How would you start a Brakish water fish tank?

Question

i have a 20gallon fish tank and want to change it from freshwater to brakish water and need a step by step to start it out and maybe a few tips to maintain it

Answer 1

Brackish water is really not that much different than salt water. You can actually use the set up you have without draining your tank and starting over. YES your gravel will work for Brackish or salt water or you can remove it and add sand/dolamite crushed coral or what ever you want.

Everyone thinks that salt water is so difficult when it is actually easy when you get right down to it. The ocean never stays the same temps it is constantly changing and you would not believe how tolorant your fish really are in temperature change. I just got back from Florida where the water temps were below 62 and guess what? The star fish, the reef fish, the sea horses were all just fine swimming around the reefs. Amazing.

For your brackish water you still need to follow the procedure you do for salt water. What type of fish are you planning on having? There are very few TRUE brackish water fish. If you are thinking about a puffer....go full salt. Adult puffers live in FULL salt and only the young adults move from brackish water into full salt. You need to decide on fish, then what habitat they require or prefer that will determine a few things, like sub straight. Sand, rock, coral. Before you even think of buying your fish, you will need to do a few things.

Get your substraight together. Rinse it well with clean fresh water. Get your old gravel and decorations out (if you choose to do this). you will more than likely need to remove about 1/4 of your water. Put your new sub in. Remember only 1-2 inches to cover the bottom no more. If you are using an under gravel filter 1-1.5 to cover the filter. DO NOT GO BY WEIGHT. You also do not want more than 2 inches of sand due to pockets of bacteria (bad bacteria) forming in the tank.

Once this is done you can mix your salt for your tank. You will not be able to add fish for a couple of weeks so DO RUSH. You will need a sea salt such as Instant Ocean (a synthetic sea salt b ut works well) or Red Sea salt. In a seperate bucket mix tap water (about 4-4 1/5 gallons) with your chlor out "DO NOT USE STRESS COAT OR any other chemical. NovAqua+ is wonderful for all types of aquariums. Salt to water ratio should be around 1.5 pounds = 3 cups to 5 gallons. This is for a Specific gravity of 1.022. Since you will be making brackish water (1.01-1.05 SG) this is where you are aiming in your tank not the bucket. in you bucket of 4-5 gallons mix your 4 cups of salt dissolving it. I usually start with 1 gallon or so of hot tap water to dissolve the salt then cool it off with warm. You have no fish so it doesn't really matter at this point. Pour your salt mix into the tank. Let it mix and run for about an hour. Test the SG with your hydrometer. You should be around 1.0 give or tank. That is fine. Let the tank run for one week. Test every three days to check your water quality.

You can choose to run carbon filters in a salt/brackish tank however they are not needed. You may want to head to the bet store and grab phosphoras pads instead and cut them to fit where the carbon filters were. Or you can get a totally different filter i.e. one that contains a protein skimmer but really isn't necessary.

Now that you have your salt mixed with your partially cycled tank and an hour has passed, check your specific gravity (SG) It should read some where in the vacinity of

GET A NOTE BOOK! write down your test results and the day. Write down when you add fish, when a fish dies, etc. Everything. After a week of letting your tank run fishless, check your SG. It should still be around the same maybe a slight bit higher considering evaporation and salt concentration.

You are going to do a 20% water change. As was before if your SG is sitting at or below 1.0 you will mix 3.5 cups of salt to 4 gallons of water. If your reading is 1.01-1.05 you will mix the salt much less starting with 1 1/5 cups of salt. Test the SG. you should be around 1.02 perfect.

again, pour the new mix into your tank and allow it to run for an hour. Test the SG. I know this seems time consuming but if you want to start your tank off on the right foot, it will save you heartach in the future. Your tank should now be a stable 1.01-1.05. Honestly 1.05 is really where you want to be. However, be sure before adding fish (which still will be a while) what ever the fish prefer. Puffers, usually FULL SALT. So the higher end will work fine.

Now your tank needs to cycle. Please do not confuse a fresh water cycle to a marine cycle. Marine cycle will cycle within 6 weeks for LOWER END fish only. Damsels, black mollies etc. Since you have brackish water Black mollies or guppies will work. (Salt is too low for damsels or any other full salt fish). Since you are using the cycled water from your fresh tank, your brackish water should be ready for a test fish in about 3-4 weeks. (That is to say your water quality is where it should be.) Get yourself a good test kit. Your PH should be close to 8 but that too will be determined by the fish you decide to get eventually. Black mollies are tolorant of many types of water and temperature changes. In a marine tank a "mature" tank is one that has been up and running for 6 months to a year. This allows the marine bacteria to come to safe levels. Unlike the fresh water tanks that cycle in 4-6 weeks. Bacteria in a salt/brackish tank is different.

Depending on the fish you are planning on putting in the tank, find out from the pet store if the fish requires a "mature" tank or just a cycled tank. THIS IS IMPORTANT.

5-6 weeks you can add a new fish. Remember, never over load your tank with fish or add too many at one time. This reeks havock with the biological system going on in the tank.

Maintenance is just the same as it is for any other tank. 20% water change, however with salt, I suggest not doing water changes weekly. Once every two to 3 weeks once your tank is established. If you see your nitrates spiking before that time, do a water change.

I am fortunate enough with my large tank not to have to do water changes but once every two months or so.

remember when you mix your new salt water you want to get as close to your tank reading as possiable. So always get a reading on your SG prior to a water change. If it is a little bit higher due to evaporation, just mix the salt a little lighter.

If you need any other information, please feel free to email me any time and I will be glad to help.

Oh yes, forgot, you do have a heater do you not? Set it for around 75-78.

Answer 2

DanielleZ has the best advice here. And you do not need to change the waterevery week. Every two to three weeks, depending on your water quality is more than adaquate for brackish water.

Your temperature should not be 80-82 like stated above. Most brackish water fish are usually true fresh or true salt. Depending on your fish you should be around the 75-78 mark, however the oceans, lakes and Estuaries where these fish come from vary in temperatures from 45-75. Rarely if ever do esturarie temperatures reach the 80 degree mark since the water is constantly being fed by both fresh and salt water.

Most brackish water fish don't have REQUIREMENTs for bottoms. They take what they can get. Some may prefer a sandy bottom while others Prefer a rocky bottom but survive just fine in either. That would be like saying camels prefer the desert over a lush green pasture. (They prefer the lush green pasture) but survive just fine in the desert.

Maintenance is simple. You can scrape the glass with a razor, vac out the bottom replace your salt water, which as DanielleZ said slightly light since evaporation does evaporate the water and not the salt, but you will come to find salt residue gathering on the hood and filter. So yes mix your salt almost where you need it. You'll understand once it is up and running.

Answer 3

Well, you can probably use your existing equipment. If you have a hang off the back filter, that's fine. Don't use an undergravel filter, though.
You'll also need a reliable heater.
Make sure you have a secure lid because brackish water evaporates faster than fresh water.
You'll need a Thermometer and Hydrometer.
Brackish water areas always are covered in a sandy, silty, or muddy material, so try to stick with that in your tank. You can even use play sand, which is very inexpensive. Or marine aragonite, "Minerial Mud", etc.
For the salt, don't use regular freshwater aquarium salt - use a reef salt, like Instant Ocean.
Most commonly available fish appropriate for a 20 gallon tank will be fine in a 1.005-1.010 salinity level. pH should be 7.5-8.5 and temp should be around 80-82. These are rough guidelines, of course - research your fish before getting them to make sure they work in your tank.

Water changes can be done as usual, replacing 20-25% of water every week.

Note that when you top up your tank, do NOT add salt to the new water because you're just replacing evaporated water. When you're doing a water change, DO add salt to the new water because you took some salt out.

Answer 4

It's really quite simple. You can convert your freshwater tank to brackish by forst selecting the proper fish species for brackish and getting them comfortable in the tank. If they are sold in freshwater, leave your tank freshwater for now. If they are sold as brackish simply add as much salt as the shop does to it's tank so the salinity will be a fairly close match. Once the fish are in the tank add more salt to get to the right levels. Brackish water describes basically anything between purely freshwater and completely marine salt levels, so there is no magic number there. The important thing is to keep it about the same during the life of the tank. The only real maintainance difference it the fact that you will have to mix salt into your replacement water when you do your water changes.

If you think of it as a freshwater tank with lots of extra salt you will have it together.
Of course, you will need to be careful as to what fish or plants you add to the tank. Both to be sure they are ok for brackish and to be sure they are coming from brackish tanks.

MM

Answer 5

Fish are living creatures and if you buy them there lives are your responsibility.
What type of fish were you hoping to keep, Scats, Monos, Archers, Puffers, Shark cats? Any of these species grow too big to be kept in 20 gallons.
As for the previous answer just because he has a larger volume doesn't mean you can stretch water change periods.
I would very much doubt that it would be possible to maintain acceptable nitrate levels with bi-monthly water changes.
Read some books or ask at your local fish shop only take advice from someone in there that has experience. Don';t assume because they got a job there they're experts.
Look through Yahoo Answers (fish) most questions are about fish deaths or disease, If people are not competent enough to keep these fish then they shouldn't attempt to.
READ BOOKS!!! Sorry to go on

Answer 6

i highly reccomend that you do not do this brakish is hard to maintain and it is VERY EXPENSIVE