What should be my next step?

[Disciple]

I have well and truly been bitten by the Shrimp Keeping bug.

 

My original plan was to have a planted tank with a few fish but after looking at a lot of aquascapes I noticed they had shrimps in their tanks. A few months later I have some red rili constantly breeding. Expecting my first batch of crs shrimplets in the next week. The shrimp addiction has taken hold.

 

I am guessing a lot of ppl in the forum have been in the same position as I am now. I want to get more variety of shrimp and improve the quality of shrimp I current have. So I have been toying with the idea of making a rack but I have been second guessing myself after reading the many different Tank journals in the forums. Is it too much of a jump to go from a 2 footer into a shrimp rack?

 

I want advice on how to continue my shrimp keeping adventure. Should I get a bigger tank first or do I just go for it and just get a rack done. I want to learn from your experience. I have been lucky, I havent lost many shrimp and I want to continue keeping them healthy & happy.

 

What do you think is the best option for a beginner like me for his next step? What are the options i have to meet my goals? Thanks in advance

[newbreed]

You could go down the divided tank route, a three or four footer. Seperate compartments for different strains.

I must admit, my rack, which really is just five tanks plumbed to a sump, has made life easy. Water changes are simplified, you can move shrimp between tanks without shock as all wp are the same, and it means I can have five strains/variants breeding at once.

Beauty is you can also have cherries with crystal/TB so in my setup I could have ten strains but I don't tend to keep cherries now, only some yellows.

The biggest problem you face is that of options, you have plenty. Guess you need to decide what your end goal is then decide what setup will get you there easiest.

The main thing is providing a stable environment that your shrimp and you can enjoy. Don't hesitate to float your ideas, everyone will be happy to provide input and advice where we can. We all do it differently so there is no one perfect way.

Can tell its Sunday, I am rambling!! Good luck with your adventure!!

[jayc]

I have well and truly been bitten by the Shrimp Keeping bug.

 

My original plan was to have a planted tank with a few fish but after looking at a lot of aquascapes I noticed they had shrimps in their tanks. 

 

Welcome to the club.

1 tank is never enough.

 

 

I am guessing a lot of ppl in the forum have been in the same position as I am now. 

 

Yes.

 

Newbreed has given you some good advice. Divided tanks are how many of us started out.

 

Alternatively, you could get more 1 or 2 foot tanks to expand.

Then when you have too many individual 1 or 2 footers around, you build a rack and move them into the rack.

That way you build up slowly, and the tanks are reusable.

A 4 foot tank is difficult to reuse in a rack.

 

Then again, I'm not the best person to take advice from for racks. I like my tanks separate and individualised 

Edited November 2, 2014 by jayc

[Disciple]

You could go down the divided tank route, a three or four footer. Seperate compartments for different strains.

I must admit, my rack, which really is just five tanks plumbed to a sump, has made life easy. Water changes are simplified, you can move shrimp between tanks without shock as all wp are the same, and it means I can have five strains/variants breeding at once.

Beauty is you can also have cherries with crystal/TB so in my setup I could have ten strains but I don't tend to keep cherries now, only some yellows.

The biggest problem you face is that of options, you have plenty. Guess you need to decide what your end goal is then decide what setup will get you there easiest.

The main thing is providing a stable environment that your shrimp and you can enjoy. Don't hesitate to float your ideas, everyone will be happy to provide input and advice where we can. We all do it differently so there is no one perfect way.

Can tell its Sunday, I am rambling!! Good luck with your adventure!!

Gday Newbreed,

 

My current plan is to make a 2 tiered rack. One tier will would have a 4 foot tank divided into 4 and the other would have a 4 foot tank divided into 3 or 2. I was planning to connect these two tiers into a sump. The other option I was trying to work out was whether you could plumb the tanks like you were using a sump but connect it to a big canister filter instead?

 

The reasoning behind this design is I really enjoy watching the shrimp and after a stressful day at work it relaxes me watching them swim around. Next to my dining area I have a wall that has my computer desk and my current two footer. If I bought a smaller desk I would have roughly 5 foot of space to work with. this way when i sit at the dining table or desk and see both tanks easily.

 

As I have quickly learned, having stable water conditions is key so that was another reason I was thinking of 2 x 4 footers with a sump. I believe this totally water volume will help with my goal of stable water conditions. I was thinking the dimensions I wanted would be 48" L x 14" H and 24" W. This gives the shrimp the biggest foot print and still have a good water volume.

 

The reason I want one tank divided into 4 and one into three is because the one at sitting level I wanted to have my favourite breeds (OEBT, BB and CRS or PRL if possible). The second tier that would be divided into 4 will hold my current red rili and any blue velvets that pop out, Chameleon shrimp and one for special projects. I would have them with some other TB's but still trying to decide which I would like.

 

So far I have had some quotes come back and they have come at the upper end of the total budget. I was also planning to put a tap and some drainage in the wall to help with water changes and top up etc but the cabinet, tanks and plumbing quotes may eat into that. I have will look into just buying a rack from bunnings or some place similar and getting a "skin" put over it to make it look like a piece of furniture.

 

The thing that has scared me is All the different options out there. I am an accountant by trade I have never very good with my "tradie" skills haha plus I dont have many tools in my garage. The more I read about the different options the more I feel out of my depth. You have said you have found it easier once you put everything into a rack which is what I want but all the technical stuff seems to make it seem more complicated haha. I guess if I let the professionals do it I should be safe from flooding my dining/living area.

 

These are my ideas at the moment. If anyone can add to, advise, improve, these ideas please feel free too. I want to build it right the first time and know that I have as many precautions built in so my future shrimp can have the best possible environment.

 

Welcome to the club.

1 tank is never enough.

 

 

 

Yes.

 

Newbreed has given you some good advice. Divided tanks are how many of us started out.

 

Alternatively, you could get more 1 or 2 foot tanks to expand.

Then when you have too many individual 1 or 2 footers around, you build a rack and move them into the rack.

That way you build up slowly, and the tanks are reusable.

A 4 foot tank is difficult to reuse in a rack.

 

Then again, I'm not the best person to take advice from for racks. I like my tanks separate and individualised 

Thanks Jayc I am looking forward to join the multi tank club haha

 

As above I only have one area I can put this setup at the moment (I was thinking about making the kids share a room and using one room for my shrimp room lol) I have thought about going to a 3 or 4 foot divided tank but then I was thinking why not maximise the space I have and also saves me time since I only need to get the wife to approve "one more tank" bahahaha

 

I was considering the way Alvin set up his tanks with multiple canister filters but I decided against this because I think it would be cheaper to run one sump (not sure if this assumption is correct). I believe I know the pros and cons of the different systems but I believe if I can build in fail safes into a rack system I should be fine but the thought of losing a whole rack of shrimp because of problems in one divided section is scary but having the huge water volume and having stable wp is the big advantage.

 

Please add your thoughts. I have read a lot from your posts in this forums and I learn a lot from your posts, your knowledge would help alot. Actually the collective knowledge of this forum would be awesome.

 

Cheers,

Baz.

[newbreed]

Check out the shrimp tank journals. Many members have stumped systems. BlueBolts uses a canister on his sump. Also the library has a great reference article on plumbing, that was my main instruction guide. But squiggles rack thread is highly inspiring too.

Worth considering doing a bit yourself to cut costs and save dollars for shrimp.

If you are slumping all you may not be be able to have OEBT with TB in same system, WPs are different. Unless you aim for somewhere in the middle.

It's a great challenge and, as a procrastinator myself, I was mentally crippled for months deciding which direction to go.

You'll find your inspiration, sounds like you have a pretty sound idea of what you're aiming for.

Edited November 2, 2014 by newbreed

[Disciple]

Check out the shrimp tank journals. Many members have stumped systems. BlueBolts uses a canister on his sump. Also the library has a great reference article on plumbing, that was my main instruction guide. But squiggles rack thread is highly inspiring too.

Worth considering doing a bit yourself to cut costs and save dollars for shrimp.

If you are slumping all you may not be be able to have OEBT with TB in same system, WPs are different. Unless you aim for somewhere in the middle.

It's a great challenge and, as a procrastinator myself, I was mentally crippled for months deciding which direction to go.

You'll find your inspiration, sounds like you have a pretty sound idea of what you're aiming for.

Yeah I believe I have read most of the shrimp journals in this and other forums over the last few weeks. I will have a another read of the plumbing article and Squiggles rack journal as I found they were good reads for the plumbing.

 

I have pick up heaps of ideas such as mirrored back panels, over flows, auto top ups, noise reduction, insultating, how I will set up the media and filtration in the sump but the plumbing will still be a issue (I am not confident in my plumbing skills to risk it haha, I would hate to have made a mistake and flood the system). I am lucky enough to have a decent budget to afford this.

 

I was planning to keep my wp in the middle unless this is not advisable as I was thinking of having natives and cherries in the rack too. If it isn't then I will set up my current 2 footer just for the oebt which would also be awesome and have the rack more suited to tb. I was under the impression if I keep the wp stable the shrimp will eventually "get used" to the WP. I just want huge colonies for my own enjoyment haha.

 

Thanks for the advise.

[Squiggle]

Sounds like you are doing all the right research & I'm sure you'll fine the right setup to suit you, but if you are worried about the price then have a look at my DIY rack thread, it's cheap, strong & very versatile with what you do to finish it off aesthetically.

 

http://shrimpkeepersforum.com/forum/index.php/topic/7063-diy-rack-for-under-50-in-under-2hrs/

[Disciple]

Sounds like you are doing all the right research & I'm sure you'll fine the right setup to suit you, but if you are worried about the price then have a look at my DIY rack thread, it's cheap, strong & very versatile with what you do to finish it off aesthetically.

 

http://shrimpkeepersforum.com/forum/index.php/topic/7063-diy-rack-for-under-50-in-under-2hrs/

yeah I thought I better do some research before investing my money. Get all the things I need to make it easier on myself so i can use the time I save staring at the shrimp lol.

 

I have had a look at your post before but I dont have access to the tools or workspace. I did look at other options and I have found storage racks which are 1500mm x 1800mm x 600mm for $180 and rated at 750kg per shelf which seems good enough for my needs. I will still ask my mates if they might be able to lend me some tools or see if some of a client can do one up for a free BAS or something haha.