The Puffer Forum

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Hi!

1. What is the running cost of a brackish tank? How much will marine salts cost me per month? Do I need anything extra (I read about live rock or something).
It depends how often you do water changes. I buy the Petco brand-the biggest box they have for $25 which would last me one month if I only had my low brackish tank.

2. How much are hydrometers? Do I absolutely need one?
Instant Ocean hydrometer-I paid $13
Yes, you absolutely do need a hydrometer or a refractometer because you need to measure the salinity and increase .001-.002 if you get the salinity wrong your tank can crash because the bacteria needs time to adjust. I also have a refractometer that I got to double check my hydrometer. Hydrometers are cheaper but I'm happier with my refractometer b/c of accuracy. If you decide on buying a hydrometer Instant Ocean is the most accurate one I've come across. I got mine refractometer on ebay for $30 (which took a month to get here ). Foster & Smith has one that's around $40.

3. Should I begin turning the tank brackish immediately? You can either cycle the tank brackish or cycle it freshwater and increase the salinity (as described above). Make sure you mix the salt in a container separately. There are ppl who follow this belief that if a fish is in FW it has to start it FW-I disagree. If there is a F8 in FW they well adapt well to salinity changes (they thrive in estuaries), the bacteria is more delicate. I personally don't see a point in cycling it freshwater when you could cycle it brackish and use the drip acclimation method which has worked well for a lot of people.

4. Is the F8 likely to eat my bumblebee gobies? What are the success rates keeping them with mollies or other tank mates (I'm guessing slim to none)? I've tried Mollies with my Figure Eight, Mollies don't understand the concept of territory and would swim up to him. It didn't work. I haven't tried BBGs yet but from what I've read their black/white stripes warn other fish to stay away-not sure if this is true.

5. Does anyone know if my Juwel Rekord 60 stock setup will be ok with the salt water? I'm not familiar with this maybe someone else can answer this.

6. I would never be slack with water changes (currently do about 50% per week), but I read that they are required less often with brackish water puffer tanks than freshwater ones because the salt surpresses the ammonia/nitrates. Is this true? Yes, it's true unless the tank is overstocked/underfiltered. I do water tests on all my tanks at least once a week, I'll only do a water change if I'm medicating or the nitrates are above 20ppm.
Recommend reading this thread
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3957&p=38624#p38624

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Alright,

I guess the cost will depend on how often you do water changes and how much you change, but I do 15 litre changes a week and this uses approx 3.7 ounces of salt (approx 0.105 kg). That costs me about a couple of pounds a month (if that). I’m fairly sure live rock requires a much higher salinity than an F8. In any case it’s not required.

I measure the salinity of my tank and any water I add as you need to ensure that it remains reasonably constant. Merely weighing the salt that you add may not be reliable as the salt absorbs water as soon as you open the bag and hence starts to weigh more.

I cycled my tank as brackish at the salinity that my lfs kept their fish.

I have four bb gobies with my F8. I added the gobies first and there is only some minor bickering at feeding time, never any damage.

I have had a Rekord 70 set up as a low end brackish for about four months now. The only problem I had was that the F8 managed to jump onto the filter casing, which is just above the water line. Fortunately I was watching at the time. I placed some filter wool between the filter and the lid to prevent him doing this again.

I carry out weekly 20% water changes regardless of the nitrate level. My reasoning is that in an enclosed environment there are likely to be other nasties accumulating.

Hope this helps.

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You could get on of those net breeders from Walmart for like 3 bucks if u wanted too.

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