Brackish Tidal Tank With Gobies

[Mads]

Hi all
 
It's about time that I introduced myself after enjoying the forum for a while first.
 
I'm a dane with a passion for gobies and brackish waters.
 
My main tank is W130*D30*H35 cm with a beach area and many plants such as eloacharis, glossostigma, anubias, java fern, crinum thaianum, samolus valerandi, lotus nymphea stellata. I’ve tried with black mangrove but didn’t know that I had to rinse the leaves with fresh water – so they are not doing to well right now.
 
The tank is supposed to match the oligohaline zone in estuaries with low salinity 1,003-1.004. Temperature is 24-25 C. The tank is fitted with a tidal setup so there is high and low tide two times daily. In the beach area there are a few plants that live in the tidal zone, so they both live emerst and sub-emerst. The tank is only a few month old so it's still settling in.
 
The lights are 3 Aqua Ray 400, CO2 is added via tunze regulator, and strong currents in one part of the tank is made by a 700 L/H (Eheim 2424) external filter with biohome filter media.
 
I keep two atlantic mudskippers (Periophthalmus barbarus) bumble bee gobies, empire gudgeons and some new rhinogobius duospilus. All gobies except one filter shrimp.
 
Since the tanks dimensions fits badly in a normal photo frame I’ve made a panorama photo stitch, to get an idea of the setup.
 

 
 
Here’s a few other pictures of the tank:
 

 

 
Regards
Mads
 
 

 

[maurizio]

Well done, mate!
 
How large is the beach? Looks small to me for two skippers, remember they spend most of their time out.
 
Maurizio

 

[Mads]

Thanks Maurizio! I'm happy with it too.
 
The pictures doesn't really show much of the beach area, because it is in the left side with less light that the planted sections of the tank. At low tide there is quite a large area over water both with sand and a small lawn of eleocharis.
 
Any way there's an article about mangroves in the latest Amazonas magazine. (they have a free app), that you might like.
 
Regards 
Mads

 

[maurizio]

Thanks for the hint about Amaszonas, I got it med det samme!!

 

[Mads]

It's a great magazine and it's free. gotta love the free things in life

 

[Staxx]

how do you make a tank tidal?

 

[maurizio]

You set a separate reservoir/sump, with two pumps connected to timers: 4 times a day one of them moves the water from one into the other tank.
 
That's one way.

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

Ooh i love mudskippers! I used to have 3 P.barbarus as well and they amused me a lot. Sad to say, they were only with me for a few years but it was time well spent together.

Congrats and i hope to see more of your skippers

 

[Mads]

Thanks Tongue_FLicker, Mudskippers are funny animals.
 
The tidal shift are made by a kind of a diving bell, which is mounted in bottum of the tank. To make high tide I fill the diving bell with air twice a day, which press the water out in the tank at raises the water level. It's simple, and doesn't change the salinity which would be deadly for my plants. 
 
I made this video that shows the setup. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it 
 
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBJm8uiotiA
 
regards

 

[maurizio]

You gotta be kidding me... Wow, Mads, this is SO cool!
 
So, you've got THAT THING inside your tank? That would even facilitate building and stabilizing the slope of your beach.
 
However, this of course subtracts space in the tank... But then we would be back to the external reservoir, which is I believe what you meant to avoid...

 

[Mads]

Thanks Maurizio.
 
Hopefully this setup can be copied by those who would like tidal waters, but don't have the space for several tanks.
 
I haven't seen a tidal setup without external reservoir tanks before, so I thought it might be a good idea to make a "how to" video of it
 
Where do you get your mangrove seedling from? do you grow them ?
 
Regards

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

I'm also looking around for mangrove bonsais haha! But i'm working my way on some mangrove marcots firsts.

 

[maurizio]

I pick my seedlings myself, since my job takes me to the tropics 2-3 times a year. I am right now in Cabo Verde. No mangroves here, though....

 

[Mads]

Nice. hand pick seedlings take some for me next time

 

[Mads]

Made a few photos of the tank