The Puffer Forum

Just bought an 80g from a guy on Craigslist that will be the future home of some type of puffer, preferably GSP and I need some help as to what the best setup I can do for them is.

He told me that he previously had the tank set up as a saltwater system, now here is my issue. The two filters he had with the tank were a Marineland Emperor 400, and a Marineland Canister Filter (H.O.T. Magnum) says its only rated for a 55g tank.

There seems to be a decent bit of salt or some type of white cruddy build up on a the filters and the bio wheels look pretty gross. Since i plan on setting up my tank as either light brackish or pure fresh depending on where i secure my fish from will the filters being used in a pure marine environment affect anything for cycling.

Also, Will this be adequate filtration for 1-2 Green spotted Pufferfish? Or should i just throw these filters in storage and get some amazing new filter? I know adding some filter media into one of the new filters will speed things along, does this mean like an entire cartridge from one of my 2 filters on my already established tank, or just pull a bit of the material off one of the cartridges and put it in the emperor in the 80g?

I've browsed a little bit about substrates to be used for puffers and see that sand is the best. I may recall someone saying pool filter sand from a pool supply store is the cheapest and or best to use for the hobby, is this true?

Also, since these guys are brackish fish, can i do the standard fishless cycle method that lady hobbs has stickied? Or should i head over to the salt water section?

Hi and welcome to the forum.those filters should be fine for now so long as you give them a good clean. Use as much established media as you can without risking a crash on your other tank, this will speed up the cycling process on your new tank. An 80 g will make a good home for 2 gsp, pool filter sand is absolutely fine. Are you going to aim to get your gsp into a marine environment in time?

I would not suggest pool filter sand for BW or SW. Aragonite sand would be preferable if you intend to go full marine with a couple of GSPs.

If full marine is the goal (best and most economical long-term), the existing filters will do initially. They should be replaced with LR, a good skimmer and ideally should have a macroalgae refugium added when full marine.

I can see why that guy gave up his marine system if he was using those filters. Neither are the correct filtration for SW.
As RTR said, when you get hem up to SW levels, you will be looking for 1 1/2-2lbs live rock/g, good flow around those rocks with several powerheads & a good quality protein skimmer. It will have to be a HOB, unless you drill this tank for a sump (recommended) or use an overflow (I don't trust them).

As bertie said, you can start out with those 2 filters, since it is most likely the puffers you are buying will be housed in FW at the store. Cycle the tank as FW & you can slowly raise the SG to marine within a couple of years (or sooner, if you wish).

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This is my 2nd tank I have now, and on my 40 g, i have an aqueon 70 and a Penguin 200 biowheel. If I were to take the two filter media cartridges from my penguin 200 and put them in my new 80g, would my tank be good to go to introduce my two GSPs into the tank?

I see that water changes are going to be a big deal for any puffers and I've read about some people using a powerhead and hosing from a big box home improvement store to pump water from you mixing container into your tank. Does anyone have any picture examples or recommendations as to which ones to get for this? Also, for cleaning the substrate, I tried one of those 50' aqueon hoses in the past, but it wouldn't fit on any faucets in my apt. Can you buy different sized adapters at a home improvement store so i don't have to haul 30 buckets back and forth each week?