My First Brakishwater Tank and Questions

[Fishfriend1]

So, I'm starting my first ever brackish tank. I've done fresh, i've done salt, so I figured how hard can it be to do a half-n-half tank? Plus, I have a decent amount of extra salt water and a 30gal tall FW tank that can be become Brackish with ease

S0, the first inhabitants will be some brackish hermits and a lot of brackish snails, as well as plants that will do fine in brackish water. Don't ask for any names, can't help you there. Anyway, the tank is waiting to be moved and set up, so I have a few questions first:

Will I be able to call it "brackish" if it's got 15-20gal Salt Water and 10-15gal Fresh Water?

Would the 2 brackish hermits and 4 brackish snails be able to go in it right away, otr should I wait? (they are in a holding tank right now, with the water they came in)

What kind of acclimation process should I go with, drip is my preffered?

What kinds of fish could I eventually put in with them?

If I had a massive piece of driftwood, would I need to take it out of the 30gal or can it stay even though it's a FW driftwood?

Thanks and I am hopeful for my first Brackish Tank!

 

[Fishfriend1]

*sigh* guess I'm going in blind then...

 

[londonloco]

I've done a brackish tank once, but it was about 8 years ago. I remember the amount of salt was not hit or miss, you have to target a specific SG, using a hydrometer or a refractameter is the easiest way. I'd suggest googling how to set up a brackish aquarium, def do not "go in blind".

 

[TabisFish]

I've done a brackish tank once, but it was about 8 years ago. I remember the amount of salt was not hit or miss, you have to target a specific SG, using a hydrometer or a refractameter is the easiest way. I'd suggest googling how to set up a brackish aquarium, def do not "go in blind".

+1 it's a specific SG... You can't just add half saltwater half freshwater haha

 

[spencerguy1]

maybe keep what you have and get one archer fish, great fish, but that would rule out anything else. might get too big though... too bad you cant get a puffer, they would kill your hermits and snails...

 

[Fishfriend1]

This is the SG I needed: 1.005 and 1.010. This is the SG I have: 1.012. Not to far off am I? Thank you dumb blind luck Besides that, brackish can range from true water (1.0) up to Salt Water (1.020) though I will be trying to keep it in the optimal range of course.

For final stock, I was thinking to try my 3 female mollies in the brackish (apperently they are brackish fish). Also, what about 2-3 Bumble Bee Gobys? Archer fish will get WAY to big (looked it up, max size 1ft) needing a 100gal tank when they grow up. Of course, my sources don't tell me the specific gravity that a bumble bee goby needs... figures. Well, a nice long drip aclimation should cover that, right? Puffers look awesome, maybe in the future.

Finally, the tank has driftwood and plants that will do fine in the brackish conditions (mostly sea-weed). I rnsed them out in tap water since they come directly from a tide pool at the beach.

Okay, think that's everything

 

[flossyfloofloo]

that more stable you can keep your SG the better for your fish . some species of arches stay around 6-8 inches , so keep looking at the proflies . BB gobies do better at the higher end of brackish , around 1.014 - 1.018

 

[Fishfriend1]

Thanks, I'll try to keep the SG very stable. And I will look for smaller Archerfish. If I can't find any then I will stick with bumblebee fish and simply increase the SG a little.

 

[spencerguy1]

i want an archerfish so bad, but i dont have the resources. all i know is that they like the top levels of the tank and are jumpers. in the wild, they spit water at bugs and spiders to knock them into the water and eat them. thats how they got there name. im not sure that they would do that in an aquarium...

anyway it looks like this thread is going somewhere. i cant wait to see the final product. keep me posted!:thm::dance:

 

[Khemul]

If you can, get a species name on the Bumblebee Gobies. There are a bunch of species that are given that common name. They range from freshwater to high-end brackish depending on which species you are looking at. You need to know which species you are working with, then you can figure out what SG they'll prefer.