Tank mods what do you think

djnzlab1 · Post by **djnzlab1** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:15 pm

HI,
Well I am fairly new to this brackish/salt water tank thing and have been keeping numerous species of Africans and south American ciclids for years.
And have finally bought a couple of those GSP. They are so cool.
I have gradually acclimated them to salt water and have filtration with a protein skimmer filter. I have been reading about nitrates and water quality on some saltwater set ups and they recommend getting a dwarf red mangrove and letting it root in the back of the tank or in a filter this will remove all of the nitrites and some of the phos without any additional filters.
Seem reasonable , I 'll let you know how it works.
I was also wondering about using dwarf hermits crabs to help clean the filter pads inside the filter.
Anyone ever tried this.
Doug

Boxermom · Post by **Boxermom** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:28 pm

Hermit crabs are terrestrial, not aquatic, I believe.

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:12 pm

SW hermits are entirely aquatic. Puffers are excellent jumpers & mangroves need to be out of water, so not a good combo.

PetPirate · Post by **PetPirate** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:48 pm

The case for mangroves is overstated. Think on this: The rate at which they can remove nutrients from the water will be proportional to their growth rate.

Mangroves grow veeery slowly.

Macro-algae grows much faster, can be harvested much more readily, can grow fully submerged, and can improve the habitat for the puffers.

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 12:32 am

I think it would look cool in my fuge tank though.

puffergeek · Post by **puffergeek** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 1:41 am

Pufferpunk wrote:I think it would look cool in my fuge tank though.

It certainly couldn't hurt in a fuge, and they look awesome! It might also provide cover for other fuge critters... even if it is not a great exporter itself. Did I mention how cool they look?

djnzlab1 , I totally agree with everyone: macro-algae is the way to go... but I also think I should mention live rock... this stuff is great at denitrification, looks great, and helps marine tanks in so many ways. It's just expensive and you need to read up on curing it.

As for macro-algae, try to find some chaetomorphia (looks like a green steel-wool pad). This stuff is the best I've seen and the easiest to grow. It also shelters lots of pods, mini brittle stars, etc, all of which are good things. I also like my red gracillaria... very pretty stuff and grows fast (i.e.- lots of nutrient export). Even a little bit of this stuff seems to go a long way!

I keep both these types in my GSP's and ceylon's tank... and since neither of these tanks have fuges (yet) I just keep it in the display tank as part of the aquascaping. The puffers don't bother it, so everyone is happy.

I've never had hermits in my filter (I would think most are way to big... I'd worry about them getting stuck and not being able to find new shells when needed) and I keep them totally out of my fuge... I only keep a few small species in my tanks to clean up some types of algae and uneaten food.

I'm not as big a fan of hermits as many people... I prefer snails, macro-algae, small (and reef/fish safe) brittle stars, and a few species of shrimp to hermits, although with my puffers, I'm kinda stuck with just hermits. Everything else is an overpriced meal

Good move on the skimmer! I cannot imagine a marine tank without one...

djnzlab1 · Post by **djnzlab1** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 3:03 pm

Hi,
Well I dropped the tree idea and went with two med sized pieces of Live rock they kind of look like dead coral, they are from Fuji I think he said.
I have a dozen tiny little blue hermits and 6 med red hermits.
The puffer love tormenting them, but hey it gives them something to do.
I also bought to bunches of some type of sea weed that's very green flat and small every thing seems to like to hide in it I hope it doesn't fowl the water. Its looks pretty neat the skimmer is foaming pretty good, I rinse it daily.
The buffers are becoming more active they seem to have finally adjusted to the increased salt.
No problems so far the skimmer didn't really kick in till the live rock was added it may be related to bacteria aided foaming?? I may have rushed this tank will slow down on feeding for a couple weeks and do some water changes asap.. no problems yet
Doug
I spend hours watching these guys I think I am hooked..

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 11:40 pm

I'd try soem macro algae.

I've got halimeda growing like crazy in my tank, under standard flourescents. Just remeber to dose with a calcium additive every day...

Boxermom · Post by **Boxermom** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 11:47 pm

Pufferpunk wrote:SW hermits are entirely aquatic.

Sorry, I didn't read that he was referring to SW hermits.

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Tank mods what do you think

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