Brackish Planted Tank?

I'm building a new planted tank, and I was looking for some advice on whether or not I should go brackish. I'm always up for a challenge, but brackish is uncharted territory for me. I guess I got the itch when I bought a marine setup on Craigslist (hardly anything better than freshwater setup with a bag of salt). Anyway, I was thinking it would be cool to cleverly section off an area (with style of course) that was a refuge for brine shrimp to hatch and live. Chances are, they would become food for the fish if they ventured out of the refuge, which is a good thing. Fish... I'm thinking guppies (haven't had them since I was a little kid).

Am I trying to make a three course meal using only one pot here, or is this something that has been done already?

Anyone have plant suggestions?

I have on hand:
Amazon Sword
Dwarf Sag.
Val. Americana
Rotala Indica
Rotala Vietnam
Java Fern
Java Moss
Bolbitis Heteroclita
Water Wisteria
Glossostigma E.
Frog bit

Proposed tank: 50 gal with water line at 75% full and a custom 3D background (starting that today) Lights will be an experiment all its own... Probably a custom hood so I can move lights around til I get it right.

Thanks, Hrothgar. This is exactly what I'm looking for. I wanted Cabomba for my FW tanks too, but somehow I ended up getting substituted Rotala Vietnam when the supplier I had already paid had a shortage. I don't care for the RV... It looks scraggly, but hey, I tried something new lol

Keep that advice coming!

I'm not a beginner aquarist; I'm just new to brackish aquariums... to be clear. I have 3 very well established planted FW aquariums, so if I end up with something that doesn't work well in brackish, I can "save it" by relocation.

Thanks for the advice about not using Cabomba in brackish water, Jessica. I have seen a lot of different information, so I am interested in "live" advice like yours from experienced aquarist via this conversation.

Oh wow... Great information here! Thank you for pointing me (and hopefully others) in the right direction. I feel like brackish is the great unknown amongst many hobbyists. It's not just throwing some marine salt in your FW tank, that's for sure!

Because of limitations of time for close attention that a brackish tank would require, I am now leaning away from going brackish. This build will be in a public area at my cafe (http://flfarmersmarket.com). My TV tank gets a lot of attention from customers, so of course I have to keep with the fancy look in the public areas. It's been stable and balanced for a while now, so it's time for a new tank, haha!


Sorry for the bad photo... cell phone cameras don't like back lighting very much. It's a real 1980 Panasonic console TV re-vamped with a planted tank inside. There is a false back with a curved light to give the front glass a curved look even though all of the glass is flat. DIY LED lights in the top for evenly distributed ambient lighting for the plants.