Diana K

I have not had good luck with aquarium plants in a 1.004 brackish tank. With a VERY long, slow acclimation I had some Java Fern sort of just sit there and die rather slowly, but everything else has died faster.

Mangrove did not really grow well, but I think the light was too low. I understand it really does do OK in a brackish tank, but is a large shrub to small tree.

HX67

Thanks for your comment, Diana.
A long, slow acclimation is, to my understanding, even more important for plants than fish.

I have tried several plants in brackish before as well, with lousy success.
Out of the 10 red mangrove pods I got only four are alive in a 250 gal brackish tank (after 2 years) . But I know I have srewed it up myself by not letting them settle in one place from the beginning. At least the word is that they do not tolerate moving their roots.

At first I tried to keep the mangroves with their roots freely in water.



The roots an sich are not that sightly when they grow:

They never reached the 2' water depht to the bottom.

Later I made an elevated "pot" for them, loaded it with plant growing subtrate and they partly settled. Not too much growth, still.
And they are under 150w HQI's.

I might still try and find a way to fit some of them in this tank, propably letting them grow out of the top to receive natural sunlight. I don't know if they will grow in dryish room air, though.

Anyone with any thoughts on plants in brackish, please do chime in!


Meanwhile, I got the new glass.
Here's the tank now, frames, rear glass and stand painted semi-matt black. Left end glass cut to fit a bit of ventilation to fiddle with the potential front glass condensation:

Dielectric

That 250 brackish tank looks awesome! you have any more pics of it?

HX67

Thanks. I like the ambiance in the first pic as well.

I had a vision of how to build the tank, but never got around to pull it through all the way. So I don't have any good pics of it. But if you promise you won't tell anyone, I can give you a link to an album containing a few (lousy) pics of it, mostly at early stages...

mudboots

The mudskippers are pretty cool looking. Did you have a substrate on top of the structure or was that one just on top of the deco eating the shrimp?

HX67

It was a monster african skipper, yes.
No substrate on the decoration, but the mudskipper stayed in that tank very shortly while a more mudskipperfriendly tank matured.

Dielectric

that big skipper is a beast!

wet

This is a pointless post to subscribe to yet another of your awesome tank and DIY threads

HX67

Humble thanks, wet. When I grow up, I will try to learn to take as good photos and care for plants as impeccably as you do.

Meanwhile, back to realities.
I glued the piece in and continue with curing the cement. Threw on an underpowered pump to see how my inbuilt plumbing works...LO AND BEHOLD!

Every single one of the 12 separate "reservoirs" filled up with water!

Water nicely flowing over the roots to the next level...


I'm a bit excited.

f1ea

Wow. 12 little reservoirs with inbuilt plumbing and the DIY wood... this is all amazing.