my future nps tank

[jenreef]

hi i am new to this forum. in the future i want to have a nps tank and i want it to be around 30 gallons high tank. with powerbrite led 10k and blue. and i am planning to put seahorses in it. i plan on putting tonga live rock. and get a hang on the back refugium with caulerpa. well i have been looking online and i think i know a bit about nps tanks. i know you need a really good skimmer, good filter, heavy feeding and frequent water changes. what else should i know? does anybody here have any seahorses in there nps tank?

[murraycamp]

Originally Posted by jenreef

hi i am new to this forum. in the future i want to have a nps tank and i want it to be around 30 gallons high tank. with powerbrite led 10k and blue. and i am planning to put seahorses in it. i plan on putting tonga live rock. and get a hang on the back refugium with caulerpa. well i have been looking online and i think i know a bit about nps tanks. i know you need a really good skimmer, good filter, heavy feeding and frequent water changes. what else should i know? does anybody here have any seahorses in there nps tank?

I would think that, generally, seahorses would be fine as long as they were compatible with any other fishes.

One thing to keep in mind is that you may have issues with gorgonians, as seahorses like to hold on to them, which can cause tissue damage on the gorg.

What type of feeding system are you considering?

[Timeless1483]

Hello Jenreef,

You do not require a skimmer for a NPS tank. I have been running my 10 gal for about 1 year and about 5 months 90% NPS corals 10% zoa and a few others, I do 10-15% water changes weekly. I will also be starting a 30 Gal Breeder to upgrade from my 10 gallon.My best suggestion is to keep doing research and learn as much about the coral husbandry as you can. There are a few users on this forum that have NPS tanks. One very good tool to have is a Orange spotted goby, or something similiar as they will kep your substrate clean.

Timeless1

[uhuru]

What type of NPS corals/inverts are you planning to keep? What type of seahorses? Can they handle high flow?

[jenreef]

Originally Posted by murraycamp

I would think that, generally, seahorses would be fine as long as they were compatible with any other fishes.

One thing to keep in mind is that you may have issues with gorgonians, as seahorses like to hold on to them, which can cause tissue damage on the gorg.

What type of feeding system are you considering?

i am planning to keep gorgonians. but now i am double thinking it since you sais the seahorse can cause it tissue damage. i also heard that seahorses can cause the gorgonian to not open. since the seahorse is on it. is this true? with feeding i was jsut going to target feed twice a day a mixture if filter feeder food

[jenreef]

Originally Posted by uhuru

What type of NPS corals/inverts are you planning to keep? What type of seahorses? Can they handle high flow?

for corals i am planning to keep gorgonians. but double thinking it now since i have been hearing the seahorse can damge the gorgonian and can cause it to not open. suncoral and tube worm. i am planning to keep reidi seahorses. i think they can handle medium flow

[murraycamp]

Originally Posted by uhuru

Can they handle high flow?

That's a great point as well. There may be a flow compatibility issue.

[flying_dutchman]

You may want to look into a ATS (algae turf scrubber), No experience here, but I'll definitely try one once I get my NPS tank setup.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/

[ChadTheSpike]

For a change, I feel that I can contribute rather than just learn from the NPS forum

Originally Posted by uhuru

What type of NPS corals/inverts are you planning to keep? What type of seahorses? Can they handle high flow?

SHs are not the 'flow wimps' that they are generally given credit for... The do not have endurance for strong swimming, but can handle short bursts of it, and often play in areas of high flow. I have ~20x turnover in my SH tank not counting the tunze wavebox that is in there. The key is to have areas of varied flow, i.e., lower flow areas and higher area flow areas. I think it can be done, but you will have to be 'clever' about it... I will be happy to talk more about it if you wish.

Originally Posted by murraycamp

I would think that, generally, seahorses would be fine as long as they were compatible with any other fishes.

One thing to keep in mind is that you may have issues with gorgonians, as seahorses like to hold on to them, which can cause tissue damage on the gorg.

What type of feeding system are you considering?

The SHs will hitch to gorgonians... it just seems to be their favoring thing. My experience with NPS gorgonians is that they are more sensitive to the hitching than photo gorgs (which often become so 'used' to it that only the polyps directly under the SH pull in, and when the SH moves they are immediately extended). NPS gorgs often withdraw all of their polyps when the SH hitches and does not extend them until after the SH moves... My experience here is limited to ~3 or 4 different gorgs, but I moved them to a different system so that I could work on feeding them better.