Weird/fun brackish tank brainstorm

[Hhaynie]

I have no plans to build a brackish tank, but I heard a fun idea and wanted to expand on it.

fish
- a pair of Betta mahachaiensis
- 4 brackish bumblebee gobies
- 10 Psuedomugil signifer
plants
- mangroves
- dwarf sagittaria
- java fern
inverts
- aiptasia (yes, on purpose)
- amono shrimp
- nerite snails

macroalgae?
corals?

I'd love some collaboration, to try to find the venn diagram where it works and pushes the envelope. I'm new to the reefing world, so I don't know which corals or "reef fish" could adapt to the tank. my goal is a tank that makes people mad, until they look closer and see that it works.

 

[Alvaro_Spain]

I´m not sure java fern can live in brackish water.
You should first determine what salinity are you calling "brackish". 50/50?. Like 1.016? If so, some saltwater fish can live in there. My local fish shop actually gets clown fish in 1.016 when they buy them.
mollies are cool in brackish tanks.

 

[Subsea]

When I read, “I am new to Reefing and I like pushing the envelope“, I gather that you are young. So, I looked up your profile to see who I am talking to.

What happened to 90G school project you started last month?

new 90g reef stewardship, ideas?

hello, I am in my high school's aquaculture program, and recently got assigned to revive the 90 gallon reef tank with a 20 gallon sump. I have a couple years of planted tank experience, and have been reading non-stop about reef tanks for about a week now, but it's still pretty alien to me. There...

www.reef2reef.com

GSP is easy enough to manage. I prefer it on back glass, Don’t let it get on prized live rock, I got a ping pong sized frag of GSP 5 years ago. This picture shows 5 years growth with no pruning until 1 month ago. Tank is 75G and has been set up for 25 years.

 

[Hhaynie]

When I read, “I am new to Reefing and I like pushing the envelope“, I gather that you are young. So, I looked up your profile to see who I am talking to.

What happened to 90G school project you started last month?

GSP is easy enough to manage. I prefer it on back glass, Don’t let it get on prized live rock, I got a ping pong sized frag of GSP 5 years ago. This picture shows 5 years growth with no pruning until 1 month ago. Tank is 75G and has been set up for 25 years.

thanks for asking. The tank is going through a bit of algae (evaporation over christmas break), but the single candy cane has been doing better, and forming a new polyp. this thread isn't serious, just a fun brainstorm. gsp or xenia does sound the most possible, how do you think they would do in the more nutrient rich conditions that plants need? can they handle lower salinity?

 

[Hhaynie]

I´m not sure java fern can live in brackish water.
You should first determine what salinity are you calling "brackish". 50/50?. Like 1.016? If so, some saltwater fish can live in there. My local fish shop actually gets clown fish in 1.016 when they buy them.
mollies are cool in brackish tanks.

I was thinking maybe 10ppt, it's the higher end of what the mahachaiensis have been found in.

edit: i'm pretty sure fishbase only shows parameters recorded in the wild, so it might not represent the full range that the species can handle

 

[Subsea]

I run nutrient rich systems that simulate a Caribbean lagoon with salinity > 1.026. Softies, invertebrates and utility & ornamental macro algaes. Since your previous aquatic experience is fresh water plants make the change to full salt water with a macro tank.

Read what Russ Kronwetter, diver/owner of live_plants, says about seaweed in the marine aquarium:

https://www.marineplantbook.com/images/marineplantsbanner.bmp

 

[Subsea]

I was thinking maybe 10ppt, it's the higher end of what the mahachaiensis have been found in.

edit: i'm pretty sure fishbase only shows parameters recorded in the wild, so it might not represent the full range that the species can handle

My drinking water is higher than10ppt. Full ocean is 3500ppt.

 

[bushdoc]

My drinking water is higher than10ppt. Full ocean is 3500ppt.

Ocean salinity is 35ppt, Baltic sea has got salinity about 7-10ppt.Do you drink water from Baltic sea?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

My drinking water is higher than10ppt. Full ocean is 3500ppt.

Actually, ocean salinity is roughly 33-38ppt. Freshwater is 0.5ppt or less, and brackish is basically 0.5 and above up to roughly 33ppt.

Measuring Salinity | manoa.hawaii.edu/ExploringOurFluidEarth

manoa.hawaii.edu

 

[Subsea]

thanks for asking. The tank is going through a bit of algae (evaporation over christmas break), but the single candy cane has been doing better, and forming a new polyp. this thread isn't serious, just a fun brainstorm. gsp or xenia does sound the most possible, how do you think they would do in the more nutrient rich conditions that plants need? can they handle lower salinity?

Both Xenia & GSP thrive in high nutrients. Xenia needs additional iodine to thrive. Corals will not do well at lower salinities and neither will most macro algaes.

How serious are you with your aquaculture stewardship project?

 

[Subsea]

Ocean salinity is 35ppt, Baltic sea has got salinity about 7-10ppt.Do you drink water from Baltic sea?

Glad to know. I have never been to the Baltic Sea, but my well water is at 1000 ppm and I drink it as well as put it in reef tanks.

 

[Hhaynie]

My drinking water is higher than10ppt. Full ocean is 3500ppt.

Never mind, I read the wrong part of the article, here it is. Also, do you mean ppm? 3500 parts per thousand doesn't sound right.

"Inhabits brackish, frequently tidal, coastal swamps and is often associated with the mangrove palm Nypa fruticans, commonly-known as the nipa palm, the only species of palm specifically adapted to estuarine environments.

Males build their bubble nests between the palm branches or within the bracts at the base of the trees, these providing protection and shelter. Although brackish populations of both B. imbellis and B. splendens have been discovered t’s the only member of the genus to occur exclusively under such conditions.

PH at habitats in Samut Sakhon province varied between 6.87-7.80 with salinity ranging from 1.1-10.6 ppt. Sympatric fish species include Trichopsis vittata, Trichopodus trichopterus, Anabas testudineus, Aplocheilus panchax, Oryzias javanicus, Dermogenys siamensis, Channa striata, and Boraras uropthalmoides."

 

[Hhaynie]

Both Xenia & GSP thrive in high nutrients. Xenia needs additional iodine to thrive. Corals will not do well at lower salinities and neither will most macro algaes.

How serious are you with your aquaculture stewardship project?

Pretty serious. This thread is unrelated to that. My goal for the school project is to keep a nice looking reef tank, and I'm making progress.

 

[Hhaynie]

I run nutrient rich systems that simulate a Caribbean lagoon with salinity > 1.026. Softies, invertebrates and utility & ornamental macro algaes. Since your previous aquatic experience is fresh water plants make the change to full salt water with a macro tank.

Read what Russ Kronwetter, diver/owner of live_plants, says about seaweed in the marine aquarium:

https://www.marineplantbook.com/images/marineplantsbanner.bmp

This isn't a tank i'm planning on building, just a brainstorm. but I agree with you, and think macro aquascapes are gorgeous.

 

[Subsea]

Pretty serious. This thread is unrelated to that. My goal for the school project is to keep a nice looking reef tank, and I'm making progress.

I suggest you start a tank thread and use it as a journal to document your progress. Good fortune on your quest.

 

[Subsea]

“Never mind, I read the wrong part of the article, here it is. Also, do you mean ppm? 3500 parts per thousand doesn't sound right.”

I was only off by three zeros.

 

[bushdoc]

Glad to know. I have never been to the Baltic Sea, but my well water is at 1000 ppm and I drink it as well as put it in reef tanks.

It is probably 1000ppt TDS not salinity.Fresno water average is about 200 TDS.

 

[Subsea]

It is probably 1000ppt TDS not salinity.Fresno water average is about 200 TDS.

My ground water well at 800’ is in the Trinity Aquifer which was an ancient inland sea. The TDS of this water is 996 ppm. When I started growing ornamental sponges, I dosed silicates only to find out that my display tank water was already saturated in silicates. It seems that the shallow inland sea was populated with diatoms and when diatoms died they saturated the water with silicates.

 

[Subsea]

Never mind, I read the wrong part of the article, here it is. Also, do you mean ppm? 3500 parts per thousand doesn't sound right.

"Inhabits brackish, frequently tidal, coastal swamps and is often associated with the mangrove palm Nypa fruticans, commonly-known as the nipa palm, the only species of palm specifically adapted to estuarine environments.

Males build their bubble nests between the palm branches or within the bracts at the base of the trees, these providing protection and shelter. Although brackish populations of both B. imbellis and B. splendens have been discovered t’s the only member of the genus to occur exclusively under such conditions.

PH at habitats in Samut Sakhon province varied between 6.87-7.80 with salinity ranging from 1.1-10.6 ppt. Sympatric fish species include Trichopsis vittata, Trichopodus trichopterus, Anabas testudineus, Aplocheilus panchax, Oryzias javanicus, Dermogenys siamensis, Channa striata, and Boraras uropthalmoides."

I map quested your location. How far from The Great Salt Lake are you? Find some brackish water and get some grass shrimp in your tank.

I started a Galveston Bay theme tank using live oysters as biofilter. Oysters need brakish nutrient rich water to multiply or consider live clams from seafood market.. Be a trailblazer and set up a clam biofilter in your reef tank.

 

[Hhaynie]

I map quested your location. How far from The Great Salt Lake are you? Find some brackish water and get some grass shrimp in your tank.

I started a Galveston Bay theme tank using live oysters as biofilter. Oysters need brakish nutrient rich water to multiply or consider live clams from seafood market.. Be a trailblazer and set up a clam biofilter in your reef tank.

Trust me, the Great Salt Lake is not an entertaining biotope. it's just toxic mudflats and brine shrimp. oysters could be a cool addition. Bettas and oysters, that's a weird tank.