Planted Saltwater ... evolution of an idea

[Sasquatch]

I'm planning to go saltwater this fall and I've been discussing things with my GF, trying to come up with something that will please us both.

As I mentionned in a previous post, I'd like to have a mandarin (or a small harem eventually ... ) since I really like the fish, how it looks and behaves. I've done some research, asked some questions and looked around. Thought I'd had things pretty much squared away.

Then we got sea horses at the fish store. Healthy stock, local breeder, they're eating well on frozen brine shrimp. My GF went bonkers, she's always loved these fish.

So now we're planning a planted saltwater aquarium. To be honest, I've never been all that enthusiastic about getting corals. The look of a tank with macro-algae though, I do find pleasing. The dark green of chaeto, the narrow fronds of taxifolia ... I really like the look.

Which brings up a few questions :
1) Will a mandarin be happy/healthy in a planted saltwater? What research I've seen doesn't seem to indicate that it's not bad for him, but it's mostly reef enthusiasts that have been doing the writing.

2) Do I need as much mixing in a planted tank? I know I'll still need powerheads to stir the water, but do I need as much? Will it hamper the plants, or the sea horse? What's a recommended mixing for a saltwater planted tank? One volume per hour? Half that?

3) What are some good mid-water fish that would fit in this community? Sea horses are not exactly the most active fish and mandarins are shy. I'd like something in the mid to upper levels of the tank to add some movement. I'll surely have shrimp and a few crabs, but what fish would fit in a 40-65g saltwater tank?

Thanks for any help.

[Lindsey]

I'm not a saltwater person, but I was under the impression that there aren't many commonly available saltwater plants.. I've never seen a planted saltwater tank, and I've never seen live marine plants at a fish store, even the massive online ones. Did you already find a place where you can get them? I'm curious.

Also, I know in freshwater, too much current can be detrimental to the plants, so if it's similar in saltwater you may have issues balancing water flow for the fish vs. water stillness for the plants.

[Amazon]

I have a planted saltwater tank.
Saltwater macro and plants are readily available at basicly any marine stores. The internet is your best bet though.
Here are the specs on it
20 gallon
4 bulb 96 watt T5 lighting
HOB protein skimmer/mini sump

The only circulation I have is tghe outflow of the skimmer. I do recommend a small pump for circulation.
Seahorses do not like a lot of flow but it is good for the plants so that micro algae doesnt grow on hteir tissues. Mandarins will be extremely happy in that setup. I very highly recommend getting a brine shrimp hatchery so you can feed live brine. You will need a deep sandbed if you plan on keeping any rooted plants. Good lighting is required for more decorative plants like all the seagrass species. Good midwater fish that are compatible with seahorses are cardinalfish and possibly clownfish. Scooter blennys and other small blennies and gobies also make good bottom dwelling fish. Pipefish are good with em to. Sometimes the pipefish and seahorses will form a chain together.

[kaimarkhirst]

Firstly the tank relative to the livestock youre looking at. The tank needs to be at least 18" high and a good sandbed, at least 3" for live worm growth for the mandarins.

This would also give you a good solid base for your root structure for mangrove, cabbage plants or other rooted macro fauna...

Also the use of chaeto-algae with a good supply of live mysis amd copepods, will promote the spawning of these foods, giving you limportant live food for both seahorses and mandarins. Itll also give a stable base for the tails of saeahorses to grab on and camoflage in... Relative to the rock you put it, this will give you a nice habitat.... You mentioned crabs. Out of the question as they can harrass seahorses and stress them out, leading to death but a good addition would be sexy shrimps or anemone shrimps.. Lovely things!!!

Flow, well anything more than a koralia 1 wil be too much and place in the opposite corner of your outlet on your filter. Make sure that both inlets and oulets are secure... If youre not having a sump, wheres the heater going to go as it cant go in the tank.... Maybe an inline heater???

Tankmates. Pipefish or chalk bass are really the only things that would guarantee you a stress free tank here mate....

Lighting, led bars or similar descreet plant friendly lighting is good, tmc do a good pne on there are people on ebay that do custom jobs, but make sure its marine compatible...

Wouldnt bother with a protein skimmer, the plants will remove most of the nutrients that a skimmer would, personal pref on this one though..

hope this helps..

Kai

[Sasquatch]

Thanks for the replies. Good to know that our future fish will be happy in a planted saltwater. Kind off a bummer about no-crabs, but it's not the end of the world.

We're planning something between 40 - 65 gallons. Wouldn't even a Koralia 1 be over-doing it for flow? It pushes 400gph which is 6-10 tank volumes per hour. Would a Koralia nano be enough?

As for the plants, we have Caulerpa taxifolia, another filamentous caulerpa, and chaeto at the fish store I work at, with the possibility of mangroves.

It will have a sump, so no problem for the heater, it'll probably have a wet/dry too. As for the skimmer ... we'll see, but I'd need to be convinced not to have one.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

The issue you run into with Caulerpa species is that they tend to go sexual in a setup such as the one you are planning. It's not really a good thing to have that happen as it can foul your water pretty quickly.

As for the Koralia 1, yes it does move 400gph, but it is a high volume/low pressure powerhead. The 400gph form a Koralia 1 and the 400gph from something like an AC powerhead is completely different, there is nowhere near as much force from the Koralia 1.

[DragonGoby]

Thank again for all the informations.

Could you explain a little bit for the Caulerpa? When you say it will foul the water, does that mean: ammonia or else?
Is there anything we can do to prevent that? And why specifically in our kind of setup?

Sorry about all the questions, but we want to be sure to do what is good for the fish and the tank overall. And we want to understand what will happen in it!

thanks again!

[rageybug]

I would try two Koralia Nano jets on opposite sides of the tank.

An often overlooked "gentle" tankmate and an awesome addition to any SW tank is a Blue Ribbon Eel. Feed it frozen silver sides and it will leave everything else in the tank alone.