Sort of OT - FW and dwarf puffers

muppet

Misanthrope
I'm thinking about converting Sarah's dropped build project (34G Tall) into a Dwarf Puffer planted tank. Anybody have any experience with these guys? Any pointers for my checklist? I haven't done FW since the 80s and I really have very little idea beyond some basic research what the state of FW is today.

I'm wondering whether a planted tank will be difficult in a tall, or whether I might be able to keep some tetras in there with the puffers since it's a large(ish) tank...
 
I have a 40g community tank. Honestly I think I cycled it by 4 zebra danios. Still alive 8 months later though. I think you can just use someone's used filter pads because they have tons of bacteria. I have a bunch if you want. Sounds like a cool idea though
 
What do you do with a used filter pad? Do you just use it as your pad for a period in order to colonize the biomedia in your filter? Stupid question, I guess, but I want to do everything correctly the first time.
 
I have some aquarium ammonia left over... with the super market stuff some have other chemicals in it... if you want some you can have.
 
So.. they actually make ammonia specifically for aquarium cycling? That's pretty cool. Yeah I may take you up on that. I have a ways to go before I'm ready to start cycling, though. I need to do a lot of reading and then I need to clean out the tank really really well to make sure all the salt and previous substrate is out, etc. I've also got to plug a hole for a 1" bulkhead and I'm trying to dream up a way to have that hole be both the outlet/intake for a canister filter because I think it would look neat...
 
Yeah, I've found the easiest way to start up a tank is to just take some old filter media from my main freshwater tank and just add it to the new tank's filter. It'll inoculate the rest of the media. Most of my tanks are minimally filtered and heavily planted though.
I don't think you'll have trouble with a tall planted tank. You can get a variety of plants to fill in different levels of the tank, or get a piece of driftwood to cover in java fern to fill up some space and provide hiding spots.
 
What do you do with a used filter pad? Do you just use it as your pad for a period in order to colonize the biomedia in your filter? Stupid question, I guess, but I want to do everything correctly the first time.

I think so, my buddy that's into FW suggested I do it.
 
Most 'freshwater puffers' are actually brackish. I had figure 8 puffers for a while. Fun to feed, they loved clams on the half shell and grocery store shrimp.
 
Yeah I've been doing some reading and apparently dwarf puffers are the single solitary species of puffers that are truly freshwater and do not want brackish water. Supposedly brackish water will shorten their lifespans. I guess I'd better double check genus/species on what I get.
 
dwarf puffers are great. I had one in my FW tank a few years ago. He was great, lost him to ich along with half the tank.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
 
So.. they actually make ammonia specifically for aquarium cycling? That's pretty cool. Yeah I may take you up on that. I have a ways to go before I'm ready to start cycling, though. I need to do a lot of reading and then I need to clean out the tank really really well to make sure all the salt and previous substrate is out, etc. I've also got to plug a hole for a 1" bulkhead and I'm trying to dream up a way to have that hole be both the outlet/intake for a canister filter because I think it would look neat...

Why not use a wet dry sump with bio balls for filtration on a fw tank the bacteria will clean the water and no need to plug the holes and you get flow thru the return
 
I'm a former puffer addict. Here is my dwarf puffer profile that I've written: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f29/dwarf-puffer-profile-166924.html

For starters, you need to decide whether you want a high-light planted tank or low-light planted tank or no plants at all. From there, you can decide on what type of filter you want - canister or HOB. Sumps and refugiums is not necessary and actually be more work for you.

Then you can cycle the tank using Ammonia from Ace Hardware. Its the only type of ammonia that I know that does not contain any additives. Once you complete your cycle, then you can get a dwarf puffer. Let me know if you have questions. Dwarf puffers are great. Talking about them makes me feel like setting up a nano tank for one of them.
 
Still in the planning (and funding) stages. :)

I also have to wait until I have time to do the setup. For me, time for projects comes in increments of one weekend, every other weekend (my wife works alternate weekends and with a 3 and 14 year old, not much "hobby" class stuff gets done.)

So, still doing it, but not yet. This weekend is devoted to cleaning up the yard from the winter, repairing my back gate, and driving down to the shore to pick up some chromis and chaeto. :)
 
If you ever need any plants for the tank, I have tons of java fern, java moss, and a bunch of what I think is Cryptocoryne. I don't like throwing the plants out when I prune them back so I have a lot of extras.
 
If you ever need any plants for the tank, I have tons of java fern, java moss, and a bunch of what I think is Cryptocoryne. I don't like throwing the plants out when I prune them back so I have a lot of extras.

I wouldnt mind some pruning scraps for a 150 bass tank if you dont mind ? I would like to try some plants and see if they will grow good or fail . never tried before .
 
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