90G set up for mandarin,seahorse,coral system etc?

Dear Clintos:

Okay, sir — that sounds like a plan! The standard 10-gallon aquariums are inexpensive and readily available, and filling them only half full works very well for the batch cultures I described in my previous post.

And if there is one thing I am absolutely certain of after viewing the photographs you provided and reading your posts, it is that you are extremely accomplished at do-it-yourself projects. I’m sure you’ll have no difficulty whatsoever preparing racks for a whole battery of 10-gallon culture tanks, sir.

Best of luck with your ambitious project and fascinating experiments, Clintos!

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna

Dear Clintos:

Excellent! I am liking your list of proposed corals and the colorful hitching posts you plan to obtain — if you can acquire all of the items on your wish list, your future seahorses should be very happy!

I am glad to see that you included the Sea Rods from Living Color on your list of hitching posts, since seahorses are irresistibly attracted to them in particular. They are available in a number of colors (red, orange, gold, and purple) and are most attractive when you group 2 or three of them together to make a colorful arrangement (see photo below).
Sea Rod (Pseudoplexaura sp.), item number 485 BTOR (4.5"L x 1"W x 21"H)
[img size=150][/img][IMG]http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv247/Hippocampus_hitching_posts/RandyMorgansnewSunbursts-2-1.jpg[/IMG]
"Seahorse Magnets: the artificial sea rods and gorgonians from Living Color shown in the photo above are popular perches that our pampered ponies find irresistible." Photo by Dr. Randy Morgan.

If you’re going to be ordering one or more of the Sea Rods (#485) from Living Color, Clintos, I would also order one of their splendid Harped Gorgonians (#483), preferably red, and also at least one of their candelabra-like Sea Whip style sea rods (#108), either in orange or red:

Harp Gorgonian (Ctenocella pectinata), Item number 483 RD (21"L x 2"W x 14"H)

Sea Whip (Pseudoplexaura sp.), item number 108 RD or PL (9.5"L x 1.5"W x 15"H)

For a large 90-gallon tank like yours, I would also consider including a Branching Green Galaxia (#21402) from Nature’s Image, which is a glorious addition for aquariums that are large enough to handle it:

Item # 21402 Green Branching Galaxia from Nature’s Image (11"L x 7"W x 14.5")

The Branching Tubastrea Sun Polyps are also spectacular in a large aquarium:

Item# 20601 Branching Tubastrea Sun Polyps from Nature’s Image (8"L x 8"W x 6.5"H).

Since you are located in Canada, let me know if you have any difficulty obtaining the artificial corals you are interested in, Clintos. If so, I can probably acquire them for you one way or another and arrange to have them shipped directly to you.

As for the baby blue sponge, sir, that should not present a problem as long as it is healthy. When it comes to living sponges, hobbyists need to be aware that live sponges do contain toxins and incorporate glassy spicules into their fibrous bodies in order to deter fish predators. (Many marine angelfish love to graze on sponges, and in some species sponges comprise the bulk of their diet.) But, as a rule, this never causes any problems in a seahorse tank because it’s entirely a passive defense mechanism — the sponges have to be attacked and torn open in order to release the toxins and that just never happens under normal aquarium conditions.

I can see how it might become a problem, however, if a sponge died undetected in the aquarium and began to break down or decompose, releasing its toxins in the process. As with many sessile life forms, it can sometimes be difficult to tell if a sponge is healthy and thriving or if it’s doing poorly and should be removed as a precaution. Live sponges do best in well-established reef tanks and often have difficulty getting enough to eat in a conventional community aquarium or seahorse tank, but usually the sponge colony will simply shrink in size as a result. If they become fungused or smothered under algae growth, it’s best to remove them as soon as possible. (Don’t try to scrape off the algae growth from a sponge or scrub it clean or cut away the affected portions of the sponge — all of those procedures could release the toxins into your aquarium with deadly results.) So when you keep live sponges, place them in areas with low light levels where they will receive moderate water flow to discourage algae grow.

In your case, Clintos, given your experience with reef systems and the type of aquarium system you are planning now, I would be surprised if the live sponge failed to thrive under your care.

Best of luck with the final preparations for this fascinating project, sir!

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna

Post edited by: Pete Giwojna, at: 2009/06/12 01:33

Dear Clintos:

I’m glad you like the picture of the seahorses clustering on the artificial sea rods and gorgonians — it’s always fun to see a group of healthy, multi-colored seahorses hanging out together. The ponies at the photograph are all Mustangs and Sunbursts (Hippocampus erectus) in Dr. Randy Morgan’s new seahorse tank (he is also the photographer). The ponies are perching on the two types of artificial sea rods offered by Living Color. (If you read through the post at the top of this forum titled "Best artificial corals and hitching posts for seahorses," you can see photos of most of the artificial corals and gorgonians I suggested that you consider for your 90-gallon display tank, sir.)

No, as long as you have plenty of suitable hitching posts in your display tank, it isn’t necessary to include macroalgae for the seahorses. Your aquarium system will include algae turf scrubbers so there is really no need for you to add macroalgae in order to help control the nitrates.

For colorful red macroalgae, you may want to consider Botryocladia, which is commonly known as red grapes or red grape Caulerpa (although it is not a species of Caulerpa). It’s very attractive, grows reasonably tall, and won’t take over your aquarium.

Halymenia or dragon’s tongue is another attractive red algae species that is worth your consideration. Red Dictyota is yet another reddish macroalgae that grows tall rather than bushy, which you may want to try. There are a number of good sources where you can obtain colorful macroalgae for the aquarium, Clintos.

For example, Inland Aquatics has perhaps the best selection and variety of macroalgae available, including a number of red types:

http://www.inlandaquatics.com/prod/tr_algae.html

Aquacon is another good source for cultured macroalgae:

Click here: Marine Plants for Saltwater aquariums
http://www.aquacon.com/vip.html

Be sure to check out liveplants.com as well — they offer a Red Macroalgae Sampler that includes a few different red species, and they also offer Botryocladia and Halymenia on occasion:

http://live-plants.com/index.htm

In short, Clintos, you need not have any macroalgae in your display tank, but there are a number of attractive species to choose from if you want to go that route. Otherwise, you can get all the benefits the macroalgae provides in terms of nutrient export, nitrate control, and outcompeting nuisance algae by maintaining a lush bed of macroalgae in your 25-gallon sump, rather than in the display tank.

In addition to providing nutrient export and the other advantages mentioned above, the macroalgae in your biological refugium/sump can be maintained on an opposite light cycle to the main tank to offset the daily fluctuations in pH, photosynthesis, dissolved oxygen/carbon dioxide, and redox levels that otherwise occur in the aquarium. Daily variances in chemical, physical and biological phenomena are a fact of life in aquaria, linked to the light and dark cycles and the diurnal rhythms of captive aquatic systems. As one example, the pH of aquarium water typically peaks after the lights have been on all day at a maximum of perhaps 8.4, only to drop to low of below 8.0 overnight. This is related to photosynthesis and the fact that zooanthellae and green plants consume CO2 and produce O2 when there is adequate light, but in essence reverse that process in the dark, consuming O2 and giving off CO2. Redox levels, available calcium and other water quality parameters are affected in similar ways. Needless to say, these variations are far greater is a small, closed-system aquarium than they are in the ocean, so it’s beneficial to minimize such fluctuations by reversing the photoperiod in the main display and the sump/refugium. This is easily accomplished by timing the lighting in the sump so that the bed of macroalgae is illuminated after dark when the lights on the display tank are off, and vice versa. Just use alternating timers on the main tank and the sump/refugium tank so that when one is on, the other is off. (Other macroalgae require a period of darkness in order to thrive, but if you will be using Caulerpa, it can even be illuminated 24 hours a day around the clock in order to accomplish the same thing.) Voila! Just like that the roller coaster ride is over: no more daily fluctuations in pH or highs and lows in calcium levels, oxygen minima, or peaks and valleys in redox potential.

Continuously operating an efficient fluorescent tube or two shouldn’t cost much and will help prevent even the fastest growing Caulerpa from going sexual. Aside from assorted Caulerpa, Chaetomorpha and various species of Gracilaria or Ogo and Chaetomorpha spaghetti algae are other macros that would grow well in such a sump, although they would need a period of darkness to thrive and should therefore be maintained on a reverse photoperiod to the main tank.

Best of luck with the final preparations for your innovative aquarium system, Clintos!

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna

Dear Clintos:

Yes, sir — if you can operate the algae turf scrubber on a reverse photoperiod, that should be more than adequate to minimize the daily swings in pH, CO2, and O2 levels, and help stabilize the water quality parameters in your display tank. In that case, there should be no need to manipulate the photoperiod in your sump or to keep it illuminated at all.

Yup, I do I indeed think that the Botryocladia "red grape" macroalgae and the Dragon’s Tongue red macroalgae (Halymenia) would look nice in your display tank and they are certainly worth trying in your main tank. They don’t grow fast and aggressively, and there should therefore be little or no danger that they will take over the tank or overgrow the corals and frags.

Best of luck with the remaining preparations for your fascinating project, Clintos!

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna