journal Neo's Journal

[jayc]

[neo-2FX]

What do y'all think?

[Disciple]

That is really good man.

 

Just make sure you test whether the rock will effect your water parameters. I know I originally wanted a nice Iwagumi aquascape with shrimp but now I wished I had picked an inert stone. I have a huge headache trying to keep the tds, ph, gh, where I want it. I guess I ended liking the shrimping more then the aquascape

 

anyways good job.

[kizshrimp]

Great looking hardscape man. What diameter is the hole in that fluval sponge?

[neo-2FX]

Great looking hardscape man. What diameter is the hole in that fluval sponge?

15mm. The Eheim intake with the end bit fits in with a tiny gap around the top so will most likely tie it up with a zip tie or something similar.

[newbreed]

Great setup neo-2FX!! Look forward to your updates.

[inverted]

This looks great so far Neo..... Love it

[sushant]

Lovely scape.

[neo-2FX]

All set up!

[Disciple]

 

Really nice man.

[inverted]

Looks great..... Will look even better in a few months

[neo-2FX]

Day 2

Macranda looks fantastic and so does Cuba. See how the Cuba goes without co2.

Heater looks like it's fried. Set it to 21c and temp is constantly at 26c!

pH - 6.3

Ammonia - 0

TDS - 260

GH - 160

KH - 70

Is ammonia meant to be showing up?

Also, how often should I be doing water changes? Lighting, how long per day?

Edited February 27, 2015 by neo-2FX

[neo-2FX]

Day 16

Snails spotted and caterpillars in folded leaves. What's the best way to treat it? No planaria?

Diatoms and green hair going nuts.

PH - 6.7

Ammonia - 0.5

Nitrite - 0.25

Nitrate - 0

TDS - 246

GH - 9

KH - 5

[neo-2FX]

Day 24

PH - 6.8

Ammonia - 0.25

Nitrite - 5 (off the chart)

Nitrate - 5

TDS - 213

GH - 9

KH - 5

I guess I'm getting close right?

[fishmosy]

Once the nitrite starts dropping, you will be there. Not too long now.

[neo-2FX]

Day 30

Plenty of algae!

These little guys sure have a big job on their hands!

Shrimp to come next...

Edited March 27, 2015 by neo-2FX

[neo-2FX]

Day 46

PH - 7.6

Ammonia - 0

Nitrite - 0

Nitrate - 0

TDS - 190

GH - 7

KH - 3

Berried!

DAS!

What you staring at?!

Who's going to follow us down here, Mr. Frodo?

Questions

-----------

1. Would Seiryu rock be increasing pH? Tap water is about neutral.

2. What causes shrimp to lose their colour?

[jayc]

1. Would Seiryu rock be increasing pH? Tap water is about neutral.

2. What causes shrimp to lose their colour?

Nice scape!

Very cool.

 

1) Yes. It does I'm afraid to say. 

2) See #1 above. Constantly changing water parameters is not comfortable for the cherries, even if they can survive in it

 

TDS, GH and KH have been coming down though, which is unusual when pH is going up.

You must be doing a lot of water changes to keep TDS, GH and KH coming down.

[neo-2FX]

Thanks for your reply jayc.

Yes I've been doing water changes a bit more frequent every 3-4 days of 25% to see how I can control this pH.

It's a shame because the rock is beautiful but you're correct. I can imagine the changing parameters means the shrimp aren't happy. Short of removing all the rock and having a bare tank with just plants, what can I do?

[jayc]

Short of removing all the rock and having a bare tank with just plants, what can I do?

 

If you find out let me know.

 

Iwagumi with Seiryu stones don't work well for shrimp unfortunately.

 

Water parameters can be maintained with less rock. But you will still need to remove 90% of the rock you have in that size of tank.

[Disciple]

Thanks for your reply jayc.

Yes I've been doing water changes a bit more frequent every 3-4 days of 25% to see how I can control this pH.

It's a shame because the rock is beautiful but you're correct. I can imagine the changing parameters means the shrimp aren't happy. Short of removing all the rock and having a bare tank with just plants, what can I do?

Man you have a stunning tank, love the carpet you have growing and I am happy you got some shrimp too.

 

Your tank is what I wanted my tank to look like but then my shrimp addiction out grew my aquascaping ambitions. So now I am planning to take out all my stone and I have already taken out most of my carpeting plants.

 

Saying that you did a great job with it. Cant believe it is already 46 day in lol.

[neo-2FX]

If you find out let me know.

 

Iwagumi with Seiryu stones don't work well for shrimp unfortunately.

 

Water parameters can be maintained with less rock. But you will still need to remove 90% of the rock you have in that size of tank.

 

:(

 

Overall they are doing quite well. It's most likely me not helping with the frequent water changes.

 

I'm going to only change water once a week and see how they go.

 

Thanks for your help jayc, looks like I may need another tank then ha ha. 

 

 

Man you have a stunning tank, love the carpet you have growing and I am happy you got some shrimp too.

 

Your tank is what I wanted my tank to look like but then my shrimp addiction out grew my aquascaping ambitions. So now I am planning to take out all my stone and I have already taken out most of my carpeting plants.

 

Saying that you did a great job with it. Cant believe it is already 46 day in lol.

 

Thanks dude! I'm kinda surprised how well the HC is doing without CO2. You'll also notice right at the front along the substrate that it's starting to crawl!

 

Oh man, that's a shame! As much as I wanted CRS etc. I really wanted to balance it with an aquascape so had to compromise.

 

The plants are going wild and soon I'll have to do a major trim. Have recently started dosing ADA Brighty K and Green Brighty at half doses so can only imagine it will grow even more lush!

 

I'm happy with how it's turned out and the shrimp seem happy overall so win win.

[9thdragon]

what plants are those?

[neo-2FX]

what plants are those?

 

Rotala macrandra green

Rotala sp green

Hemianthus callitrichoides

Eleocharis belem

[neo-2FX]

Alright turns out it was just me changing the water on them too often and also the time of day I was seeing them.

I only get to see them late at night so probably explains the loss in colour but during they day they look very vibrant!

Happy little shrimp atm.

Got my macro lens too, here's some of the latest photos.

Edited April 16, 2015 by neo-2FX