Need your idea/opinion.

G

GrannyReefer

Premium Member
Would it be possible to use the sump/refugium as an anenomie/seahorse tank. Put it in the middle of the stand and leave the doors open to view it. Put live rock, a few coral etc. as needed in it for the better health of the inhabitants. I have read about leaving a light on 24/7 on a sump to regulate the ph I believe, but could be wrong on this, how important is this? Hope this doesn't sound like a crazy idea, just didn't know if it is feasable.

Please give me your opinions they are all appreciated :D and TIA.
 
I'm running 6 5 gallon tanks on a bookshelf next to my reef as my "display" refuguims for many years, so having your 'fuge out for viewing doesn't seem odd at all to me...

I kept seahorses in one of my refuguims a long time ago, but if part of the reason you're running a refuguim is to grow 'pods, the seahorse(s) will thin their numbers down quite a bit. In other words, your refuguim won't be a refuguim anymore, but just another tank connected to your main tank...

As far as anemones, keep in mind they need a pretty decent amount of light, more than most people run on their refuguims... (And yeah, I know you can find someone who's got a 18 year old Bubble tip with no more lighting than a nightlight, but IMHO as a rule anemone's need a lot of light)

As far as the lighting cycle on a refuguim, a lot of people run their refuguims opposite of their main tank to keep the PH from dropping overnight (I think it's dropping, not rising, can't remember the nitty gritty details

Others, like myself, run their refuguim lights 24 hours a day (Or near to it) to discourage any caluepera you have from going sexual...
 
Thanks Brian for the response, it is most interesting and it gives me even more ideas. Can you send me some pictures of your refugiums?
 
It's not the greatest photograph, but here they are:

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There's a MaxiJet in my left overflow that pumps water to the top right tank, where it flows into the top left tank, then down to the middle left one, over to the middle right one, and then gravity feeds back into the main tank. (To avoid injuring the Mandarin's food as much as possible)

The bottom two refuguims are fed from and return to the sump...

You can just make out the edge of the main tank on the right edge of the picture. This whole setup is on a custom made bookshelf standing to the left of the tank (Helps to have a father in law who's a carpenter/electrician/etc!)
 
I think it was Peter that had seahorses in his 'fuge - now it's corals.

Something else to think about - the flow rate in your 'fuge. If it is too fast, your horses cannot catch their food. They are usually kept at a more sedate pace than tanks with corals or fish only.

I'm sure if you look at www.seahorse.org, there is plenty of info on how to keep the little guys!
 
I would really love to put Casper in my reef tank one day, but I don't know how how that would turn out.
 
Kitty, thanks so for sending the info. re: that seahorse site, it's really great and loads of information. I just wish that there would be some way I could incorporate anenomies and seahorses and keep them both happy and health in the sump/refugium.

Marc, I had a seahorse in my 55 for about 2 months once. I got him to let me target feed him (target feeding everything in my tank is one of the highlights of my day) and he ate real good. I had a couple of F. Perculas a Yellow Tang a Six Line Wrasse, just a few things like that and it went ok, it's just that I couldn't stop worring about the seahorse and the fish, just incase the fish decided to take a nip out of him. So I ended up taking him back to the lfs and I still miss him, he was way to cool and fun. Someday I will definately have seahorses. I just have to come up with something so that I will know the seahorses will be safe.
 
Brian, thanks for all the pictures and great information...This sure does give me a lot to think about. Would the pods be terribly important to the tank? Do you think the seahorses would eat all of them? I would target feed the seahorses also, do you think that would help keep the pod population from being totally depleted? Sorry for so many questions, it's just that this so important to me to do it right and I rely a lot on others that have tried and either succeded or failed and can share the reasons for both..

Again, thanks a lot for the pictures. Do you think you could loan/share your father-in-law with us sometimes :?: We could have a great fish fry for him. Does that sound like bribery????
 
Doris,
Glad I could help inspire ya' a little bit. :) The importance of 'pods to your main tank would hinge quite a bit on what you're keeping in your main tank. If you're planning on keeping any sort of Mandarin, than the pods would be extremely important. If not, than the 'pods are beneficial, but not necessarily mandatory to keep around.
I won't claim to be a seahorse expert, but I'd think that a seahorse in a 'fuge would eventually completely wipe out the pods, no matter how well you fed the horse... But, as I said, I'm not an expert in seahorses so I very well could be completely off base on that assessment...
Another concern I'd have about putting seahorses in a refuguim (And one of the main reasons I stopped doing it) is that you have to feed sea horses so frequently, you'd basically be polluting your tank quite a bit with all their feeding and excreting. Now, if your tank is big enough and well filtered enough, this isn't much of a concern, but just something else to think about...

My father in law would be easily bribed with a fish fry, however, the catch is, you'd prolly hafta fly him down from his home in West Virginia as well, which would make his custom cabinetry rather cost-prohibitive... And, he's already made his annual trek down to see his granddaughter this year... Sorry on that point!
 
No Brian, it sounds as if you are right on with your ideas/reasons it might not be a good idea to have seahorses in the sump/refugium and this seems to be the general consensis from others as well :sad: it's just that sometimes when I get an idea that I like it almost takes a 2x4 to jar the idea out of my head. You know it wouldn't be impossible for me to just set up a small tank some where and keep some seahorsess in it. Besides I do think Mandrins are absolutely beautiful and I know when I get some more things for the larger tank I will want a Mandrin.

To bad about your father-in-law living so far away. We have a freezer full of catfish fillets that my husband caught this spring and we do enjoy getting families together for fish fries.
 
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