Dwarf seahorse tank setup general advice/question

Lorinxo

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I've been in the saltwater aquarium hobby for quite some time now (roughly 8 years).. and recently turned an empty 3-gallon tank I had into a dwarf seahorse tank. It's bare bottom with artificial decor, a 2.5 inch filter sponge and air pump that I have clamped off to reduce flow in the tank. I also have a hang-on "whisper" filter that came with the tank that has a typical carbon filter inside. However, it's turned off for now, I wanted to make sure it would be okay to use that as well. I know I will have to put a sponge over the bottom to prevent them from being sucked in. I have a white/blue/red clip on light with a timer that I leave on for 12 hours each day. I start with dim and gradually increase to brighter, then back down to just blue light in the evenings. I'm feeding them fresh hatched brine shrimp and rotifers usually 3 times daily. I've had them for 6 days now and have tested nitrate and ammonia daily, both are 0 or close to 0. i currently have 2 dwarf pair and both males are pregnant.

Is there a preference for lighting? Should I be doing just white lighting, or is the white/red/blue combo okay?

Air flow- how do I determine when it's too much/not enough? The air pump I have now is 2.5 watts, but I do have it clamped to reduce air flow. Should I let it go and see how they do?

Is it okay to use the hang on filter as well with the carbon filters?

Should I go ahead and do a water change even though nitrates and ammonia seem to be good so far?

I have Fritz Complete full-spectrum water conditioner as well but haven't added it yet. I was going to add about 5 drops with my water change.

A lot of people talk about keeping certain medications on hand just in case... I've got KanaPlex, MetroPlex, Focus, & Garlic Guard (all by SeaChem). Is there something else I need to keep on hand? or would I be better off with something like API general cure?

Thank you in advance!

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Doctorgori

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You will be best off keeping the water real clean and cool vs the antibiotics… change often, clean the bottom, keep temps 76er 77F,

You should be ok equipped as you mentioned but …

You might go the live rock macro algae route. I do know dwarfs primarily will be eating bbs but in that small tank a small pod supporting ecosystem won’t hurt
For lighting, I’d get a small refugium style that can support decorative macro algae(or not)
…you could feed new bbs, but consider staging them for a more nutritious gut load using commercial phytoplankton live feeds
I’ll leave room for alternate advice
 

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