New Brackish Set Up

[tobesonthenose]

I just purchased a 60 gallon Heartland aquarium and want to set it up brackish. I have 3 Mono Argentus, a Molly, and 2 Silver Scats. All are currently in 28g freshwater with aquarium salt and healthy. Mono's are about 2.5-3 inches and Scats about 1 inch. I intend to start it fresh and gradually increase salinity with marine salt. I would like to add some hardy plants that can start in fresh and be converted to brackish eventually.

My questions are:

1) What type of substrate to use? (My tap water seems to be hard, so maybe I don't need argonite/crushed coral?, suppose that high PH could be from river rocks currently used as substrate?) Could ph be too high for these fish with type of substrate added?

2) What types of plants would work?

3) I understand current fish will grow quite large, I feel this set up will work for a couple of years if not permanently. Is this realistic?

Sorry about the long post, its my first one.

Thanks for your input!

 

[nmonks]

1) What type of substrate to use? (My tap water seems to be hard, so maybe I don't need argonite/crushed coral?, suppose that high PH could be from river rocks currently used as substrate?) Could ph be too high for these fish with type of substrate added?

If you have hard water anyway, and use marine aquarium salt mix, yes, crushed coral substrate will be redundant. I prefer to use an inert substrate like silica sand or plain gravel that looks nicer, and then buffer the water -- if necessary -- either by adding buffering salt mixes to the water or by using a media bag in the filter filled with crushed coral. That way I can have the tank looking the way I want, and also keep the ability to reduce or raise the carbonate hardness should I need to.

2) What types of plants would work?

Scats will eat any plants, even Java ferns, so these aren't an option here. Stick with plastic, or better yet, choose decorating materials in a way that creates a more mangrovey look. For example, siliconing big bushy plastic plants to the top of the tank so they *hang* into the water at the top and then leaving the underwater part mostly empty save for rocks and bogwood creates something resembling a mangrove swamp more accurately. It also provides shade and hiding places at the top of the tank.

3) I understand current fish will grow quite large, I feel this set up will work for a couple of years if not permanently. Is this realistic?

Scats grow very quickly, and should reach about 15-20 cm within a year or so. Monos grow marginally slower. Either way, I suspect you'll find these will look a bit cramped quicker than you'd like. Mollies would be ideal in this tank, but if you want to go brackish, I'd think about fish a step down in size to live alongside them. Knight gobies,crazy fish, glass fish, Florida flagfish, orange chromides, butterfly-goby waspfish would all be appropriate, possibly even a figure-8 puffer or peacock spiny eel, and these would thrive at a low-end brackish tank at SG 1.002-1.003, which means true plants would definitely be an option.

Cheers, Neale

 

[tobesonthenose]

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated. I think my Monos may be M. kottelati, so hopefully they are and don't grow too large. I found some other good advice in the general brackish info here too so I think I'm ready to get the tank going.

 

[tobesonthenose]

I have the tank going and the fish are stoked! Got some gravel mixed with small river stones for substrate and some drift wood, couple of large rocks and cool hanging fake plants. Looking like a mangrove. I think I will leave the fish in the fresh water for a little while to get used to new surroundings but plan to start adding marine salt mix to make it brackish.

My scats are only about an inch long but my monos are about 3 inches. Is it safe to start converting to brackish with scats being that small or should I wait until they are a little larger (what size?) until going brackish.

Can anyone tell me how much salt to add and how often. It is currently fresh with just aquarium salt in it.

thanks

 

[nmonks]

I think I will leave the fish in the fresh water for a little while to get used to new surroundings but plan to start adding marine salt mix to make it brackish.

It's worth adding some marine aquarium salt mix from day 1. This won't do any harm and will do some good, not least of all by getting the filter bacteria adapted while the fish are still quite small, so there's less risk of water quality problems.

Can anyone tell me how much salt to add and how often. It is currently fresh with just aquarium salt in it.

Depends on your long-term goal. But for basic maintenance of low-end brackish water conditions, SG 1.003 at 25 C, which is about 6 grammes per litre, provides good conditions for species that don't need much salt. This is also acceptable for live plants. For high-end brackish conditions, SG 1.005 to 1.010 at 25 C is recommended, which is about 9 to 16 grammes per litre. You can use my Brack Calc application to look at how the specific gravity, salinity, and temperature are interconnected.

Cheers, Neale