Brackish Aquarium Planting

[Scatta]

I am planning on setting up a second brackish tank from scratch using a Juwel Rio 240 aquarium and I am still borderline whether or not to use plants. In my previous brackish aqaurium, I used Vallisneria Americana (Gigantea), Anubias barteri var. nana and Java Fern. The Anubias seems to do well, but the Vallis. and Java Fern quality degenerates over time.

If I do go with plants in my new tank, I was thinking of using Crinum thaianum and perhaps Anubias barteri var. nana . How does Crinum thaianum fare in brackish water (SG of around 1.010)? Also, would it be worth using a product similar to TetraPlant Complete Substrate to increase plant growth, or will this alter water chemistry too much?

I have read through the "Planting Brackish Aquaria" article by AMS, but I just wanted a bit more info.

 

[nmonks]

There's a difference between salt-tolerant plants and true brackish water species. Of the species traded, the following are brackish water specialists, i.e., they are found either onlyin brackish water habitats or commonly in them.

Crinum calamistratum
Crinum pedunculatum
Cryptocoryne ciliata
Bacopa monnieri
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Sagittaria subulata

Note that the last two are quite demanding in terms of light, and neither will prosper without well above 2 W per gallon of light, and probably need at least 3 WPG. Your problem with the Juwel tanks is that you only get two lights. If the 240 is anything like my 180, you're running at about 1.5 WPG. From experience, I found Bacopa not to do well (it becomes etiolated) even with a rich substrate. The two Crinum species will do better than C. thaianum in brackish water. I've found C. thaianum to be a tricky plant, and somewhat more demanding than, say, Vallisneria.

Vallisneria is a very funny plant in some ways. It definitely goes through boom/bust cycles. I think that it exhausts the substrate fairly quickly (consequence of fast growth?) so that fertilisation becomes very important after six months or so. It might be worth trying Sagittaria instead; they may be more expensive but they tend to be hardier and more long-lived.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[AMS]

Widgeon grass is another plant perfectly suited for a high end brackish tank, look for a seperate article on it in the future (just haven't got around to writing it yet). Widgeon grass can survive in anything from slightly brackish water up to hypersaline waters, but it does need frequent doseing of ferts and bright light.

Be aware that in high-end brackish tanks plant substrates such as eco-complete and laterite start to wither away in the salty conditions. I believe reading somewhere to laterite starts to leach iron into water when in high end brackish or marine conditions. It would be safe to use a substrate designed for marine use in refugia or seagrass aquaria such as Marine BioSediment or my personal favorite Mineral Mud. You could also use Miracle Mud if you can afford it.

 

[Scatta]

Thanks for the info!

Widgeon grass can survive in anything from slightly brackish water up to hypersaline waters, but it does need frequent doseing of ferts and bright light

When you talk about ferts, would liquid fert. such as API Leaf Zone, JBL Ferropol, etc. be suitable for salt water? I don't really want to get into CO2 systems at the moment, due to knowledge and budget restraints.