thinking of going brackish...

[mommytron]

so i've been thinking a lot lately about brackish tanks. i've always known i've wanted one at some point, and the fact that i now have 2 empty tanks seems like a perfect excuse. i'm not 100% on this yet, so this thread is kind of like a "what if" deal.

so i'm thinking of turning my 20g high into a brackish tank.

i would want to stock it with a couple of black mollies and bumblebee gobies. would these two be compatible?

i understand that i'll need marine salt and a hydrometer...anything else different from FW that you'd recommend?

also, how well do plants do in a brackish tank? this tank was supposed to be a low-light planted tank (anubias, java fern, maybe a crypt), and i'd like to keep it that way if at all possible with BW.

also, i'm guessing i don't have a large enough tank, but what about dragon gobies? how large of a tank do they require?

are there any hints/tips/special advice you have for a BW newbie?

TIA

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I just finished cycling my BW tank and have BB Gobie, cute little fishies .

Sounds like you have the right idea, marine salt is the only way to go and I'd recommend getting a refractometer since they're more accurate. I have a build thread if you want to see what I've done so far.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f70/new-tank-build-29-gallon-gsp-adventure-147269.html

 

[jetajockey]

i have a brackish tank with 3 mono sebae, looking for some argentus to add to the group. I was considering bb gobies but might go with knight goby instead, not sure. Still throwing ideas around.

I just use a cheap pet store hydrometer, I don't think keeping an exacting salinity is that critical in this kind of situation, at least it hasn't been so far.

As far as plants go, I've kept needle leaf java ferns and guppy grass in there and it's done fine.

 

[mommytron]

I've read the same about a hydrometer, but members here keep recommending a refractometer....what's the price difference?

also, would it be necessary to do a gradual changeover from FW to BW when I don't have any fish yet? or could I just make it BW now, then cycle & add fish?

also, how much marine salt should I expect to go through? I would be doing weekly 50% PWCs like my other tanks (so 10g a week). could you maybe walk me through how you do PWCs on a BW tank?

thanks for your replies guys

 

[severum mama]

You can buy a refractometer off ebay for about $40. They're a lot more accurate, but as jeta mentioned it may not be crucial to be "right on target" with salinity in a brackish tank as opposed to a full marine tank, since brackish fish are accustomed to fluctuation in the wild.

To change water on a brackish tank, it would be similar to a marine tank. You would mix the water before the water change (you'll need a spare powerhead for this) and let it sit for about a day, then do your water change.

You can add marine salt to the tank while it doesn't have any fish in it, but you won't want to do that once you get fish.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I've read the same about a hydrometer, but members here keep recommending a refractometer....what's the price difference?

also, would it be necessary to do a gradual changeover from FW to BW when I don't have any fish yet? or could I just make it BW now, then cycle & add fish?

also, how much marine salt should I expect to go through? I would be doing weekly 50% PWCs like my other tanks (so 10g a week). could you maybe walk me through how you do PWCs on a BW tank?

thanks for your replies guys

I found the refracto to be an invaluable tool as I slowly converted my cycling FW planted tank to BW because small SG changes are important to the plants survival as well as the bacteria (yes they have to convert too). The hydrometers I saw at Petco didn't even register below 1.005 and I prefer to know what's what rather than guessing. My plants are not only surviving but showing terrific growth in BW and my lighting is sub-par to what I'll be installing soon.

You can get a great refractometer off ebay for $24.00 from NISUPPLY.COM.

 

[firteen888]

I heard once you go Brack, you never go back. Good luck.

 

[mommytron]

not sure if i'm ready or not yet. i think it's something that will have to wait until we have a bigger place. not only could i start a larger BW tank, but i might actually have room to keep the buckets of salt water overnight for PWCs. i'm not totally ruling it out yet, but most likely i'll just wait.

 

[DragonFish71]

So a few things:

It will be easier to slowly transition from FW to BW as far as the bacteria, plants and fish are concerned. When we started ours, it was a filter from an existing FW tank. I got my substrate and plants, got everything set up, and slowly brought it to 1.005. Then I got the bumblebees, ghost shrimp and dragons then once again slowly brought it up. Now I keep it at 1.015 with a once a month lowering to 1.008ish. The dragons are wild caught so in nature the salinity fluxes with the tides. I try to mimic that as close as I can.

For mixing the BW. I do mine a bit differently. I fill my bucket with water and add the reef salt. This way it mixes and no waiting over night. Granted, it's probably better to mix and wait but in all honesty, these fish aren't nearly as touchy as SW. I do my normal change, using my python then slowly pour in the mix while filling.

I do PWCs once a week, using about 1-2 cups of salt. Since salt doesn't evaporate, it balances out pretty well. It really depends on how stocked your tank is and how well it's filtered. Ours is understocked, but mollies do poop a lot and our filter is starting to die.

I use a plain, cheap hydrometer. Refractometers are the best, but again, back to the fish being way more forgiving.

Plants: jungle val, anubias, the javas, and tiger lilies do great in BW. My tiger has finally gotten over the tank having been taken down while the floors were re-done. Now the thing is taking over the tank. Banana plants do well too. The trick is like I stated above, set everything up then slowly bring it to your SG.


Bumblebees are awesome little guys. They act like they're going to beat anything that comes near them. They stake out some territory and defend it as best they can (against a dragon they do pretty good) They do get along fine with mollies, as long as the mollies aren't very aggressive.

 

[siva]

IMO mollies are too big and and produce too much waste for a 20 gal. I'm not positive on the dragon gobies but I believe they need a 55 gal since they get so stinkin' long.

I keep bb gobies and fidder crabs. I just use a regular hydrometer. I converted from FW and slowly raised the salinity to 1.005 and didn't have probs with my bacteria or plants. I just have java fern, java fern windelov, java moss, and moneywort in there. The bb gobies are so adorable, I highly recommend them I was thinking maybe american flagfish would be a good tankmate for them since it's another BW fish that does well in smaller tanks. If I didn't have the crabs I would put a flounder in there, but with all their rummaging through the substrate they would prob bother it.

 

[jetajockey]

I've read the same about a hydrometer, but members here keep recommending a refractometer....what's the price difference?

I got mine at Petsmart for like 5-7 bucks maybe? it wasn't much. Even the cheap ebay refractometers are typically over 30 dollars after shipping is included in the price. I don't really foresee myself going full SW so exacting standards are unnecessary in my particular application.

also, would it be necessary to do a gradual changeover from FW to BW when I don't have any fish yet? or could I just make it BW now, then cycle & add fish?

depending on where you get your fish from, it's very likely that they will be in FW at the store, so a gradual transition would be better.

 

[siva]

Yes when I got my gobies, I tested the bag water and their SG matched mine exactly, but my fiddlers were kept in FW.