Brackish mangrove forest?

[LordJoshaeus]

I sure hope this is in the right forum...I am planning to set up a unconventional mangrove forest 10 gallon for my Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis, kept at about 22 ppt salinity. I was going to have a few inches of substrate (sand with some pond soil added for the mangroves when their roots eventually reach the bottom), some leaf litter above that, and perhaps some tolerant macroalgae on top of the leaf litter. The tank will use an 80 gph mechanical sponge filter to provide a little flow and will also contain dry rock that will develop nitrifiers. I have a few questions on this setup;
1, how much pond soil should I add relative to the sand?
2, should I add more flow?
3, anything else I should be aware of? I have successfully kept freshwater tanks with a lot of leaf litter, but this will be my first attempt doing so in a salty setup.

Thank you :)

 

[Tahoe61]

If you haven't seen this thread it's a great resource.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-ultimate-mangrove-thread.686278/page-10

 

[CHSUB]

I have a few inches of organic potting soil, but it is capped with gravel and rocks. My mangroves are full saltwater, is there a reason you keep salinity lower? It does limit your choices, imo.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

I have a few inches of organic potting soil, but it is capped with gravel and rocks. My mangroves are full saltwater, is there a reason you keep salinity lower? It does limit your choices, imo.

Because the forum is insisting my Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis going into the same tank will not do well at full strength salinity. I already have the little rainbow fish in a 5 gallon and want to set up something more interesting for them.

 

[CHSUB]

Because the forum is insisting my Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis going into the same tank will not do well at full strength salinity. I already have the little rainbow fish in a 5 gallon and want to set up something more interesting for them.

, I’m not familiar with your mangrove but if that is suggested, great. Generally most mangroves do fine or better in something less than full strength sw.
If you want a mangrove for saltwater, I sell them.
Here are mine:

 

[saltwaterfish.com Verified Sponsor]

Beautiful fish I can't wait to see the full setup. One tip for me would be bubblers in a salt tank create A LOT of excess salt creep along the walls. If you can place something above it to help diffuse the bubbles it would save you a lot of clean up. Or going with a in tank, HOB, or canister filter.

 

[CHSUB]

Because the forum is insisting my Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis going into the same tank will not do well at full strength salinity. I already have the little rainbow fish in a 5 gallon and want to set up something more interesting for them.

Haha! Ok I looked up Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis. That’s the fish not the mangrove….

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Beautiful fish I can't wait to see the full setup. One tip for me would be bubblers in a salt tank create A LOT of excess salt creep along the walls. If you can place something above it to help diffuse the bubbles it would save you a lot of clean up. Or going with a in tank, HOB, or canister filter.

The sponge filter in question uses a water pump, not an air pump, so that shouldn't be an issue. With that said, would 80 gph be enough for a ten gallon brackish setup?

 

[saltwaterfish.com Verified Sponsor]

The sponge filter in question uses a water pump, not an air pump, so that shouldn't be an issue. With that said, would 80 gph be enough for a ten gallon brackish setup?

Since you're not doing any corals I would say 80 gph is fine. If it's too much for the fish you can always stifle the flow a bit with some rocks or decor.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Since you're not doing any corals I would say 80 gph is fine. If it's too much for the fish you can always stifle the flow a bit with some rocks or decor.

Thanks :) I am planning to set the tank up within the next week or two, at which point I will start a journal for it. Ps...can I use pool filter sand instead of normal reef sand? It would be cheaper and far less dusty...I just wonder whether the silica content would cause diatom problems.

 

[saltwaterfish.com Verified Sponsor]

Thanks :) I am planning to set the tank up within the next week or two, at which point I will start a journal for it. Ps...can I use pool filter sand instead of normal reef sand? It would be cheaper and far less dusty...I just wonder whether the silica content would cause diatom problems.

I personally would not recommend using pool filter sand as it is mainly made of silica quartz so it will cause diatom issues. You can combat this by keeping low light levels and doing lots of water changes but it would give you extra work in the long run.