The Puffer Forum

Well, see you again guys! i just toked the 1.018 to 1.020 (1.022) and everything is going absolutely OK, puffs are white bellied all time!
So, let the pics talk about them selves, but first my parameters

pH: 8.
Kh: 12.
Ca: 300.
Mg: 1150.
Sg: 1.020-1.022.
Tº: 26-28 Celsius.
NO2: 0ppm
NO3 < 0-1.0 ppm
PO4 < 1.0 ppm

Light:
2 T5 14W Actinic.
2 T5 14W 6500kº
"4800 Lumen

Filtration & Circulation:
1 Aqua Jet 40 (Filter 1400l/h).
1 Sunny SPH (1200l/h).
1 Resun EF-800 (Filter 800l/h).

Water warming:
1 Sunny SGH-329 100W.

Now the pics! i just took them with my cellphone so, excuse the quality


Chaetomorpha Crassa, the thinnest chaeto i found result in the best for the main macro algae mass it does not need a strongest water flow like other chaetos i know because i´ve also tried with 2 bulkier species but it died un about 2 or 3 weeks, so for my experience, the thinnest the better...
i also had a bad experience with skimmer at macro algae tanks, it seems these two guys do not get along, skimmer steals all the nutrients that macro algae needs, so it starts to die and another kind of algae, like green hair or brown glass blooms... so i removed the skimmer... and macro feels blessed growing every day


This is an "actinic" tank view, as we studied, lighting is 24/7 to avoid unwanted situations (like sexual reproduction and disintegration ), so actinic light works 12 hours (from 8pm to 8am).


And this is the "day" view of the tank, it is composed by 2 T5 14w 6.5000kº that works 13hors (from 8am- to 9pm).

And the puffers!!!


Here is my puffernand, the smaller T. Nigroviridis (used to be the bigger a month ago).
He loves the macro, he swims all over aroun and in the macro mass...


And here is the big one, puffergie, who grow up a lot, she does not seem attracted by the macro but loves to eat some little white bugs that live un the macro (i don't know what are they and where they came from).

So, this is all for today...
What do you think of it?
By the way, since weather got warmer (28º day - 26º night) puffers seem to be hungry all the time , i used to feed them every 48 hours, but now they even jump when i pass in from of them...
is this normal?, i mean, they eat all they can (get fat) and the next day in the evening they already sh÷#t and their bellies are thin again...

i cant help with the gsps, but wow, hard to believe that is a saltwater tank! i love it! and your gsps look so healthy! if you ived near here, you might make a small fortune in store credit selling that algae to my lfs lol. last time i was there, they had a sign up saying they want to buy some and to call the manager if you have some to sell.

Looks great! If you were in the US, I'd send you some of the red & blue macro algae I have.

Those little white bugs you were referring to might be pods - small crustaceans that naturally grow on rocks and some macroalgaes. It's a natural food source for your puffers. GSP's are little pigs when it comes to eating, and since they understand that you bring the food they'll get excited to see you. Awesome tank setup, by the way. Does that macroalgae grow on anything or does it just grow in a clump?

Hey there, is nice you liked it, it takes me a lot of work to make the hardscape

Yes hadla, it is saltwater i swear it! lol, it may be posted on SW forum?
I´m starting to sell small pieces to my lfs (thanks for the idea)it grows too much like a mass, I'm mean, we can not tie it and it does not attach to any surface, it needs to move with the current so it can "breathe", what we can do with this macro is to modeling or sculpting the shape, as we do with the bushes... we also need to give it a good shake twice a week to avoid detritus & other waste fill...

it is a shame we are separated by a looooong distance PP, anyway i really appreciate the intention
oh! tanks for the advice about the pods, if its natural i will let them there, i´ve also noticed that they love to eat brown algae lol

If anyone has a bunch of algae or moss I am definitely interested. I have a little bit of Java Moss strung around in my 55G with my GSP's and they seem to like it.

lol, its funny how algae is hated in freshwater and wanted in saltwater!

This is the first time i have seen macroalgae in the main tank. It looks very interesting. Fantastic job!

It is pretty common to keep the macroalgae in a refugium so that its care and upkeep can be a bit more specialized, and the 'pod production separated from the puffer(s).

It is reasonable that macrcoalgae (or seagrass beds in very large systems) are segregated. They tend to be demanding on light and current. Their needs do not often match those of the display fish.

FW has vascular plants in wide variety and lacks macroalgae. SW is the opposite with a wide variety of macroalgae and very, very few submerse vascular plants.

Yep, my GSP loves the chaeto, it will work from 1.020 and above... they seem to like to hunt & hide in the bush-like plants (or algae).

I do not hate algae, not even in FW, it looks nice in some cases for me LOL

Good to know you liked it terrance! like RTR says, i knew that macro algae was used in refugium but i think she deserves to be on the display if the fish needs allow it (my puffers seem to look fine and do not care about current, that is also stronger for the chaeto), cuz is quite a good worker talking about parameters care and also looks great, even so, my job it is not quite good as others i´ve seen...

i really only hate it when it takes over the glass on the front of the tank, lol. it does look nice if it covers some of the rocks and wood, etc. and i do have to say that i love my marimo balls!