Preparing for the big move...lots of questions?!?!?!

[BfishLpond78]

OK, so i'll be moving within the next month to my new place finally.

Right now I have a 55gal with just a few freshwater fish. 2 pictus cats, 1 sailfin Pleco, and 1 spotted cory. I just have HOB filter now, with slate structures, DW and fake plants

My GF is has set up a 28 gallon, you can see in my profile the build. I will be giving her the 4 guys I got now to re-home them during the move, plus she loves them so it works out.

Now, when I move to the new place, I'm going to doing my tank over again, I will be changing out the substrate cause the gravel I got wasn't the look I wanted but I rushed into everything. But I finally found the sand I wanted. I got 75 lbs of Black Tahitian Moon Sand for 30 bucks, its a steal in my eyes, even though i know everyone likes PFS, i really wanted the black sand. So for 30 bucks I couldn't say no. Also I know as GSP's mature they should acclimated to full Marine...should I wait until he is mature and add Marine tank mates as I've heard they are more compatible with GSP's? Also I look on Plantgeek and there are some brackish compatible plants I would like to do low to medium light plants.

So here are my questions
1. I want to get a GSP, here is my question, has anyone ever successfully housed one or two of these guys with other tank mates?

2. When I move, if I place my filter pads in tank water, how long can the BB live while I am setting everything back up?

3. When I get everything set up and if I decide to go the brackish route for the GSP what is the best method for getting the salinity up and going and how should I acclimate the plants to the salinity?

4. Will 75lbs of sand be too much, or is having a Deep Sand Bed (DSB) troublesome or beneficial? Also will I lose to much BB if removing old gravel from tank, will I have to cycle all over again?

5. How should I clean the tank for the move to get rid of all the grime built up? I heard something about using vinegar...

I'm sure I'll think of more, but that is it for now. Thanks a bunch

 

[adadkins1]

1. No experince, but it might could be done.

2. About a day or so. They (the BB) need ammonia, so you could always use a few drops of pure ammonia to feed them if you needed more time.

3. Not sure

4. 75 lbs should be good. I know about 1.5 lbs of gravel per gallon of tank is the rule of thumb, but sand is more compacted. The only problem if it is deep is the anaerobic/toxic gas pockets that may form. Just have to stir the bed or get MTS.

5. You could use vinegar, or even a diluted solution of bleach. Not sure of the exact ratios, but with bleach you just have to rinse well and let air dry to make sure there is no bleach left.

Sorry I couldn't help with all of your questions, I am strictly freshwater for now.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

So here are my questions
1. I want to get a GSP, here is my question, has anyone ever successfully housed one or two of these guys with other tank mates?

I haven't housed them yet, but I'm a few days away from adding them to a tank with bumblebee Gobies. There's some fish they can be housed with, they just need to be small enough to hide, or fast enough to get away from the GSP.

2. When I move, if I place my filter pads in tank water, how long can the BB live while I am setting everything back up?

I'd say 2-3hrs if kept in tank water (did this and no cycle issue), adding ammo as suggested could be possible, but I've never tried that.

3. When I get everything set up and if I decide to go the brackish route for the GSP what is the best method for getting the salinity up and going and how should I acclimate the plants to the salinity?

You need to slowly raise the SG so the bacteria/plants can convert/adapt to BW. I did it over a 2 week time frame, too fast and you can kill off both.

4. Will 75lbs of sand be too much, or is having a Deep Sand Bed (DSB) troublesome or beneficial? Also will I lose to much BB if removing old gravel from tank, will I have to cycle all over again?

DSB is possible, and was done for years successfully. You'll lose some BB, but most of it's in your filter. I'd expect at least a mini-cycle.

5. How should I clean the tank for the move to get rid of all the grime built up? I heard something about using vinegar...

Diluted vinegar works great, but I'd think a good hosing would do it. If you have hard water stains vinegar works great, I also use baking soda to neutralize it and then rinse, rinse, and rinse 2 more times.

I'm sure I'll think of more, but that is it for now. Thanks a bunch

We're here for you, good luck with the move!

 

[BfishLpond78]

Awesome responses! Thank you very much, lots of good things for me to use. I'm anxious to hear of your addition of the GSP. I've subscribed to your thread and have been following along.

Limpet, are you just gonna do GSP's and BB Gobies? Or are you going to add anything else?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Awesome responses! Thank you very much, lots of good things for me to use. I'm anxious to hear of your addition of the GSP. I've subscribed to your thread and have been following along.

Limpet, are you just gonna do GSP's and BB Gobies? Or are you going to add anything else?

I'm trying to find a cuc for light brackish water and the BL Hermits crabs didn't acclimate too well to the 1.003 SG. I have some ghost shrimp that'll be going in today, but once the GSP are in they're going to be to slow to get away and snacks will be forth coming lol.

 

[BfishLpond78]

I've actually seen a GSP hunt ghost shrimp, it is not easy task for them to catch the shrimp as the ghost shrimp were incredibly fast, the GSP has to really sneak up on the shrimp to get him. If the shrimp sees him coming its pretty hard for them to get em.

What do you think about the dragon gobies? They look pretty interesting? How are you going to set up your tank? As far as decorations and what not?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I've actually seen a GSP hunt ghost shrimp, it is not easy task for them to catch the shrimp as the ghost shrimp were incredibly fast, the GSP has to really sneak up on the shrimp to get him. If the shrimp sees him coming its pretty hard for them to get em.

What do you think about the dragon gobies? They look pretty interesting? How are you going to set up your tank? As far as decorations and what not?

That's good news! maybe I'll try some RCS too. The ghost shrimp are .08 each, RCS or AES are 2.99 each, which means if the GSP can get them they'll be eating beter than me lol.

I went with the BB Gobies because of tank size, but the dragons are cool looking and there's a couple others too, I just need to keep an eye on the bioload. GSP are messy eaters and they poop as much as my goldies, so that's my biggest concern. If after a few months things look good in the tank/filter/water I may add something else. There's a pic in my build with decco, I've added a pagoda is about it. Plants that are BW adaptable and my banana plant has a leaf stem that's about 20" long and working it's way to leaf up on the surface .

Main thing with plants is slow acclimation (bacteria too) because it's easy to kill them off if you rush it.

 

[BfishLpond78]

What kind of lighting do you have in that tank? I can't remember from your build. figured it would be easier to ask then to search through it...lol. Were you planning on putting RCS in that tank? Can ghost shrimp survive in BW?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

What kind of lighting do you have in that tank? I can't remember from your build. figured it would be easier to ask then to search through it...lol. Were you planning on putting RCS in that tank? Can ghost shrimp survive in BW?

I have a custom DIY from Compact Fluorescent Lighting Kits light kit. It's a 55w 10000K/Actinic split bulb and it looks fantastic on the tank. I can't post pics (darn app ), but here's the build I did on the same kit with a 55w, 6700K bulb.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f20/ah-supply-55w-strip-light-kit-diy-build-review-145745.html

No RCS, just ghosties. Yes they're OK in low SG BW from my research, just gotta drip acclimate them properly.