Murky brackish water

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LukeOscar

Polypterus
MFK Member
Mar 23, 2013
1,693
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ontario
Hey guys. I had to rush out and get a tank for my figure 8 puffer as he requires brackish water. I bought a hydrometer and aquarium salt. Ive reached my desired salinity and temperature. I used water from an established tank and some ornaments to get the cycle in high gear.

My only issue is that i cannot get this water crystal clear like my other tanks. Is this something to expect with brackish water? Or do i need to go over everything again?.


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My brackish tank never seems to be clear either. I have good filtration and not to much of a bioload but still murks up quick. Almost like if i was using driftwood. a yellowish ting.
 
if your going brackish you need marine salt, like instant ocean. and the foam at the top is a bad sign. its a sign of surface tension. and i could be due to a nitrate problem. do you have a water testing kit? if so, i would check your levels. to solve it, i would do a 50% water change weekly until it goes away. hope this helps.
 
I've got a 55 brackish with 6 scat (3" to 10" ea.), 2 shark cats (12" ea.), 2 monos (5" and 6") and a Dat (13") - the salinity is around 1.020. I do a 30% wc weekly but mainly because of the bio load and scats tend to be pretty messy. My water isn't cloudy at all but I get some leeching from a huge piece of driftwood that urns the water tea colored but the same happens in my other FW 55.
 
You may want to try a protein skimmer/foam fractionator. They are amazing at clearing turbid water.
You may have had a fresh water bacterial die off with the change in salinity, bacteria that live in strictly fresh water have a different osmotic pressure tolerance than live in brackish. And at an @ 0.4 micron size, too small for most normal filtration to remove.
Protein skimmers can remove dissolved organics that pass thru normal mechanical filtration, and the stuff that forms film on the air/water interface.
I use fractionation on freshwater tanks, and ponds, and believe they will work even better on brackish water.

I built mine from plans on koiphen.com/ DIY /phoam phractionator
Fractionation also removes free floating algae, and some parasitic micro and macro organisms, such as ciliates, nematodes and protozoa.
 
as prevously stated, you have to use instant ocean or an equvilent salt for your brackish tank. regular aquarium salt is used as a medication. a protein skimmer is a good option if you have the cash to do it and if your salinity is high enough. i would highly recommend getting a refractometer as well. the accuracy of the hydrometers can sometimes be less than desired. i paid $40 for mine. if your lfs does not sell them try looing into a home brew store. they use them to measure sugar in there brew. what kind of filtration system are you using? if you are getting a white cloudyness to the water, it is most likely a bacterial bloom. water from the old tank really does not hold any bb. decoreations will help a little but the best thing to put in there is some filter media from one and put it into the new filter. another thing that you can get is a product called Smart Start Complete. it is an amazing product for cycling tanks. if it is a yellow or brown tint, it may be from using driftwood if you are. tannins tend to leach out of the wood for a few weeks. they are harmless and will go away with some consistant water changes. i had a problem for a while with cloudy water and i just kept up on 25% water changes weekly and i also added Purigen by Seachem. you just put it in your filter in place of carbon if you are using any. my water now is so clear, you almost cant even tell there is water in my tank.
 
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