seahorses gorgonia and sponges OH MY!

[haysanatar]

I'm getting a pair of barbouri seahorse in a month or so and I'm wracking the ol brain on how to scape the 29g tank its going in.
I currently have a 75 corner tank(lps sps and softs) with a 20g fuge which is connected to the 29 gallon tank.

I'm going to run two pc bulbs possibly 3 over the 29g seahorse tank.
as of now I have 3 types of calerpa and some live rocks..
I'm more than likely going to throw a kenya tree or two that have been dropping of my main colony into the tank as well as some turtle grass..
but I've been debating putting in a tree sponge.. I've heard they're rather hard to keep alive from many sources online but I know my local store has had several that they swear are easy to keep and have had them for years no issue.
but I've also debated getting some gorgonia.. not sure if I could really get the photosynthetic gorgonia with the lighting though.. thoughts on that...?
I've had 1 bad experience with a golden sea rod gorgonia... (I'm fairly certain I was shipped something else though)
I'll probably throw in a toadstool coral as well...
thoughts?
all my coral experience seems to be in stinging or high flow high light coral sadly..
ofcourse I will throw some zoos and mushrooms in there..
but I guess my main question has to do with the gorgonia and sponges..
thoughts ideas?
I'm willing to feed I'd rather have a photosynthetic gorgonia... but my pc lights worry me not sure if that'd support photosynthetic gorgonia I've always been under the impression they needed high light and to me that is metal halide.. so..
yeah thoughts feelings comments ideas?

 

[Kevin8888]

You dont want any corals that have a sting, with seahorses, as they need to "latch" on to things so they dont have to swim to much. Also I wouldn't recomend high flow requirment corals again, to benifit the horses. Infact I wouldn't recomend the 10x flow in a seahorse tank, I personaly would set up a manafold with "spray bars" that shoot water at corners and rock work, to keep the gunk adjitated rather then traditional powerheads. Sponges are easy to keep if you dose your tank regularily with phytoplancton and pods, prefferably live.

 

[haysanatar]

oh I know no stinging corals and no high flow acros or pretty much any sps..
I like the spray bar idea...
I've heard so many horror stories about sponges..
what about gorgonias though?
will pc lights be enough for some of the photosynthetic ones?

 

[Kevin8888]

It is true, sponges can be a big problem, how am I supposed to know if it was fragged correctly and not exposed to air? But I love them haha, the grow at a good pace and have bright colours.

Btw the spray bars would have to be subsurface so they can be directed at rockwork/corners I believe.

Generealy speaking more Gorgonias require high flow, (both photosyntetic and filter feeders) so they are more or less out of the question sadly.

There are LSP and mushrooms that can do low flow, but in general most corals require a minimum of medium flow. Now with that being said, high flow isnt out of the question you could have "high" flow patches in parts of the tank surrounding the corals that require it, leaving the main "swim" room reasonably clam.

 

[haysanatar]

I've seen tons of pictures of people with gorgonians in seahorse tanks..
I wonder how they do it than...
but as far as lighting would pc be enough for some photosynthetic gorgonians?