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Help a noob set up his first tank!


Getafix

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Hey guys - I'm from Sydney and I'm new to shrimping but have some experience in keeping tropical freshwater fishes. I'd appreciate your input in helping me set up my first shrimp tank! Here are my current thoughts and questions.

[Tank]
Currently thinking of either:
1. Mr Aqua 3ft bookshelf (91cmx21x24 = 45 litres), or
2. Komoda 4ft bookshelf (120cmx30x30 = 110 litres)

I will possibly partition either tanks into 2, with flow of water in between the 2 partitions. Reckon I should partition?

Which would you recommend? Also, any suggestion on where I can get acrylic and tips on getting holes drilled and attaching those SS mesh?

[Species]
Thinking of having Crystal Red Shrimps in 1 partition and Crystal Black Shrimps in the other. If I could have other shrimps in there that share similar water parameters but don't interbreed with the CRS and CBS, that would be awesome - any suggestions?

[Substrate]
Benibachi Black Soil is ok?

[Filter]
Ahem 2213 or 2217 I think? Maybe just 1 unit? Is that enough? Or 1 unit or each partition?
Might need intake protection.

[Heater]
Don't know yet. A good one?

[Plants]
I'd like a Iwagumi style tank with mosses for the shrimps to play with. 
Baby tears?
Mosses like java etc

Suggestions?

[Hardscape]
No idea. Apparently stones might change water parameters. Recommendations?

[Lights]
Up Aqua Pro Z 


[RO unit]
Still have no idea what that is or how it works or where to get one- will google.

[Other equipment]
Mesh net 
TDS meter
GH/KH kit? I have API testing kit.
Chiller?

[Other issues]
Tank cycling/DSM vs WSM or something.
Sourcing shrimps & plants


What do you reckon?
 

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On 08/12/2015 at 11:52 AM, Getafix said:


What do you reckon?
 

[Tank]

Both are nice aquariums. 

If I was to pick one for partitioning, it would be the Komoda. 

Sorry, can't help you with the acrylic. Only place I know of is Bunnings.

 

[Species]

I'd recommend starting with CRS and CBS first, without mixing in another species.

 

[Substrate]

Benibachi soil is ok to use.

You also have a choice of Cal Labs Black Earth Premium. or ADA Aquasoil.

They will have different cycling requirements.

 

[Filter]

Both sizes will be fine. 2213 for the smaller 3ft and the 2217 for the bigger 4ft.

You could even get the 2215 impeller and use it in the 2213 - thus giving you similar flow rates as the 2215.

Definitely needs SS mesh intake protection. Mesh intakes will slow the water flow down, hence the suggestion with the 2215 impeller.

 

[Heater]

Heating a tank for shrimps is not a major problem. Any reasonably priced heater will do. A small one is enough. I used an Eheim jager 50W in my Mr Aqua 3ft bookshelf. 

They can survive a Sydney winter without issue.

It's the cooling that will be your bigger issue. Sydney summer means you will eventually need to look into a Chiller. 

If we get several hot days in a row, the shrimp will suffer, if the water temps rise above 28 for an extended period.

 

[Plants]  &  [Hardscape]

Your preference really. Mosses are popular for the ease and surface area for the shrimps to graze on. As well as it's low maintenance. You want to minimise having to stick your hands into the tank.

But an Iwagumi scape means the use of rocks and many iwagumi style rocks will alter water parameters. Best to avoid it now, or you will be constantly battling to control water parameters.

[Lights]

Pro Z is fine.

If you go with mainly mosses, then any light will do.

 

[RO unit]

Reverse Osmosis. Filters tap water and removes all the nasty minerals and additives and Chlorine and Chloramines, so that you can add in your own minerals to suit the shrimp's requirements.

Screw in one end to your tap, turn on the tap and output from one tube is clean pure water. Output from another tube is waste water for watering plants, or for washing clothes (do not drink).

Most of us purchase from FSA (Filter Systems Australia). 1300 888 008 ring them up and ask for an RO unit for aquariums.

 

[Other equipment]

TDS meter is a must have.

GH/KH kit is a must have.

Chiller as mentioned above. It might not be an immediate priority, especially if your house/room is cool. But maintaining a 23degC water temp gets very hard in summer. 

 

[Other issues]

As with any aquarium, cycling is critical. Do it properly until no Ammonia or Nitrite is detectable.

Methods for cycling is the same for a fish tank. An existing, mature filter will help kick start the process.

DSM or WSM is up to you and what plants you want to keep.

But just remember my recommendation to avoid Iwagumi. Apart from the type of rocks used which alters Water Parameters, you need to stick your hands into the tank too much, too often (for trimming). It's not the best idea with shrimps. Tank stability is key to keeping shrimps healthy. 

Sourcing shrimps and plants:

Sign up as a paid member of this forum, and the classifieds section will open up for you.

Apart from the cheaper prices forum members trade in, you will also get to participate in competitions that you might win free stuff.

Occasionally, generous members give free shrimps, plants or equipment away as well. And you will only see it in the classifieds section of the forum. Hence you NEED to be a member.

 

Keep asking questions along the way as you set up your tank.

 

@NoGi where is the link to purchase membership gone?

It's not easy finding it.

 

Edited by jayc
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instead of a chiller you can use a fan over the top of the water, that does alot, you get alot of evaporation though, but its alot cheaper than a chiller :P

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Oh wow thanks so much for the advice!

With regards to iwagami, perhaps I didn't quite understand what that term meant. I'd meant like soil covered in those baby tears with driftwood covered in mosses.

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36 minutes ago, Getafix said:

I'd meant like soil covered in those baby tears with driftwood covered in mosses.

You mean like this?

This is an example of an Iwagumi.

HC2.jpg.22bae38a90cdcd3d67af7166e0a72fb5

 

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when you say baby tears do you mean HC or HM? 

HC will generally need co2 injection and high light to get good results.

HM IMO doesn't carpet that great and if you did want a dense carpet will need high light and high light means co2 to balance it out or youll end up with algae issues... 

co2 and shrimp can be tricky if your not experienced in both id pick one and see how you go. so i guess it depends if you want a shrimp tank or an aquascape with shrimp in it?   

 

if you want another option you could use belem hair grass ( the smallest of the hair grass's), it carpets well and doesnt really need co2 

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There is a newer variety of HC called Monte Carlo, which will grow a nice carpet in lower light without the need for CO2

It does grow a bit more vertically than others so would need regular trimming to keep the lower parts of the plant exposed to good light. 

The four foot bookshelf sounds good.

The more water volume you have the more stability in parameters and temperatures. 

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6 hours ago, jayc said:

You mean like this?

This is an example of an Iwagumi.

HC2.jpg.22bae38a90cdcd3d67af7166e0a72fb5

 

Yeah something like that. What I'm aiming for:
- vegetation on the soil...almost like a carpet
- driftwood to provide a place to hang moss
- floating plants on the surface

I guess it's not a true Iwagumi...I just really like the look. But I'm happy to settle for next best alternative without resorting to CO2.

BTW what's HM and HC?
Also, do I need any products to place under the substrate?

 

4 hours ago, newbreed said:

There is a newer variety of HC called Monte Carlo, which will grow a nice carpet in lower light without the need for CO2

It does grow a bit more vertically than others so would need regular trimming to keep the lower parts of the plant exposed to good light. 

The four foot bookshelf sounds good.

The more water volume you have the more stability in parameters and temperatures. 

I love it! Thanks for the suggestion!

6 hours ago, buck said:

when you say baby tears do you mean HC or HM? 

HC will generally need co2 injection and high light to get good results.

HM IMO doesn't carpet that great and if you did want a dense carpet will need high light and high light means co2 to balance it out or youll end up with algae issues... 

co2 and shrimp can be tricky if your not experienced in both id pick one and see how you go. so i guess it depends if you want a shrimp tank or an aquascape with shrimp in it?   

 

if you want another option you could use belem hair grass ( the smallest of the hair grass's), it carpets well and doesnt really need co2 

Belem hair grass looks good too, albeit slightly "bushier" than expected.

Edited by Getafix
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Ok gang I think I'm going to go for the Komoda 4ft bookshelf tank (110 litres).

With regards to the filter, is the Eheim 2217 outflow going to be too strong for the shrimps given it's rated for a tank up to 650L?

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you can always cut the flow a bit with the inline connectors it comes with

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Adding a mesh filter intake will cut the flow down a lot too.

And you will definitely want to have a meshed intake filter, or else the little shrimplets will get sucked into the filter.

 

If you ever add a chiller, that will reduce the flow even more.

Edited by jayc
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On 12/8/2015 10:42:13, Getafix said:

BTW what's HM and HC?

HC - Hemianthus Callitrichoides 'Cuba' 

HM - Hemianthus micranthemoides 

 

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Use at least bacter or other powder type bacteria and tourmaline. Dont forget that Amazonia is toxic in its initial phase due to high amonia level!

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a bacteria type powder is always good to put under it. but its up to you and your pockets really haha 

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Mineral powder can go under the substrate. These are all from our sponsored stores, and most will offer a 10% discount with a code.

http://www.bossaquaria.com.au/mineral-powder-50g/

https://newbreedaquatics.com.au/shrimp-additives/boss-aquaria-powders/boss-mineral-powder-50g.html

https://newbreedaquatics.com.au/shrimp-additives/benibachi-powders/benibachi-mineral-powder-50g-.html

http://www.thetechden.com.au/Benibachi_Mineral_Powder_50g_p/mp50.htm

 

I can't find any powdered bacteria at any of our sponsored sites.

I'd recommend Mosura BT-9, if you can find it.

If you can find someone who has a mature filter & tank and is willing to give you some dirty media and vacuum some gunk from their substrate along with a bit of the water ... this would give you a better kick start than any bottled bacteria you can buy.

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Well! I happen to have an established tank and dirty media to rely on! Will put the mineral powder on the list then, and look up Amazonia's profile. Am thinking of the DSM to get things going.

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Any suggestion on where I can source those SS mesh and is there a recommended maximum size in the gaps so that shrimplets can't get through? And just the normal silicone will do yeah?

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The list so far:

1.       Komoda 4ft bookshelf tank (120x30x30cm=110litres)     $299 

2.       Foam tank base

3.       Eheim 2217 canister filter   $299 

4.       Filter guard     $13 

5.       Up Aqua Pro Z LED light 4ft    $180 

6.       Eheim Jagger 50w heater 50W   $60 

7.       Reverse Osmosis Unit    $150 

8.       Substrate:

a.       ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia 9L = $50 x 3 = $150  (3L version is $16.50) 

9.       Minerals for under substrate

10.   HH/KH test kit   $16 

11.   TDS meter $20 (aquakitz)

12.   Chiller – Hailea HC-150A  $520 

13.   Breeding logs and caves

14.   Indian almond leaves

15.   Micranthemum “Monte Carlo” 

16.   Driftwood

17.   Planting tweezers $19 
18. Acrylic piece + SS mesh for partition

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Pmed some links to things i found useful. Have you considered an inline heater? Makes for a cleaner look inside the tank 

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Thanks for that! Yup I'll have a look at those inline heaters as well. 

Bought the tank, lights and substrate + perspex partition yesterday! Any tips on cutting holes in the perspex? Use a dremel?

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Just found this thread and seems like you have got lots of help which is great to see.

As JayC said definitely get a chiller its better to invest now as down the track you might find that fans will just end up not cutting it.

 

Like you i have a 4ft tank but i opted for a non partitioned as i am only keeping CRS so like them to have the extra room and just maintain the one water perimeters. 

One thing i didnt see mentioned is adding some sponge filters as well, never anything wrong with extra filtration and the shrimp and shrimplets will graze on the sponge filters. Also in the event of power outage you can run your sponges on a battery operated air pump so you still have some filtration running. 

 

MY filtration on my 4ftr consists of an eheim 2000ltr an hour pump going into an  aquis 1250 canister then into an aquis 800 canister before returning to the tank through my chiller. I also run 2 dual bui sponge filters as well :)

 

Edited by OzShrimp
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  • 2 weeks later...

Just an update guys. Things are coming along beautifully. Just waiting on some items to arrive. I've also decided to try out a CO2 system (1 bubble every 3 seconds) to see if I can grow HC. Failing that I'll grow Monte Carlo instead.

i really like the pace of this project. Will set up a tank journal when I'm ready to start setting up.

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