Finnally Get to Start my Crazy, Insane Dream Tank

[Scottyhorse]

So I am getting a 55 gallon tank and stand for $50 off CL on Moday. Super excited. So, you are probably wondering why I am calling this crazy. I'll tell you why. I'm keeping dwarf seahorses, an angler, and reef community fish in one tank! You're probably thinking: "What the heck?? How?? You're crazy!" Well, I'm not. I'll be dividing the tank into three parts. A 5 gallon for the dwarf seahorses, 30 gallon for the angler, and 20 gallon for the reef-ish portion. I'll be running the 5G on a separate system since they have different temp needs. The other two sections will be sharing a sump powered by an algae turf scrubber in a 10 or 20 gal sump.
The sump will be fed from a single overflow box shared by the 30 and 20 gallon sections. The two sections (20 and 30 gallon) will be separated by a clear plastic mesh screen so water can flow through and that way they can share an overflow box. The seahorse tank will be separated by a glass or plexiglass divider.
For lighting, I am thinking a par38 bulb over the reef part, and some cheap LED over the other parts.. I will have to find something that will be able to grow macro algae for the seahorses to hang onto.

Stocking:
Seahorse Tank
3 Pairs of Adults, Leaves a little room for the babies they are bound to have.
Snails for CUC

Angler Tank
1 Red/Orange Angler or Sargassum Fish.
Snails/Hermits for CUC

Community Reef
Not quite sure yet. I'd like to have a goby or blenny, a clownfish, a couple yellow/orange chromoise, and a couple Kaudern's Cardinal fish.
Snails, Hermits, and Shrimp for CUC

I'll draw up a few diagrams for you guys. If you have any questions, feel free to ask I'm expecting a lot

Any comments about design and stocking are welcome

 

[Oscar98]

Thats seems pretty sweet! How big do dwarf seahorses get? 5 gal sounds kinda small but idk amything bout saltwater lmao. I have a 55 gal oscar tank

 

[Scottyhorse]

About 1-2 inches. People keep them in 1 gal tanks, and 5 gal seems most common.

 

[Oscar98]

O ok cool. Ya i would do saltwater but its expensive and i just really like new world cichlids haha. Good luck with your tank

 

[Scottyhorse]

Thanks It's going to be a slow, over the summer build

 

[Zactheninja]

Thats an awesome idea, i always find myself wanting to set up another tank because i find a fish that wont go with my current set up.

 

[Beengirl]

Clever idea! Hope it works out for you. Keep us posted on the progress!

 

[Scottyhorse]

Thats an awesome idea, i always find myself wanting to set up another tank because i find a fish that wont go with my current set up.

Thanks I really didn't have all the space or money to make separate tanks, so I thought, why not combine all the tanks into one? I like all these tanks, but I obviously couldn't put them together, so I came up with this idea!

 

[Samphotog]

This sounds awesome!

 

[Scottyhorse]

Clever idea! Hope it works out for you. Keep us posted on the progress!

Thanks! I thought it was pretty clever also, but when I tell my family about it, they just get confused,

I am picking the tank up on Monday!

 

[Scottyhorse]

This sounds awesome!

Thanks I'm super excited.

 

[Darylb]

Sounds like a great idea. If I ever done something like this I'd make one tank a quarantine tank and the rest of it a reef tank or something like that. At least then you could see all your fish in one area and not have to have another tank somewhere else.

 

[Scottyhorse]

I'm glad everyone likes the idea and doesn't think I am crazy!!

 

[Scottyhorse]

Thinking about getting this AquaticLife 48" T5 HO 2 Lamp Fixture Marine AquaticLife 48 AquaticLife Lights AquaticLife T5 HO Light AquaticLife Light AquaticLife Lighting Dual Lamp T5 HO Aquatic Life light for the tank. I think it would be a butt load easier (and cheaper) than my original idea.. I think it would look better also. I'm planning on just mushrooms and zoas, so I don't think I need any crazy lighting.. I'm going to have to order all my corals (and probably fish) online, so I am going to try and keep this low-key and cost efficient. It's also why I am calling the 20 gallon part the 'reef-ish) part

 

[Scottyhorse]

Or, would something like this work? 48" 216W 4X54W T5 HO Aquarium Light Marine Reef Fluorescent Actinic Salt Water | eBay

 

[Darylb]

You have actually got me thinking now how cool would it be to have one tank that is half fresh water and half salt the styles of fish and type of environment they live in would look amazing

 

[Scottyhorse]

I also thought of doing something like that! But, I've already got 3 FW tanks, and I will be adding more, so I decided to go SW!

 

[Darylb]

This thread has really got me thinking now about doing it I can have anymore tanks at mine right now because I live with my mother in law haha I can get a 6ft tank for free so I might get it and put it in the shed and start work on it

 

[Sillyfishies]

This thread has really got me thinking now about doing it I can have anymore tanks at mine right now because I live with my mother in law haha I can get a 6ft tank for free so I might get it and put it in the shed and start work on it

Or send it to me!

 

[Phranque]

Sounds like a really neat idea, but I do have one question for you..... With the smaller seahorse section, you say you want to maintain a different temperature, but how are you going to handle heat transfer through the glass in order to keep them cooler (assuming you want cooler)? Unless you run a chiller, or double pane the divider for an air-gap insulation, the smaller section will equalize temperature with the larger volume around it.