The Puffer Forum

Woot! Finally got a 30g Cube / Penguin 300 / 200w heater.
Fish less cycle.

This is going to be a Low end brackish 1.005 - 1.008 and will
be the home to:
1 Figure 8 Puffer
6-8 BumbleBee Gobies

I am getting about 17-20lbs of sand and am going to mix in 15lbs of
crushed coral for the substrate.

About the Decor...
I don't like fake stuff. (all natural)
I plan to try out some Java Fern and "Banana Plants"
I cant see that a Mangrove would work in this tank.
I plan to use lots of "dead" sea rock. (not dead corals)
I know BB gobies love lots of hiding places and little homes that they will guard.

Anyone have any ideas on "natural" decor? I need allot of stuff in there because puffers can get bored, and the gobies need the territory.. however allot of plants will not live well in brackish water. I'm not sure driftwood is an option either, I need a higher PH.

thanks for any suggestions!

I'd use a larger percentage of aragonite or crushed coral for your substrate than sand. in fact i may stay away from the sand entirely. it'll be easier to clean and will help buffer your ph more effectively.

the stocking levels sound good for tank size, dimensions, and filtration.

as for plants, don't count on much growing. some of the nicer fake ones aren't really that bad looking at all IMO.

mangroves require a LOT of light and an open top tank. not worth it imo.

drift wood is a no no as well because it will lower your ph and soften the water.

it is possible to have a very nice tank using entirely fake decore. the key is to stay away from the "cheesy" fake decore.

Yeah, I agree with Phaedrus. Look for some nice fake decor. I've got a fake piece of DW in my F8 tank and after algae starts growing on it it loooks pretty real.

I do wish there was a plant/macro algae that could thrive in low-end BW though...

Everything in this tank is fake (except the puffers):

Paku wrote: About the Decor...
I don't like fake stuff. (all natural)

Thanks for the suggestions, but we just don't like the 'fake' look, like he originally said. We went to a Lfs last night, and found some great dead rock and some pretty natural looking seashells. I think we might just build on that, since the dead rock is $2/lb, and we got 5lbs last night; some really good pieces for our goby's (little hiding spots in the rock that they are gonna love!)..

The Fisherman wrote: I do wish there was a plant/macro algae that could thrive in low-end BW though...

Actually, it states on a website for bw plants, that Java Fern and Banana Plants are some of the few that can survive in it. I'm thinking that we might put some that we have in our other tanks, to see how well it does =)

we just don't like the 'fake' look

Hmmm.... most folks were shocked to hear that all my decor was fake!

Hachi wrote:

The Fisherman wrote: I do wish there was a plant/macro algae that could thrive in low-end BW though...

Actually, it states on a website for bw plants, that Java Fern and Banana Plants are some of the few that can survive in it. I'm thinking that we might put some that we have in our other tanks, to see how well it does =)

I am aware that these plants can survive in low-end BW, but I do doubt that they would really thrive like they would in FW.

Base rock would look nice in a F8 tank. I was considering making my new 20g F8 tank that is in the works look like a SW tank, by putting in base rock.

Ya, we appriciate all the great comments, however we want to go stricktly natural. No matter how real it looks.

We have about 10lbs of dead "live rock" or "lace rock" in right now.. I am planning to get about another 20lbs. It makes great little caves and territories for both the BB gobies and the Figure8 that will live there.

Also threw in a few large "hermit crab shells" Large Snail Shells to add to the hidy spots.

We are gonna try Banana plants, Java Fern, Spiral Vals and Watersprite to see how they all do. Once acclimated the tank will be at an sg of 1.005-1.008 so not to bad for the plants... well see

Val americanus does pretty good in BW for me. (1.005 SG). My Java ferns don't do as well but they're still pottering along.

If you're going with live plants stick as close to an SG of 1.005 as possible. From the multiple sources I have read about planting BW tanks, plants seem to tolerate salt in water, and the more there is the more you're stressing that tolerance. That's why it's important to meet all of the other needs the plants have to compensate for that. If you make sure to provide good lighting, supplements, and even C02, your plants might even thrive. I believe it was nmonks that had posted that advice in a thread I was following about BW plants, I might be wrong.

IME, My java ferns pretty much froze in time when I put them in my BW tank. They never grew but they didn't lose any leaves either. I'm sure they could do well in BW if all of their needs were met; my tank wasn't designed for plants.

Have you started the tank yet?

If you can start it in freshwater, plant it with the plants you research will do best (I've been told onion plant, some crypts, banana plants, etc) while still in freshwater, then raise the salinity oh so slowly, they'll have a better chance of surviving.

I'm hoping to set up a similar tank in the next few weeks (20H with only two or three gobies and a F-8) and that's what I'm going to aim for. Though I'm going to use some fake driftwood I have laying around and probably some fake tall plants in the background.

Thanks all for the advise, yes the tank is now setup... here it is:

http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/vie ... php?t=5568