Brackish fish tank

[Richyboy5225]

Hi, I have a 10 g Aquarium that I would like to set up to house a green spotted puffer and a red clawed crab and I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas thoughts or advice on this topic as to what sand to use or what plants food to use general care . ThAnks

 

[absolutangel04]

GSP get too big for a 10g tank in the long fun. A gsp would also likely eat the red clawed crab.
Sorry.
Ever looked into dwarf puffers? They are freshwater and would work fine in a 10g.

 

[Terrance]

Save the 10g for something else.

Consider getting a 40g tank for a green spotted puffer and be ready to convert gradually from fresh to full marine water. You will also need live rocks and a skimmer. Refugiums with chaeto will also greatly help.

If all that sounds overwhelming, then look into figure 8 puffers

And +1 to the above comment.

Edit: please don't get discouraged from the GSP setup. It's not too hard once you do some serious research and ask questions. They are very entertaining to own.

 

[melosu58]

Moved to FW getting started forum.

 

[Richyboy5225]

Well I plan to get him into a 40 gallon this summer. This is just a temporary home.

 

[Terrance]

Ok that could possibly work. Don't invest too much time and money on the 10g. Leave it with its current substrate and don't buy any more decor for it. Start planning for the 40g. Researching SW tanks literally takes several weeks, especially if you're going to convert BW to SW. Check craigslist to find a good deal for a complete setup. The one thing you need right now is marine salt, refractometer, rubbermaid trashcan, and a water pump. You will need to pre-mix the brackish water inside the trashcan during weekly 50% water changes.

When you get a GSP, buy the smallest one available. 10g is super small. The waste produced by 1 GSP is too much for a 10g, so you'll end up overwhelming your system. The bigger the GSP, the more waste it will produce.

Remember to ask as many questions as possible. Research for the answers and post if you can't find the answers.

 

[Richyboy5225]

I already have the puffer he's been living in my 10g for awihle . I got him pretty small and he hasn't grown too much. I feel like what he's in right now isn't right for him specially since I've been mixing his brackish water as API freshwater salt and distilled wAter which I found out recently isn't right . I just wana give it a good habit for maybe 3 to 4 months while I plan and finance my next tank. So the next tank should be full salt water and not brackish? What kind of rocks , sand , and plants would best suit the next tank?

 

[Richyboy5225]

Is there a water pump I can buy that would work for both my current situation and my future setup?

 

[Terrance]

For your next tank, set it up like a saltwater tank with live rocks. Its called Fish Only With Live Rocks (FOWLR). Plan on buying a used skimmer from other hobbyist. No plants. Look up cycling a SW tank, base rocks, live rocks, and curing live rocks. You can also research a sump/refugium for chaeto. You can either drill your new tank (or get someone to do it for you) or you can use a HOB overflow.

For your GSP to transition from the 10g to the new SW tank, increase the salinity level of the 10g by 0.02 every week. If you're GSP is at 1.004, then it should take roughly 6 weeks to get him to 1.022. What you're doing is preserving all the beneficial bacteria because dramatic changes in salt level will kill all your bacteria. By the time he reaches full marine water, then your new tank should be done cycling and then you can bring him over from one tank to the other.

1. Research to find out what you're doing and why you're doing the things that you're doing.
2. Make a plan
3. Share your plan with others and get feedback.
4. Consider feedback and revise plan.
5. Start with step 1 again.

 

[Terrance]

Is there a water pump I can buy that would work for both my current situation and my future setup?

Water pump is needed to pre-mix water. If you decide to get a sump/refugium, you need a water pump (return pump) to get the water from the sump/refugium back to the display tank (DT). Probably better to get different pump for different purposes.

 

[Richyboy5225]

I guess I'm having a hard time figuring out the water pump. Does it remove and add water from a container?

 

[Terrance]

If you have a container, then you use it to mix the water. Water will circulate through the pump and mix the salt with the FW. If you buy a flexible hose, then you can easily hook it up to the water pump and transfer the new pre-mixed water from the container to your tank.

If you have a hard time visualizing this, then try looking on youtube for people pre-mixing water. I'm not the best at explaining stuff.

 

[Richyboy5225]

I understand basically it's an easy way of mixing and adding the water . Ill probably have to use 1/3 of the exsisting water and new water to mix with. I start the water at 1.004 and move up gradually fo full salt water. I'm probably going to remove any plants and ornaments I have in my tank and replace my cheap gravel with sand though.

 

[Terrance]

Ill probably have to use 1/3 of the exsisting water and new water to mix with. I start the water at 1.004 and move up gradually fo full salt water.

You mean taking dump 50% of the water from tank into toilet. And adding newly mixed brackish water to your tank. You will need to premix water ~1 day prior to changing the water. add freshwater to your container and add enough marine salt to match salt grade of the tank. Mix for a few hours, before adding to your tank. We're on the same page, yes?

Remember the faster you move into marine water in your 10g, the more expensive those 50% weekly water changes will become. Live rocks, skimmer, and refugium/sump help minimize water changes to ~30% per month (not per week). GSP need at least 40g because live rocks take up A LOT of space.

 

[Richyboy5225]

I believe we're on the same page. I was just thinking that I should use some of my exsisting water to mix with the water I'm mixing before I mix it if that makes sense
. I figured that the water thats in there is acclimated and would be beneficial to my puffer . I know i will have to drain it completely and add only the mixed water in there so that the salinity will be correct.

 

[Richyboy5225]

Is there anything special I'm going to need to do with the water changes other then increasing the salinity?

 

[Terrance]

Used water will always be old water. Old water are usually more polluted. You take out 50% of the pollution, and add in new water to dilute the pollution. When you siphon out, dump the old water. No need to mix it with new freshly mixed water.

Besides increasing salinity level, also test your water parameters every other day. You're tank is too small for this fish, so the water will get polluted really fast.

You should just keep your GSP in light brackish water for now. I think you'll end up doing a lot of water changes due to your small tank. Frequent water changes is just too costly for a high-end brackish or marine water.