Welcome ponieexpress

[ponieexpress]

ok frag thanks for the advice!! will it say on the machine that it is r/o and what is ozonated water?

[FragOutpost]

It should say on the machine if it is RO water or not. Try checking a few of the grocery stores in your area. Ozonated water is water that has been processed with ozone. This does not mean that it has been filtered to remove particles. Ozone is a process in which another oxygen molecule has been added and is used to "sanitize" the water. Ozone will kill things like bacteria, viruses, algae, etc that may be in the water.

[ponieexpress]

i may be asking a dumb question but here it goes... can i make my established small aquarium into a salt tank just by adding instant ocean?

[FragOutpost]

Theoretically I guess that you could but...I would highly recommend against it. I would break down the entire tank and wash everything in a solution of vinegar diluted with water. The acidic vinegar will kill most organisms and help to break up and hardwater and mineral deposits. Be sure not to use any soap of any kind. Have you ever dosed any copper based medications in the tank before? What kind of substrate do you currently have in your tank? With seahorses you will likely want some sort of a sand bed. Deep sand beds will help in providing anaerobic bacteria a place to colonize and process nitrates. What else do you plan to keep in the tank besides seahorses? Have you researched the different types of filtration methods? Do you plan to run a sump? How big is the tank? A skimmer is also an important piece of equipment that should be on your list of things to get. HTH!

[ponieexpress]

Originally Posted by FragOutpost

Theoretically I guess that you could but...I would highly recommend against it. I would break down the entire tank and wash everything in a solution of vinegar diluted with water. The acidic vinegar will kill most organisms and help to break up and hardwater and mineral deposits. Be sure not to use any soap of any kind. Have you ever dosed any copper based medications in the tank before? What kind of substrate do you currently have in your tank? With seahorses you will likely want some sort of a sand bed. Deep sand beds will help in providing anaerobic bacteria a place to colonize and process nitrates. What else do you plan to keep in the tank besides seahorses? Have you researched the different types of filtration methods? Do you plan to run a sump? How big is the tank? A skimmer is also an important piece of equipment that should be on your list of things to get. HTH!

they only recommend a very small tank such as a 2-5 gallon so its not gonna be this dramatic process...like a reef tank is.
as far as substrate im gonna use black sand, plant life, sea lettuce and some plastic between the two they will have enough hitching post.dont need a sump cause the tank is very small.as far as filtration,nothing with a bio wheel or a hard wave. they need a sponge filter.cause they are so small dont want to get sucked up in the filter!i wanna get 1 small crab and 1 small snail.. food... will be the decapulated brine shrimp.couple times a day.lighting is flouresent.and i will buy a new tank for my little ponies they will get the 2 gallon. so i have been reading on seahorse.org .im not rushing into anything yet...i want to get the tank running first about 4 weeks to establish,not in a hurry..thanks for all the qs!! i do have 1 thing to tell you... it said on seahorse.org that they use distilled water.or r/o- di.what do you think?

[FragOutpost]

The black sand is VERY nice. I really like the look of it. I think it makes the colors pop a little more. As for the distilled water...it will most likely not be a problem. I just meant that if you can get RO/DI then that is the best choice.
Please post pics of your progress. Progression pics are always great!

[FragOutpost]

Also, I have never kept seahorses before but I have read about issues with air bubbles and people having to "burp" the seahorses. I don't know the specifics though, you probably know more about this than I do.