Tank setup - substrate advice
Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:33 am
Hi all,
So I kind of rescued 2 GSP who were living in an un-cycled 10L freshwater tank being fed frozen bloodworm cubes (dropped in frozen), no heater & no airline.
Even so, I had no experience with Puffers or brackish tanks and did not really know what I had let myself in for, but have done my research now and I am where I am.
Initially I got them into my freshwater 60L tank which is way too small but a better life for the time being, they are currently 1.5 - 2" to tip of tail.
This is my two cute guys eating a meaty lunch (no longer an exclusive frozen bloodworm life): https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10154608948637567
so I have just bought a big 250L tank for them and am in the process of getting it ready, I have a lot of experience with freshwater and will have the tank fully cycled and ready before adding them.
My tank will have a Fluval 404 with loads of media and I am also building a new nitrAte reactor (my last attempt was a bad design and did not work well), nitrAtes is the only area I struggle with as my tap water has high-ish Nitrates (20).
Water is very hard PH8.2 ammonia and nitrItes always kept at 0.
I have read up on how to slowly increase the marine salt so I don't crash my tank and I'm fine with all that.
My only real question is what substrate do you recommend I use, I want to have something easy to vac clean, never used sand but guess it is hard to keep clean, it has small-ish base as it's a tall thin tank, 3feet tall 3feet wide.
Any other advice you can offer a puffer novice, I have done a lot of research and am feeding shelled food now for their beaks.
I find it strange they are called green spotted puffers, the colouration on their heads is a vivid, almost luminous yellow, this seems to get more vivid when they are happy feeding, with this spread all over their body as they get older and I move to brackish water?
My Puffers: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10154608948637567
So I kind of rescued 2 GSP who were living in an un-cycled 10L freshwater tank being fed frozen bloodworm cubes (dropped in frozen), no heater & no airline.
Even so, I had no experience with Puffers or brackish tanks and did not really know what I had let myself in for, but have done my research now and I am where I am.
Initially I got them into my freshwater 60L tank which is way too small but a better life for the time being, they are currently 1.5 - 2" to tip of tail.
This is my two cute guys eating a meaty lunch (no longer an exclusive frozen bloodworm life): https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10154608948637567
so I have just bought a big 250L tank for them and am in the process of getting it ready, I have a lot of experience with freshwater and will have the tank fully cycled and ready before adding them.
My tank will have a Fluval 404 with loads of media and I am also building a new nitrAte reactor (my last attempt was a bad design and did not work well), nitrAtes is the only area I struggle with as my tap water has high-ish Nitrates (20).
Water is very hard PH8.2 ammonia and nitrItes always kept at 0.
I have read up on how to slowly increase the marine salt so I don't crash my tank and I'm fine with all that.
My only real question is what substrate do you recommend I use, I want to have something easy to vac clean, never used sand but guess it is hard to keep clean, it has small-ish base as it's a tall thin tank, 3feet tall 3feet wide.
Any other advice you can offer a puffer novice, I have done a lot of research and am feeding shelled food now for their beaks.
I find it strange they are called green spotted puffers, the colouration on their heads is a vivid, almost luminous yellow, this seems to get more vivid when they are happy feeding, with this spread all over their body as they get older and I move to brackish water?
My Puffers: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10154608948637567
