I currently have a 45 gallon freshwater tank with about four small to med size African Cichlids. I have found another home for the fish, and I want to convert my tank to brackish water and house two green spotted or figure eight puffers. Since the water is already cycled and in good condition, can I just add marine salt to make it brackish? Or do I need to clean out the tank and start all over?
2007-07-30 14:03:20 · 5 answers · asked by BPL 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
If you keep an ammonia source in the tank and slowly add the salt over the course a a week or two, it will convert over with no problems and stabilize without a hassle at all.
MM
2007-07-30 14:11:39 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You should be able to just add the marine salt. Chances are any puffers you'll buy locally will be in very little salt already if you get them through a "chain" store or a WalMart. Their tanks are connected, so they generally can't have a separate brackish set-up.
Find out what salinity the fish are being kept in, and match this in your tank first, so there's less adjustment for the fish. Then gradually increase the salt to the amount that's needed (over a matter of months). This lets you keep the same bacteria that are in the tank, and if you need to go up to marine salinity (for the spotted) this give the bacteria a chance to develop for saltwater.
You may want to research keeping multiple puffers per tank - this may work for juveniles, but not always for adults.
2007-07-30 14:12:23 · answer #2 · answered by copperhead 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Converting to a salt water tank is easy. The problem is going from salt back to freswater. Just add salt slowly and get yourself a water kit at petsmart or wherever you choose and bring it up to the right levels. Be sure when you are done adding that you let the tank sit empty for a couple days
2007-07-30 14:23:14 · answer #3 · answered by Boxer Lover 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Marine salt, any sort ought to artwork. you want a hydrometer or refractometer to degree specific gravity (hydrometer is a few distance greater maximum reasonably-priced). the main suitable thank you to boost the salt point is steadily over a volume of time and carried out in small incriments. i might do it with water transformations the place the salt content fabric will boost purchase a million.002 (specific gravity) at a one to 2 week era or slower. There are actually not any absolute values for what's "brackish" yet i might shoot for an end factor of a million.009 to a million.013 despite if the crabs might desire to tolerate a huge selection of salinities. Fish innovations would be limited via the tank length and means for being crab nutrients, yet mollies might desire to artwork. There are some goby species that would artwork of they are not getting eaten. (White cheek goby, bumble bee goby "crab nutrients", pink spot goby, knight goby). The final 2 get somewhat huge for the ten gallon nevertheless, you will possibly be able to desire to basically placed one in and it would be comfortable. a greater tank might supply you with greater innovations. i think of you have a good atmosphere for the rcc's particularly with the salt addition. i don't be conscious of in the event that they have molted yet, yet whilst not, they are going to whilst they strengthen. it extremely is going to look like they died as they pass slowly out of their previous shell leaving the whole exoskeleton in the back of. i might furnish some hidding spots because of the fact they are going to be comfortable for an afternoon and could be open to predation via the different crabs.
2016-10-01 01:40:00 · answer #4 · answered by belvin 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
thats a goood idea
2007-07-30 15:09:41 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋