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New 3x2x2 Planted Shrimp Tank


lisapie

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So I've been keeping planted aquariums for 10 years now, but always low tech and low-cost to maintain. I've always used pool filter sand as the substrate and have had relatively good success in keeping a variety of easier to grow plants, and have never used heating or cooling. I currently have a custom built 6x2x2ft tiered tank which is divided into 3 sections, a standard 2.5ft tank, and a standard 3ft tank set up. I acquired some cherry shrimp as a bonus after purchasing the 2.5ft tank and since then my dream of having a mid-high tech planted tank for shrimp has been a constant source of distraction. This combined with having recently purchased some crypts and finding they are flourishing and throwing off new plantlets within a month (after years of presuming they would just melt and never return in my low-tech tanks) means I can no longer ignore the urge to set up a proper planted tank for shrimp.

I was lucky enough to stumble across someone selling a 3x2x2ft tank (with a 2228 Eheim Professional thrown in) which fits perfectly into an awkward spot in my loungeroom, and with space in my one bedroom apartment at a premium already due to MTS (multiple tank syndrome) this means it will be replacing my standard 3ft tank. It's arriving in around a week and I have been spending hours on end researching and planning every option possible in terms of substrate, hardscape and inhabitants. I want to do this the right way from the start as all my other tanks have been thrown together with whatever I could find at the time that was suitable and relatively cheap, then upgraded and built upon as time passed.

My priority is getting the substrate and hardscape set up properly and with the best materials I can find. I've always dreamt of an ADA Aqua Soil planted tank, but could never justify the cost. But after all these years, it's time to suck it up and go for it. I'm hoping with this and more lighting than on my other tanks I might have better success with a few of the harder to grow plants like HM.

At this stage the plan is to get the tank and stand in place and get the substrate and rocks in, then do a dry start with some HM while I wait for all the other bits and pieces needed for the tank to arrive.

So, the shopping list is;

Substrate

4 x 9lt ADA Aqua Soil New Amazonia

1 x 3lt ADA Aqua Soil New Amazonia Powder

Lighting

4 x 39w HO T5 lighting

Filtration

1 x 2228 Eheim professional

Possibly another cheapo 1200 lph filter I have kying around if it looks like I need more filtration

Heating / Cooling

As I really have no experience in this area I'm still researching, but I plan to heat the tank to keep the temp stable. In terms of cooling I will be purchasing a portable air conditioner for the room (cheaper than buying several chillers) before next summer.

Dosing

Switching things up by moving away from the Flourish range and trying out the Dinosaur Dung, Pee and Spit range from Aquagreen. Will look into micro nutrients / trace elements if I see any deficiencies. Eventually I dream of having a proper CO2 set up, but my budget is already huge and it will have to wait for another day. I'll also be adding some Indian Almond Leaves for the shrimp.

Plants

I will start with fast growing bunch plants and mosses, and if I can figure out a way to kill pond snails and their eggs, I will probably transplant some cuttings and moss from my other tanks. The planting will probably be a work in progress thing, removing plants and replacing them as I can afford to, and as I establish what I can grow in the conditions. Ideally I'd like to start with;

Hydrocotyle tripartite "Pennywort"

Hemianthus micranthemum "HM"

Limnobium Laevigatum "Frogbit"

Assorted Cryptocoryne (nevellii, parva, wendtii, crispulata)

Assorted mosses, basically whatever I can get my hands on (java, US fissiden, peacock, flame, christmas)

Anubius nana

Still need to find something red to try out, but that can wait.

Livestock

At this stage I'd love some CRS and CBS together in the tank, although I need to do more research to determine if I want to keep them together or if I'm better off going with two species that won't interbreed. I really haven't decided yet as I've been too busy planning the tank set up. I'll be waiting a few months for the tank to establish before I add livestock anyway so I guess I still have plenty of time up my sleeve (and time to save up some money and get the best quality I can afford).

Anyway, I think that's about all for now. I will add some photos and more info as things start to arrive and get set up.

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Cant wait to see this up and running. I myself have a tank with the footprint of 3 x 2 and i can tell you that 3 bags of ada and 1 small bag of powder is enough to give you a good 5cm base all round the tank. If you want slope throw in an extra bag but i can tell you that the shrimps will flatten out your substrate. If your dream is to have a tank flourishing with shrimps that makes more money then you put into it as well as the enjoyment i suggest you go basic, less stems in the substrate so you disturb the substrate less more ferns and mosses. lots of green provides plenty of hiding space for the shrimp and is low maintenance. dont have to worry about the ferts. Co2 is an extra but then you increase cost and risk. Filtration is great! love eheims. The light is perfect but will create lots of heat, you do have a large body of water which is good. A wall mounted fan over your tank is a cheap alternative and can easily keep a tank under 26 degrees. All in all a great idea.

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Some great advise there Robert. Ditto with my experience as well.....difficult to keep TDS down with fert's. none of my tanks have plants with roots too.

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hi mate cant wait to see this going, when you said HM as in hemianthus Micranthemum as a harder to grow plant using dry start method you mean HC as in Hemianthus Callitrichoides i think this is what you were referring to.

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hi mate cant wait to see this going' date=' when you said HM as in hemianthus Micranthemum as a harder to grow plant using dry start method you mean HC as in Hemianthus Callitrichoides i think this is what you were referring to.[/quote']

Thanks for the reply, I've never done dry start before so I'm not sure which one will respond to it best, but I still have plenty of research to do on it. I've found I have better luck with HM in my tanks, plus I prefer the slightly bushy look as opposed to the carpet that HC forms if it's in the right conditions.

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Some great advise there Robert. Ditto with my experience as well.....difficult to keep TDS down with fert's. none of my tanks have plants with roots too.

I have a TDS meter on the way, so I will monitor and see how things go. Might just be a case of more frequent water changes... but I'll see how the plants go and decide if ferts are definitely needed. I can always experiment while I'm waiting for the tank to establish as I don't plan on putting any shrimp stock in for a few months.

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Thanks for the reply' date=' I've never done dry start before so I'm not sure which one will respond to it best, but I still have plenty of research to do on it. I've found I have better luck with HM in my tanks, plus I prefer the slightly bushy look as opposed to the carpet that HC forms if it's in the right conditions.[/quote']

no worries mate, Yeh HC can become a tricky plant to carpet but since your using ADA substrate and decent lighting you should be alright growing it. However using CO2 will greatly boost your growth. HM grows like a weed, you can mow it down once a week and itl grow back like nothing happend. Ive got that problem in my tank seems to be the fastest growing plant in the tank. Also mentioning on how you want the bushy look HC can become bushy with out CO2 in your tank HC should naturally become bushy if you dont prune it.

Thats my 2cents worth .....josh

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HC can become a tricky plant to carpet but since your using ADA substrate and decent lighting you should be alright growing it. However using CO2 will greatly boost your growth.

Thanks for the input, but now that you've said you think I can grow HC, my mind just goes off on a tangent thinking of all the other things I can try in the new tank as well! :D

The prospect of growing HC sounds really promising (especially if you think it will go bushy in a non-CO2 tank), but part of me wants to stick to what I know to a certain extent, at least while I get everything set up.

To be honest I think this tank is going to be a huge learning curve. I've had planted tanks forever and tended to resign myself to tried and tested plants and methods, assuming that I could never grow certain things without better lighting / CO2 etc. Every now and again I'd try something new and sometimes it worked, sometimes not. I think a gradual approach is my best bet, experiment with things and get a feel for what the new tank can handle. This is also influenced by the fact my budget just took a huge blow thanks to a pay mix up, so I'm trying to reel in my wish list as much as I can at the moment.

But on a good note, my tank is arriving a day early, today's the big day! Yesterday consisted of epic excitement, followed by the sense of impending doom that I need to quickly break down my standard 3ft tank and find a new home for the inhabitants. Thankfully I found a local aquarium that was happy to take my collection of barbs for store credit, so they found a new home. Then my external filter and internal filter were moved to the kitchen and hooked up to a large bucket of water temporarily, all the sand was scooped out and stored, and the water drained out. I reckon I only managed to spill a small swimming pool in the process so everything went better than expected. :-)

As for the new tank, unfortunately it is just going to sit there until I can get the money together for the soil... I must resist the urge to try and get it up and running as soon as possible, I will cut corners and end up with another low-tech tank simply because I'm impatient. Might have to ramp up my endler breeding project, and get myself a proper shrimp tank fund going.

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Sounds like it's going to be an awesome build, make sure you post lots of pics, we want to see all the progress & how well the plants grow. I have HC growing without Co2 & it's doing well, it grows slowly but it's very green & healthy :encouragement:

super_funny_hilarious_worldsfunniest_pictures_of_500x_zamboni_fail_zpse1b61f27.jpg

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  • HOF Member

Please keep us updated on your tanks progress sounds like an awesome setup

Cheers

Ineke:encouragement:

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Thanks Squiggle, and don't worry, the build will be extensively documented and there will be a tonne of delicious eye candy / tank pic spam to go with it!

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  • HOF Member

Did you see that Dean has ADA soil extremely cheap at the moment even with postage it is cheaper than the other stores

Cheers

Ineke:encouragement:

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Did you see that Dean has ADA soil extremely cheap at the moment even with postage it is cheaper than the other stores

Cheers

Ineke:encouragement:

Indeed I did, I've spoken to him and have organised to grab some soil once I get my funds together. I'm so glad I came across this forum and someone suggested I get in contact with him!

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So this isn't the most exciting update ever, but I had to post a pic or two because I'm so excited. The tank has arrived and is in place - and it is HUGE!

Not so easy to judge it's size in this pic...

IMG_1082.jpg

It gets a thumbs up from me...

IMG_1085.jpg

My little shrimpies are going to have a field day in the tank once it's set up.

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Very nice tank, I think 3x2x2 is an awesome sized tank & your shrimp are going to love it, well done :encouragement:

image-74_zpsffece2ba.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

So it took forever to save up for the substrate, but it finally happened, and not without a few hitches along the way. I originally planned to go with ADA Aquasoil, but due to it being out of stock and future availability seeming unlikely, I had to go with an alternative. After seeing Dean's amazing shrimp room setup and getting some very helpful advice from him I figured Benibachi Black Soil is the way to go, and hurriedly put my order in, before it all disappeared too.

The soil arrived today and after hours of rearranging and building mounds and flattening then building mounds again I think I'm happy with the scape. The wood is all being reused from other tanks, however I've had them out of water for a couple of months at least so they'd dry out and I could clean them properly. I know that java moss and pond snails have a habit of coming back from the dead, so several hours were spent this afternoon stinking my house out by boiling all the pieces on the stove. Everything else that's going in that tank is going to be brand new, so if after all that I end up with a snail infestation in that tank I will cry.

At this stage I suspect I may need a few more bags of substrate, as there is a decent amount of the tank with around 8-10cm depth, but the front is only 2-3cm. I'm not exactly planning on covering every square inch with plants so I might be able to get away with it by building up the soil where I intend to plant. I plan on leaving the front sections bare, with ground cover plants starting around half way back. Aesthetically the tank is hard to scape as it's taller than a standard tank and the proportions take a bit of getting used to, but I'm pretty happy with how it looks now. Of course any opinions or feedback would be great!

Full tank shot

IMG_1175_edit.jpg

View from my desk (ie. the most important view)

IMG_1176_edit.jpg

Close up of the driftwood

IMG_1170_edit.jpg

I literally cannot wait to fill it up and start planting - but I must be patient. I have an 8 x 39w 3ft lighting fixture on its way, and an order of plants and ferts being processed as well. I'm still debating what is going to inhabit the tank, but I think my cherries know what's going on as they have not stopped moulting and dropping little shrimplets for a few weeks straight now. Anyway, I shall have more updates over the new few weeks as everything really starts happening.

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Looks amazing lisapie, I love the scape, really original. I can't wait to see if full of water & plants :victorious:

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  • HOF Member

Looking good that's a really nice size tank!:encouragement:

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nice work Lisa, i think that the pics do the size of the tank no justice at all. It looks huge when you look at it in real life.

I think the hard scape looks very good so far and cant wait to see as the plants start going in (i might even be able to steel some ideas :)

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Thanks for all the comments guys, should have it completely planted and up and running within the week! So exciting! Then I can start thinking about what is actually going to live in there. :-)

-Dean - bring a usb stick or hard drive with you tomorrow and I'll give you a copy of all my aquascaping cheat sheets and planning docs. Just let me know what size your tanks are so I can adjust the measurements.

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wow, nice size... very excited to watch this unfold (leans back in the chair with chips and a drink)

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Your tank is looking really cool Lisapie! I love the driftwood, it looks kinda scary :encouragement:

Can't wait to see how this progresses :)

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Damn, i like the piece of driftwood. It remidns me of those dark spooky trees you would find in horror movies

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Damn, its gonna be heck of a shrimp tank. They gonna love it. Love the hard scape Lisa.

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