new year, new seahorse build!!!!!!(many pictuers)

ok that other guy got me thinking ill ask him

 

The ammonia has to be 100% pure.... no scents, no additives. It can be a little hard to find, actually, so if you happened across some in your house, chances are it's not 100% pure.

 

no we had to go out it is 100%

 

First of all, you do not NEED any live rock or live sand to seed the new system, especially as it could possibly affect your success in keeping seahorses with the introduction of pathogens they may not be able to handle. It doesn't mean it will happen, but the risk is high enough that many don't take the chance.
When you add the ammonia source be it chemical or decaying food, the spores from the air combined with the ammonia as food will produce the beneficial bacteria that will cycle the tank. Some add store bought bacteria to hasten the process but I prefer not to take the chance of introducing anything extra.
(As for your household ammonia question, if there is nothing stated on the label as being in addition to the base ammonia then you should be just fine)
As for flow rate, I've never been concerned about just how much flow I have and just direct what I have to try to keep waste material from building up (as mentioned a couple of posts before this) in between rocks and hitches or around the base of such. I even use a baster to blow out anything that doesn't get moved out by my installed flow so I can siphon it out.
I'm more interested in being sure to have at least areas of low and medium flow with hitching available in these areas so they can choose where they want to be at any given time. I use motion on the hitching material to determine if I consider it to be low or medium at any point. If these conditions are met, then I have no problem with also having higher flow areas like the 10 to 15 times already mentioned.

I forgot to mention that using dry rock or sterilized rock also makes the purchase of rock a lot cheaper than buying true live rock.

 

Excellent. 100% pure and you won't have a problem.

 

ok well i bought 23 pounds of base rock from reefcleners. how much longer will the cycal be if i use no base rock or anything

 

+1 fantastic advise, I didn't know you could use peroxide to sterilize rock, I'll be adding that to my notes for when I start my seahorse build

 

wow, hope this work out for ya, looking good so far..i heard its a little difficult to keep seashorses..not too sure as i dont know much about them, good luck and keep posting more pictures as time goes by

 

i know im soo happy. i bought a 150 ghp powerhead. i also have a filter putting out about 200 ghp. just waiting for the rock to be shipped. it might get out tomaor but i think it will be shipped wenday. from florda to chicago is a 2 day trip i think????? so the rock should be here by friday. and how long would the cycal that ray ray recomend tae????

 

No one can tell you how long the tank will take to cycle, no matter what method you use. Every tank is different. That is why you have to test for the ammonia and then test to find when the nitrite spikes and falls to zero, at which point you should have nitrates showing.
Once you figure it has completed the cycle you add enough ammonia to bring the level to about 1ppm and test to see if it clears in about 12 hours. If so, you should be ready.
I don't understand the remark about cycling without the base rock.
You need something like the rock for the beneficial bacteria to grow on and most people use rock for that purpose, whether they sterilize, use after dried, or use as live rock.
You mention a filter, but I don't know how adequate it is and don't use anything like that myself. I hate cleaning out filters so I don't use them. If you don't clean them at least once a week you stand a good chance of allowing an outbreak of bacteria to grow.