salinity levels for java fern, java moss, micro sword, water sprite.

[carpenter547]

what should my sg. be for growing

java fern *been told 1.010 is good*
java moss *been told 1.010 is good*

water sprite
micro sword or another similar "grass plant"

my s.g. is 1.010 but i have a dragon goby who doesn't love light.

right now for his happiness i have wraped tinfoil around the light bulb. it is a 30 inch tank and the whole light bulb minus about 2 inches is wrapped.
a neat side effect of that is i can now see the water ripples in my tanks .

i read that java fern and moss actually like a dimmer tank.
i also read that watersprite likes bright light.
i haven't reached the research for the micro swords or other grass since they will prolly be going in my fuge/ qt tank when i get it set up.

so... the logic is this plant the java fern on my ship wreck to replace the fake seaweed. use the java moss to block some of the light from above that shines into the shipwreck *make a dark cave for goby*

buy a some what largish treasure chest deal plant java moss in it give molly fry some where to hide *if needed* after moving from qt/ fuge tank.

then use the watersprite as a floating top cover to keep the tank dim under neath in the spots i want it dim in. i will use fishing line *clear* and pruneing to keep the open spots open.


can this set up be acheived with out alot of fancy gear or am i gonna have to go get fertelizer and expencive lights and co2 etc.?
and will this work with my salinity?

 

[carpenter547]

oh yeah!

ps. the inhabitants of this tank will be as follows

20ish ghost shrimps
quite a few mollies "lyre tail" *prolly silver mabey half silver ones half black ones.
a violet goby unless and until he grows out of it. *yes i know they can CAN get to 24 inches and that is way to big for the tank but most in tanks barely get to 15 and some never make it past 12. if he stays at 12 then this tank will be fine for him* also he came from walmart so i am not sure if that is going to stunt his max size or not i have heard that is the case with these gobys.

 

[carpenter547]

don't often do this but please
Bring
Up
My
Post

thanks.

 

[rainbowcharmer]

I was thinking you were mixing fresh/saltwater creatures, and now I get to eat my words. I was thinking of the wrong gobies apparently. Still... I'm not sure about ghost shrimp in a brackish setup... I don't know how they'd do there. I'm also not sure how the plants will do in a brackish setup, but hopefully someone with a little more brackish experience will be along soon.

 

[dundadundun]

java moss should be fine
marimo balls too
ghost shrimp... i believe it would depend on species.
mollies should be fine

that's about the extent of my brackish knowledge and you might want to confirm that, lol. sorry.

 

[carpenter547]

naw no problem guys

thanks for the reply

ghost shrimp have 2 species river and brackish variants.

both look the same and both will live up to sea water but there are alot of other more interesting and useful inverts in marine selection so they don't get used. just a little tidbit for you
i believe mollies are good up to sea water strenght.

i have heard marmo balls would work but i am just not that interested in them.

i suppose i will just have to use money to find this anser. ie. go by the java fern watersprite etc. plant them and see

how will dead or dying plants effect water quality and parameters?
increase in amonia nitrites natrates sofen water ? will i be able to tell when they die before they affect the water?

i just don't wanna drop some thing in have it die and my fish get sick.

 

[jpappy789]

Decaying plants will increase nitrogen (ammonia, etc.) and other dissolved organics in the water which will in turn increase the TDS (total dissolved solids) but it's a fairly slow process and shouldn't be too much of a strain on your bacteria colonies. I have plants dieing back all the time and never had issues, but you'll definitely notice when a plant has gone south.

 

[carpenter547]

I have plants dieing back all the time and never had issues, but you'll definitely notice when a plant has gone south.

alrighty then i will just give up and start buying and planting then.
i am pretty good at keeping fish.
pretty good at gardening.
not so sure about aqua planting but heck worth a try

 

[LiveMermaid07]

If it's not too late,

I've never messured my sg, but have used up to the 1 tblsp salt / 5g (I half that now).
Whatever ghost shrimp they have here at walmart and petsmart seem to be the brackish kind, they do fine.
All the java things have done between fine and great (moss, regular fern, and lacy / widelov fern).
Mollies need some salt or they'll act kinda dizzy.
I think watersprite is ok, but I only have an 18w flourescent over my 29 and think that is why I haven't been able to get mine to grow much at all, but I can't be completely positive that it's not both.
I think microswords are capable of adapting to brackish well.

I don't know about the lights, but as far as co2, you should be fine without, I think it would just be an optional extra with those plants. You might be able to get by without fertalizer (I don't know about the microsword). Seachem's Flourish is a fairly inexpensive way to add ferts. Runs about $8 + a bottle (my java ferns love it!).
(I think through the 22 of this month petsmart has it on sale for half!!). This stuff does great. I just use a dropper and drop it in the tank, but some plants (watersprite?) it can burn, so in your setup I'd suggest mixing it with a little tank water before pouring in.
Seachem also has a liquid co2 but this will melt some plants. With the jave and watersprite I've had I've found I can use only 1/4 strength of what the bottle says, and it has to be mixed with tank water before pouring in (especially near the 'sprite).

Good luck!

Any updates?