have not used any tabs.



The results were very pronounced. On the "tab-free" side, the seagrass leaves are much smaller than on the left side. Although it is not that clear in the picture, there is also some chlorosis (yellowing of leaves) and necrotic spots (brown spots) on the "tab-free" side. These are common symptoms of nutrient deficiency in plants. This basic experiment unfortunately could not determine which element was causing the deficiency. Based on these symptoms, I think it is probably nitrogen.

As a follow up experiment, I added tabs to the "tab-free" side last Wednesday. I expect the new leaves that grow on the right side will increase in size. It is also possible the old leaves increase in size.

One potential issue with using these tabs is that trace metals may reach toxic levels in the water. Unfortunately, I am unable to gather any data on this (accurately measuring the level of trace metals in my tank would require specialized equipment). All I can say is that, after about a year of using Seachem tabs (in my old aquarium and the current one) I do not think the corals in my aquarium are unhealthy.

 

love that maco algae in the first pic! That's actually quite amazing the difference in growth between the two sides.

 

This tank looks really great. It may inspire me to try something similar. I am curious how you setup your sandbars for the sea grass? Are there any other special requirements for sea grass? I have wanted to build a show refugium with a sea grass bed and macros for sea horses.

 

Thanks! My sand bed is 3" deep of mixed aragonite sugar sand and Caribsea mineral mud. This works for Halophila ovalis, but other species may require a deeper substrate.

Seagrass is like every other plant in that it requires light and nutrients. I think 100 PAR is more than enough to grow H. ovalis as it grows well in all parts of my aquarium, including shaded areas. In terms of nutrients, a few people have written articles online that say you need to have a mature sand bed to grow seagrass as only mature sand beds are nutrient rich. Based on my experience with H. ovalis, I think this requirement is over stated. I have grown this species successfully in brand new sand beds twice using SeaChem flourish tabs pressed into the substrate near the seagrass.

Overall, I think H. ovalis seagrass is an easy species to grow in an aquarium. If you give it a try, let me know if you start a tank journal! I'd love to follow along.

 

Thanks! I thought so too. I just wanted to figure out if the flourish tabs were a waste of money as they are surprisingly a bit expensive! Turns out they are worth it.

 

Thanks for the info, I am building up materials for a 120 display with a 55 refugium that has a sand bed and macros. I love your idea of the sea fan, gorgonian combo looks great. And sea horses are on the top of my list. I think I will be starting it in may.