The Making of a Seahorse Aquarium Thread

[ugaimes]

Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

You absolutely have to stop posting pictures of your tank!!!
You're making me get the "reef bug" again and I really don't want to set up a reef tank again...so quit it...ok???

My wife gives me grief all the time for not having a tank anymore.....we both loved the hobby. <sigh> I must resist........must resist.....

I'm just kidding though...love looking at your new pics...keep em coming!

I shouldn't ask this, because it plunges me back into the hobby...but what are you using for lighting?

Oh and PS....firefish will breach the water surface and land on the floor if they get startled and the tank is not covered. (learned the hard way)

You are getting sleeeeeeepy...you knooooow you want another saltwater aquarium!

Well, you were obviously VERY right about the tiger cowrie, so you could probably teach me a lot about the tank!

Our tank is covered (the people at the aquarium stop, or, our new second home, said the same thing about the firefish).
For lighting, we're using a Cobralife 50/50 6000K (Bradley bought that; I know so little about lighting- but I'm learning!). It's better than the first light we had- really makes the colors pop!

Zazusdad- thanks for the info about the black mollies- I had no idea! Thankfully, this tank is FINALLY cycled and, when we're ready to set up the 150 GAL, I think we're going to just use straight ammonia to cycle that one (it'd take too long otherwise!).

 

[emma's friend]

Ultra-Cool!

 

[bossinova]

I just stumbled across this thread tonight...Very cool! It is so intriguing! It makes me want to start one reeeaalllyy bad. Seahorses...that's awesome! I love the names you guys have picked out, too. Cute!

 

[bengalbabe]

Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

You absolutely have to stop posting pictures of your tank!!!
You're making me get the "reef bug" again and I really don't want to set up a reef tank again...so quit it...ok???

My wife gives me grief all the time for not having a tank anymore.....we both loved the hobby. <sigh> I must resist........must resist.....

I'm just kidding though...love looking at your new pics...keep em coming!

I shouldn't ask this, because it plunges me back into the hobby...but what are you using for lighting?

Oh and PS....firefish will breach the water surface and land on the floor if they get startled and the tank is not covered. (learned the hard way)

I know you didn't ask me this but I have to get back into my tank i've let macro algae take over and it's getting dirty. The bengals take too much time.
Anyway I have 4 PC lights (forgot what the wattage is) and a 250 Watt MH for my corals. I can just kick myself. I spent so much time and money on my tank and then let it go. All of my xenia died and my frogspan. =0(
My hubby is mad at me for ignoring the tank. I neeeded this thread to get myself pumped up again to take care of this thing before everything dies.

 

[ugaimes]

Thanks guys

Bossinova- thanks for the compliment on the names. We try to get a bit creative

. Our first 2 seahorses are going to be named Seabiscuit and Smarty Jones.

bengalbabe- you make an excellent point: If you don't keep up with it, the tank'll fall apart. I hope you get back into the hobby and that your next tank thrives!

 

[AbbysMom]

Wow Amy! You have come a real long way since I last looked at this thread. Everything looks fantastic!

 

[ugaimes]

Thanks Karen

We're having a blast. I've discovered that Strawberry Shortcake (yeah, he's going to have a gender identity crisis!), our scooter blenny, buries himself in the sand at night. I'll put the aquarium light on in the morning and then he appears, all covered in sand

. I love that little guy so much!

 

[kai bengals]

Here's a picture of one of our reefs when we had them....about 7 years ago.
This is the 90 gallon tank. We had 3 tanks..the biggest being 150 gal. Waaaaaaayyyyyy too much work on a daily basis....but they sure were gorgeous and fun.
I am trying soooo hard to resist getting into this again, but seeing your thread makes it hard.

I might have to quit TCS to stay "reef-sober".

You certainly have picked an excellent hobby to get into...it's so much fun. I hope you'll continue to post pictures of your progress! Make sure you save and document your progress with pictures...you will be so surprised how subtle changes recorded in photographs slip your memory later.
It's great to go back and see the progression and remarkable changes your reef goes through.

 

[ugaimes]

Your tank was GORGEOUS! What was your favorite invertebrate?

 

[kai bengals]

Hmmm, well I'm partial to the elegence coral and I also really enjoyed the interaction of our yellow striped maroon clown with his carpet anenome. He bit me everytime I put my hand in to clean the glass.....drew blood too. My wife of course thought that whole scene was hilarious! It became a challenge to me to avoid his sharp teeth....he usually won..he was incredibly fast!
The maxima clams are great too....you know how hard it is to choose....

They all add to the "flavor" of the tank.

 

[ugaimes]

Yeah those maxima clams are something! I'm surprised that I've actually enjoyed the inverts. even more than the fish! I'm really hoping to add some candy cane coral one day

.

You're right- this is an incredible and fun hobby!

 

[sharky]

wow such beauty ... I need you guys to help me when I get to salt h2o ... three soon to be four small fresh h20 tanks..OHH and Yes Bengals and tanks dont mix... unless you let the kitty "help"

 

[dazeemazeegraze]

Originally Posted by ugaimes

It's been such a fun process and I love getting to share it with y'all!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[ugaimes]

I have to throw this in here for all of you fish people.
Our little scooter blenny, Strawberry Shortcake, is the coolest guy! At night, he buries himself under the sand to rest. This morning, I went in and turned on the aquarium light and all I could see were his little bug eyes looking at me from under the sand!

I swear fish are incredible and so much fun!

 

[bengalbabe]

Originally Posted by ugaimes

Yeah those maxima clams are something! I'm surprised that I've actually enjoyed the inverts. even more than the fish! I'm really hoping to add some candy cane coral one day

.

You're right- this is an incredible and fun hobby!

You have to have very bright light (MH) for those maxima clams.
BTW I set to work yesterday claening my tank. It still is not back to where it was but im working on it.

 

[ugaimes]

What kind of tank do you have? Saltwater or freshwater? Size?

I love seeing what others are doing with their tanks!

 

[fwan]

i bought a 60 litre aquarium off ebay yesterday

 

[ugaimes]

Originally Posted by fwan

i bought a 60 litre aquarium off ebay yesterday

Fwan that is so cool!

What kind of fish do you want to put in it?

Do you know how big 60 litres is in gallons?

 

[ashleynicole]

I just sat here and read this whole thread! So cool!! How much longer til you think you'll be able to get the horsies? Can't wait to see some pictures. My BF's roommate has a pretty big tank at their house (not sure the gallon number) but its freshwater. Its still so much fun to look at! Once me and BF get married and get our house, I would love to start a saltwater tank, all the pictures have been absolutely beautiful!

 

[bengalbabe]

Originally Posted by ugaimes

What kind of tank do you have? Saltwater or freshwater? Size?

I love seeing what others are doing with their tanks!

55 gallon saltwater reef. I put pictures of it up in this thread already but i'll put a few more on I guess.