Adding a small aquarium to a big one

[TremblantAquarium]

Hi everyone! I have a system of 112 gallons, 88 Gallon in main display tank and a 24 gallon sump. It is a reef aquarium with very active fish. I am always dreaming of adding a second 20 gallon tank for seahorses (aquarium bred, that eat frozen mysis). Is there any way to use my current setup to supply a second smaller tank with clean water?

 

[o2manyfish]

Sure - Just valve off a supply return to the seahorse tank and have it overflow back to the sump. With Seahorses you don't need a high turn over rate. Just make sure the seahorse tank is higher than the sump.

I have 4 tanks running into (and out of) one sump and I use one pump to supply all 4 tanks.

Dave B

 

[TremblantAquarium]

Sure - Just valve off a supply return to the seahorse tank and have it overflow back to the sump. With Seahorses you don't need a high turn over rate. Just make sure the seahorse tank is higher than the sump.

I have 4 tanks running into (and out of) one sump and I use one pump to supply all 4 tanks.

Dave B

Thanks Dave! Can you share a few pictures?

 

[TremblantAquarium]

Biggest issue I am facing is to find a 20G with overflow that can be emptied by gravity. Should I be looking for a normal tank and add an external overflow to it?

 

[dwest]

I don’t have seahorses but thought about having them before. I believe they might be better in cooler water so consider that.

 

[SlugSnorter]

I don’t have seahorses but thought about having them before. I believe they might be better in cooler water so consider that.

also remember they have very specific flow, environment, and feeding requirements

 

[o2manyfish]

Thanks Dave! Can you share a few pictures?

My 4 tanks are spread from the house, to the back yard, to the outdoor filter wall. A majority of my plumbing is in the ground.

If you take the time to go thru my build thread there are photos of all the different tanks in different stages over the past 20 years.

The first choice would be for the 20g seahorse tank to have an overflow. But it doesn't have to be as complicated as an overflow box. It can be just a hole drilled in the back or bottom of the tank with a bulkhead and a pipe. Some sort of strainer over the end of the pipe and you are good to go.

Seahorses tank are usually much slower flow rates. Although I have kept seahorses in high flow SPS tanks and they loved riding the currents around the tank, as long as they had areas with low flow to grab a hold of an acro branch and chill.

With the slower flow rates you will have less water going over the overflow and less chance of a seahorse getting sucked against the overflow.

I will say that a healthy seahorse doesn't have this issue. And in my previous 400g SPS tank where I kept seahorses on occasion, with a flow rate thru the overflow of 3k gph and 20k gph when the surge tank cycled. The seahorses had no issues with staying away from (or getting away from) the over flow or other hi-flow pumps in the tank.

Dave B

 

[90's reefer]

Your remote tank should have a corner oveflow for simplicity.
My 24x20x18 remote system drains into a comunity sock in the 40 breeders sump.
I teed off the return to the 80g and used a ball valve to control the flow.
It was hooked into the 120 I took down and replaced with the 80g growout system.
Just keep it simple.