You know you have a problem when...

[kcartwright856]

... you are still growing out your planted tank for dwarf puffers that you are getting this summer and are already planning a Figure-8 tank for next year.

I already have the tank picked out (and hidden in the attic so that the husband doesn't freak) and the scape in my mind. And a name.

I think I need puffer therapy.

[bertie 83]

We've all been there. I am still in said battle lmao

[Pufferpunk]

Say it after me, "I'm a pufferaddict & I'm powerless over puffers...

[Darielm]

"I'm a pufferaddict & I'm powerless over puffers...

And quite happy about it. saw me a nice C. Solandri today I'm thinking about...

[sgtmyers88]

I actually started looking for a 90-125 gallon tank on Craigslist and some pet stores today. I found a 125 for 200 bucks that I may consider if my roommate doesn't kill me. Note that I already have two 55's a 20 and a 2 gallon tank littering the place. lol

[CoCoPuffs]

I actually started looking for a 90-125 gallon tank on Craigslist and some pet stores today. I found a 125 for 200 bucks that I may consider if my roommate doesn't kill me. Note that I already have two 55's a 20 and a 2 gallon tank littering the place. lol

At least they're not ferrets. I hate stinking ferrets...

[Pufferpunk]

Yes, ferrets DO stink!

[CoCoPuffs]

Yes, ferrets DO stink!

Warning #2. ~PP

[kcartwright856]

I am powerless.

My husband said that he doesn't want a house full of tanks, but I think that I can convince him that one more can't hurt.

I can't see any of the other puffers fitting my personality (or budget!), so I'm pretty sure that it will end with DPs and F-8s.

...Pretty sure.

[kcartwright856]

Just wanted to toss in an update.

I've been doing a lot of research on brackish planted tanks and I'm going to give it a shot. I have the tank set up now and I'm going to scape it and grow it out with some of the better known brackish-tolerant species.

I'm reading that one of the keys to making a brackish planted tank work is to acclimate the plants very slowly. As in, over several months.

All F8 puffers near me are sold as juveniles in freshwater, which is fine by me, but how would they fare with being acclimated to brackish over several months instead of weeks, alongside the plants? Is it crucial to their health and well-being to be acclimated to brackish ASAP?

My philosophy has been and always will be the health of the fauna over the flora, but it would be nice if things would work out to be best for both of them.

(Keep in mind that this won't be happening until next year sometime!)

[RTR]

I have never tested later water adjustment rather than immediate initiation of water by 0.002 steps weekly or alternate weeks. There I have no data on the detrimental effects or relatively short-term delay in adapting F-8s to more favorable water conditions.

But personally I would adjust the fish and the plants separately. As they need such light BW neither process needs to go very far.

[kcartwright856]

Sounds reasonable. I can work on setting up the planted tank and go brackish over the next year, and then drip the F8 when/if I ever do obtain it.

Thanks, RTR.

[Iliveinazoo]

Just wanted to toss in an update.

I've been doing a lot of research on brackish planted tanks and I'm going to give it a shot. I have the tank set up now and I'm going to scape it and grow it out with some of the better known brackish-tolerant species.

I'm reading that one of the keys to making a brackish planted tank work is to acclimate the plants very slowly. As in, over several months.

All F8 puffers near me are sold as juveniles in freshwater, which is fine by me, but how would they fare with being acclimated to brackish over several months instead of weeks, alongside the plants? Is it crucial to their health and well-being to be acclimated to brackish ASAP?

My philosophy has been and always will be the health of the fauna over the flora, but it would be nice if things would work out to be best for both of them.

(Keep in mind that this won't be happening until next year sometime!)

You can keep the tank at SG1.003@25DegC and drop the plants in, the key is to fertilise when you add them and keep on fertlising as recommended on the bottle or regime (i.e. E.I). Many of the leaves will die off because of the change in their conditions but if you use known Brackish plants then they will recover and show new growth within a week or 2. Remember to cut the dead and dieing leaves off as appropriate for the plant you have so that they don't pollute the water.

If you want to make it easier for your plants to recover quicker then reduce the SG to 1.002 and maintain until they show new growth, the F8 won't mind.

[kcartwright856]

Thanks for your input! I do only plan on using plants that others have confirmed to do well in brackish.

Your advice lines up well with what I researched. Several folks said that the plants seem to shed off all, or almost all of their leaves and grow anew as they adjust. I'll keep the snips handy.

I plan on using the same, or similar regime that I employ on my main tank. CO2, liquid ferts, root capsules, organic carbon.

I don't, however, plan on getting an F8 soon! I need to give my husband (and the wallet) some time to recover after buying my DPs, as well as get some more experience under my belt.

Hopefully by next spring I'll be ready. Until then... let the brackish planted tank adventure begin!

[kcartwright856]

Money is always a concern, so I wanted to run some math on how much cash in salt I would be burning through with my 50% x2 weekly water changes.

The tank in mind is 20 gallons, so I went with that for calculation purposes, even though it's less in actuality.

Looks like I can get a bucket of salt that mixes 160 gallons of a traditional SW SG, which I only need 1/5 of. That bucket is ~45 dollars. That 160 gallon bucket (x5) makes 800 gallons of brackish water for my purposes. 20 gallons of water a week has me using up one bucket every 40 weeks.

One dollar a week in salt is not bad at all! I already have the equipment that I need, so that cost is subtracted. And of course I'll need things like more Prime and whatnot, but the only thing concerning me was the salt. I was scared because I didn't know. I hear the words salt and water together in a sentence and I see dollar signs.

It looks like I might be putting this all together within the year!