I've confused myself...

[Cearbhaill]

Everytime I embark on a new topic (i.e. brackish) I end up confusing myself for a time until I get everything sorted out.
I think I am on the right track here, but need my hand held
I want to verify that I am on the right track.

I have set up a 29 gallon tank in hopes of finding two F8 puffers that get along. I originally thought I would go with a solitary SW variety, but think F8's are better suited to this size space long term. I have used aragonite sand, and have several pieces of "dead" live rock for shelters and to break things up visually.
Now I am finding that live rock will not function as a biological filter in BW- is that correct? But I can leave the dead rock in there as decoration, right?
It is Tampa Bay Saltwater rock that I have had dry in a bucket in a closet for months, and I would really prefer to keep it in the tank if it will not hurt things.

I should cycle this tank as FW or BW?
I am unclear whether it would be best to acclimate the F8's to brackish conditions while they are in the q-tank or after they go into the display. I would of course determine the SG that my LFS keeps the F8's in and raise the SG .002 a week via water changes (with a target SG of around 1.008?) but don't know /when/where it would be best to do this?

I told you I had confused myself.
I also have several varieties of BW tolerant plants that will go in at the beginning of this acclimation period- is it best to do this in the display or in the q-tank?

I have plenty of nuisance snails in my planted tank, and also keep a feeder tank of ghost shrimp going. This in addition to grocery store seafood bits should be a proper diet?

Please correct me if I have a bad plan.
I just set this tank up to begin cycling yesterday, so it is not too late to change things (i.e. SG) if need be. I am most concerned about leaving the dead rock in, and if cycling as freshwater or brackish is indeed the best way to go about things.

I really want to make a nice home for these fish, and keep them as happy as possible.

Thanks!!

 

[TKOS]

Cycle the tank as brackish as the bacteria are different. That is assuming a fihsless cycle. If that is the case then you will probably want to do the acclimation and adjusting in the qt tank. Of course if you are bringing only those 2 fish then it seems that the main tank could be the qt and you can fishless cycle at the same SG as the LFS. The bacteria should be able to catch up as you slowly change the SG over the course of many weeks.

I do not see a problem with the dead live rock. It won't function as it did in saltwater but will be a fine home for bacteria to live in, and with good water flow will still act as a sort of filter.

 

[OrionGirl]

The rock should contribute to the filtration--it will become colonized with the appropriate bacteria as the tank cycles. The bacteria that were on it initially wouldn't have survived, since they need the marine salinity, but the concept is valid for all aquaria.

Sounds like you're on the right path. Since you'll be quarantining the fish, starting with the sg from the LFS, I would set the 29 up at your target sg, and then use the quarantine time to also get the puffers to that same level.

Plan on crunchies every day. My planted tanks couldn't produce enough snails to feed my South Americans, even combined with ghost shrimp and crab legs (the deli will often give you the little broken bits they can't sell for free). I underestimated their need for crunchy stuff--and eventually gave them a home with someone brave enough to trim their beaks, something I never had the confidence to try.

 

[beviking]

...and crab legs (the deli will often give you the little broken bits they can't sell for free). QUOTE]

So then you feed just the crabshell or does it need some meat hanging on?

 

[RTR]

First find out whether your LFS will have the F-8s in FW or in BW. The majority of distributors and LFS seem to use FW.

I am personally uncertain of where the flip-flop in bacteria occurs. Per Marineland's suggestions on use of FW versus SW Bio-Spira, the implication is that the switchover is midrange BW, which is higher than normally used for F-8s, so I would cycle FW.

Conservative practice to avoid osmotically stressing the fish, bacteria (both nitrification and heterotroph), and in fact the whole micro-ecology, is to stick with the maximum change of no more than 0.002 per week - remembering that ther is no penality for going slower - that is a pragmatic figure, a rate at which most folks have no problems with unoxidized metabolites, cloudy water outbreaks, etc.

If the "dead" live rock has not been in water, it could/likely should have a period in QT itself to burn out the dead, dried, organics - comparable to that practiced with new live rock, but in FW. You do not want it polluting the new tank with leftovers, but otherwise its use is fine.

 

[OrionGirl]

The bits I got always had some meat in them to entice the fish into attacking them--it was mostly the tips of legs and parts of claws that I got.