Thinking About A Possible Brackish Tank-I Have A Few Questions On How

[kiwi210]

I have a lot of experience with saltwater and freshwater tanks but I never had a brackish. I'm a little confused on how to get one started. Does it need live rock? What should the specific gravity be? What type of substrate should I use? Is it possible to do a nano tank? 

 

[DHJac]

Do you have any fish in mind for this tank?  Other than the fact that they all include some amount of sea salt, brackish tanks cover a wide range of water parameters depending on the type of stocking you want.  Many brackish fish need a SG <1.05 while others can go full marine or anywhere in between.  Live rock is not needed but some brackish fish prefer hard, alkaline water so coral sand or limestone rocks added to the tank help. Nano tanks would be fine if you want to keep some of the smaller goby species or a single puffer but most of the brackish mainstays (scats, monos, columbian cats, etc) require larger tanks because they are schooling fish requiring 3-6 friends AND grow quite large.  
 
Once you decide what type of brackish fish interest you, then you can figure out the size of the tank, SG, substrate etc.  There is a great book by Neale Monks called Brackish Water Fishes that gives you a breakdown of all the available species and the water conditions to keep them.  Might be hard to find but it has been a great help in shaping the stocking plan for my tank.
 
Dave

 

[kiwi210]

Do you have any fish in mind for this tank?  Other than the fact that they all include some amount of sea salt, brackish tanks cover a wide range of water parameters depending on the type of stocking you want.  Many brackish fish need a SG <1.05 while others can go full marine or anywhere in between.  Live rock is not needed but some brackish fish prefer hard, alkaline water so coral sand or limestone rocks added to the tank help. Nano tanks would be fine if you want to keep some of the smaller goby species or a single puffer but most of the brackish mainstays (scats, monos, columbian cats, etc) require larger tanks because they are schooling fish requiring 3-6 friends AND grow quite large.  
 
Once you decide what type of brackish fish interest you, then you can figure out the size of the tank, SG, substrate etc.  There is a great book by Neale Monks called Brackish Water Fishes that gives you a breakdown of all the available species and the water conditions to keep them.  Might be hard to find but it has been a great help in shaping the stocking plan for my tank.
 
Dave

 
Thinking about a single puffer tank. Probably either a figure eight or green spotted. 

 

[iliveinazoo]

They both have different requirements. The figure 8 needs around 60l per fish and around SG1.003-SG1.005 @25°C the GSP needs around 120l per fish and 1.010+ @25°C. Most move their GSP's up to marine conditions as they get older to get the benefits of live rock filtration which kicks in around SG1.018 I believe.

 

[kiwi210]

Would I be able to do a nano tank with one of them? I'm a little unfamiliar with them, not sure how big they get or anything. Just looking to try something new! 

 

[DHJac]

You could do a GSP in a nano tank.

 

[iliveinazoo]

A nano goes up to 60litres (15(US)G? Then yes you can house a Figure 8.