When in hypo

[orcafood]

When my quarintine tank is in hypo/brackish, can I use a skimmer on that tank? Also can macro algae like cheato take the low salinity? I'm just looking for some nitrate removing algae for hypo/brackish.

[amike5]

water changes everyother day or so is all you should need.

[Norward]

Currently running hypo in my QT with biowheel filter only. No protein skimmer needed. Doing frequent water changes and being careful not to overfeed are best bets for managing nitrates.

[orcafood]

Well, its less of a QT, I am just using it as a ""grow out tank"" for a few months to raise a small Green Spot Puffer until it can handle full on saltwater. In that case, could macro algae or protein skimmer be utilized? The salinity is 0.016.

[Norward]

how big is the tank? Anything else in it? If it's a small tank with nothing else in it I would simply rely on regular water changes. Protein skimmer won't hurt but isn't necessary for your needs. If this is the tank you will be using for SW eventually, then why not. Hope this helps.

[orcafood]

Yea, it is going to stay low salinity for ever, it's now strictly going to be used to grow up baby Green Spotted Puffers. It is a 55 gallon, and has a fairly heavy bio-load. What would be my best choice for nutrient export on this tank?

[uscharalph]

Skimmer is not needed. Small water changes s/b fine.

[orcafood]

I just want to know if a skimmer would work on an SG of around 0.016, l've got a few lying around I could easily hook up.

What would be the best method of nutrient export?

[ihopss]

If you have one use it.

[iwishtofish]

Back to orcafood's original question - does anyone know if macroalgae like chaeto can thrive in hypo?

[orcafood]

Originally posted by iwishtofish
Back to orcafood's original question - does anyone know if macroalgae like chaeto can thrive in hypo?

[Freed]

It will survive, don't know about thrive though. Yes you can use a skimmer and it will pull out just as much gunk as if it were normal salinity.

[NirvanaFan]

You'll have to turn the skimmer up higher than normal I believe. Skimmers produce less bubbles in lower salinity water.

[Swanwillow]

wow, that was an almost no answer thread!

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/brackish/brackish.html

According to that site, its set up mostly like a freshwater tank, with a HOB filter or canister filter, and watch changes.

good luck, I like brackish water tanks.

[orcafood]

Wow I am kinda surprised there isn't a single type of macro algae that can take 0.016 salinity and be happy?

How about if I do red mangroves in a bucket, would that be a suitable nutrient export for a 55 gallon tank.

If not what should I use for nutrient export?

[Swanwillow]

water changes.

There ARE plants that can live in there, but you should also do a search (google) for
brackish tank plants

[orcafood]

Originally posted by Freed
It will survive, don't know about thrive though. Yes you can use a skimmer and it will pull out just as much gunk as if it were normal salinity.

So I the macro algae would most likely live, but not grow enough for good nutrient export. Is there any macro algae that are known to do well in low salinity. I am still curious .

Also would mangroves do a good enough job to handle a fairly heavily stocked 55 gallon. If so how many plants would I need, and of what type?

BTW the skimmer works great in the low salinity !!!!!!

[ihopss]

No ,they grow to slow.

[orcafood]

The mangroves grow too slow too? I thought they could stand any salt content?

Or do they just not remove enough nutrients?

[amike5]

Both

[Myrddraal]

I have a small clump of chaeto in my ~1.005 figure 8 puffer tank. It's not melting, but I haven't noticed any growth in several months. I also have a small anubias plant in there. Water changes are your best low-brackish nutrient export IME.

[orcafood]

Yea, but my salinity is 1.016 would that be high enough for some good cheato growth?

[orcafood]

I guess I'll just do some good old fashion trial and error then