Ideas For My New Brackish Tank? :-)

[fi_sjo]

Okay, back on with this tank (been on holiday!). Trying to finalise the design but i'm hitting some potential conflicts, so welcome any input.

From my experience, planted tanks are often very still with not a lot of surface movement (or any water movement). Pufferfish enjoy high oxygen levels from what I understand which makes me wonder if that'll be a conflict with the requirements of the plants. I know you can have high CO2 and high O2.

I was intending to put a Hydor WaveMaker in this aquarium (as it's laying about doing nothing) but am now wondering if this would be a mistake in a planted aquarium, especially if there's surface plants which I am hoping to house.

There is also the Juwel filter box/powerhead combo which will produce a fair amount of flow. Perhaps I should just stick with this and forget the wavemaker (two powerheads at varying speeds).


With regards to stocklist.. for this 180 litre tank.. i'm contemplating

2 Orange Chromides (or more perhaps?)
1 Figure 8 Pufferfish
1 Knight Goby
Some Bumblebee gobies

Biological filtration will be provided primarily by the substrate and Eheim Pro-2 2028 external filter (fairly big). There will also be the Juwel internal filter box which will do a bit too, although I may just use these easy-access trays for temporary measures, such as carbon pads etc. if needed.

I don't really want to be doing more than 10% water changes weekly, preferably fortnightly. With the stock list above, would you say that's realistic? I know puffers are messy eaters, but i'm hoping the other fish will clean up to some degree afterwards.

I know it's all a compromise

Regards

 

[fi_sjo]

After some more thinking (isn't spare time evil?)..

2 F8 Puffers and a load of bumblebee gobies.. forget the chromides and knight goby.. want it relatively peaceful?

 

[maisy12345]

Can i keep 2 f8 puffers in a tropical 28l tank?

 

[divegirl]

People including myself have replied on your other questions and the answer will be the same no matter how many old threads you resurrect!

No that tank is to small!

Lisa x

 

[fi_sjo]

Right.. bringing this one back up

Moving house soon so have been doing some thinking again on using it as an opportunity to leave marine's behind (for the time being) and set up this brackish tank which has been sitting dormant since I purchased it!

I've now got a custom sump built to go in the cabinet under the tank (Juwel Rio 180). I intend to use a syphon overflow to the tank ('donkey' style overflow).

In the sump I intend to create a wet/dry system using bioballs and have a planted refugium to absorb the nitrates produced by the wet/dry.

In the display tank I will still use a two layer substrate, aquabasis and sand on top, with the hope of being able to keep plants in there, but do still intend on keeping at least one figure 8 puffer so who knows.

Lighting-wise, the tank has 4 x 45 W T5 tubes. Juwel offer tubes with peak wavelengths of 4100 (Nature), 6800 (Colour), 9000 (Day), 15000 (Marine) and 20000 (Blue) Kelvin. I'm wondering if a mix of the first four would be nice for a brackish tank? Or perhaps 2x4100 and one each of 6800 and 9000? I guess most stream systems are not too deep so the light penetration would contain more than just the blue you typically get with deepwater marine species. I suppose trial and error will prevail!


Any thoughts/comments appreciated

 

[deftuch]

columbian sharks without a doubt. my cousin has three 7 inch and two 3 inch babys. they all swin about together up and down the glass and back and forth the bottom. its amazing to watch. also one jumped out of the tank and fell 6 foot into a plastic box with tools in it. and when we manged to get it back in. it was fine. never seen anything like it. i was sure it would have died. amazing fish.