My new 37 gallon brackish setup tell me what you think

[PuffieUno]

Alright im gonna start out by saying i am new to brackish water. I have successfully kept a 55 gallon freshwater and a 150 gallon saltwater reef tank. I absolutely love my large reef until i went to a funeral over a weekend and came back to find my whole aquarium crashed. So i decided to sell it. I am now jumping into brackish water for the lovely little green spotted puffer. Okay so here is my setup ...

37 gallon marineland eclipse mirror back

Bio wheel that came with the tank that does 250gph

Top fin 55 gallon heater

24 inch T8 Daylight Bulb

24 inch T8 Actinic bulb

I know i need more filtration so any comments or advice is gladly accepted as i want to make this aquarium perfect for the Green Spotted Puffer...

Day 1 no Water (2).JPG

[PuffieUno]

Here is my salinity as well.. I know the salinity is high but my Local Fish Store keeps their puffers in a salinity of 1.012..

[bertie 83]

Most keepers here keep their gsp in marine conditions and encourage it. It will save your cash on purchasing as much salt in the long run

[PuffieUno]

Well my plan was to eventually keep him in full marine. I planned on increasing the salinity .002 every time i do a water change until i make it to 1.022. I was also wondering if the little guy could live with corals and damsels.

[bertie 83]

They tend to nip and eat coral im afraid. Damsels could work? Most likely nt in a 37 tho

[PuffieUno]

well darn hmmm i guess saltwater fish would be okay. What temprement should the other fish be to survive with the puffer

[bertie 83]

In that size tank its only really enough space for the puffer.

[PuffieUno]

Okay well i will put him in there and get my 55 gallon going on saltwater... Also do you know much about fluval canister filters. I was going to add it on to the 37 gallon to clear the water up.. The bio wheel really doesnt do much

[xrayjeeper83]

you can give corals a try. My GSP could careless about them. Every puffer is different

[bertie 83]

At brackish levels it will be fine. When you hit full salt prob not ideal, can be nitrate factories. Also forgot to say earlier that puffers really should not be mixed with other fish, it normally ends in tears

[PuffieUno]

I had been reading about puffers liking to kill other fish. Would it be okay to leave the tank at about 1.018 instead of full salt. Would the canister be okay in that?

[Pufferpunk]

How did your reef crash in only one weekend?

[PuffieUno]

i still havent been able to figure that out but when i say weekend i mean like 6 days.. The only thing i can guess is red algae built up in the refigium.

[PuffieUno]

also another thing i noticed was i lost lighting as well . possible power surge knocked them out because i checked the ballast and they were fried the resistors inside them were burnt. But like i said i wasnt really sure.

[Pufferpunk]

I have tons of cyano in my fuge. Corals can live without light for some time...