journal My big tank. The coffin - shrimp house.

[FMuscle]

I was browsing for this section, and when I read the description (Shrimp Tank Journals: This area is for people wanting to show their tanks progress from start to finish), I figured it was perfect for me...

This is my tank as of this morning.

It started as a 6X2X2, I just bought it, but then...

 

It cracked. Two of the 6ft panels gave way in the heat. What you see in the first picture is what was the front pane, and will be my bottom.
I'm having panels cut, I should have them tomorrow. But I need to build a wooden stand before assembling the tank, as I'm building everything in place.



Here are my current tanks. 60L hex cherry tank. 30+ low grades stock.

And custom 38g 3ft. Stock: one single 3½ months old female guppy.

Edited December 27, 2015 by FMuscle
Title change

[perplex]

nice!, cant wait to see it setup

[fishmosy]

6ft - that's a lot of room for shrimp = alotta shrimp.

What do you plan to keep in there?

[OzShrimp]

I always envisioned a 6ft shrimp tank!

[FMuscle]

It will be a 6X2X1, 90 gallons shrimp tank. According to AqAdvisor, in a bare tank this size, I could put about 1800 shrimp in it without being overstocked.

But I'm not going there (unless the breeding goes out of control ;) ), I want about a hundred of each Cherry, mid-grade OEBT and Ghost. Plus nano fish, fishes that grows up to 3cm ono. I'm still researching the prefect species, but I can see a school of Ember Tetras (H. Amandae) in my future. I'm considering Sawbwa Rensplendens, Microdevario Nana, Carnegeiella myersi and Dario Hysginon amongst others. I also want a pair or trio of Honey Gourami (T. Chuna) to stand out.

I just planed the scaping, it is Taiwanese-inspired without following the true Taiwanese style. Sand sea in the foreground, two gravel "beaches" separating the sand and the massive planting in the background. I will also have a massive cavern in the rear left corner. Carpet, submerged and emergent plants on the menu. I will incorporate my driftwood, skulls and cichlid caves in the decor.

[FMuscle]

Got my timber! The build could start anytime after my drill's battery is charged. 


*Edit: I should probably put the battery on the charger if I want it to charge, shouldn't I? 

 

Edited December 6, 2015 by FMuscle

[al4n]

Haha, cant wait for more update/pics.

[OzShrimp]

sounds like its gonn be good :)

Regardless of shrimp you will find them take the odd nip at shrimp so atleast they will have a big tank to hide in.

Are you mixing cherry colours ?

[FMuscle]

no, it's all red unless I find out how to get my low grades to turn orange. But I'm not focusing on grades/colours at the moment. I might cull the clear ones before adding to the 6ft. but I doubt I can get any stock in there before February. And except the Embers, the fish species I'm looking at seem pretty rare or hard to find, I don't see them locally anyways.

You really think that fish will nip at shrimp bigger than them? Only humans are stupid enough to attack bigger creatures.
Oh yes, Aussie spiders too. 

[jc12]

One of my favourite fish you might consider are dwarf/pygmy corydoras species. They are lots of fun to watch and stay really small. :)

Have fun with the build!

[jayc]

14 hours ago, FMuscle said:

You really think that fish will nip at shrimp bigger than them? Only humans are stupid enough to attack bigger creatures.

Even seen a Lion swallow a buffalo whole?

No. They take small pieces one bite at a time.

Same with fish and shrimp.

The fish, if they want to go for shrimp, will take it's legs, antenna, first. Then finish off the shrimp by tearing it into smaller pieces.

And yes, I have seen my Cardinal tetra do that. Tetras - they are mini piranhas. This was during my newb days of shrimp keeping. Didn't know better to not keep fish and shrimp together.

 

[Disciple]

Good luck with the build. Have you thought about putting a divider in?

[fishmosy]

I take this is going to be more of a display tank than a "shrimp" tank per se. Obviously it will be difficult to control the quality of your shrimp in a tank so large, and the mixing of shrimp species tends to mean one will eventually outcompete the other/s.

Best of luck, keep us updated.

[FMuscle]

@jc12 I know about them but them seem so popular, and they're bottom dwellers, I'm not sure I'd get them. But it's still to be seen.

 @jayc I had white cloud minnows before, with shrimp. They only took interest when the shrimp were swimming, and when the minnows got too close I couldn't even see which way it when as they bolted out of there so quickly. Plus at the size of the tank and the cover, I'm sure life will find a way...

  @Disciple without having thought about it, I can say for sure that a divider is not going in. Not in the way you think at least. TBA

 @fishmosy I had ghosts before and they vanished while with cherries. to be fair the ratio was about 10:1 so the odds were against them.




Now to the fun part. I have all I need, but my drill bit... didn't bring it from work today. Picked up the replacement glass and unloaded the timber. I'm most likely not to work on it until this weekend, because I have limited space. My work area is about 7X4 to build 6X2 tank and stand.

 

I'm only building a stand frame for now, I will wrap it later.

[FMuscle]

So apparently, Phillips self-drilling screws need holes pre-drilled for them to go in. Otherwise the head strips... 
I knew I needed square heads. Couldn't find any. 

In other news, I got myself some more plants, I still have one bag left to plant in substrate out of the five I got.

[jayc]

I use those foam mats for my tanks too!!

So much better than the usual Styrofoam.

[FMuscle]

It was dodgeball night tonight, just like every Thursday. But this week may have delayed my build.

 

Do you think I can precisely maneuver a 6x1x10mm piece of glass with one hand? I have the will...

I need to think about filtration, I realised I left this part out of my plans until now. I assumed I'd go sump, like my 3ft, but I might consider canister. Either case will be DIY, not spending hundreds on a $20 worth of plastic. I've been thinking of having the return on the far RH and the inlet in the far left.
Unless 3 big sponges would be enough to filter 90 gallons?

Edited December 10, 2015 by FMuscle
filtration

[DemonCat]

If you have the will..... haha

[perplex]

8 hours ago, FMuscle said:

It was dodgeball night tonight, just like every Thursday. But this week may have delayed my build.

 

 

Dont lie, get back to work, your wrist is fine!!!!!!

 

serious note, hope it heals soon

[jayc]

Get a big canister filter and fill it with Marine Pure balls.

 

[FMuscle]

11 hours ago, perplex said:

Dont lie, get back to work, your wrist is fine!!!!!!

serious note, hope it heals soon

I did go to work today, I didn't fix any car, but I did the apprentice's driving around. Got a ride in a Maserati, and drove it back, saw a Getz driver texting and hit the concrete wall on the freeway in front of me and just keep going like it was normal to get airborne in a small hatch...

I have a mate coming tomorrow to help with the stand build, hopefully we can get it done and put the tank together as well. I saw suction cup handles for glass panels at Bunnings, might go buy a few.

9 hours ago, jayc said:

Get a big canister filter and fill it with Marine Pure balls.

 

I already have a few DIY canisters with Biohome Ultimate.

[FMuscle]

I just culled 5 of my cherries, this one because it doesn't look right, and 4 clear ones. The hex looks redder already!
Any idea what the dark spot is on the one in the link?


I also found one that seems to be berried, but the egg clutch seem to be smaller than the ones I saw before. That shrimp is still small though. (left one)

Edited December 11, 2015 by FMuscle

[FMuscle]

So good day today. Even my ever bleeding stump (  ) from my major accident (!) couldn't stop me today.

My wrist is still swollen, but even after today, it gained 300-350% more movement over yesterday. 


This was today:

What's better to make a stand as level as possible for a glass panel, than a glass panel?

 

I even put the most important part on before bringing it in.

[perplex]

nice work, looking good

[FMuscle]

Thanks. Didn't get to put the tank together, but the stand, foam and bottom panel are where they're supposed to be. I don't have help for tomorrow, so it probably won't happen. I don't want to risk panels and/or wrist by going too big.

Edited December 12, 2015 by FMuscle