two questions for the experts

hi have two newbie questions

q1 : what is brackish water and fish


q2: what is asufficient filter and pump for a 3 foot tank the tank comes with a corner filter with charcoal and filter floss i do have old internal filters with two seperate compartments one with charcoal and one with a hard sponge,will this filter be good enough

oh and last question what are good fish to start with was thinking some guppys some swords ,neons or mollies not sure what are good fish to start with

thanksin advance

 

Lol - I'm no expert,but have just kept more fish over 3 decades than what is good for one mortal soul... - you pick up a thing or two then...

Brackish water is water that contains a certain amount of salt in it - in nature,the most common places to find watert like this is in estuaries,where the meeting of fresh river water and salty sea waters happen... we meausure the salinity of Water as Specific Gravity (SG) of the water - a value representing how much desolved salts(Not just NaCl,many other salt compounds too) is in the water... Fresh water is value 1... full marine/sea water is 1.025ish... Brackish water has a SG value of between SG 1.005 to 1.015...
Certain fish specialise in living in these environments to exploit the rich,trophic feeding zone to be found in estaurine areas... Monodactylys,Scats,Archer fish,Mudskippers and a host of Gobies(Did anyone say Gobies? - perks up ears...lol) to name a few...

2nd Q: Depends on what you planning to keep? - Corner box filters are serial old tech + coupled to a noisy (generally) airpump,just dont cut it in my oppinion - also,one wont be enough for a 3 footer anyways...rather get your old internal power filters out of the cupboard and use those...Replace the charcoal(wich is Chemical filtration anyways) with some good bio media in 2nd chamber and you ready to go...

3rdQ: All of your choices are perfectly good ones - enjoy them!!!

 

thanks and substrate i was thinking of silica wanting to have quite a bit of plants

 

Hi there

You can read more on brackish aquariums on this thread.

Regards

 

@eco - tech ... Silica gravel(or better silica sand) is a completely inert substrate and although used commonly in aquariums as a substrate,its like planting a rosebush in gravel...it will survive for a while,but not THRIVE... research Flourite as a substrate,look into Diane Whalstadt planted methods... Plants take in nutrients in 2 ways,through their leaves(from the water column) or their roots... you have to cater to both to have good plant growth...Not even to begin to talk about lighting...lol

 

@ azurekoi were can i get bio media lps never had any checked today ,and flourite they didnt know what i was talking about.what is an alternative substrate to flourite

 

Eish dude...Seems like you gonna have a Durbs roadtrip in your near future...

An LPS with no biological filter material is anathema to me... will PM you some stuff over the weekend,maybe we can help and send you some stuff through the mail...

Use the search function on here - there is a WEALTH of information on here....

 

thanks appreciate it

 

hey chaps
I saw someones tank on this site that had moss ,it looks awesome were do you get moss from and how do you grow it etc
Cheers Deon

 

It was likely a species of aquatic moss, the most commonly available of which is Java moss. It's pretty common and grows rapidly. I had an overgrowth of it in my tank not so long ago, and considering that I'm useless with plants, it's not hard to grow at all

 

@ eco-tech , i think your best option would be a road trip to Durban. there are a few lps's here that cater for all the items you want. if you are going fluorite then you will have to source that via post from some of our sponsors (great price). sit down ,research and make a list of necessities then drive!

good luck with everything, i am also a newbie but i have learnt loads over the passed two months. the guys here a very helpful so your at the right place.

 

hey ashman
i found a new lps it was hidden in a alley way got my tank from them and they have a big variety of fish and alot of equipment.i was in a rush so couldnt browse properly.

 

that is awesome!! read the professors thread on pfp as a substrate. highly informative!