Starting a Brackish tank

[Wolfdog]

I decided now that i have an open 10 gal i want to put a puffer in it.

At a fish shop roun here they sell F8's and i got a lil info on them from them.

They said 2 teaspoons of salt per 5 gallons of water. This correct? So id be putting in two teaspoons of water into the tank?

Im kinda confused on this brackish thing.

Can i use a regular HOB filter?
I guess i NEED a Hydrometer.
what "salinity" do i need the water at?
How much salt do i mix into the water, as in doing water changes?
Can i cycle the tank as id do with freshwater?

Sry for all the questions

Wolf

 

[jflowers]

Can i use a regular HOB filter?

Yes

I guess i NEED a Hydrometer.

Yes

what "salinity" do i need the water at?

Around 1.005 will be ok for a F8

How much salt do i mix into the water, as in doing water changes?

You would add enough to get the water to 1.005 before adding to the tank, and thats considerably more than 2 teaspoons per 5g.

Can i cycle the tank as id do with freshwater?

Yes


IMO 10g is not large enough for a F8, 20g would be preferable for a single puffer. As for the salt, make sure it is proper marine salt (tropic marin, instant ocean or similar), not tonic salt or table salt.

HTH

Jon

 

[Wolfdog]

Im gonna take the easier route then and maybe just go with 3 dwarf puffers. Hows that sound then?

This is all still up in the air and im not totally sure what i want to do yet

Wolf

 

[andywg]

I'd advise against 3 DPs in a 10 gal, you really have to stick to 5gals per DP.

I wouldn't advise a brackish for anything much less than 50 gals just to ensure that the levels stay constant and there's more room for errors.

 

[freeandhappyfishing]

try a red eye there cute ive seen them chomp a gold fish in half

 

[jflowers]

try a red eye there cute ive seen them chomp a gold fish in half

Strangest reason for being cute I have heard

Jon

 

[Puffer_freak]

Aww! But that is cute Jon! I mean, I'm sure the 5 year old will see that its cute when Bubbles and Nemo are gobbled up!



Personally, I'm not into goldfish, although I wouldn't feed one to my puffs, but yeah, I think that all puffers are cute! It's my downfall... - did that make sense?

10 DPs in a 10 gal is the rule!

 

[andywg]

10 DPs in a 10 gal is the rule!

umm, I'll assume you were missing the sarcasm smilie there...