Brackish Planted Tank

[lisa_perry75]

Hello there,

I am looking into buying a new bigger fish tank for my puffers, all my old tanks are in the for sale section btw. I would really like to do a well planted brackish tank. The SG is 1.005. The tank will be somewhere in the region of 150 litres. I've been recommended to have 1.5-2 wpg. I don't have much money for fancy equipment, and I'm at uni so time is limited but I should be doing water changes every week at 30%, every 2-3 weeks at 60% seems to not be frequent enough to beat the algae.

Hardware questions:
If I have 2 wpg do I have to add CO2?
Brackish fish apparently have weak adaptation to high levels of CO2, maybe could someone substantiate this or suggest a reliable form of CO2?
The nutrifin kits seem quite cheap are they good?
Is there any other good cheap methods, like adding excel?
Apparently plants in high salinity practise biogenic calcification so is there any point adding CO2 or excel?
Should I get normal T8 flourescent lights as they go the whole length of the tank or is there T5s that will too? (tank length 36") Without buying an overtank luminaire is there reflectors for T5s?

Fertiliser questions:
Flora-base buffers at pH 6.5-7 but this is way too low for the tank, is there any other good products that don't buffer at low pHs? The pH should be 8 btw.
Should I use sand or 2-3mm gravel on top?
I don't want to have to be doing any crazy dosing schedules, is there something I can add like once a day or once a week? The estimative index I know is probably the best way but in the long term I don't know if I have time.

The low requirement plants suggested as good
Java fern, Java moss, Anubias, Vallisneria, Aponogeton, Crinum, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Moneywort, hornwort, hygrophilia.

High requirement plants (does this mean out of reach at ~2 wpg?) : -
Micro Sword - Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, African Tiger Lotus, Moss Balls, Watersprite, Banana Plant, Parrot Feather, Cabomba carolina.

When people recommend high levels of lighting does this mean like 3-4 wpg? Is it really that much harder to control algae at these rates?

Just one last question, what is the best way to buy plants? Get a LFS to get in particular species or order online? I was looking at aqua something online and it was like £5 for a plant it would cost £2.50 at my lfs...

If your still reading after all that cheers, and I really hope you can help me!!!

 

[Dave Spencer]

I know nothing about brackish tanks, but I`ll answer what I can:

Hardware questions:
If I have 2 wpg do I have to add CO2?
Brackish fish apparently have weak adaptation to high levels of CO2, maybe could someone substantiate this or suggest a reliable form of CO2?
The nutrifin kits seem quite cheap are they good?
Is there any other good cheap methods, like adding excel?

At 2WPG over 150l, CO2 would be almost essential, along with heavy planting and a fertiliser regime. Definitely stay below and look to using Excel. I am afraid that I don`t have a Scooby Doo about adding CO2 to brackish water, but if what you say about the weak adaptation of the fish is correct, then pressurised CO2 would be the best way to go for stability of CO2 levels.

Should I get normal T8 flourescent lights as they go the whole length of the tank or is there T5s that will too? (tank length 36") Without buying an overtank luminaire is there reflectors for T5s?

Aracadia have T5s and reflectors for a 36" tank. One 39W T5 with a reflector should add up to a reasonable amount of light for your tank.

Should I use sand or 2-3mm gravel on top?

This would be down to personal preference.

I don't want to have to be doing any crazy dosing schedules, is there something I can add like once a day or once a week? The estimative index I know is probably the best way but in the long term I don't know if I have time.

There are a lot of fertilisers out there that are pretty good. Take a look at Tropica Plant Nutrition +. As an aside, I dose EI which takes me one minute per day, and it is the cheapest method in the long run.

The low requirement plants suggested as good
Java fern, Java moss, Anubias, Vallisneria, Aponogeton, Crinum, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Moneywort, hornwort, hygrophilia.

High requirement plants (does this mean out of reach at ~2 wpg?) : -
Micro Sword - Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, African Tiger Lotus, Moss Balls, Watersprite, Banana Plant, Parrot Feather, Cabomba carolina.

I have no idea how these plants would behave in brackish water, but I would love to know myself, for future reference.

When people recommend high levels of lighting does this mean like 3-4 wpg? Is it really that much harder to control algae at these rates?

OH YES INDEEDY! I have a 120l tank with 3.4WPG and it is very high maintenance. At this level of light algae is very unforgiving and certainly keep you on your toes, so I would steer well clear unless you have a few planted tanks under your belt.

Just one last question, what is the best way to buy plants? Get a LFS to get in particular species or order online? I was looking at aqua something online and it was like £5 for a plant it would cost £2.50 at my lfs...

Tropica plants at AquaEssentials are expensive, but you get what you pay for. Your LFS will happily sell you non aquatic plants if you don`t know what you are looking at. I find that Greenline have also been excellent when I have ordered plants from them online.

Sorry I can`t be of more help, but what little I do know is only to do with plants in freshwater.

Dave.

 

[lljdma06]

The low requirement plants suggested as good
Java fern, Java moss, Anubias, Vallisneria, Aponogeton, Crinum, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Moneywort, hornwort, hygrophilia.

High requirement plants (does this mean out of reach at ~2 wpg?) : -
Micro Sword - Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, African Tiger Lotus, Moss Balls, Watersprite, Banana Plant, Parrot Feather, Cabomba carolina.

I have no idea how these plants would behave in brackish water, but I would love to know myself, for future reference.

The plants you mentioned lisa are the correct types for brackish aquaria. All the plants listed will tolerate a Specific gravity of 1.005. The java fern, java moss will go up to 1.009 or more. You can also add Egeria densa to the list, a good algae-buster that will do alright in spg 1.005. I grow water sprite and lotus in less than 2WPG, so those might not be as light-demanding as you think. If this is your first planted tank, I'd aim for between 1-1.5WPG. You'll get pretty good growth, and the algae situation will be easier to deal with. You'll be able to grow most of the plants on the brackish list.

I can't answer the CO2 question, except that I would also opt for lower light levels and then combine that with possibly dosing with Excel to give the plants the competative edge over the algae. I'd also plant densly, even with low lighting levels, this will help you further. There are a few lists out there.

Good luck. I personally love some brackfish species (sailfin mollies, other livebearers) and keep wavering between either that type of setup or a sub-tropical SE Asian stream as a next setup.

llj

 

[nry]

I only found this today, but if you go to www.tropica.com and choose 'Accepts brackish water' from the drop-down list above the alphabetical plant list it only shows those plants that Tropica sell which tolerate brackish water.