how do i maintain PH while dropping SG?

[my name is mike]

one more question if i may...

i have read a lot, on this and other sites, about brackish plants and what people feel will work and what wont --

since you both obviously have a lot of experience with brackish plants, are there a few species you would recommend over others for a beginner ? --

lighting will be a 65 w PC 6700

[nmonks]

At a low salinity (SG 1.003) almost anything that thrives in (rather than puts up with) hard, alkaline water will do well in brackish water. Giant vallis, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Anubias, hornwort, Elodea, Hygrophila, etc. Just avoid stuff that needs soft or neutral water conditions, like most Cryptocoryne spp. or Nymphaea spp. Some people have even managed to get good results with hard water Echinodorus spp. but I'm not among them. I have had good luck with Aponogeton crispus, but it isn't always easy to tell if this species is thriving or surviving, given it goes dormant for months at a time.

Once the SG reaches 1.005, your best bet is to stick with plants that naturally come from brackish water. Java fern, Java moss, Cryptocoryne ciliata, Bacopa monnieri, Samolus valerandi, Crinum calamistratum and Crinum pedunculatum, "algae balls", Lilaeopsis brasiliensis.

Some of these, like Bacopa and Samolus are NOT easy plants, and need rich substrates and MASSES of light. On the other hand, Java fern, Java moss, and Cryptocoryne ciliata are pretty easy. Crinum calamistratum isn't especially difficult and is a stunning plant when mature.

There's an excellent list and discussion here. The Aqualog book has quite a long discussion but mostly on algae and above-waterline plants. There's a few pages on plants in my book too, but nothing much above what I'm saying here. After all, it's a book about fish rather than plants!

Cheers, Neale

[my name is mike]

Thanks! - i was def going to try java fern and moss, and now i have a few more to try

yeah , i had read that thread -- good stuff

whats your book all about???

[nmonks]

Brackish water fishes, what else!



Amazon link.

Cheers, Neale

whats your book all about???

[my name is mike]

very cool ,

i might just have to pick up a copy !

[RTR]

I did agree that specialized materials make start-up easier, but long-term make little difference in my tanks. The substrate texture is far more important long term IME. Once the tank is stable (3-6 months) or mature, the presence or absence of laterite, a peat layer, etc. becomes moot.

Laterite and loam are two quite different things - unmineralized loam in a tank is an invitation to algae explosion at best, terminal toxicty at the worst - from the excessive organics.

Soil based tanks do handle differently, but that is not the question. I have never run BW soil-based substrates, so have no experience there.