My Brackish Tank Journal (30G)

[tubbs24]

Hello fellow brackish owners!

This is the beggining of a long and exciting journey I will be documenting. I have decided to convert my freshwater 30 gallon tank to a brackish tank. Brack-Man's sticky has brought me much motivation to do so*twirlysmi. I will be following most of his directions on his sticky to help me out with this. My current inhabitants are 5 Yellow Jacket Platies, which I also plan to convert over to the low-end of the Brackish scale. The scenery I plan on doing is Brack-Man's Brackish River. I will be documenting every step of the way, and I hope to learn many things about brackish do's and don't's along my journey.

23 March 2006

Day 1
Salinity Level: 1.000
Goal Level: 1.005

Today I start my journey, with much support from my fellow brackish buddies. My first step is to clean off my equipment of salt stains, and remove some of my plants. I am giving some of my plants that will not survive to my brother, who currently owns a 10 gallon freshwater, and then using the rest to lightly plant my 5 gallon freshwater. I plan on doing the Brackish River, so in order for it to be a "true" river, I am using two(2) Penguin 550 powerheads. They deliver each 145 gph, so I believe that would be enough.

The location of these powerheads will be on the right side of the tank, so waterflow will be from right to left. I will not be putting these in until they are fully cleaned of the stains, and until my platy fry is big enough to be taken out of the net and into the tank.

The plants/decorations I will be removing will be the Moneywort that are currently in both corners, the driftwood piece with java moss, aponogeton crispus (grown from Wal-Mart bulbs), and the water lilly (also grown from bulb). I will be propogating some moneywort into my 5 gallon for my Rasboras.

I don't plan on adding salt within the next few weeks, because I would like to finish off completing my 5 gallon which is currently cycling, and then I will plan on starting this project.

This is the current stocking I plan on:

Plants:
Anubias
Cabomba
Water Sprite
Dwarf Hairgrass
Hygro
Corkscrew Val

Fish:
5 Yellow Jacket Platies
4 Glass Catfish
1 Bumblebee goby/Fan Dance goby (either one)
? Nerite Snails
4 Ghost Shrimp

This is only a "rough draft" of my tank so far, and things are bound to change. Comments on anything is welcome, such as species compatability

 

[Limi310]

Sounds great! Can't wait to see the progress *thumbsups

One thing though (I posted this in the 'guide' thread too, not sure if you saw it). When I said glassfish were brackish, I meant glassFISH, not glass catfish. Sorry for any confusion there. I don't think the Catfish are brackish .

 

[Big Vine]

Wow tubbs24, this is great! Especially if you're able to keep a log of things every step of the way, through to the final stages of the setup. I like how you included a pic of the powerheads.

I'll be checking in on this from time to time. Don't know if I'll be in a position (*cough* $$$...not enough of it *cough*) to go for a brackish setup anytime soon, but I'm sure that myself and everyone else on here will learn lots from your journal and the research you've taken and put into action from Brack Man's sticky on this topic. Oh...and please keep taking lots of pics to include with it.

Great stuff! Best of luck to you. *thumbsups
Big Vine

 

[Brack-Man]

Sounds great! Can't wait to see the progress *thumbsups

One thing though (I posted this in the 'guide' thread too, not sure if you saw it). When I said glassfish were brackish, I meant glassFISH, not glass catfish. Sorry for any confusion there. I don't think the Catfish are brackish .

I agree with Limi on this, i think I said that as well in the 'Guide' though, just need to do the research before you start adding salt to your tank with them in there... Keep us posted *thumbsups

 

[f8fan]

*SUPERSMIL *BOUNCINGS *SUNSMILE* *twirlysmi *thumbsup2 *celebrate *thumbsups *DRUMMER*
(there just aren't enough "happy" "cool" "Yay" icons)
Welcome to brackish!!!!

This area is really getting popular lately

 

[tubbs24]

Lol, thanks for the support!

Limi,
Thanks for the clarification. I don't know either if they are brackish, but I will certainly do my research. And of course, I will to extensive research before adding salt. I dont want ANYTHING to go wrong, so I am taking "baby steps".

Big Vine,
lol, yeah, money is a factor in this. I will be taking periodical "breaks" to of course get enough money to fund this project. But most supplies I have (i.e. chemicals, powerheads, and everything from my freshwater). The only things I will need to get is mainly just the seasalt. I received my tank from a saltwater owner, so I also do have most things to start a SW, but that'll be if I make a spare thousand dollars or so, lol . I will provide many more pictures!

One of the huge factors I am doing in this project is research. So far, I have spent several nights researching on how to acclimate fish, adding salt, etc. RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH *crazysmil .

Cheers brackish fans! and lets this project be a successful one! *celebrate

 

[tubbs24]

24 March 2006

Day 2
Salinity Level: 1.000
Salinity Level Goal: 1.005

Today, since I'm eager to get this project started *SUPERSMIL , so I decided to play around with my powerheads in order to make the river effect. I tried hanging 1 in each corner, but that didn't work out too good . The powerhead closest to the corner was blocking the cover's path to close. So I had to think of a new plan. Then I got the idea of attaching suction cups to the back of each powerhead.

I used 4 size 7/8" small suction cups. I placed 1 cup in each corner. I first put down a layer of hot glue on the bottom of the cups, and then I made a thick layer around the sides which connected to the bottom, so the powerhead and the cups won't get separated. Here are some pictures:

This is where i decided to put the powerheads, about 1 1/2" from the surface. The current will be from right to left:

The two powerheads together create a medium-high current, so I'm still debating wheter I should keep both in or remove one of them.

I do plan on going to my LFS soon, so I will start stocking up on plants, and getting some sea salt*thumbsups .

Stay tuned for more updates!

Tubbs

 

[seastaar88]

the hot glue will most likely unattach. if and when that happens, use silicone instead to attach the suction cups

 

[tubbs24]

yeah, its happened a few times, the next time they fall off I'll use silicone

 

[Brack-Man]

Another thing to consider is to only use one powerhead in your tank, and use the other one for mixing you saltwater. I use one Aqua clear 50 in my 55gal, and I have it mounted in the back corner so that it hits the front glass about mid way acrossand this provides plenty ovf current in my tank.... just food for thought. *thumbsups

 

[tubbs24]

26 March 2006

I visited my LFS today with a jump start on this project! I bought most of my plants that are "brackish" compatable (after doing much needed research). I acquired:

1 Cabomba Bunch:

1 Anacharis Bunch (spread out):

2 Jungle Vallisneria:

4 Dwarf Sagittaria:

1 Water Sprite:

My camera has very bad quality pictures, and the color of the water isn't really yellowish, its clear.

The reason I have more jungle vals than what I said is because my LFS is awesome!*BOUNCINGS Since jungle val sends out runners, he just counted one bunch as 1 plant, so basically I ended up with 8 separate jungle val plants! Here is what the tanks looks like so far:

But, during this trip I didn't pick up any Instant Ocean sea salt, and I am disappointed at myself for not doing so. But the next time I go I will most likely pick some up. How much should I get for my 30 gallon tank if I only want the salinity to be at 1.005?

I also took Brack-Man's advice of only using 1 powerhead for the current, and 1 to mix up the salt, so I removed 1 powerhead. Anyways, thats the update I had for today, stay tuned for more updates!

Tubbs

 

[MOsborne05]

Nice plant choices, I have the same things minus the cabomba. I was thinking about getting some of that though My fish really like the water sprite because it is 'jungle-like' and they can swim through it. How many wpg do you have? IME, dwarf sag grows better in 1.5-2.5 wpg. I have some in both of my tanks and it hasn't grown at all in the big tank, which has 3.18wpg, but in the 7 gallon with 1.5wpg it is sprouting runners all over. I also found that wisteria is a good fast growing low brackish plant. Green hygro is a good one too.

I bought a big bag of Instant Ocean because it was cheaper than buying it in small quantities. You don't use much at a time, but you'll eventually use it.

I would suggest you get a few more bb gobies. IME, they like to be with their own kind even though they squabble every once in a while. Most of the time they hang out together and even use the green hygro leaves as bunk beds

 

[tubbs24]

Nice plant choices, I have the same things minus the cabomba.

Thanks, I really do like the cabomba, its adds to the "jungle look" with the water sprite

How many wpg do you have? IME, dwarf sag grows better in 1.5-2.5 wpg.

I have 2 wpg, two 30 watt bulbs, so that should be perfect.

I bought a big bag of Instant Ocean because it was cheaper than buying it in small quantities. You don't use much at a time, but you'll eventually use it.

I would suggest you get a few more bb gobies. IME, they like to be with their own kind even though they squabble every once in a while. Most of the time they hang out together and even use the green hygro leaves as bunk beds

Yeah, I'll probobly end up getting a big bag, so I wouldn't have to keep running to my LFS to get more sea salt.

I was planning on getting a few more bb gobies also, just because I thought at first they were aggressive, but after doing a little research, I found out that they don't get any bigger than about 2"!! How would 5-6 sound? Also, I read that they make little burrows, so I was thinking about making small "burrows" in my substrate out of PVC piping buy cutting small pieces (2-3") and placing them in the substrate (with no substrate in the middle of the piping of course), so I think that may make a suitable home for my little buddies

Tubbs

 

[MOsborne05]

Yeah, 5-6 sounds perfect. I was originally going to get 6 but when I saw how tiny they were I decided to get 8 of them. There was 9 of them in the tank so I took them all and they were only about 1". I don't even think they get 2", mine are about a year old and they are only about 1.25". I don't know if they like to burrow, I just know that they like caves and hiding places to claim as their own. The pvc pipe should work out well for them though

 

[tubbs24]

OK, then I will go with both ideas: a few caves and burrows. I don't know how I'm going to make the caves...(I plan on making them, so it would look as natural as possible, and it's as cheap as possible, because this isn't getting any cheaper lol). I was thinking of maybe getting some lava rock (darker color) and carving out the bottom to create a small cave. Would you think that would work? If not, I might resort to glueing rocks together, but whatever it take to make my fish "feel at home".

Tubbs

 

[MOsborne05]

I got a couple of small caves from Petsmart that were only a few bucks each, here they are http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...143511510974&itemNo=60&In=Fish&N=2030058&Ne=2

The small one is pretty little but its plenty big enough for the gobies. You could also find some flat rocks or slate and build your own little caves. They each like to have their own space, be it a cave, a plant or whatever.

 

[tubbs24]

OK, I think I'll do a combo of both: caves and burrows, just so I have my gobies feel as if they are at home Also, would you mind if you could post a few pics of your tank? I would like to get some ideas of how this is going to work out. If not, that is fine, I just want to get an overall idea of how this will work out

So far I've been looking at prices for sea salt online (Instant Ocean), and so far my LFS is beating out online prices (LFS: $22 for a BIG bag, i think up to 50 gallons, ONLINE: $28 w/ shipping). Although ebay does have some pretty good deals for the same amount (saw a few for $13.98, shipping only $8!) I might jump on that deal. Here is the link, he's got 99+ in stock, and 100% feedback, if any of you would like to check it out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Instant-Ocean-Sea-Salt-Makes-50-Gallons_W0QQitemZ7750251753QQcategoryZ20756QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Tubbs

 

[MOsborne05]

Certainly Here's the most recent pic that I have. I'll try and take a few tomorrow once I do a water change and clean the glass

 

[tubbs24]

wow, very nice tank! *thumbsups I really like that huge piece of wood. When I go up north over the summer, I'm going to try to look for a piece of driftwood similar to mangrove roots, and then put them in the corners of my tank to give it even more of a jungle effect But otherwise, I do like your slate idea, I might go with that one

Tubbs

 

[tubbs24]

02 April 2006

Salinity Level: 1.002
Goal Salinity Level: 1.005

BIG update today everyone!
I am officially brackish . Last night I got my InstantOcean from my LFS, and on the way home I picked up some sand from Home Depot. I got 50 lbs. of white colored sand for $2.99 as my substrate. I am changing out my black gravel for sand to once again, enhance the "riverbed" effect. I first started out removing all of my decorations (ie. live plants, driftwood). Next was to take out my fish and put them in a container with a top. Having a top is very important, as I almost lost a platy because he jumped out when I accidently left the lid off .

The next step was to remove the gravel. Make sure you leave yourself a good 2 free hours to do this, as it will take more time than you actually think. I filled 3½ gallon-sized bags full of my gravel. Once the gravel was out, I let all of the gunk settle on the bottom, then did a water change. This left me with about 50% of my water still remaining, which was perfect for my salt addition .

I added the sand in next, which wasn't that bad. Although my water turned into what looked like a milkshake, it seemed all good. After adding the sand, it was time to fill up the tank. I used about 1/4 cup of salt for every 3 gallons I added to the tank (I have a 3 gallon bucket, lol). This was perfect for raising my salinity level to an over 1.002. I acclimated my fish slowly, and then popped them in . They seem happy with their new sand, so I feel good .

Here is a before/after shot of the tank:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The black dish on the left side has some of my old gravel in it, to seed some beneficial bacteria onto the new sand. (just to be on the safe side, trying to prevent any casualties from happening! lol)

Hope you like it *thumbsups ,

Tubbs

*EDIT* Is my filter supposed to be making crunchy or scratching noises? I think it's the sand, so I unplugged it and I'm gonna wait for all of the cloudiness to settle.